
Myanmar freed some of its most famous political inmates Friday, sparking jubilation outside prison gates while signaling its readiness to meet Western demands for lifting economic sanctions.

Myanmar opened its first parliament in more than two decades Monday, an event greeted with cautious optimism by opposition lawmakers despite the military's tight management of the event.

Subdued religious ceremonies by activists and pro-democracy politicians marked the anniversary Sunday of the 1988 uprising that was brutally crushed by Myanmar's military.