Young betel nuts from Arakan State are fetching good prices thanks to high demand from China, Malaysia and Thailand, according to residents.

The Sittwe District Court on Wednesday sentenced five men from Kyaukseik village, Ponnagyun Township, and its vicinity to three years in prison with hard labour under Section 52(a) of the Counter-Terrorism Law.

Locals in Kyaikto Township, Mon State, are worried that fighting will intensify as the Myanmar military is sending reinforcements to the area.

Myanmar’s military regime, which plans to hold a general election next year, is conducting training on proportional representation (PR) electoral systems for members of the election subcommissions in Arakan State, according to U Thurein Htut, secretary of the Arakan State election subcommission.

The number of local farmers in Arakan State who have access to agricultural loans provided by the state-owned Myanmar Agricultural Development Bank has declined year after year since 2020, according to a bank official.

Three people including the political and social activist Ko Zaw Win aka Ludu Zaw Win, who were detained by the Myanmar military last month, were reportedly transferred to Kyauktaw Myoma police station on Tuesday afternoon. 

The Arakan Army (AA) says it will retaliate for the killing of six of its soldiers in airstrikes by the Myanmar military on its camp near the Myanmar-Thailand border on Monday.

Fifty-five border trade cargo vessel crew who returned from Bangladesh to the Arakan State capital Sittwe were screened for coronavirus on Monday morning, with three of them testing positive, according to the Arakan State Public Health Department.

Developing micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) is key to reducing brain drain and boosting the economy of Arakan State, entrepreneurs in the state say.

In its meeting with the ASEAN special envoy to Myanmar, the Arakan National Party (ANP) suggested that armed groups should not impose barriers on the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Myanmar people affected by conflict. 

Tens of thousands of locals displaced by fighting between the Karen National Union (KNU) and the Myanmar military in Bago Region’s Kyaukkyi and Mone townships are in urgent need of food and medicine, according to locals.

A local man from Ahtet Khacheemyaung village in Arakan State’s Minbya Township is receiving emergency medical treatment in hospital after losing his right leg stepping on a landmine on June 3.

A man from Myarlikan village in Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township was grievously wounded in a landmine blast on Monday and later died in hospital, becoming the township’s second landmine fatality in less than a week.

The Arakan Army (AA) confirmed in a statement that Myanmar military airstrikes on Monday killed and injured some of its soldiers, and caused massive damages to its camp on the Thai-Myanmar border.

Internally displaced people (IDPs) living in displacement camps in Arakan State are suffering from diarrhoea, skin diseases and seasonal influenza, and are in need of better medical care, according to IDPs.

Farmers in Arakan State displaced by past fighting between the Arakan Army (AA) and the Myanmar military say they have been unable to farm for up to three years, and are suffering numerous hardships.

The Arakan Front Party (AFP) has called on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) special envoy to Myanmar to mediate peace talks between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA).

Politicians have called for a prisoner swap to defuse rising military tensions between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA) in Arakan State. 

Heavy rain is expected over the next two days in various parts of Arakan State, according to an official from the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology (DMH).