Malaysia's Mahathir proposes common East Asia currency pegged to gold

14 Sept 01:14 Key points summarised by AI

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad proposed a common trading currency for East Asia, intended for settling imports and exports rather than domestic transactions.
He advocated pegging this new currency to gold, emphasizing its stability and criticizing existing regional currency trading as manipulative and vulnerable to external factors.
This initiative aligns with Mahathir's historical skepticism of currency markets, following his past actions during the 1997 Asian financial crisis, and emerges amidst recent U.S. scrutiny of Malaysia's currency practices.

Detained Suu Kyi receives UK royal package: Myanmar govt

Yesterday 03:08 Key points summarised by AI

Myanmar's detained Nobel laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi, received a package from Britain's King Charles III, which included two gardening books, a sealed envelope, and diplomatic communication.
The event marked the first release of images of Suu Kyi in two months and saw Myanmar authorities describe her as a "special female prisoner" for the first time.
Suu Kyi, who was deposed in a 2021 military coup that triggered an ongoing civil war, remains under house arrest on charges that rights groups contend are politically motivated.