Briefly

UNITED STATES

Death penalty sought for Luigi Mangione

US Attorney General Pamela Bondi said on Tuesday she has directed prosecutors to seek the death penalty for Luigi Mangione for the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York last year. Mangione's lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, called the decision "barbaric". "While claiming to protect against murder, the federal government moves to commit the premeditated, state-sponsored murder of Luigi," she said in a statement. Mangione, 26, has pleaded not guilty to New York state charges of murder as an act of terrorism and weapons offenses.

FRANCE

Le Pen eyes 2027 vote, wants speedy appeal

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen said in an interview published on Wednesday that she would use all possible legal avenues to stand in the 2027 elections, despite a ban on her running, and hailed the promise of a speedy appeal of her criminal conviction. In his first reaction to Monday's judgment, President Emmanuel Macron told members of the government that the French judiciary was "independent" and that "judges must be protected", according to an official present at the meeting.

Agencies via Xinhua