Hong Kong authorities have charged seven people and two companies with offenses including manslaughter and conspiracy to defraud over the city's deadliest fire in decades. The blaze engulfed seven apartment buildings and killed 168 people. Authorities said Wednesday that police and the Independent Commission Against Corruption charged the suspects with 25 counts, including money laundering and tax evasion. The charges relate to a major renovation project at Wang Fuk Court. The seven defendants were brought to the court and told the judge that they understood the charges. Authorities said they included directors and a registered inspector of Will Power and Prestige’s directors. Lists of victims’ names were being read out, the first disclosure to the public.

U.K. leaders have called for calm after the arrest of a Sudanese man accused of a stabbing in Belfast sparked anti-immigration protests. Police said the victim, a man in his 40s, was seriously injured Monday. The suspect, 30, was charged with attempted murder. Authorities are investigating the motive but said the attack was not terrorism-related. Northern Ireland’s leaders urged against inciting hate, as protests were planned in response. The suspect was living in the U.K. on a visa granted in September. Police and politicians urged people not to share graphic images of the attack online.

South African police say 12 people were killed and nine wounded in a mass shooting by multiple gunmen.

A Texas teenager who fatally stabbed a 17-year-old athlete from a rival track team has been found guilty of murder. Jurors on Tuesday convicted 19-year-old Karmelo Anthony and sentenced him to 35 years in prison in the death of Austin Metcalf. The killing last year stunned the booming Dallas suburb of Frisco. Both teens attended different schools there. Prosecutors accused Anthony of egging on a confrontation after being asked to leave the tent of Metcalf's team. Anthony’s attorney claimed the stabbing was self-defense. The case drew wide attention, in part because of social media posts about race. Anthony is Black. Metcalf was white. But prosecutors and defense attorneys said the case had nothing to do with race.

A federal judge has permanently blocked Alabama from executing an inmate with nitrogen gas, declaring the method violates the ban on cruel and unusual punishment. U.S. District Judge Emily C. Marks issued the decision after an appeals court reversed her earlier ruling. Jeffery Lee was scheduled for execution Thursday. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office is appealing the decision. Marks noted the state has other execution methods, like lethal injection and the electric chair. She also mentioned the state could switch to a firing squad, which Lee prefers. Lee was convicted of capital murder in 1998.

A federal judge on Tuesday permanently blocked Alabama from executing an inmate with nitrogen gas after declaring the method violates the ban on cruel and unusual punishment. States have various execution methods, including lethal injection, electrocution, lethal gas and firing squad. Lethal injection is the primary method in most states, but it has faced issues including drug shortages and botched executions. Some states are exploring alternatives like firing squads. The federal appellate court's decision highlights ongoing debates about execution methods and their constitutionality.

Iran 'will leave no attack or threat unanswered,' its top diplomat says as US carries out strikes after helicopter crash.

A former Taliban commander has been sentenced in New York to 42 years in prison for crimes including the 2008 kidnapping of a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. Haji Najibullah’s sentencing Tuesday capped a daylong proceeding in Manhattan federal court. The reporter, David Rohde, described how Najibullah took part in the abduction of him, another reporter and their driver. Rohde, who is MSNOW’s national security reporter and previously worked for The New York Times and other publications, told Judge Katherine Polk Failla that he was “surprised and disappointed” that Najibullah was trying to blame others and circumstances for his role in the crime. The three escaped from a Taliban-controlled compound in Pakistan's tribal areas after seven months in captivity.

Jury convicts Texas teen of murder in fatal stabbing of 17-year-old athlete from rival team at a high school track meet.