A landmark tour

Burmese democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, 67, enters a new chapter in her career with a landmark tour of Europe, travelling to Switzerland, Norway, Ireland, Britain and France in what has become a media frenzy over the Nobel Peace Prize laureate's highly anticipated first major visit since the end of the military junta.

Dramatic reforms in Myanmar have seen the return of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party into mainstream national politics.

However, sectarian violence in the western Myanmar state of Rakhine, where arson and rioting has led to civilian casualties, is putting a damper on the celebratory mood of her return.