State media: Death toll from Myanmar unrest hits 40

YANGON: The death toll from recent communal violence in central Myanmar has risen to 40 after eight more bodies were pulled from the wreckage of a riot-hit town, state media reported on Tuesday.

The clashes were a stark reminder of the challenge that Muslim-Buddhist tensions pose to Myanmar's government as it tries to reform the country after decades of iron-fisted military rule ended two years ago.