New York  - Saudi Arabia and Britain said late Thursday that a final text on the Gaza conflict was agreed on by Western and Arab nations, and they expect a vote soon by the UN Security Council in New York, after diplomats spent three days forging the language.

Prince Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister, called the compromise "a historic event," speaking to reporters late Thursday following hours of negotiations between the two sides.

Taipei  - A Taiwan man has been sentenced to six-and-a-half years' imprisonment for posing as a shaman and having sex with a young woman under the pretense of an exorcism, a newspaper reported Friday.

The Hsinchu District Court in west Taiwan sentenced Yang Jih-hua, 59, on Thursday on his conviction of rape, for having sex with the victim 13 times in 2007 and impregnating her, the Liberty Times said.

Prague  - Russia agreed Thursday to deploy monitors to observe Russian gas flow through Ukraine in a move that "should" lead to resumption of gas supplies to the European Union, the Czech EU presidency said.

The breakthrough followed talks between Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, whose country chairs the EU until June 30, and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the presidency said in a statement.

"Now the only decision missing is to put the gas in the system again," a Czech official close to the talks said.

Tel Aviv/Gaza  - An Israeli soldier died Thursday during fighting in the Gaza Strip, the third military death within 24 hours, an Israeli military spokesman said in Tel Aviv.

Earlier, an Israeli infantry officer, was hit and killed Thursday morning by an anti-tank rocket fired by militants, and a tank sergeant was shot to death by a sniper in the afternoon.

Thursday's casualties bring the Israel military toll since Saturday's invasion to nine dead.

Washington - US president-elect Barack Obama named four former Clinton officials to posts in the Pentagon, including William Lynn as deputy secretary of defence.

Lynn, now a top executive at defence firm Raytheon, served as the Pentagon chief budget official from 1997 to 2001. If confirmed by the Senate, he would become the second-highest ranking civilian in the Pentagon under Defence Secretary Robert Gates.

New York  - The United Nations Security Council called for an emergency meeting late Thursday after Western and Arab nations arrived at a compromise text to end the Israel-Hamas fighting.

The text was hammered out following day-long negotiations at UN headquarters in New York between foreign ministers of the United States, France and Britain on one side and high-ranking Arab government officials and the Arab League on the other.