It has been nearly a year since the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA) reached an informal ceasefire in November 2022, but junta soldiers have tightened security checks on locals and travellers at security checkpoints along the Sittwe-Yangon road in recent days, locals said.
 

The Department of Meteorology and Hydrology (DMH) has advised residents of northern Arakan State to take precautions as the cyclonic storm Hamoon, originating over the Bay of Bengal, looked to be on an east-northeast trajectory.

Arakanese woman Ma Thandar Soe is representing Myanmar in Miss Cosmopolitan World 2023 international beauty pageant, being held from October 23 to November 9 in Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur.
 

Arakanese musicians have called on the Education Ministry to explicitly recognise the composer of a song featured in an Arakanese literature textbook for Grade 2 published by the ministry’s Basic Education Department.

A public park will reportedly be built on the land plot that formerly hosted several eateries along the main stretch of beach in the Arakan State capital Sittwe, which were bulldozed earlier this month.
 

A previously unrecorded species of snake from the Trimeresurus group has been documented in Myanmar for the first time globally, according to the Native Species Conservation and Identification in Myanmar organisation. 

Farmers in Bago Region say they will not be able to repay their agricultural loans this year due to the destruction of ripe paddy fields from flooding and decreasing paddy yields, and the expectation that these conditions will lead to losses.
 

Well-known pagodas and temples damaged by Cyclone Mocha in Arakan State reportedly remain in disrepair due to financial constraints.

Sales for the Aung Bar Lay state lottery have dropped across Myanmar since the coup, but sales of Thai and Singaporean lottery tickets have risen in Arakan State, according to lottery ticket vendors.
 

Internally displaced people (IDPs) in Arakan State are increasingly leaving for foreign countries in order to support their families due to the lack of jobs and dwindling aid to the displacement camps, according to camp officials.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says the delivery of humanitarian aid to Arakan State, particularly rural areas, remains challenging due to travel restrictions.

Two residents in Paletwa Township, Chin State, who have been charged under Section 52(a), and Section 52(b) of the Counterterrorism Law on suspicion of having ties to the Arakan Army (AA), have seen their trial deadlocked for more than a year and a half, according to family members of the accused.
 

A Myanmar military training school near the village of Kanni in Arakan State’s Minbya Township has been carrying out live-fire drills using artillery since October 18, according to residents.
 

Sugarcane was once grown on a commercial scale in Arakan State, but more and more growers are leaving the business due to low demand and prices, according to sugarcane growers.
 

Hoteliers at Myanmar’s most popular beach town, Ngapali in Arakan State’s Thandwe Township, expect a decline in the number of visitors coming for the Thadingyut holiday compared with last year’s arrivals.
 

People in Arakan State are being urged to make preparations for the El Niño weather phenomenon, with irregular rainfall, high temperatures and the potential for drought expected over the coming months.

Internally displaced people (IDPs) taking shelter at displacement camps in Kyauktaw town say they have been forced to work at government offices for no pay since early this year.

A 17-year-old disabled girl in Konbaung Village, part of Arakan State’s Myebon Township, was raped last week and the alleged perpetrator was reportedly arrested by the United League of Arakan/Arakan Army (ULA/AA), according to local residents.

While locals may insist that there is no drug production in Arakan State, at present the local trade of drugs is gradually increasing.