A judge has sentenced three Mexican men to more than 158 years in prison each for the 2024 murders of two Australian brothers and their American friend, a case that tarnished Mexico’s image by exposing the risks foreigners face when visiting the tourism-dependent country. Friday’s sentencing, which came a week after the men were found guilty, marked the end of a lengthy legal process over the killings of Australians Callum and Jake Robinson, and American Carter Redd Rhoad. Their bodies were...

US President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order that puts on hold a sweeping new sanctions package targeting the Russian economy, telling Congress the pause was in the national interest. Named after late South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham, the measure had sought to clamp down more quickly on the flow of financial resources fuelling the war against Ukraine. The move comes a week after Trump stunningly said the US had agreed to purchase diesel from Russia to try to bring down...

China and the Philippines recently traded accusations over the medical evacuation of a Philippine serviceman from a grounded naval vessel in the hotly disputed Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea. The incident has sparked renewed worries about potential armed skirmishes in a global artery of trade. But Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr was also quick to emphasise the economic dimensions of a major conflict. After a decade of rapid economic growth, the Philippines is facing...

US ⁠President Donald Trump made a ⁠joke about the popularity of ⁠the name Mohammad in the Muslim world as he mocked Iran’s presidency during a campaign speech on Friday. “You know, if you’re in doubt about somebody’s name from the Middle East, just say ‘Mohammad’,” Trump told a ‌crowd in Dalton, Georgia. “You have about a 65 per cent chance. ‘Hello, Mohammad.’ I’ve done it for years now. I’ve never been wrong.” Mohammad is one of the most common male names among Muslims, who often name their...

Beijing warned Brussels not to “fantasise” that taking a hard line will force it into concessions, as the bloc confirmed plans for a gung-ho new kill switch that will allow Brussels to “immediately” kick China out of the single market. Exactly a week after the two sides struck a surprise deal to restrict the volume of hybrid cars China ships to Europe, the flare-up suggests the threat of a trade war between two of the world’s three biggest economies has far from subsided. “The EU should not...

A teacher threw her phone at the teenage gunman who killed four people at an Oregon junior school, then tackled and fought with him – probably saving lives before he was shot by a father who followed him into the building, police said Friday. Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz called the teacher’s actions “heroic” during a news conference and said she was not injured. He identified the attacker as 16-year-old Griffin J. John II and said all of the victims were shot in the same classroom. Authorities...

Sean “Diddy” Combs has been moved to a federal prison in Pennsylvania after reports that the hip-hop mogul was living the high life and was injured in a fight at his New Jersey lock-up, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday. The federal Bureau of Prisons is transferring Combs, 56, from FCI Fort Dix to FCI Allenwood Low, a low-security facility south of Williamsport and about 250km (155 miles) west of New York, the person said. The person was not authorised to speak publicly and did so...

Paraguay’s technology minister said on Thursday that sanctions imposed on him by Beijing over his country’s ties with Taiwan would only accelerate joint projects with the island. Gustavo Villate, who heads the Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies, wrote in a lengthy social media post that the relationship with Taipei would “never be on the negotiating table”. He also suggested that Beijing had acted to protect Chinese telecoms suppliers kept out of Paraguay’s networks. “This...