China, U.S. need to find right way to get along in new era -- Chinese premier

Chinese Premier Li Qiang said here Thursday that looking into the future, China and the United States need to find the right way to get along in the new era.

Li made the remarks when meeting with friendly organizations in the United States, including representatives from the U.S.-China Business Council, the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Council on Foreign Relations, as well as scholars and business leaders, on the sidelines of the general debate of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

China-U.S. relations are the most important bilateral relations in the world, Li said, and the two countries can and should be partners and friends.

Looking back at history, friendly exchanges between China and the United States have been the mainstream and the general trend, Li said.

Houthis say death toll from Israeli strikes on Yemeni capital rises to 8

The death toll from Israeli airstrikes on Yemen's capital Sanaa on Thursday rose to eight, with 142 others wounded, Houthi-run health authorities said, adding that rescue teams were still searching for survivors under the rubble.

Al-Masirah TV, run by the Houthis, said the strikes hit the Dhahban power station, the presidential palace complex, the General Security camp and two residential neighbourhoods.

U.S. greenlights Ukraine's retaliatory strikes, to call elections if truce reached: Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that U.S. President Donald Trump has given Ukraine the green light to carry out retaliatory strikes against Russia, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported Thursday.

"If they attack our energy, President Trump supports that we can respond on energy," Zelensky said in an interview with U.S. online media outlet Axios.

The Ukrainian leader also said he is prepared to organize elections if a ceasefire is reached.

Asked whether he would consider his job complete once hostilities subsided, Zelensky said his goal "is to end the war, not to continue running for office."

Former French President Sarkozy sentenced to five years in prison

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced on Thursday to five years in prison with a deferred prison term, after being found guilty of criminal conspiracy over alleged Libyan financing of his 2007 presidential campaign, according to French media BFM TV reports.

The court also fined Sarkozy 100,000 euros (117,000 U.S. dollars) and barred him from holding public office or running for election for five years.

Sarkozy has reiterated his innocence and vowed to appeal the verdict. Two of his close allies, former Secretary General of the Elysee Palace Claude Gueant and former minister Brice Hortefeux, were sentenced to six years and two years in prison, respectively.