Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Three migrants rescued near Malta after jumping off stranded tanker

Three migrants were rescued off the coast of Malta on Sunday after they jumped overboard from a tanker that has been denied entry by several countries since a rescue operation a month ago. The captain of the Maersk Etienne chemical tanker had warned last week that, while the migrants had no critical physical problems, the mental strain for those onboard was getting worse.

Exclusive: 90% of China’s Sinovac employees, families took coronavirus vaccine, says CEO

About 90% of Sinovac Biotech Ltd employees and their families have taken an experimental coronavirus vaccine developed by the Chinese firm under the country’s emergency use program, its chief executive said on Sunday. The extent of inoculations under the emergency program, which China launched in July but has released few details about, points to how actively it is using experimental vaccines in the hopes of protecting essential workers against a potential COVID-19 resurgence, even as trials are still underway.

Rescuers search Beirut rubble for third day, with nation transfixed

Rescue workers continued to dig through the rubble of a Beirut building for a third day on Saturday, still hoping to find someone alive more than a month after a massive port explosion shattered Lebanon’s capital. About 50 rescue workers and volunteers, including a specialist team from Chile, had yet to locate anyone after sensors on Thursday detected signs of breathing and heat. But they said they would continue while there was a small chance of finding a survivor, and had narrowed their search.

Nigeria to deliver aid by air in conflict-hit northeast

Nigeria’s government plans to deliver humanitarian aid supplies by air to people in remote communities in parts of the northeast that have been ravaged by the decade-long Islamist insurgency spearheaded by Boko Haram. The insurgency, which since 2009 has killed around 35,000 people and forced two million people to flee their homes, has spawned one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Seven million people need some form of aid, the United Nations estimates.

Australia’s COVID-19 epicenter extends hard lockdown till late September

Australia’s coronavirus hot spot state of Victoria on Sunday extended a hard lockdown in its capital Melbourne until Sept. 28, as the infection rate has declined more slowly than hoped. “We cannot open up at this time. If we were to we would lose control very quickly,” State Premier Daniel Andrews told a televised media conference on Sunday.

Russia has very serious questions to answer on Navalny: UK

Russia must explain how Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was poisoned with what Germany says was the Novichok nerve agent, British foreign minister Dominic Raab said on Sunday. “What is clear right now is that the Russian government has a very serious set of questions to answer,” he told Sky News.

Police hunt for man in Birmingham after stabbings leave one dead, seven injured

Police said they were searching for a man in relation to a two-hour stabbing spree in the city of Birmingham, central England, early on Sunday, that left one man dead and seven people injured, two of them critically. The knife attacks happened in four locations in the city centre starting from 00:30 (2330 GMT), police said.

UK warns EU on Brexit: We won’t blink first

Britain will not blink first in Brexit trade negotiations with the European Union and is not scared of a no-deal exit at the end of the year, the country’s top Brexit negotiator warned the bloc on Sunday. Britain left the EU on Jan. 31 but talks have so far made little headway on agreeing a new trade deal for when a status-quo transition arrangement ends in December.

Nothing to see: COVID origins off-limits as China’s Wuhan touts recovery

The Huanan seafood market in the Chinese city of Wuhan, believed by many to be the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic, is sealed behind a blue perimeter fence. A large team of security staff chases away anyone who lingers. “We are just doing our job,” said a guard in black who ordered a Reuters reporter to delete footage recorded near the market’s main gates. He identified himself as a worker from the city government’s epidemic prevention and control team.

Hong Kong police fire pepper balls at protesters opposed to election delay, new law

Police fired rounds of pepper balls at protesters in Hong Kong on Sunday as hundreds took to the streets to demonstrate against the postponement of legislative elections and a new national security law imposed by China. Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam postponed the Sept. 6 election for seats in the Asian financial hub’s Legislative Council for a year in July because of a spike in coronavirus cases.