Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters

Firemen attempt to extinguish fires during riots in Meikhtila, Myanmar, on March 22, 2013. Unrest between Buddhists and Muslims in central Myanmar has reduced neighborhoods to ashes and stoked fears that last year's sectarian bloodshed is spreading into the country's heartland in a test of Asia's newest democracy.

Nyein Chan Naing / EPA

A riot policeman stands guard next to a burning building in Meikhtila on March 22, 2013. A curfew was imposed for the second night as riots between Buddhists and Muslims continued.

By The Associated Press

MEIKHTILA, Myanmar — Myanmar President Thein Sein has declared a state of emergency in a central town where at least 20 people have been killed in violence between Buddhists and Muslims.

Burning fires from two days of Buddhist-Muslim violence smoldered across Meikhtila on Friday as residents cowered indoors amid growing fears the country's latest bout of sectarian bloodshed could spread.

The government's struggle to contain the unrest is proving another major challenge to Thein Sein's reformist administration as it attempts to chart a path to democracy after nearly half a century of military rule that once crushed all dissent. Read the full story.

Nyein Chan Naing / EPA

People carry their belongings as they arrive at a temporary rescue center in Meikhtila on March 22, 2013.

Soe Than Win / AFP - Getty Images

Residents sit on a railway track watching buildings burn around a mosque in riot-hit Meikhtila on March 21, 2013.

Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters

Burnt houses are seen in Meikhtila on March 21, 2013.

AP

In this early Nov. 29, 2012 photo provided by a monk, flames are seen at the gate of Chinese mining partner Wan Bao where protesters occupying a copper mine camped before a police crackdown in Monywa, northwestern Myanmar.

Nyein Chan Naing / EPA

An injured monk is carried into the Monywa hospital after being injured during a demonstration outside the Latpadantaung copper mine on Nov. 29, 2012.

The Associated Press reports from Monywa, Myanmar — Security forces used water cannons and other riot gear Thursday to clear protesters from a copper mine in in northwestern Myanmar, wounding villagers and Buddhist monks just hours before opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi arrived in the area to hear their grievances.

The crackdown at the Letpadaung mine near the town of Monywa risks becoming a public relations and political fiasco for the reformist government of President Thein Sein, which has been touting its transition to democracy after almost five decades of repressive military rule.

Full news coverage of Myanmar on NBCNews.com

According to a nurse at a Monywa hospital, 27 monks and one other person were admitted with burns caused by some sort of projectile that released sparks or embers. Read the full story.

Gemunu Amarasinghe / AP

A novice monk who suffered burn injuries points to his wounds as he gets treatment at a hospital in Monywa on Nov. 29, 2012.

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Barbara Walton / EPA

U.S. President Barack Obama and Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi step out onto the balcony of her house to deliver a statement in Yangon, Myanmar, on November 19, 2012.

Jason Reed / Reuters

President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tour the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, Nov. 19. Obama became the first serving U.S. president to visit Myanmar, trying during a whirlwind six-hour trip to strike a balance between praising the government's progress in shaking off military rule and pressing for more reform.

Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters

Barack Obama and Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi

"I don't think anybody is under the illusion that Burma's arrived, that they're where they need to be," Obama told a news conference as he began a three-country Asian tour, his first trip abroad since winning a second term.

"On the other hand, if we waited to engage until they had achieved a perfect democracy, my suspicion is we'd be waiting an awful long time," he said.

-- Reuters

Read the full story: Praise and pressure as Obama makes historic Myanmar trip

Jason Reed / Reuters

Crowds wave U.S. flags as they line a street outside the home of Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi as Barack Obama arrives to meet her in Yangon, Nov. 19.

(Updated Nov. 14)

GRAPHIC WARNING: This post contains graphic images which some viewers may find disturbing. 

Minzayar / Reuters

Minzayar / Reuters

The puppy with its mother a day earlier on Nov. 5.

A puppy stays by the remains of a dog who local residents say is its mother on Nov. 6 (above), days after it was killed in an area burned in violence at East Pikesake ward in Kyaukphyu, Myanmar. The exact circumstances of the dog's death are unknown.

Update (Nov. 14): Many readers wondered about the fate of the puppy. We contacted Reuters and they informed us that after the pictures were taken the puppy was taken to a nearby monastery. The photographer, who uses the byline Minzayar, also responded in our comments section: 

When I was walking around the burnt areas in that villages, I saw this scene which broke my heart. Before taking pics, I asked the local people around who would adopt the puppy. No one couldn't because they are all in difficulty themselves suffered from the communal violence. Then, I dropped all my cameras, just sitting and watching the little puppy with the deepest sympathy and sorrows, cries inside me. Then I took the pictures. I rubbed its head... He licked my hands.. Then after a few minutes, took the pictures again.. When my time comes that I must leave, I was about to take the puppy back to the hotel but then, there was one very kind local man who has been watching me and the puppy. He said he also wants to adopt it but cannot because he is poor. Then finally, we decided to send the puppy back to the Buddhist monastery in the village. In Myanmar, monasteries are believed to be the most peaceful place than everything. I believe I did what I could do best in my given situations.
I will surely pay a visit to the puppy again sometime in the future.

To add, me and the local man picked up the puppy together..

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Nyein Chan Naing / EPA

A Buddhist monk and others search through rubble near a Buddha statue in an earthquake-damaged monastery in KhuLe village, SintKu township, Mandalay Division, Myanmar on Nov. 12, 2012.

Nyein Chan Naing / EPA

The collapsed Yadanatheinkha bridge, which had been under construction in Kyauk Myaung, Sagaing Division, before an earthquake struck on Nov. 11, 2012.

The Associated Press reports from Yangon, Myanmar — A strong earthquake collapsed a bridge and damaged ancient Buddhist pagodas in northern Myanmar, and piecemeal reports from the underdeveloped mining region said mines collapsed and as many as 12 people were feared dead.

Myanmar's Vice President Sai Mauk Hkam visited the damaged sites Monday, while authorities resumed their search for four missing workers near the collapsed bridge over the Irrawaddy River in Kyaukmyaung.

Strong earthquake strikes central Myanmar

A slow release of official information left the actual extent of the damage unclear after Sunday morning's magnitude-6.8 quake. Read the full story.

Soe Than Win / AFP - Getty Images

An injured woman sits in a chair outside Kyauk Myaung hospital, east of Shwebo on November 11, 2012. The shallow 6.8-magnitude quake struck in a rural area 72 miles north of Mandalay followed by a series of aftershocks, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.

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Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters

A Muslim woman collects water outside her village, which was partially burnt in recent violence, in Mrauk Oo, Myanmar, Oct. 29, 2012.

Associated Press reports — Survivors of ethnic clashes in western Myanmar lashed out at the government Monday for failing to prevent violence between Muslims and Buddhists that has displaced more than 28,000 people over the last week.

The crisis, which first began in June, has raised international concern and posed one of the biggest challenges yet to Myanmar’s reformist President Thein Sein, who inherited power from a xenophobic military junta last year.

Getty Images

A Muslim woman collects pieces of metal from the rubble of a Muslim quarter of Pa Rein village that was burned in recent violence between Buddhist Rakhines and Muslim Rohingyas in Myauk Oo, Myanmar, Oct. 29.

Getty Images

A Muslim woman holds her child in a Muslim quarter of Pa Rein village, Myauk Oo, Myanmar, Oct. 29.

Related Articles:

• Myanmar revises down death toll in sectarian violence
• Muslim survivors of Myanmar’s sectarian violence relive ordeals
• Muslim Rohingyas under “vicious” attack in Myanmar: rights group

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Reuters

Employees get freshly printed copies of the New Light of Myanmar at the newspaper's office in Naypyitaw, Sept. 19, 2012. Established in 1993, the state-run New Light of Myanmar is the country's only English-language daily newspaper. It will soon face competition from private publishers and is undergoing a redesign.

Reuters

Editor-in-chief Than Myint Tun holds up a dummy of the New Light of Myanmar in Naypyitaw, Sept. 19.

Reuters reports — The New Light of Myanmar has an image problem. That's putting it mildly.

Created in 1993 as the mouthpiece of a military junta, the newspaper once described democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi as "obsessed by lust and superstition," while praising the achievements of generals who kept Myanmar in poverty and fear. Its nickname was "The New Lies of Myanmar."

Now, with the junta gone and a reformist government in power, the mouthpiece is getting a makeover.

"Feel free to ask me any question! We are very transparent now!" cries Than Myint Tun, its affable, betel-nut-chewing editor-in-chief during a Reuters tour of the state-run newspaper, the first by the international media.

The New Light is the country's only English-language daily -- but not for long. Among its reforms since taking power last year, Myanmar's quasi-civilian government has effectively scrapped censorship, boosting an already vibrant weekly newspaper scene. It will allow the publication of privately owned dailies in early 2013.

With competition looming, the long-derided New Light is battling for relevance and readers.

Hate-filled propaganda has been replaced by lively editorials and entertainment news. Cartoons that once showed Suu Kyi as a toothless crone now comment on hot issues such as political transparency and the popularity of Western dress. Full story…

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was made available to NBC News on Oct. 17, 2012.

Reuters

Employees manually insert advertising supplements into freshly printed copies of the New Light of Myanmar at the newspaper's office in Naypyitaw, Sept. 18.

Reuters

Employees manually insert advertising supplements into freshly printed copies of New Light of Myanmar at the newspaper's office in Naypyitaw, Sept, 18.

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Damir Sagolj / Reuters

Vehicles pass the intersection in front of the Sule Pagoda in central Yangon, Myanmar, Sept. 24, 2012. Yangon is a town of taxis, small privately owned buses and other improvised vehicles providing alternative to the choking public transport.

Reuters reports — For more than a century, owners of ox-drawn carts, World War Two-era trucks and decrepit buses have descended on a shrine under a banyan tree in Myanmar's biggest city to bless one of the world's oldest vehicle fleets, dominated by wheezing Japanese rust-buckets from the 1980s or older. Today, as the country emerges from 49 years of isolation, the Shwe Nyaung Pin Nat Shrine has new visitors - freshly minted cars.

As Myanmar opens up, the most immediate physical changes are on its streets, as new cars begin plying roads long dominated by rattletrap buses and rusting taxies. Barely changed since the British colonial era in the early 20th century, some of the decades-old buses and trains are starting to be retired. Read the full story.

Damir Sagolj / Reuters

A potential customer breastfeeds her baby at a newly imported car dealership in central Yangon, Sept. 23. Saloons with newly imported vehicles recently mushroomed across the country offering everything from Indian micro cars to expensive Rolls Royce models. It is now much easier and cheaper to import cars as the incredibly complicated and expensive procedure has been replaced with something more affordable.

Damir Sagolj / Reuters

Passengers traveling on a government-owned ferry get ready to disembark at the Dallah township of Yangon, Sept. 18. Dallah Township, a short ferry ride cross the river, is the place where the big city touches the province. Thousands of daily migrants cross the river to Dallah using dangerous long tail boats and cheap government operated ferries.

Damir Sagolj / Reuters

A driver rests in a hammock under his truck parked in central Yangon, Sept. 19.

Damir Sagolj / Reuters

Drivers of different vehicles wait for passengers to arrive by ferry from Yangon to Dallah Township, Sept. 18. Thousands of daily migrants cross the river to Dallah using dangerous long tail boats and cheap government operated ferries. As soon as a ferry unloads passengers, hundreds of rickshaws, motorcycles, pick-up trucks and small busses start their loud performance to get people on-board. They don't leave on schedule and are often overcrowded.

Damir Sagolj / Reuters

Schoolgirls read a letter as they sit among other passengers travelling on a government-owned ferry to Dallah Township, Sept. 18. Thousands of daily migrants cross the river to Dallah using dangerous long tail boats and cheap government operated ferries.

Damir Sagolj / Reuters

Passengers wait for a Bayboo bus to leave the station in North Dagon Township, Sept. 18. On line 61, several Bayboo, meaning 'big belly' in Burmese, buses take passengers from North Dagon Township to the city. Possibly the oldest operating bus in the world, "Bayboo" is an improvised local legend that has maneuvered dirty roads for over 70 years. The original vehicle, whose only charm is its spectacular ugliness, was a World War II military Chevrolet C15.

Damir Sagolj / Reuters

Passengers wait for a bus to leave a station in front of a shopping mall in central Yangon, Sept. 23.

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Nyein Chan Naing / EPA

Aung San Suu Kyi, center, attends the Pyithu Hluttaw (lower house of parliament) in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, on July 9, 2012.

Agence France Presse reports — Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi made her historic parliamentary debut Monday, marking a new phase in her near quarter century struggle to bring democracy to her army-dominated homeland.

Suu Kyi appeared calm as she arrived to take her seat as an elected politician for the first time in the capital Naypyidaw.

"I will try my best for the country," she told AFP. Read the full story.

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• See more images of Aung San Suu Kyi on PhotoBlog

 

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Andrew Biraj / Reuters

Rohingyas from Myanmar sit on a jetty by the river Naf after being arrested by Border Guards of Bangladesh in Teknaf on June 18.

Munir Uz Zaman / AFP - Getty Images

Boats carrying Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar, trying to cross the Naf river into Bangladesh to escape sectarian violence, are intercepted by Bangladeshi Coast Guard officials in Teknaf on June 18.

Muslim Rohingyas continue to flee across the Naf river in boats to Bangladesh attempting to escape sectarian violence in Myanmar's Rakhine region only to be turned away by Bangladeshi border guards.

Reuters reports, the violence, which displaced 30,000 people and killed 50 in Myanmar, also known as Burma, flared last month with a rampage of rock-hurling, arson and machete attacks, after the gang rape and murder of a Buddhist woman that was blamed on Muslims. 

Bangladesh is coming under increasing international pressure to open its border to Rohingya, but has so far refused to do so. 

• See more PhotoBlog posts from Myanmar

Munir Uz Zaman / AFP - Getty Images

A Rohingya Muslim from Myanmar, who tried to cross the Naf river into Bangladesh to escape sectarian violence, looks on while kept under watch by Bangladeshi security officials after disembarking from an intercepted boat in Teknaf on June 18.

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