Local passengers worry about their safety given that the main waterway from Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township to Paletwa Township in Chin State will only be navigable after seeking permission from security checkpoints set up by the Tatmadaw. 

Authorities in Arakan State’s Manaung Township began checking overnight visitors from March 8, in accordance with a legal provision that was reinstated by the military-run State Administration Council. 

Five residents of Myebon Township, Arakan State, who were charged under Section 50(j) of the Counter-Terrorism Law have been acquitted by the Kyaukphyu District Court, according to their lawyer. 

Myanmar’s military governing body, the State Administration Council (SAC), removed the United League of Arakan/Arakan Army (ULA/AA) from its list of terrorist groups on Thursday, but the SAC has not yet revoked the ethnic armed organisation’s status as an unlawful association. 

Some brick pillars at the Maha Myatmuni Buddha Image in Kyauktaw Township, revered as a treasure of Arakanese history, are not strong enough to withstand natural disasters and require donations to structurally fortify and renovate damaged bits, according to its board of trustees.

The Independent Journalists’ Force (IJF), describing itself as a recently formed network of more than 300 individual journalists, has rejected a recent junta announcement revoking the publishing licences of five prominent Yangon-based media outlets.

The Arakan National Party (ANP) Central Executive Committee is holding a two-day closed-door meeting from March 10-11.

Myanmar’s military and the Arakan Army (AA) are negotiating to clear landmines in the mountains and forests where the two sides clashed in the past, according to Colonel Min Than, a member of the military-run Arakan State Administration Council.  

Preparations are underway to resume Sittwe border trade, which has been suspended since June of last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to U Tin Aung Oo, chair of the Arakan State Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

The funeral for Venerable Dwaravati Ashin Kusala, a prominent Arakanese historian and writer who had lived in Aung Myay Thar Si Pariyatti Monastery in Thandwe, Arakan State, will begin on April 3, officials said.

The Myanmar military (Tatmadaw) has reportedly begun clearing landmines in Arakan State, with those activities starting last month. 

Three members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in Arakan State’s Taungup Township including former state lawmaker U Min Aung were charged with participating in a protest against military dictatorship last month. 

Internally displaced people (IDPs) at Zeditaung camp in Buthidaung Township, Arakan State, say they are facing livelihood struggles as long-term camp residents, but remain fearful of what might await them if they were to return home.

A resident of Sanyin village in Arakan State’s Myebon Township was severely injured when an explosive remnant of war (ERW) detonated near the village on Monday afternoon, family members said.  

With the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) releasing its “political visions” for Myanmar late last week, ethnic stakeholders in Arakan State have reacted with a mix of cautious approval and calls for greater transparency.  

Four Thandwe Township residents who were arrested and charged under the Peaceful Assembly Law and Natural Disaster Management Law last month for participating in a protest against the military coup are expected to make an initial court appearance on Monday. 

The Central Bank of Myanmar says banks will reopen on March 8 and that necessary security measures will be put in place to ensure that they are able to do so.

One local salt producer in the Arakan State town of Kyaukphyu has set sights on exporting its product and increasing its market share at home, thanks in part to funding for equipment upgrades from the Danish government’s Responsible Business Fund.

As anti-junta protesters stand trial for their activism in ever-increasing numbers, legal fees are piling up for the defendants and their families.