Defense officials from China and the U.S. have held two days of talks in a small sign of progress amid a continuing sharp downturn in relations.

The secure video conference held Tuesday and Wednesday was led by Maj. Gen. Huang Xueping, deputy direct of the People's Liberation Army's Office for International Military Cooperation, and U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for China Michael Chase.

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was found guilty Thursday of illegal campaign financing of his unsuccessful 2012 reelection bid.

Sarkozy wasn't present at the Paris court for the verdict's announcement.

The United States and the European Union agreed Wednesday to carry on the work of 10 expert-level panels to explore and recommend solutions to a variety of trade disputes and challenges.

During the first of two days of trade and technology talks in Pittsburgh, they instructed the working groups to continue deliberations on matters ranging from climate and clean tech and technology standards to global trade issues, including tariffs that have strained U.S.-EU relations and predatory commercial practices by China.

Russia's Communist Party filed multiple lawsuits Wednesday to contest parliamentary election results from online voting in Moscow, which party members allege was rigged and blame for their defeat in races in the Russian capital.

The party, which placed second nationally in this month's election, usually toes the Kremlin's line but already had engaged in an active effort to invalidate the disputed Moscow returns. Senior party members organized street protests and joined a coalition of Kremlin critics that also is trying to annul the capital's results from online balloting, an option that was available to voters in the Russian capital and several other regions.

The United Kingdom and France are at loggerheads again over fishing rights in the English Channel, leading Paris to warn about potential retaliatory measures that could impact energy and trade.

In the latest post-Brexit dispute between the two countries, France urged the British government to allow more small French boats to fish in U.K. territorial waters. The U.K. announced Tuesday that it had approved only 12 out of 47 new license applications.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has hosted his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan for talks in the Black Sea resort of Sochi that were expected to focus on war-torn Syria.

It was the first in-person meeting for Putin in over two weeks. On Sept. 14, the Russian president went into self-isolation after a staff member he worked closely with contracted coronavirus. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Putin's two-week self-isolation ended on Wednesday.

Iraq's top Shiite cleric has called for wide participation in next month's parliament elections, saying that despite "shortcomings," voting remains the best way for Iraqis to take part in shaping their country's future.

Iraqis are headed to the polls Oct. 10 for early elections characterized by widespread apathy and concerns of low voter turnout. The elections are being held a year before they had been scheduled to take place in line with a key demand of protesters who filled the streets in October 2019 demanding change in the country, where corruption is widespread.

Mehdi Dolatyari watched with dread in recent months as once-affordable goods at his central Tehran supermarket soared out of reach for his customers. Iranians who previously bought sacks of staple foods at the store now struggle to scrape together enough for meals, as the country's currency sinks to new lows against the dollar.

"Rice is awfully expensive," Dolatyari said, describing how its price has nearly doubled.

Israel's foreign minister headed to Bahrain on Thursday, the first high-level visit to the small Gulf state by a senior Israeli official since the signing last year of a landmark agreement to establish diplomatic ties.

Yair Lapid flew to Bahrain's capital, Manama, for meetings with his Bahraini counterpart and to inaugurate Israel's embassy. It will be the first official visit by an Israeli Cabinet member.

This fall, the academic year in Lebanon is gripped by the same chaos that has overwhelmed everything else in the country in its financial and economic meltdown.

Thousands of teachers are on strike, demanding salary adjustments to cope with hyperinflation and the currency's free-fall. A month's pay is now barely enough to fill a vehicle's gas tank twice.