US: Mexico could retaliate with tariffs of its own after president-elect Donald Trump threatened neighbouring nations with a 25 per cent import duties if the flow of drugs and migrants across the border are not curbed.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she was willing to engage in talks on the issues, but that drugs were a US problem and that her nation suffered from an influx of weapons smuggled from the US.

INDONESIA: Rescuers recovered 20 bodies and were looking for two missing villagers today after flash floods on Sumatra island caused mud and rocks to tumble down mountains.

Houses were washed away and farms destroyed as torrential rains over the weekend caused rivers to burst their banks in four hilly districts on northern Sumatra.

JAPAN: Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he will ask companies to implement significant wage hikes during next year’s labour negotiations following meetings with businesses and trade unions.

Companies delivered their biggest pay rise in 33 years during the annual “shunto” negotiations earlier this year but Japan’s largest trade union is asking for at least 5 per cent in 2025.

PERU: Thousands of miners blocked roads and camped outside Congress on Monday to demand the extension of a programme that allows them to operate in sites temporarily.

Authorities have said that the programme has expanded illegal mining and gave small-scale miners six months to formalise their activists after the current period expires on December 31.