State schools look increasingly unlikely to reopen in the 2020-2021 academic year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than two years after a member of the Arakan State Parliament was sued over a critical Facebook post, the MP has decided to face the charge brought against him under Section 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law. 

Residents of northern Arakan State’s Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships have gone nearly a month without electricity, making daily life difficult and driving up the prices of alternative energy sources like charcoal.  

Civilian casualties of the conflict in Arakan State and their families have received financial support from the government, according to the state’s Security and Border Affairs minister, Col. Min Thant, who told lawmakers that logistical support was also offered to those in need of hospitalisation.  

The Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army (AA) first need a ceasefire to jumpstart the peace process in conflict-plagued Arakan State, according to the Arakan Liberation Party (ALP). 

The Myanmar military has opened cases under the Counter-Terrorism Law against six of eight Kyaukphyu District residents detained for allegedly attacking Navy vessels in Ramree Township earlier this month. 

The fisheries industry must systematically dispose of old fishing nets in order to protect Arakan State’s coral reefs, according to U Ant Maung, a marine species conservation officer from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). 

After being detained overnight by the military, an Ann Township resident is receiving treatment for injuries allegedly sustained while in custody, family members said.

Twenty-four people have died in Arakan State due to COVID-19, and more restrictions will be put in place to control the spread of the virus, said Dr. Soe Win Paing, assistant director of the Arakan State Public Health Department. 

The Arakan CSO Network (ACN) has urged the National League for Democracy government to throw its support behind a push to hold elections as soon as possible in the areas where no voting took place on November 8. 

The government is providing another round of K40,000 ($31) disbursements to more than 300,000 low-income families in Arakan State as part of its COVID-19 relief efforts, according to the state government.

The Arakan National Party (ANP) has been laying the groundwork to form a chapter of its Youth Wing in Arakan State’s Thandwe Township, according to the party, as it seeks to make electoral inroads in a stronghold of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD). 

More than 100 people from Zaichaung village in Arakan State’s Kyaukphyu Township were allowed to return to their homes on the morning of November 14 after being interrogated in military custody for over 10 days, according to the villagers.

One man was killed and three others were injured in separate bomb and landmine blasts in Arakan State’s Myebon and Ann townships on November 13, according to locals.  

The incoming Arakan State Parliament may be a weaker check and balance on the state government than its predecessors as fewer lawmakers will be seated due to election cancellations across much of the state this year, according to the leader of the Arakan National Party (ANP).

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS Myanmar) has sought the approval of the union government to establish additional marine conservation areas in Arakan State, according to the environmental organisation’s marine conservation manager, U Thaung Htut. 

Seven journalists’ groups have found fault with the Union Election Commission’s treatment of members of the media who covered the 2020 campaign and November 8 general election, accusing commission staff of intimidation and unnecessarily hindering reporters on the job.  

Internally displaced people (IDPs) in Rathedaung Township, which hosts Arakan State’s highest IDP population, say they are worried about the risk of contracting COVID-19 as infections of the deadly virus have risen by 69 in just five days.

Fresh off elections that look set to deliver a second term for the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) government, the party has reached out to 48 of Myanmar’s ethnic political parties, inviting cooperation to achieve what it says are shared goals, including the establishment of a federal union.