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US Vice-President Mike Pence is to receive the coronavirus vaccine live on television later on Friday. The White House said the aim of the move was to “promote the safety and efficacy of the vaccine and build confidence among the American people”. On Monday the US began rolling out the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, which offers up to 95% protection against Covid-19.
More than 300 schoolboys kidnapped a week ago in north-west Nigeria are to be reunited with their families after they were brought to safety. The 344 boys, whose abduction was carried out by local bandit groups and claimed by the Islamist militants Boko Haram, were rescued on Thursday night from a forest enclave, according to the governor of Katsina state, Aminu Masari.
Iran is building at an underground nuclear facility, according to new satellite pictures. The images – taken on 11 December – show a structure consisting of a grid of pillars, like those used to support earthquake prone buildings. Iran has not publicly acknowledged any new construction at the Fordo site, which is near Qom, 55 miles from the capital Tehran.
Hundreds of cars and trucks were trapped on highways on Friday after heavy snowfall brought chaos to northwest Japan. More than 2,000 vehicles were stuck at the peak of the snowfall on Thursday, according to Nexco East, the company that manages the area’s highways. By 3 p.m. (1 a.m. ET) Friday, that number had fallen to at least 670. Some 700 rescuers may take until Saturday morning to free them all.
Sony Corp is pulling CD Projekt’s video game Cyberpunk 2077 from its PlayStation Store and offering full refunds after gamers complained it was rife with bugs, sending shares in the Polish firm down as much as 20%. The game, which took eight years to develop and features Hollywood star Keanu Reeves, takes place across a detailed futuristic city where players take the first-person perspective of a mercenary outlaw known as V.