More than 30 civil society organisations issued a statement on August 15 calling on the government to enable full internet access in seven Arakan State townships and Paletwa Township, Chin State.

Two Muslim candidates who registered to run for Pyithu Hluttaw seats in Arakan State have been denied the chance to contest the 2020 general election due to their parents’ citizenship status, according to the two men and local election arbiters.

From February through July of this year, Arakan State saw 359 cases of dengue fever reported, with one death from the mosquito-borne illness, according to the Arakan State Department of Public Health.

Four hotels and guesthouses at Ngapali Beach in Arakan State’s Thandwe Township have been allowed to reopen after they were closed due to COVID-19, but hoteliers say occupancy rates are down as the pandemic continues to weigh on economies globally.

Three people including a Grade 7 student from Seiktaya village in Arakan State’s Minbya Township were wounded by an artillery shell believed to have been launched by the military on August 15, according to residents.

Three residents of Kat Thabyay village in Arakan State’s Kyaukphyu Township were taken from their homes and arrested by military personnel on August 14, according to family members.

The number of voters with disabilities in Arakan State for the 2020 general election stands at about 30,600, according to figures provided by the Arakan State election subcommission.

The number of applicants in Arakan State for a second round of low-interest government loans to businesses affected by COVID-19 has risen nearly sixfold compared with the first batch of applicants, according to the Arakan State Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

The conflict in northern Arakan State has delayed the delivery of medicines as fighting has sometimes played out along transport routes, according to pharmaceutical distributors.

A total of 443 Myanmar civil society organisations issued a statement on August 13 objecting to a recent Union Election Commission decision to bar the People’s Alliance for Credible Elections (PACE) from monitoring the country’s upcoming general election. 

Four men from Kyauktalone village in Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township were taken from their homes by the military on August 14, according to family members of the detainees. 

Four men including the vice chair of the Arakan National Party (ANP) in Taungup Township, who have been charged under Myanmar’s Counter-Terrorism Law, appeared in court on August 12 for a hearing at which the plaintiff, Police Major Zaw Myint Tun, was questioned.

A total of 386 candidates have registered to run in Arakan State constituencies for the November general election, and 42 of them are independents, according to figures released by the state election subcommission on August 10. 

Six ethnic armed groups invited to attend the 4^th Union Peace Conference – 21^st Century Panglong to be convened on August 19 in Nay Pyi Taw will not be making the trip to the nation’s capital, the Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee said on August 13.  

The head of Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Myoma police station, Police Captain Tun Naing Oo, was gunned down in front of the station on the evening of August 12, according to residents. 

Family members of a missing man from Tawpanzin village in Kyauktaw Township, Arakan State, have expressed concern as they have yet to receive word on his status more than four days after he was reportedly detained by the military. 

A total of 20 female candidates from Arakan State will run for parliamentary seats in the 2020 general election as advocates of women’s inclusion push for greater representation in Myanmar’s legislative bodies.

Five people including the chairperson of the local Arakan National Party (ANP) chapter in Sar Pyin village, Taungup Township, who had been charged under Myanmar’s Counter-Terrorism Law were released by the Taungup Township Court on August 12, their lawyer said.

Candidates from the main opposition Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) are slated to contest every constituency in conflict-plagued Arakan State for the 2020 general election, according to the candidate lineup unveiled by the USDP on August 12.