Crowd-drawing events such as football matches, zat pwe theatrical performances, Dhamma talks and concerts continue to be held in Arakan State despite a recent rise in Covid-19 infections and health officials urging caution and adherence to virus preventive measures. 

A final appeal in the case of philanthropist Ko Aung Win Naing from Arakan State’s Taungup town, who has been charged on suspicion of having ties to the Arakan Army (AA), will be heard at the next court hearing, according to a lawyer involved. 

The Myanmar military this month has reportedly confiscated the properties of several celebrities and political activists who have supported anti-regime movements, according to local sources.

A special court in Yangon Region’s North Okkalapa Township on Tuesday sentenced two authors to prison on incitement charges, according to sources close to the court.

More than 5,000 residents of Tanintharyi Region have fled their homes in recent days due to clashes between the Myanmar military and joint opposition forces including local People Defence Forces (PDFs) and Karen National Union (KNU) Brigade 4 troops.

Internally displaced people (IDPs) in Arakan State townships such as Kyauktaw, Ponnagyun, Mrauk-U, and Rathedaung face difficulties with accommodation due to unseasonal rain because their houses’ roofs and walls are decaying, those IDPs told DMG.

The United League of Arakan (ULA) issued a statement on February 20 urging the public to adhere to Covid-19 preventative basics as the virus’s Omicron variant has been detected in several Arakan State townships over recent days.

An Arakanese woman living in Yangon’s Shwepyithar Township was fined K100,000 by the township court on Monday for allegedly casting more than one ballot in Myanmar’s 2020 general election.

Emergency assistance is needed to relocate a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) at a football field in Alepai ward of Kanhtautgyi town, in Arakan State’s Myebon Township, according to camp officials.

A Thandwe Township resident has been detained on charges under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code for allegedly assisting in the release of locals arrested during an anti-military protest in Thandwe in the third week of February 2021.

The Free Clinic Rakhine, which opened at the compound of Sit Kae Taw Min Monastery in Sittwe, the capital of Arakan State, needs more donors to be able to run it for a long term, officials of the clinic said.

Amid a recent uptick in the number of Covid-19 infections in Arakan State — and with 75% of a recent sampling of positive cases identified as the virus’s highly contagious Omicron variant — the public is once again being urged to abide by pandemic-related preventive measures.

Arakan State has a suitable climate for growing rubber, but local rubber ventures remain relatively low as businesspeople opt for quicker returns on their investments, according to U Khaing Myint, secretary of the Myanmar Rubber Planters and Producers Association (MRPPA).

Internally displaced people (IDPs) from Mobye town and surrounding villages in Pekon Township, southern Shan State, are in need of food and accommodation after artillery shells hit their homes during recent fighting between the Myanmar military and a joint force of anti-regime armed groups including the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF). 

Myolae Creek in Sittwe is full of rubbish and silt, with residents of the Arakan State capital calling for the waterway to be dredged and cleared of the detritus.  

The Myanmar military reportedly carried out live-fire drills using artillery weapons at two locations in Arakan State’s Rathedaung Township on February 19, with another two locations in Manaung Township slated to see similar exercises on February 22. 

The 2-year-old daughter of a local woman in southern Arakan State who was arrested on suspicion of financing the People’s Defence Force (PDF) and has been charged under the Counter-Terrorism Law died in Thandwe Prison on February 17. 

Heavy fighting between the Myanmar military and a joint force of anti-regime armed groups including the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force occurred at Mobye town, in southern Shan State’s Pekon Township, over three days beginning February 15.

Sixty-five Muslims destined for Malaysia were arrested near Aung Tine village in Sittwe Township, Arakan State, on Thursday evening, according to the state’s police force.