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HONG KONG -- Prosecutors in Hong Kong on Thursday dropped corruption charges against a prominent singer and pro-democracy activist, after initially accusing him of providing entertainment to sway voters in a legislative by-election. Anthony Wong, a Cantonese pop singer, as well as former lawmaker Au Nok-hin were both asked to pay a guarantee in the sum of 2,000 Hong Kong dollars (US$257) each, and were given a binding over order of 18 months during which they must be on good behavior. Source

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL -- Israel on Thursday escalated its response to rocket attacks this week by launching rare airstrikes on Lebanon, the army and Lebanese officials said. The Israeli army said in a statement that jets struck the launch sites from which rockets had been fired over the previous day, as well as an additional target used to attack Israel in the past. Source

CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA -- The founder of the Sydney-based global Hillsong Church, Brian Houston, has been charged with concealing child sex offenses, police said Thursday. Detectives served Houston's lawyers on Thursday with a notice for him to appear in a Sydney court on Oct. Source

A wind-driven wildfire tore through a northern California mountain town, leaving much of the downtown in ashes and crews braced for another explosive run of flames in the midst of dangerous weather. The Dixie fire, swollen by bone-dry vegetation and gusts of more than 60 km/h, raged through the northern Sierra Nevada town of Greenville Wednesday evening. Source

TOKYO -- Tokyo reported 5,042 new daily coronavirus cases on Thursday, hitting a record since the pandemic began as the infections surge in the Japanese capital hosting the Olympics. The additional cases brought the total for Tokyo to 236,138. Source

VANCOUVER -- Lawyers for Huawei's chief financial officer say the United States has acted in bad faith in the extradition process of Meng Wanzhou and the British Columbia Supreme Court should stay proceedings against her. In the documents presented to the court yesterday, her lawyers claim the United States mischaracterized and omitted evidence to establish a case of fraud when requesting the extradition of Meng from Canada. Source

Thousands of people have signed an online petition calling for the Catholic Church's charitable status to be suspended over its response on the residential school file. It follows statements from individual jurisdictions considering other action, such as removing subsidies or ending property tax exemptions for the Catholic Church. Source

Donnie Peacock has been auctioning cattle in southwestern Saskatchewan for more than three decades, but this has been the busiest July he's ever seen — and August is already slated to be even bigger. However, the auctioneer with Heartland Livestock Services in Swift Current, Sask. Source

WARNING: This story contains details some readers may find distressing. A 26-year-old case involving a John Doe in Saskatchewan has finally been solved with DNA evidence. The Saskatchewan Coroner's Service and Regina Police Service declined to confirm this. Source

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took a knee at a Black Lives Matter rally on Parliament Hill over a year ago, after the murder of George Floyd sparked worldwide protests. Some welcomed the action as a commitment to fight anti-Black racism, while others dismissed it as a hollow gesture. Source