Though he’s a prolific screenwriter with a number of popular arthouse titles to his name (“After the Wedding,” “In a Better World,” “The Promised Land”), the directorial efforts of one Anders Thomas Jensen (including “Riders of Justice” and “Men and Chicken”) are rarer birds in all senses of the term — usually fusing antic comedy […]

Demands grow for launch of formal discussion process on how country should address legacies of enslavement Emmanuel Macron is under pressure to open discussions on reparatory justice for France’s role in hundreds of years of enslavement of African people as he makes a key speech on the legacy of slavery. On Thursday the French president will celebrate the 25th anniversary of France becoming the first country in the world to recognise the slave trade and slavery as crimes against humanity in a 2001 law brought by Christiane Taubira , a former MP from French Guiana. Continue reading...

In today’s newsletter: The Guardian’s William Christou was the first western journalist to gain access to Sednaya prison. He reflects on what he saw Good morning. Of all the horrific symbols of the deposed Assad regime, few carry the notoriety of Sednaya, the most feared node in the Syrian government’s repressive prison system. About 30,000 people were killed there between 2011 and 2020, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimated, more than in any other single location; for years, groups of 50 at a time were hanged in secret, once or twice a week. Many were still locked up there a couple of days ago, including women and children, in conditions so disorienting and dehumanising that some were unable to say their names. But early on Sunday, as the rebels swept into Damascus, the doors were opened, and they were freed. Syria | Bombing raids have hit sites across Syria as regional actors in the Middle East scrambled to defend their interests in the country after the sudden fall of Bashar al-Assad. The US has struck targets associated with Islamic State (IS) in central Syria, while Turkey has attacked US-backed Kurdish forces, and Israel sent troops into the buffer zone beyond the Golan Heights. US news | A 26-year-old man has been charged with murder over the shooting death of the UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, in New York. Luigi Mangione was arrested at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania after a customer recognised him. Media | Rupert Murdoch’s adult children will retain equal control over their father’s media empire upon his death, a Nevada court has ruled . Murdoch had wanted to wrest away power from James, Elisabeth and Prudence and give it all to his oldest son Lachlan. Courts in crisis | Ministers should consider abandoning jury trials for some crown court cases unless they properly fund a justice system “in serious crisis”, the former lord chief justice has said. Lord Thomas said there had been a “political failure” by successive governments to invest in justice. Culture | Jacques Audiard’s daring crime musical Emilia Pérez has dominated the Golden Globe nominations , taking 10. Conclave, the papal thriller directed by Edward Berger, got six, including for its script, direction and leading actor Ralph Fiennes, while daring body horror The Substance and Cannes Palme d’Or winner Anora both took five. Continue reading...

David Pearce was convicted of first-degree murder for the deaths of Christy Giles and Hilda Marcela Cabrales after a night of partying in Los Angeles. He was also found guilty of raping seven other women who came forward to testify at his trial.