Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

UK’s Johnson doesn’t want a no-deal Brexit but can live with it

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson does not particularly wish for the Brexit transition period to end without a new trade deal in place but believes that Britain could live with such an outcome, he said on Sunday. With the Dec. 31 expiry of the transition period fast approaching, Johnson and the head of the EU’s executive, Ursula von der Leyen, agreed in a phone call on Saturday to step up negotiations on a post-Brexit deal.

New Caledonia rejects full independence from France again

The South Pacific archipelago of New Caledonia voted against independence from France on Sunday for the second time in as many years, a provisional final count showed. A surprise “yes” vote would have deprived Paris of a foothold in a region where China is expanding its influence, and dented the pride of a colonial power whose reach once spanned large parts of Africa, Southeast Asia, the Caribbean and the Pacific.

India seeks up to 500 million coronavirus vaccine doses by July

India hopes to receive up to 500 million doses of coronavirus vaccine by July to inoculate about 250 million people, health minister Harsh Vardhan said on Sunday, as infections in the world’s second-worst affected country continue to surge. India’s has recorded some 6.55 million infections, with 75,829 in the past 24 hours, while COVID-19-related deaths have totalled 101,782, health ministry data showed.

Azerbaijan says Armenia attacks city, threatens retaliation

Azerbaijan said on Sunday that Armenian forces had fired rockets at its second city of Ganja, killing one civilian and wounding four, and threatened to retaliate by destroying military targets inside Armenia. The developments marked a sharp escalation of the war in the South Caucasus that broke out one week ago.

Umrah pilgrims return to a Mecca stilled by COVID-19 slump

Mecca slowly stirred from a seven-month hibernation on Sunday as pilgrims trickled in after Saudi authorities partially lifted a coronavirus ban on performing umrah – a pilgrimage to Islam’s two holiest sites that is undertaken at any time of year. Millions of Muslims from around the world usually descend on Saudi Arabia for the umrah and haj Islamic pilgrimages. The two share common rites, but the haj, held once a year, is the main lengthier ritual that is a once-in-a-lifetime duty for Muslims.

Protesters gather for Minsk rally, about 10 people detained: Ifax

Belarusian police detained about 10 people on Sunday as protesters gathered for the latest in what have become regular opposition rallies in capital city Minsk to protest against leader Alexander Lukashenko, Interfax news agency reported. Military trucks and buses arrived in central Minsk, where the opposition gathered to call on authorities to free political prisoners and to contest official results of the Aug. 9 presidential election.

Thousands protest anti-coronavirus restrictions in Germany over weekend

Thousands of demonstrators in southern Germany protested against coronavirus restrictions over the weekend, police said on Sunday, although organisers failed to mobilise enough people for a planned human chain around Lake Constance. Thousands of counter-demonstrators in Constance also turned out to show support for the government’s measures to contain the coronavirus while also protesting against right-wing supporters in the other group, police said.

Pope says free market, ‘trickle-down’ policies fail society

Pope Francis said on Sunday that the COVID-19 pandemic was the latest crisis to prove that market forces alone and “trickle-down” economic policies had failed to produce the social benefits their proponents claim. In an encyclical on the theme of human fraternity, Francis also said private property cannot be considered an absolute right in all cases where some lived extravagantly while others had nothing.

Pandemic prompts drive-through pet blessing in Philippines

Coronavirus-wary animal owners in the Philippines had their pets blessed via a drive-through ceremony on Sunday to mark World Animal Day and the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals. From a safe distance inside their owners’ cars, cats, dogs, and birds were sprinkled with holy water by a Catholic priest in Manila, as the nation’s coronavirus cases continued to surge.

India and South Africa ask WTO to waive rules to aid COVID-19 drug production

India and South Africa want the World Trade Organization (WTO) to waive intellectual property rules to make it easier for developing countries to produce or import COVID-19 drugs, a letter https://docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/SS/directdoc.aspx?filename=q:/IP/C/W669.pdf&Open=True to the WTO shows. In their letter dated Oct. 2 the two countries called on the global trade body to waive parts of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which governs patents, trademarks, copyright and other intellectual property rules globally.