U Hla Thein, a spokesperson for the Arakan State regime council, told journalists on January 3 that the military government plans to remove tricycles and other three-wheelers from the streets of the Arakan State capital Sittwe. 

A spokesman for the Arakan State Administration Council said traditional zat pwe troupes and stage shows have not been officially allowed as Covid-19 has not been eliminated in Arakan State. 

In the past, security forces only asked drivers for the number of passengers in the vehicle, but now they are asking passengers to get off and check their IDs, the Maungdaw resident added.

More than 1.2 million fish and shrimp hatchlings have been added to rivers and creeks in Arakan State in the 2021-22 financial year to improve fish and shrimp production in the state, according to the state’s Department of Fisheries.

An ongoing curfew order under Section 144 of the code of criminal procedure, imposed in Ann Township, Arakan State, has been extended for another two months from January 2, according to locals.

A final proposal seeking to designate Mrauk-U a UNESCO World Heritage Site was submitted on December 30 to the World Heritage Committee in Paris, according to the Department of Archeology and National Museum.

Ecotourism on Arakan State’s Manaung Island will be launched on January 26, according to U Tun Hlaing, managing director of Manaung Public Company.

Villagers in Pauktaw Township, Arakan State, are reportedly worried as Myanmar military troops have moved from one village to another in recent days. 

Brigadier-General Nyo Twan Awng, deputy commander-in-chief of the Arakan Army (AA), has invited intellectuals and professionals to serve Arakan State as the state’s mechanisms need more qualified personnel.

There were more than 130 clashes between the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF) and the Myanmar military in Kayah State from May to December 2021, resulting in casualties on both sides and civilian fatalities, the KNDF said in a statement on January 3.

With stoplights going dark in the Arakan State capital Sittwe during power outages — leading to traffic congestion and safety concerns — residents are calling for a battery-powered alternative or backup to the current system.

Heavy fighting broke out between the Myanmar military and anti-regime forces in Demoso Township, Kayah State, at about 10 a.m. on December 31.

With fighting reported near the Asia Highway in Kayin State’s Myawaddy and Kawkareik townships, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) has tightened traffic restrictions and monitoring of the highway, according to local sources. 

In a message marking the Karen National New Year, which will fall on January 2, 2022, the chairman of the Karen National Union (KNU) said Myanmar’s ethnic nationalities must fight against the unjust political system as their rights have been violated. 

A total of 1,131,172 people in Arakan State — more than half of the state’s eligible population — had received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine as of December 29, according to Dr. Soe Win Paing, assistant director of the Arakan State Public Health Department. 

A recent spate of pig deaths in some Arakan State townships is due to an outbreak of porcine circovirus 2 (PCV-2), said U Win Soe, assistant director of the state’s Department Livestock Breeding and Veterinary, who cited lab test results. 

A court in Mrauk-U Township has again delayed an expected verdict in the case of more than 20 residents of Lekka village who have been charged under the Counter-Terrorism Law, marking the seventh time that a ruling in the trial has been deferred.

Arrests of political activists in Tanintharyi Region increased this month, according to sources in the region.

A healthcare worker in Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, tested positive for Covid-19 on December 30.