Cracks in the ground have become a common sight in the paddy fields of northern Arakan State as a result of low rainfall, creating problems for local farmers.

DMG Newsroom
29 July 2023, Sittwe

The Women’s League of Burma (WLB) says more than 100 women have been sexually assaulted by junta soldiers in areas where clashes with ethnic armed organisations took place since the February 2021 coup.

The most cases of sexual violence occurred in Sagaing Region, and Chin, Shan and Kayin (Karen) states, according to the list compiled by the WLB.

Ma Nan Moe Moe, secretary general of the WLB, told DMG that the number of...

The Arakan State military council announced on July 28 that progress in the repair of schools remains slow due to transportation difficulties in remote areas.

Only about half of the farmers who took out agricultural debt last year have paid back their loans, according to the Myanma Agricultural Development Bank.

Charity homes in Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, that were opened for poor children say the number of students is increasing and they need help.

“Women opt to work overseas because there are very few job opportunities here,” said training officer Daw Htwe Htwe Yi of the Arakan State Social Welfare Department.

“They didn’t say where and when it would fire. They could fire at any time. We are concerned those working on farms, in the mountains or fishing will be harmed in that case,” 

One of two men who allegedly robbed a gold shop using a fake gun in Gutar Ward of Arakan State’s Taungup Township has been arrested, according to police.

Some internally displaced people (IDPs) in Arakan State who returned home at the arrangement of Myanmar’s military regime are reportedly unable to grow monsoon paddy.

Regular blood donors and young people have been leaving Arakan State in the aftermath of the cyclone due to high unemployment, 

“When you cut down a tree, younger trees beside it also die. If it goes on like this for a long time, the mangrove forests will not thrive,”

“We need to spray mosquito repellants in our village because the mosquitoes bite so much. We want [the health department] to spray mosquito repellents as much as possible in our villages.

Hundreds of men and women in their 20s and 30s from Tawpyarchaung, part of Arakan State’s Ponnagyun Township, are leaving to work overseas in the aftermath of Cyclone Mocha.

“Usually, most people look at the expiry date when they buy a product, and they don’t usually check if the product is FDA-certified,” 

This year, a record number of 300,000 students from refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar have been enrolled, according to a UNICEF statement.

Arakan State has seen an increase in capsizing boats due to strong winds and rough seas during the ongoing monsoon season, sometimes resulting in fatalities.

With insufficient food supplies following the storm, children are suffering from illnesses including influenza, persistent cough and diarrhoea as a result of malnutrition.

Junta spokesman Major-General Zaw Min Tun has dismissed public concerns that a regime plan to issue a new, higher denomination banknote will cause inflation.

The prosecution side has been absent from the trial repeatedly, and prosecution witnesses were heard for the first time at the Kyaukphyu Township Court on Monday.