With the price of fuel skyrocketing globally and domestically, Myanmar’s tourism, travel and logistics industries are contending with related difficulties at a time of already existing, enduring struggles in the wake of last year’s military coup and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

At least 22 people from Arakan State died in military custody after being detained for alleged ties to the Arakan Army (AA) while the ethnic armed group was fighting against the military from 2018-2020. In 2019, the Myanmar military said that it had formed a tribunal to probe those deaths, but some three years later, there are still no results from the investigation.

Five men from Kyaukseik village and its vicinity in Arakan State’s Ponnagyun Township, who have been accused of having illegal ties to the Arakan Army (AA), appeared before the Sittwe District Court on Thursday, according to a lawyer involved. 

At least 75 civilians were killed and some 180 houses were destroyed by Myanmar junta air and artillery strikes during the first two months of this year in Kayah (Karenni) State, according to the Progressive Karenni People’s Force (PKPF).

The case of two men from Arakan State’s Thandwe Township who have been accused of ties to the anti-regime People’s Defence Force (PDF) will be examined for basis at their next court hearing, according to their lawyer.

Myanmar’s military regime on Thursday charged detained former Arakan State Chief Minister U Nyi Pu and his subordinate municipal minister, U Min Aung, under the Penal Code for alleged violations of election law, according to their lawyers.

Myanmar’s military regime on Wednesday released some detained celebrities after they reportedly signed legal documents pledging that they would not participate in any anti-regime activities in the future, a source close to Yangon’s Insein Prison told DMG.

More than 540 tonnes of illegal timber were seized in Arakan State in February, according to figures from the state’s Forest Department.

Nanthar Island, located between Sittwe and Rathedaung townships in Arakan State, has been designated as a marine national park, according to the Rakhine Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Association (RBANCA).

An ongoing curfew order under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, previously imposed in Ann Township, Arakan State, has been extended for another two months from March 2, according to the township administrator’s office.

In response to a steady rise in coronavirus infections in Arakan State, action will be taken against those who violate Covid-19 regulations, U Oo Hla Thein, spokesman for the military regime’s Arakan State governing body, told DMG.

Chickens are dying of an unknown illness in several villages of Arakan State’s Manaung Township, according to locals.

Four people died and 10 others were injured when a vehicle plunged off the road and into a ravine near the village of Kan Myint Kan in Arakan State’s Ann Township on Tuesday morning, according to the village administrator.

Myanmar’s military regime on Monday extended its unilateral ceasefire through the end of the year, with the declaration roundly criticised as being worth little more than the letterhead it is printed on. 

Ko Htet Aung, former chairman of the Pyay University Students’ Union, was sentenced to four years in prison under the Counter-Terrorism Law on March 1.

Artillery shells fired by the Myanmar military hit multiple Karenni camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) on Sunday morning, doing damage in some of the camps and forcing many of the IDPs to flee once again. 

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), was heard at a court hearing on Monday, according to one lawyer involved. 

A slump in gold sales has goldsmiths facing business difficulties, with purveyors blaming a spike in gold prices after Myanmar’s military coup, which was accompanied by a decline in buyers of the precious metal. 

All nine prosecution witnesses in the case of the Taungup Youth Network’s chair, Ko Min Ko Oo, have been examined and the next court hearing will see arguments on whether he should be officially charged or not, said lawyer Daw Theingi Maung.