World News Roundup: Storms with typhoon-like winds ravage South China, killing 7; Nine dead in Taiwan's strongest earthquake in 25 years, 50 missing and more

The legislation, adopted in May last year, is among the world's harshest anti-gay laws and has drawn condemnation from rights campaigners and sanctions from Western nations. Analysis-Many Iranian options to retaliate against Israel, but all carry risk Iran faces a dilemma following an Israeli attack on its embassy in Syria: how to retaliate without sparking a wider conflict that Middle East analysts said Tehran doesn't appear to want.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

North Korea aims to adopt solid-fuel missiles for faster launches

North Korea successfully test-fired a new hypersonic missile, state news agency KCNA said on Wednesday, the latest step in a plan its leader Kim Jong Un described as aimed at using solid fuel to power missiles of all ranges. The North is developing missiles and nuclear weapons undeterred by sanctions in the wake of U.N. Security Council bans, while analysts say solid-fuel missiles can be faster to deploy than liquid-fuel variants.

Ugandan court upholds anti-LGBTQ law but says some rights infringed

Uganda's constitutional court on Wednesday refused to annul or suspend an anti-LGBTQ law that includes the death penalty for certain same-sex acts, but voided some provisions it said are inconsistent with certain fundamental human rights. The legislation, adopted in May last year, is among the world's harshest anti-gay laws and has drawn condemnation from rights campaigners and sanctions from Western nations.

Analysis-Many Iranian options to retaliate against Israel, but all carry risk

Iran faces a dilemma following an Israeli attack on its embassy in Syria: how to retaliate without sparking a wider conflict that Middle East analysts said Tehran doesn't appear to want. Monday's strike, which killed two Iranian generals and five military advisers at Iran's embassy compound in Damascus, comes as Israel accelerates a long-running campaign against Iran and the armed groups it backs. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed revenge.

Nine dead in Taiwan's strongest earthquake in 25 years, 50 missing

Taiwan's biggest earthquake in at least 25 years killed nine people on Wednesday, injuring more than 900, while 50 hotel workers were missing en route to a national park, authorities said, as rescuers used ladders to bring others to safety. Television broadcast images of buildings tilted at precarious angles in the mountainous, sparsely populated eastern county of Hualien, near the epicentre of the 7.2 magnitude quake, which struck just offshore at about 8 a. m. (0000GMT).

Finland mourns 12-year old boy killed in school shooting

Flags flew at half-mast across Finland on Wednesday as the country mourned a 12-year-old boy who was shot dead at school, with police saying a fellow sixth-grader was their only suspect. Two other pupils at Viertola school, both girls also aged 12, were severely wounded in Tuesday's attack and were undergoing treatment in hospital, police said in a statement.

Analysis-Europe's restless farmers are forcing policymakers to act

European policymakers have scaled back rules to protect nature, drawn up limits on the import of tariff-free Ukrainian grains and scrapped new legislation limiting pesticide use as farmers' protests resonate with voters ahead of elections. From Poland to Portugal, farmers have won remarkable concessions in response to waves of street action, reshaping the European Union's green politics months ahead of European Parliament elections.

Israel says airstrike unintentionally killed aid workers in Gaza, allies demand explanations

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday Israel mistakenly killed seven people working for the aid charity World Central Kitchen in a Gaza airstrike, and the U.S. and other allies called for explanations amid widespread condemnation. Israel's military voiced "sincere sorrow" over the incident, which ratcheted up international pressure for steps to ease the disastrous humanitarian situation in Gaza nearly six months into Israel's siege and invasion of the Palestinian enclave.

Storms with typhoon-like winds ravage South China, killing 7

Rare storms with typhoon-like winds have killed at least seven people in China's southern Jiangxi province since the weekend, three of them blown out of their high-rise apartments in their sleep. The extreme weather, which began on March 31, has engulfed nine cities including Nanchang and Jiujiang with 93,000 people in 54 counties affected, said the Jiangxi provincial emergency flood control headquarters.

Ukraine’s allies not giving enough air defence, minister says

Ukraine's partners are not providing enough air defence to protect against Russian missile attacks even though they have more than 100 Patriot systems in their own arsenals, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Wednesday. In an interview with Reuters, Kuleba said he would raise the issue of Patriot missile defence systems in every one of a series of meetings with NATO counterparts over the next two days in Brussels.

NATO ministers mull 100 billion euro military fund for Ukraine

NATO foreign ministers met on Wednesday to discuss how to put military support for Ukraine on a long-term footing, including a proposal for a 100 billion euro ($107 billion) five-year fund and a plan seen as a way to "Trump-proof" aid for Kyiv. The proposals by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg would give the Western alliance a more direct role in coordinating the supply of arms, ammunition and equipment to Ukraine as it fights Russia's invasion, diplomats say.

(With inputs from agencies.)