The junta-appointed Union Election Commission (UEC) has begun scrutinising political parties that have registered for the junta’s planned election to determine if they are in line with the new Political Parties Registration Law.

Clams appear to be dying en masse in Ann Township, Arakan State, with the dead mollusks reported on the shores of rivers and creeks in the area, according to residents.

Dozens of undocumented Muslims and human traffickers were reportedly arrested by the Myanmar Navy off the coast of Ngapudaw Township, Ayeyarwady Region.

The Department of Fisheries issued a warning on April 19 prohibiting the catching of large freshwater shrimp during the rainy season, covering April, May and June.

The plaintiff in the case against two village administrators from Buthidaung Township under Section 17(1) of Unlawful Association has failed to appear at court hearings for nearly five months, according to family members of the accused.

The Department of Rural Development (DRD) has yet to implement a plan to build free homes in some Sittwe Township villages for poor people affected by natural disasters and facing financial difficulties.

Muslim internally displaced people (IDPs) from the Kyauktalone IDP camp in Arakan State’s Kyaukphyu Township will be relocated to a new encampment starting on April 23, according to camp officials.

The Arakan State military council has guaranteed that there won’t be water shortages in Sittwe, which faces water shortages annually during the hot season, but residents said they still have to buy water due to the inadequacy of the piped supply. 

Though junta boss Min Aung Hlaing last year promised K10 billion worth of loans from a national economic development fund for Arakan State business owners, more than four months later the loans have yet to be disbursed.

Disability rights activists say that people with disabilities are facing difficulties in travelling from one place to another because there are no special services.

Thai authorities announced on Wednesday evening that Myanmar citizens legally living in Mae Sot, Tak District, Thailand, should not accept people displaced by fighting, according to Myanmar residents of the border town.

The Department of Meteorology and Hydrology (DMH) has announced that temperature averages may rise across central Myanmar as well as in some peripheral states during the coming hot season.

As of April 10, more than 1.8 million people remained displaced across Myanmar, according to an April 19 report from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA).

The Brotherhood Alliance — a tripartite military coalition consisting of the Arakan Army (AA), Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) — has affirmed their belief that the United Wa State Party (UWSP) will continue to contribute to the revolutionary cause in Myanmar.

Allied forces of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and Kaw Thoo Lei Army’s Venom Column fought fiercely with junta troops near the village of Melkane in Kayin (Karen) State’s Myawaddy Township on Wednesday, with the regime carrying out air attacks, according to local residents.

Environmentalists planted more than 1,500 mangrove trees from April 14-16 in Arakan State’s Ann Township to celebrate Thingyan, the Myanmar New Year.

There were 20 traffic accidents reported in Arakan State during Thingyan from April 13-16, resulting in two deaths and 20 injuries, according to the state traffic police and local social organisations.

The Department of Meteorology and Hydrology (DMH) has announced that temperature averages may rise across Myanmar’s regions and states in the coming hot season.

Nearly 15,000 local and foreign travellers visited Ngapali Beach in Arakan State’s Thandwe District during the Thingyan holiday period, according to an official from the district’s directorate of hotels and tourism.