Bangladesh sent in troops to guard Buddhist neighborhoods on Monday after Muslim mobs carried out fresh attacks on temples and homes over a Facebook photo deemed offensive to Islam.

At least six temples were attacked in different neighborhoods of the resort region of Cox's Bazaar on late Sunday, with thousands of protestors smashing statues of Lord Buddha before riot police used force to repel the crowds.

Myanmar leader Thein Sein has said in an interview he would accept democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi as president if elected, but added he could not alone amend rules that bar her from power.

Former general Thein Sein has paid rare tributes to Myanmar's Nobel laureate during a landmark tour of the United States where he has burnished his reformist credentials by insisting his country will continue its strides towards democracy after decades of army rule.

Myanmar's President Thein Sein made an unprecedented tribute to opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi's "efforts for democracy" and vowed to resolve ethnic strife in a landmark U.N. speech.

Thein Sein, the first Myanmar leader to speak to the U.N. General Assembly, also told the annual gathering on Thursday that he wants to "completely end" a long-running war with ethnic rebels in Kachin state.

Myanmar's garment and agriculture industries could be set for a revival after a U.S. decision to ease an imports ban, but observers warn against hopes of a sudden export boom for the impoverished country.

After decades of military rule that laid waste to Myanmar's economy, leaving many jobless and infrastructure in ruins, a wave of reform under a new regime is raising the prospect of a brighter future as the nation opens to the world.

Lenders will pledge $1 billion for Myanmar when they huddle in Tokyo next month, a report said Thursday, as the one-time pariah nation is increasingly welcomed back into the world community.

The report came as the United States said it was lifting the last major sanctions on the country, which is rapidly opening up following years of isolation.

Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi has visited the United Nations and received a new award as she paid tribute to unknown fighters for democracy in her country.

"Tonight I must pay tribute to my colleagues whose names are unknown to the world," said Suu Kyi as she received the 2012 Global Citizen Award from the Atlantic Council, a think tank that promotes constructive U.S. leadership and engagement in international affairs.

The United States lifted sanctions on two of Myanmar's top leaders on Wednesday, as the Congress hailed Aung San Suu Kyi as a hero of democracy in a lavish ceremony unthinkable only months ago.

The move to end the sanctions on Myanmar President Thein Sein and parliamentary speaker Thura Shwe Mann came just hours after Suu Kyi had called for U.S. sanctions crippling her impoverished nation to be lifted.

Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi made a triumphant debut Tuesday in Washington as she met Hillary Clinton, who voiced excitement at the opposition leader's journey from house arrest to stateswoman.

A relaxed and smiling Suu Kyi, dressed in a red jacket with three small pink flowers pinned to her hair, chatted with America's top diplomat at her office in the State Department at the start of an unprecedented 18-day U.S. tour.

Democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi left Myanmar Sunday for a landmark trip to the United States, set to see her feted by the U.S. president and quizzed on the progress of reforms.

The Nobel laureate, who was elected to parliament this year, flew out of Yangon accompanied by new U.S. Ambassador to Myanmar Derek Mitchell, according to an AFP reporter at the scene.

Myanmar grew used to international criticism under a notoriously brutal junta, but reformist leaders tackling the fallout from deadly communal unrest are facing a new reality -- having to listen.

Festering animosity between Buddhists and Muslims in western Rakhine state erupted in June leaving, according to official figures, nearly 90 dead.