With the junta-reconstituted Union Election Commission (UEC) offering to meet with political parties for a second time, the Arakan Front Party (AFP) has said it will attend, but the Arakan National Party (ANP) and Arakan League for Democracy (ALD) have not yet announced decisions on the matter. 

The prices of palm oil and some other cooking oils have as much as doubled since the beginning of the year in Arakan State, according to wholesalers and businesspeople.

Customers say they are facing difficulty transferring or withdrawing money at private banks in Sittwe, Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Minbya and other townships in Arakan State.

A quarantine centre is set to reopen in the Arakan State capital Sittwe after four returnees from Bangladesh tested positive for COVID-19 this week, according to the Arakan State Administration Council. 

A former Lower House MP for the National League for Democracy (NLD) in Taungup Township, Daw Ni Ni May Myint, and fellow NLD candidate for the national legislature Daw Chit Chit Chaw were arrested on Wednesday, according to family members. 

Kinship gatherings will be held in Konbaung village, part of Arakan State’s Ramree Township, in June, reviving a long-running tradition that was forgone last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yay Kauk and Payit villages in Thandwe Township are facing drinking water scarcity, according to local villagers.

A Border Guard Force (BGF) unit on patrol and the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) exchanged fire at the Kha Maung Seik border area between mile marker Nos. 51 and 52 of the Maungdaw Township border fence in northern Arakan State on Wednesday morning. 

Four out of 40 returnees from Bangladesh have tested positive for coronavirus at the Shwe Mingan border trade camp in Sittwe Township, according to the Arakan State Department of Public Health.

Two journalists from Development Media Group (DMG) charged under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code have been summoned by the Sittwe Township Court to face the charges being brought against them. 

Ko Aung Mrat Kyaw, the younger brother of Arakan Army (AA) chief Major-General Twan Mrat Naing, and seven others appeared before Yangon’s Western District Court once again on May 11, but the case has been postponed to May 18, according to a lawyer representing the defendants. 

The Chin University Students in Rakhine State (CUSR) released a statement on May 9 urging ethnic Chin university students in Arakan State to boycott the education system under military rule and join the civil disobedience movement. 

Nearly 250 teachers in Arakan State have not yet reported to their respective schools despite the resumption of primary, secondary and high school classes just weeks away, according to the Arakan State education officer’s office.  

A robbery took place at knifepoint on Sunday night in Thinganat village, Kyauktaw Township, according to local residents, with the thieves stealing money intended for a local monastery.

Four members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) including Ma Moe San Su Kyi, the daughter of former Arakan State Chief Minister U Nyi Pu, and U Soe Lay, vice chairman of the NLD’s Arakan State chapter, were arrested over the weekend, according to a party official in Taungup Township and family members of the detainees. 

The necessary steps will be taken to crown the Mrauk-U archaeological zone a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Dr. Tin Mar Aung recently told DMG, as a project she has spent years guiding looks likely to enter its final phase under military rule. 

The Arakan National Party told the media that it had suspended cooperation with the military-led State Administration Council.

Construction of numerous replicas of ancient Mrauk-U structures on Mya Yadanar Hill in Thandwe Township, Arakan State, is more than 50% complete, according to a local pagoda board of trustees. 

The Sittwe University Students’ Union will protect Sittwe University students, whether they opt to go back to class or not, from being threatened or pressured by any individuals or entities, according to Ko Toe Toe Aung, chair of the union.