Updated

A dozen new foreign ambassadors are scheduled to present their credentials to President Barack Obama at the White House on Monday.

The list includes the ambassador for the world's newest nation, South Sudan. South Sudan declared independence last year after decades of civil war with the mainly Arab north. Relations between the two nations remain strained by a territorial dispute over the oil-rich border region.

Also on the list is Myanmar's ambassador. The Obama administration loosened sanctions against Myanmar earlier this month as a reward for a series of reforms that saw democracy advocate and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi (ahng sahn soo chee) released from years of house arrest and elected to parliament.

In the afternoon, Obama heads to New York City for a campaign event.