Despite the arrival of the 2021-22 tourism season, visitor numbers to Arakan State remain stubbornly low, according to the state’s Directorate of Hotels and Tourism (DoHT). 

Almost 10 months since the military seized power in a February 1 coup, bank users and businesses in Arakan State continue to struggle with limited or nonexistent cash withdrawals and other banking services, as is the case in much of Myanmar. 

The Sittwe District Court on Monday rejected the appeal of former Arakan State Chief Minister U Nyi Pu, who was sentenced last month to two years’ imprisonment with hard labour, according to U Aung Myat Kyaw, a lawyer from the Thazin Legal Institute involved in the case. 

Ko Sein Chit and Ko Ye Naing Oo, who were arrested last month on suspicion of having links to the anti-regime People’s Defence Force (PDF) and charged under Section 52(a) of the Counter-Terrorism Law, appeared before a court in Thandwe Township, Arakan State, on Monday. 

A lawsuit has been opened against a female high school teacher, who is said to have been part of the anti-coup Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) in Taungup, under Section 50(j) of the Counter-Terrorism Law, according to a police officer in Arakan State. 

The number of travellers along the Lemro River in Mrauk-U Township, Arakan State, is on the rise, according to the Isana travel agency, which sees the area as having growing tourism potential.

Several Tabebuia trees planted by the Myebon Youth Association along the entrance road to Myebon town were destroyed for a second time, Ko Si Thu Win, the association’s external relations officer, told DMG. 

A female high school teacher who is said to have been part of the anti-coup Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) in Taungup, Arakan State, since its earliest days was arrested on November 20, according to witnesses. 

More than 200 houses from Pharpyo village, Minbya Township, and Lekka village, Mrauk-U Township, that were destroyed by fire during armed conflict in the region have been rebuilt, but the affected villagers say they have yet to receive full financial aid from the regime council. 

Reporters from the Arakan State-based Western News went into hiding over the weekend after junta forces attempted to find the location of its office in Sittwe on Friday night, according to sources from the local news outlet.

The case of more than 20 Lekka villagers in Mrauk-U Township, who have been detained for more than two years, has been delayed again even as they appeared in court on November 19. 

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is considering increasing funding for internally displaced people (IDPs) as basic food prices rise in Arakan State, Resident Representative of the UN agency in Myanmar Marcus Prior told DMG.

Manaung Public Company has submitted a proposal to the government to extend the runway at Manaung Airport in Arakan State. 

South Korea-based Posco International has reportedly begun work on Phase II of the Shwe gas field project A-1 off the Arakan coast. 

Arrangements will be made to help displaced Tinma villagers in Kyauktaw Township, Arakan State, who have repeatedly sought their own return, but only once their security is guaranteed, said U Hla Thein, a spokesman and attorney-general for the Arakan State Administration Council. 

The Japanese philanthropy Nippon Foundation will provide US$8.5 million for malnourished internally displaced people (IDPs) in Arakan State, according to Yohei Sasakawa, Japan’s Special Envoy for National Reconciliation in Myanmar, who visited Arakan State on Monday. 

The Arakan Army (AA) on Monday released 15 prisoners of war, who were captured during the ethnic armed group’s 2018-20 conflict with the military, on humanitarian grounds, according to AA spokesman U Khaing Thukha. 

Weak preservation of timber seized from illegal logging in Arakan State has resulted in about 30% of the wood decaying before it could be sold at auction, said Dr. Maung Maung Kyi, chairperson of the Rakhine Coastal Region Conservation Association (RCA).

The chairman of Nippon Foundation and Japan’s special envoy for national reconciliation in Myanmar, Yohei Sasakawa, said he told the Arakan Army to maintain a situation of no armed conflict in Arakan State during an online meeting with the ethnic armed group.