Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi called for unity in her country on Sunday, as she addressed crowds on her first political trip outside her home city since her release from house arrest.

Suu Kyi, who was released from seven straight years of detention days after an election last November, has defied a government security warning with a visit to the Bago region, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Yangon.

Religious-linked violence and abuse rose around the world between 2006 and 2009, with Christians and Muslims the most common targets, according to a private U.S. study released Tuesday.

"Over the three-year period studied, incidents of either government or social harassment were reported against Christians in 130 countries (66 percent) and against Muslims in 117 countries (59 percent)," said the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion and Public Life study.

The U.S. Navy intercepted a North Korean ship suspected of carrying missiles or other weapons to Myanmar and made it turn back, a senior U.S. official said Monday.

The comments by Gary Samore, special assistant to President Barack Obama on weapons of mass destruction, confirmed reports of the incident, which happened last month, in The New York Times and South Korean media.

Ma Htwe recalled the day of agony she suffered, more than five decades ago, when her face was etched with the intricate tattoo that still lines her papery skin like a spider's web.

"When they tattooed my eyelids I thought that they would disappear," she said, chewing pensively on betel nut. "I wanted to run away."

A magnitude-7.0 earthquake struck eastern Myanmar Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

The epicenter, in the hills of Myanmar close to the borders with Thailand and Laos, was only 10 kilometers deep.