Several diplomatic missions in Myanmar called for the immediate release of all media workers detained by the military junta, as well as for an end to internet restrictions, as they marked World Press Freedom Day on May 3. 

Two villages in Thandwe Township, Arakan State, that must be relocated due to the Thahtay Chaung hydropower project are facing landslides following continuous rains over recent days, villagers said.

The Arakan State Administration Council, the state-level governing body of Myanmar’s military junta, is taking measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus from Bangladesh and India though border trade centres in Sittwe and Maungdaw.

Myanmar’s military, which overthrew the country’s elected government in a February 1 coup, has extended its unilateral ceasefire for another month, through May 31, purportedly to continue peace talks with ethnic armed groups in the country. 

Residents facing water scarcity in the Arakan State capital Sittwe can inform the Sittwe Township Development Affairs Committee in order to access water, according to U Kyaw Myo Htay, an engineer for the committee.

Another member of the National League for Democracy (NLD) was arrested in the Arakan State capital Sittwe on the evening of April 28, putting the number of NLD members detained since the military’s February 1 coup to at least 10 in Arakan State.

An urban land reclamation project implemented by South Korea’s BXT International in the Arakan State capital Sittwe is bringing headaches for boatmen, fishing trawlers and dockworkers who now must look elsewhere for their mooring needs. 

Agreements for the Kyaukphyu SEZ project’s deep-sea port project and shareholders were signed during the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping in January of last year.

Local residents of Tinma village in Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township have asked the military governing council for Arakan State to rebuild more than 130 houses razed by fire as well as repair the village monastery, which was damaged by shelling.

All teachers have been instructed to report to their schools on May 3, said Arakan State Educational Officer U Tin Thein.

The Arakan State Administration Council, the state-level governing body of Myanmar’s military junta, has erected signboards in Kyaukphyu, Taungup and Ann townships asking the public to inform authorities if they see or know the whereabouts of 17 individuals including veteran democracy activist U Min Ko Naing.

Lawsuits filed under the Counter-Terrorism Law against people for their alleged ties to the Arakan Army (AA) can be dropped only with the approval of Myanmar’s Anti-Terrorism Central Committee, the spokesman of Arakan State’s military governing body has said. 

Most internally displaced people (IDPs) who fled fighting in Arakan State between the Tatmadaw and Arakan Army still find themselves unwilling or unable to return home some six months after the warring sides reached an unofficial ceasefire. 

A local court in Sittwe Township on Wednesday heard the second plaintiff in a case involving four anti-war demonstrators who were arrested last year and charged with incitement and violating Myanmar’s Natural Disaster Management Law. 

The younger brother of the Arakan Army (AA) chief, Major-General Twan Mrat Naing, and seven others who were arrested in 2019 will be brought to trial via video conferencing on May 4, according to defence lawyers.

A statue believed to have been made in the likeness of an ancient king was found near the north stairways of the Kyauktaw Mahamuni Buddha image compound in Arakan State on April 26, according to members of the pagoda’s board of trustees.

The State Administration Council’s Ministry of Home Affairs on April 25 declared the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) an unlawful association.

Khami people have called for prompt action to end ongoing conflicts and for the return of displaced people to their homes, during an event marking the 11th anniversary of Khami National Day on April 27.

Four people squatting in the Arakan State capital Sittwe’s Bumay ward were charged for trespassing, but have been released on bail.