Myanmar’s military regime has recently sent its troops to some parts of southern Arakan State, in what observers say appears to be an attempt to contain the growing influence of the Arakan Army (AA).

The Arakan State military council has made it mandatory for shopkeepers at markets across Arakan State to be vaccinated against Covid-19 to continue their businesses.

The Myanmar Rice Federation has said it will provide technical assistance and loans to rice millers and rice companies in Arakan State to generate electricity from their rice husks and to produce edible oil from its by-product, bran.

Legal Clinic Myanmar (LCM), an organisation working to promote and strengthen the rule of law, democracy and human rights in the country, opened a labour support centre in Sittwe’s Kyaung Tet Lan ward on March 18 to address labour issues in Arakan State.

The Sittwe Technological University Students’ Union issued a statement on March 17 officially declaring Arakanese as its official language.

Many people in Arakan State’s Manaung Township are reverting to nipa palm leaves to roof their houses, according to local nipa leaf sellers.

The eighth Tankhoe Saya Tun Literary Awards presentation will be held in the village of Tankhoe, the hometown of Saya Tun in Arakan State’s Ponnagyun Township, on April 9.

More than 100 local people displaced by fighting near the Mayan Chaung military checkpoint in Mon State’s Kyaikto Township earlier this week are in need of relief aid.

More than 600 internally displaced people (IDPs) at a camp in a Ponnagyun Township industrial zone have reportedly been facing food shortages for some two months.

The fate of eighteen villagers from Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township who were abducted by Myanmar military personnel two years ago is still unknown, according to family members.

Ko Sein Chit and Ko Ye Naing Oo from Arakan State’s Thandwe Township, who have been accused of ties to the anti-regime People’s Defence Force (PDF), will be examined at a court hearing next week as the plaintiff and prosecution witnesses in the case have already been questioned, according to the defendants’ lawyer.

The case against Ko Tin Tun Aung from Paletwa Township, Chin State, who was detained by the Myanmar military and is facing incitement charges, was examined for basis at a court hearing on March 17, according to family members.

More than 300 people who were forcibly removed from squatter homes in the Arakan State capital Sittwe earlier this week are struggling to adjust to their new realities, with many homeless, hungry and lacking legitimate prospects for a roof over their heads.

Fighting between the Myanmar military and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of the Karen National Union (KNU), has been ongoing along the Myawaddy-Kawkareik Asia Highway in Kayin State since Saturday morning.

Charities are among the latest to suffer from rising fuel prices in Myanmar, with many free funeral service and ambulance providers having to spend more on funerals from their funds, according to charities based in Arakan State.

Police have opened a case under immigration law against four Muslims detained at a checkpoint in Arakan State’s Ann Township on Friday.

Locals in Paletwa Township, Chin State, are facing difficulties as the prices of basic commodities such as fuel, cooking oil and rice are soaring due to restrictions on the transportation of goods.

A former chairman of the Letpadan Township Students’ Union in Thayawady Township, Bago Region, and an ex-reporter have reportedly been sentenced to 11 years in prison by the Thayawady Court on two political counts.

Arakan State’s Rural Development Department is planning to supply water to 11 townships in the state that face annual water shortages during the dry season.