Four hotels and guesthouses at Ngapali Beach in Arakan State’s Thandwe Township have been allowed to reopen after they were closed due to COVID-19, but hoteliers say occupancy rates are down as the pandemic continues to weigh on economies globally.

Three people including a Grade 7 student from Seiktaya village in Arakan State’s Minbya Township were wounded by an artillery shell believed to have been launched by the military on August 15, according to residents.

Three residents of Kat Thabyay village in Arakan State’s Kyaukphyu Township were taken from their homes and arrested by military personnel on August 14, according to family members.

The number of voters with disabilities in Arakan State for the 2020 general election stands at about 30,600, according to figures provided by the Arakan State election subcommission.

The number of applicants in Arakan State for a second round of low-interest government loans to businesses affected by COVID-19 has risen nearly sixfold compared with the first batch of applicants, according to the Arakan State Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

The conflict in northern Arakan State has delayed the delivery of medicines as fighting has sometimes played out along transport routes, according to pharmaceutical distributors.

A total of 443 Myanmar civil society organisations issued a statement on August 13 objecting to a recent Union Election Commission decision to bar the People’s Alliance for Credible Elections (PACE) from monitoring the country’s upcoming general election. 

Four men from Kyauktalone village in Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township were taken from their homes by the military on August 14, according to family members of the detainees. 

Four men including the vice chair of the Arakan National Party (ANP) in Taungup Township, who have been charged under Myanmar’s Counter-Terrorism Law, appeared in court on August 12 for a hearing at which the plaintiff, Police Major Zaw Myint Tun, was questioned.

A total of 386 candidates have registered to run in Arakan State constituencies for the November general election, and 42 of them are independents, according to figures released by the state election subcommission on August 10. 

Six ethnic armed groups invited to attend the 4^th Union Peace Conference – 21^st Century Panglong to be convened on August 19 in Nay Pyi Taw will not be making the trip to the nation’s capital, the Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee said on August 13.  

The head of Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Myoma police station, Police Captain Tun Naing Oo, was gunned down in front of the station on the evening of August 12, according to residents. 

Family members of a missing man from Tawpanzin village in Kyauktaw Township, Arakan State, have expressed concern as they have yet to receive word on his status more than four days after he was reportedly detained by the military. 

A total of 20 female candidates from Arakan State will run for parliamentary seats in the 2020 general election as advocates of women’s inclusion push for greater representation in Myanmar’s legislative bodies.

Five people including the chairperson of the local Arakan National Party (ANP) chapter in Sar Pyin village, Taungup Township, who had been charged under Myanmar’s Counter-Terrorism Law were released by the Taungup Township Court on August 12, their lawyer said.

Candidates from the main opposition Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) are slated to contest every constituency in conflict-plagued Arakan State for the 2020 general election, according to the candidate lineup unveiled by the USDP on August 12. 

A woman from Khapaw village in Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township was wounded by an artillery shell believed to have been fired by the military on August 11, according to family members of the victim. 

Riverbank erosion due to heavy seasonal rains and strong currents destroyed three houses recently in Thae Khone village, Pauktaw Township, according to residents.

Outbreaks of influenza, diarrhoea and other illnesses have been reported at some camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Arakan State as the rainy season takes its toll on those uprooted by conflict.