Arrangements are being made to drop the cases of 36 people charged under the Counter-Terrorism Law in Arakan State, according to U Hla Thein, information officer and attorney-general for the Arakan State Administration Council. 

Internally displaced people (IDPs) in Paletwa, Chin State, report that efforts are underway to get them to go back home, sometimes through subsidies in what they say amounts to return arrangements that are semi-voluntary at best.

The Arakan State-based Arakan Front Party (AFP) will attend a meeting being organised by the junta-appointed Union Election Commission (UEC) to discuss electoral system reform, including a potential switch to proportional representation (PR). 

A total of 98 major criminal cases were reported in Arakan State through the first nine months of 2021, figures from the state’s Myanmar Police Force (MPF) showed, on pace for a significant reduction compared with last year’s 180 cases.

Women’s civil society organisations have called for effective action against rapists, and dozens of female protesters in one Arakan State town took to the streets on Saturday demanding the closure of local pubs, saying excessive drinking among the men there was contributing to crimes including violence against women.

Some villages no more than 10 miles from the Arakan State capital Sittwe have experienced delays gaining access to the electricity supply, villagers said.  

Family members are worried about the health condition of U Than Naing, a resident of Sar Pyin village in Arakan State’s Taungup Township, who has been facing trial on Counter-Terrorism Law charges for more than a year. 

A young writer from Pan Maw village in Arakan State’s Mrauk-U Township, who has been charged under the Counter-Terrorism Law, appeared before the Mrauk-U Township Court for a second time on October 29. 

There have been only 12 cases of motorbike theft filed at police stations in Arakan State this year despite anecdotal evidence of frequent motorbike thefts statewide, according to the Myanmar Police Force in the state. 

Schools that have been closed since July 9 due to the Covid-19 pandemic will reopen on November 1, Myanmar’s military regime has announced. 

Residents are urging local authorities to intervene to halt the construction of a filling station and oil storage tank in Kaing Shay ward, a residential area in Taungup, Arakan State. 

Zat pwe troupes in Arakan State, which had suspended their performances and other entertainment offerings due to some two years of fighting between the Tatmadaw and Arakan Army, are beginning to return to the state’s cultural milieu, according to troupe owners. 

The Covid-19 pandemic has reduced passport applications at the passport issuance branch office in the Arakan State capital Sittwe by about half so far this year.

The number of patients visiting clinics in the Arakan State capital Sittwe has risen this month, with healthcare personnel citing the seasonal flu as Covid-19 infections in the state continue to decline.

A court in Mrauk-U is set to rule in a terrorism case against more than 20 Lekka villagers at their next court hearing, according to a local law firm involved in the case. 

Arakan State’s preeminent beach destination, Ngapali in Thandwe Township, saw a marked uptick in visitors this month after a quiet September blamed on the Covid-19 pandemic and a tourism industry that, much like the rest of Myanmar’s economy, has reeled since the February 1 coup.

A committee has been formed to assess the future reopening of Nandawun Park in Sittwe Township, a spokesperson for the Arakan State regime council told DMG. 

Despite the price of gold falling from record highs this week, the number of buyers remains low, according to industry insiders. 

The junta-appointed Union Election Commission (UEC) has ordered the prosecution of voters who allegedly cast ballots more than once in Myanmar’s general election on November 8, 2020.