Myanmar Junta Pardons Thousands Amid Sham Elections

Hundreds of prisoners left Insein prison after Min Aung Hlaing pardoned 6,134 nationals and 52 foreigners to mark the 78th anniversary of independence from the UK.The mass release occurred just a week after the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party claimed 90 percent of seats in the first phase of elections condemned by the UN.Since the 2021 coup, the country has remained in a brutal civil war that has caused acute hunger for 12 million people and kept Aung San Suu Kyi in custody.