Burmese democracy veteran freed in "loving kindness" gesture...

One of Burma's most prominent political detainees, Win Tin, has been freed after 19 years in detention. 

He was reportedly one of 9,000 prisoners amnestied by the Burmese military in a gesture of what state media describe as "loving kindness". 

"I will keep fighting until the emergence of democracy in this country," he said after his release. 

Now 79 years old, Win Tin was among the founders of the National League for Democracy led by Aung San Suu Kyi. 

The NLD party won elections in 1989, but was prevented from taking power by Burma's generals.

Win Tin was Burma's longest-serving political prisoner, according to the UN and human rights groups which had repeatedly called for his release. 

A poet, editor and close aide to Ms Suu Kyi, he was originally arrested in July 1989. More...

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