Myanmar to release thousands of prisoners

The highly secretive and authoritarian nation of Myanmar announced on state-controlled television that it would grant amnesty to 6,300 prisoners. The announcement, which did not specify whether prisoners of conscience would be included in the general amnesty, came only a day after a State Department official indicated that Washington would be open to improving relations with Myanmar’s new military-backed government that came to power in March. The prisoner releases could begin as soon as Wednesday. Viv Marsh, Asia-Pacific editor for the BBC, reports on the latest details of the story.