World News Roundup: Resilient Taiwan responded fast to earthquake after years honing skills; Israel boosts defences after Iran revenge threat and more

Hundreds of aftershocks struck Taiwan's eastern region, driving scores to seek shelter outdoors, as the death toll from Wednesday's 7.2-magnitude quake rose to 10, with the tally of injured at 1,099, authorities said. Israel boosts defences after Iran revenge threat The Israeli military halted leave for all combat units on Thursday amid concerns of a possible escalation in violence after the killing of Iranian generals in Damascus this week drew threats of retaliation.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Finland school shooting looks premeditated, police say

The 12-year-old boy accused of killing a fellow sixth-grader in a school shooting in Finland this week appears to have planned it ahead of time based on evidence from confiscated electronics, Finnish police said on Thursday. The attack at the Viertola school near Helsinki on Tuesday, in which two other children were also severely injured, was believed triggered by bullying, investigators have said.

Resilient Taiwan responded fast to earthquake after years honing skills

When a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit Taiwan's scenic and largely rural east coast county of Hualien on Wednesday, local official Chang Tung-yao knew exactly what to do, having experienced a similar temblor six years before. Within two hours of the quake, which struck just before 8 a.m. (0000 GMT) as people were getting ready for work, Chang said an emergency shelter was arranged at a nearby school where more than 130 residents ended up spending the night.

Helicopter rescues Taiwan miners, stranded hotel guests confirmed safe

A helicopter plucked to safety on Thursday six people stranded in a mining area after Taiwan's worst earthquake in 25 years, and rescue workers reached 400 people cut off in a hotel in a mountainous national park by air, and confirmed all were safe. Hundreds of aftershocks struck Taiwan's eastern region, driving scores to seek shelter outdoors, as the death toll from Wednesday's 7.2-magnitude quake rose to 10, with the tally of injured at 1,099, authorities said.

Israel boosts defences after Iran revenge threat

The Israeli military halted leave for all combat units on Thursday amid concerns of a possible escalation in violence after the killing of Iranian generals in Damascus this week drew threats of retaliation. "In accordance with the situational assessment, it has been decided that leave will be temporarily paused for all IDF (Israel Defence Forces) combat units," the military said in a statement.

Ukrainian soldiers, engineers toil round the clock to build defences

Ukraine is working round the clock to build defensive fortifications to stop Russia's troops advancing any further 26 months into their full-scale invasion. The Ukrainian government has allocated $509 million this year to fortify both its border with Russia and the front line with Russian forces across its east and south; Prime Minister Denys Shmhyal promised $142 million more on Tuesday.

Sri Lanka sees no need for talks with India on island it ceded decades ago

Sri Lanka does not see any need to re-open talks on a contentious island ceded to it by New Delhi 50 years ago, the foreign minister has said, after the low-key territorial squabble turned into a hot-button election issue in India. The party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is expected to win general elections that start on April 19, has flagged the issue of Indian fishermen discontented after a 1976 pact between the neighbours barred them from the waters around the island.

Slavery tribunal? Africa, Caribbean unite on reparations

Support is building among Africa and Caribbean nations for the creation of an international tribunal on atrocities dating to the transatlantic trade of enslaved people, with the United States backing a U.N. panel at the heart of the effort. A tribunal, modelled on other ad-hoc courts such as the Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals after World War Two, was proposed last year. It has now gained traction within a broader slavery reparations movement, Reuters reporting based on interviews with a dozen people reveals.

Russia says dialogue with NATO at 'zero' but it doesn't seek open conflict

Russia-NATO relations are worsening but Moscow has no intention of entering a conflict with a NATO country, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said in an interview published on Thursday. In comments to mark NATO's 75th anniversary, Grushko told Russian state news agency RIA that relations were "predictably and deliberately" deteriorating, and all channels of dialogue between Moscow and the alliance had been brought to a "critical zero" level by Washington and Brussels.

Six months of Hezbollah fire keeps uprooted Israelis in limbo

From a temporary seaside abode in northern Israel, Shay and Reut Hanegbi can hear the explosions when missiles are fired from Lebanon towards their hometown on the border, only four miles (6 km) away. They are among around 60,000 Israelis still uprooted from the small frontline communities since October, when the powerful militia Hezbollah began attacking from Lebanese hilltop villages and forest hideouts.

UN rights body adopts first resolution to protect rights of intersex people

The United Nations Human Rights Council on Thursday voted to adopt a resolution designed to protect the rights of intersex people, the first initiative of its kind that diplomats and rights groups described as an landmark moment for humhttp://content.reuters.com/auth-server/content/tag:reuters.com,2022:newsml_RC2NZU942Z9N:284581975/tag:reuters.com,2022:binary_RC2NZU942Z9N-BASEIMAGE?action=download&mediatype=picture&mex_media_type=picture&token=QxzOjyVpRjn1gTApNZjdj%2FfdTL1E1udHImvrSv5CoSE%3Dan rights. Twenty-four countries voted in favour, twenty-three abstained and none voted against the resolution, which was spearheaded by Finland, South Africa, Chile and Australia.

(With inputs from agencies.)