The trial for a displaced man and a local resident in Kyauktaw, Arakan State, began on April 5, about five months after the duo were arrested by the military, according to a lawyer involved.

The Mrauk-U Cultural Heritage Conservation Association is excavating the original drainage channels at the Nandawyargon (palace mound) in Mrauk-U, the last royal capital of Arakanese kings.

The KNDF was formed in May 2021 following the military takeover in February of that year. Currently, KNDF and junta troops are engaged in heavy fighting on the border of Shan and Kayah (Karenni) states.

Myanmar’s military regime has verified more than 700 Muslim refugees for repatriation so far as part of a pilot project agreed with the Bangladeshi government, according to the April 4 issue of the junta-controlled newspaper Myanma Alinn.

During a meeting of the junta’s peace negotiating team and seven signatories to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) over the past few days, the two sides “mutually understood trust steps for peace,” according to one delegate who attended the talks.

Some 5,000 people displaced by junta airstrikes and shellings in Mae Ka Nae area, part of Kayin (Karen) State’s Myawaddy Township, are in need of relief items, according to local charities.

An official from Arakan State’s Department of Agriculture says that the use of pesticides and herbicides has been increasing in order to sell vegetables in the market.

Local residents in Mrauk-U, Arakan State, are facing water shortages as Latsay Lake, which is the main water supply to the urban areas of Mrauk-U, has already dried up, according to locals.

Untimely rains damaged some salt farms in Kyaukphyu, Pauktaw, Sittwe and Thandwe townships on Sunday and Monday.

The junta boss has made three trips to Arakan State so far this year, with local media outlets featuring news stories and analysis of those visits.

The Arakan Army (AA) has been able to control many parts of Arakan State during the ethnic armed group’s 14-year revolution, but is expanding the scope of its “liberated” areas, said the AA deputy chief, Dr. Nyo Twan Awng.

The Arakan State passport office on Monday resumed issuing “tokens” to new passport applicants, according to the branch.

A large number of domestic visitors are booking rooms for holiday trips during the upcoming Thingyan New Year festivities at hotels and guesthouses near the well-known Ngapali Beach in Thandwe Township, Arakan State.

Campaigns against the election proposed by Myanmar’s military regime have begun to unfold in Arakan State.

Artesian wells are being dug to supply Kandawgyi Lake in the Arakan State capital Sittwe, at the instruction of junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, to help address annual water shortages during the dry season, but sources say the wells are producing little water.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing said Saturday that the expansion and upgrading of Sittwe Airport and its runway in the Arakan State capital is a priority for his regime, according to the junta-controlled Myanmar Alinn daily newspaper.

Myanmar’s military junta and the Arakan Army (AA) are making preparations to organise celebrations for the Thingyan water festival in their respective areas of control.

Cashew nut growers in Arakan State say their profits are down due to a poor harvest this year, despite the fact that cashews are fetching good prices.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing has visited Arakan State three times this year, more than two years after he seized power in a coup on February 1, 2021.