Myanmar’s military coup and the pandemic led 220,000 garment workers to lose their jobs, 95% of whom are women, according to a statement from the Delegation of the European Union to Myanmar on July 8.

Overhead cables that run alongside a bridge spanning the Swun Ye River on the Pauktaw-Minbya road in Arakan State continue to sag dangerously low to the water, posing a danger to those who travel via the river.

Villagers in Ahmaw and Kanpein villages on Pantin Island, Taungup Township, say that nearly 80 acres of farmland belonging to local villagers have been damaged by seawater.

Signboards erected in the Arakan State capital Sittwe, instructing people to dispose of their garbage properly, were recently destroyed by vandals, according to an official from the Sittwe Development Affairs Committee.

A 9-year-old girl was allegedly raped by her sister’s husband in Chaung Thone Khwa village, Taungup Township, on July 8, according to a Taungup police official.

A Grade 8 student from Kazukaing village in Arakan State’s Ann Township was killed in a landmine explosion on Saturday, according to family members of the victim. 

Nearly 18 months since the February 2021 military coup, Myanmar’s ongoing political crisis arguably appears more intractable than ever. The regime has been unable to put an end to the robust armed resistance to its rule that has sprung up and grown since last year’s putsch, while at the same time the military junta shows no sign of relinquishing its hold on power. 

Tightened junta security checks on supply routes are severely disrupting and delaying the flow of goods into Arakan State, Arakanese merchants complain. 

The National League for Democracy (NLD) on Saturday rejected plans by Myanmar’s military regime to hold a redo general election next year. 

A man from Arakan State’s Mrauk-U Township, who was arrested on suspicion of having illegal ties to the Arakan Army, was sentenced to three years in prison under Section 52(a) of the Counter Terrorism Law by the Sittwe District Court on July 6, according to family members and his lawyer. 

The Myanmar military has reportedly filed lawsuits against 18 out of more than 30 people it has detained in a handful of Arakan State townships over recent weeks.

Emergency medical assistance is urgently needed for pregnant mothers and children in Bago Region’s Kyaukkyi and Mone townships, according to aid workers.

The writing of an Arakanese spelling book is about 90 percent complete, but funds are still needed to publish the book.

Three passenger vessels donated by Japan have temporarily suspended operations in Arakan State, according to sources close to the Department of Inland Water Transport.

A Kyauktaw resident detained by Myanmar’s military regime and charged under the Penal Code’s Section 505(b) for incitement has reportedly required hospitalisation due to high blood pressure. 

The Myanmar military has been tightening security checks on locals and travellers in some Arakan State townships since June, according to residents.

More than 500 people were forced to flee their homes due to heavy artillery fire as a military convoy passed through villages on the Dawei-Htee Khee road in Tanintharyi Region on July 6.

Two Muslim teenage boys from Paungtoke village in Arakan State’s Mrauk-U Township were injured in a landmine explosion on Friday afternoon. 

A corpse bound with rope was found washed ashore in the Pauktaw Township village of Thae Khone on Friday morning, according to residents.