BBC News with Iain Purdon

The French finance minister says the country has lost its AAA credit rating. Francois Baroin said that Standard & Poor's had lowered the rating to AA+, but he said that France would not allow the agencies to

dictate

its policies. From Paris, Hugh Schofield.

This news does not come as a surprise for France - there had been warnings for weeks that the downgrade was coming - but it's still a big

blow

. Economically, it means that the cost of borrowing to cover the country's huge debt will probably become more expensive. Politically, it's very bad news for President Sarkozy, who

set such store on

keeping the AAA. And for the eurozone, it's also a setback. Combined with bad news from Greece about the debt talks going on there, it shows that the euro crisis is well and truly back on the agenda.

The United States has described the release of political prisoners in Burma as a substantial step towards democratic reform. President Obama said the granting of

amnesty

to some 600 prisoners, including leading

dissidents

, was crucial for Burma's national reconciliation. The Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the US would now strengthen ties.

"We will start the process of exchanging ambassadors with Burma. We will identify a candidate to serve as US ambassador to represent the United States government and our broader efforts to strengthen and deepen our ties with both the people and the government. This is a lengthy process, and it will of course depend on continuing progress and reform."