Cobra Gold 2022: Scaled-down and no cobra sacrifices

14 Sept 07:26 Key points summarised by AI

Cobra Gold 2022, a long-running Indo-Pacific multinational war game hosted by Thailand, is a 'light year' version with significantly scaled-down participation and exercises due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The controversial practice of killing cobras and drinking their blood during survival training has been permanently removed from the exercises, following advocacy from animal rights groups like PETA.
Myanmar was notably excluded from the war games this year, a decision widely linked to its military coup and human rights record, reflecting the political sensitivity of the exercises.
The exercises, which originated in 1956 and became 'Cobra Gold' in 1982, have evolved from a Cold War anti-communist focus to encompass peacekeeping, counterterrorism, disaster relief, and humanitarian assistance.

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.