TAIPEI, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Senior Chinese leaders held a meeting in early December to "coordinate" government efforts to sway upcoming elections in Taiwan, according to intelligence gathered on the island, part of a campaign Taiwan officials see as voting interference.

Taiwan officials have warned that Beijing is trying to nudge voters toward candidates who seek closer China ties in the Jan. 13 presidential and legislative election, which is happening as China ramps up military and political pressure to try to force the democratically governed island to accept its sovereignty.

GAZA, Dec 8 (NNN-XINHUA) – The Israeli army arrested, yesterday, dozens of Palestinians, during its incursion into the town of Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, said Palestinian sources.

Palestinian security sources told Xinhua that, Israeli troops made the arrests during their storming of residential neighbourhoods in Beit Lahia.

Local eyewitnesses said that, the Israeli soldiers deliberately stripped the detainees of their clothes during interrogations.

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed Thursday to exchange prisoners of war and work toward signing a peace treaty in what the European Union hailed as a major step toward peace in the long-troubled region.

The two countries said in a joint statement they “share the view that there is a historical chance to achieve a long-awaited peace.” They said they intend “to normalize relations and to reach the peace treaty on the basis of respect for the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

NAIROBI, Dec 7 (Reuters) - A blast at an explosives store wrecked buildings and caused massive damage to an industrial zone on the Seychelles' main island Mahe, officials said, prompting the president to declare a state of emergency on Thursday.

The blast shook the island as heavy rains triggered flooding which killed three people, the president told reporters on Thursday, calling for a minute of silence.

Footage broadcast on national television showed streets covered in deep mud and strewn with debris and uprooted trees.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A 67-year-old college professor who was denied jobs at various Nevada colleges and universities stuffed loaded handgun magazines into his waistband before walking into a University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus building and killing three faculty members, police said.

After police killed him in a shootout, Anthony Polito was found to be carrying nine magazines for a 9mm handgun he’d legally purchased last year and also a list of targets at the school — although none of those shot were on that list, police said Thursday.

DODOMA, Dec 8 (NNN-DAILYNEWS) — THE South Korean government has pledged further support for strengthening statistical systems in Tanzania.

The promise was made by Republic of Korea Ambassador to Tanzania Dr. Kim Sun Pyo at the launch of TASIS, an event held in Dodoma recently.

He said Korea and Tanzania worked together to prepare the database, noting that such efforts could be extended to other countries, but there was a need to enhance cooperation to ensure that many Tanzanians use the data.

BEIJING, Dec 8 (APP): Pakistan’s government has taken significant steps to facilitate cross-border e-commerce and attract foreign investment, especially from the Chinese investors, said Shaikh Muhammad Shariq, Vice President of National Bank of Pakistan and Chief representative in China.

The introduction of favorable policies, such as the removal of regulatory barriers and the simplification of import and export procedures, has created an enabling environment for investors.

Dec 7 (Reuters) - Russian forces conducted aerial attacks on Thursday in their slow-moving campaign to win control of eastern Ukraine and used smaller attack groups to try to capture the beleaguered town of Avdiivka, the Ukrainian military said.

Russia has ramped up its push in recent weeks to try to encircle Avdiivka, which lies less than a dozen kilometres from the outskirts of the Moscow-held regional capital of Donetsk.

TEL AVIV, December 8. /TASS/: The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) struck a number of targets on Syrian territory last night in response to the shelling launched on December 7, the army's press service reported.

"In response to yesterday's launches [of shells] toward northern Israel, the IDF struck a number of targets in Syria," the statement said.

BOGOR, Indonesia (AP) — At a lake in the West Javan city of Bogor, children and teenagers paddle toward piles of floating trash, pick it up and store it in their kayaks, before passing it to friends sorting it onshore.

The group of around 20 youngsters started off as a team of one, a decade ago, when Giri Marhara decided to start cleaning up the lake. He was just 16 years old at the time, and already had a penchant for wanting to clean up his environment — from his classroom to his neighborhood.

GEORGETOWN, Dec 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Five Guyanese soldiers died this week when their helicopter crashed near Venezuela, President Irfaan Ali said as the neighbors faced off in a fast-escalating border dispute.
 
   Writing on Instagram, Ali said Guyana had lost “some of our best men in uniform” when the helicopter went down on Wednesday. An official said earlier that there was nothing to suggest Venezuelan involvement in the crash.

NAIROBI, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- The World Food Program (WFP) on Thursday warned that the devastating floods threaten to worsen food insecurity across eastern Africa, threatening more hunger.

WFP said that nearly 3 million people have been affected, with more than 1.2 million displaced as heavy rains lash a region that less than a year ago was in the grips of drought.

Michael Dunford, WFP regional director in Eastern Africa, said the region is being lashed by the extremes of climate change -- from "no water to too much water is resulting in a catastrophe."