Myanmar

Myanmar: another sign of warming ties btwn Myanmar and the international front, as the US plans to invite Myanmar to a major regional military exercise next year, according to host country Thailand. The move would see Myanmar's military--which ruled the nation with an iron fist for almost half a century and is accused of a litany of human rights abuses-- join the annual Cobra Gold drills as an observer, though such a decision hasn't been finalized yet. Cobra Gold is the US' largest multilateral exercise in the Asia-Pacific region, bringing together thousands of personnel from the US, Thailand and other countries for field training. Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, and Malaysia are expected to participate next year, along with 13 observer nations.