With a population of just a few hundred, wild elephants in Arakan State could face extinction within a century if not properly protected, environmentalists have warned.

A victory committee for the Arakan National Party is leading a boat canvassing trip through southern Arakan State as the clock winds down to Election Day, with the group arriving in Gwa Township on the evening of October 26, according to ANP candidates there. 

The World Food Programme is preparing to lend cellphones free of charge to internally displaced people (IDPs) in eight Arakan State townships so that they can receive monetary donations via Wave Money, a mobile payment service popular in Myanmar. 

The Ministry of Health and Sports will make an Election Day exception in areas where coronavirus stay-at-home orders are in effect, allowing the gathering of more than 30 people for voting purposes. 

Fourteen villagers in Ann Township, Arakan State, were arrested by the Tatmadaw on October 20, and family members are concerned for the detainees’ safety as it has been about a week since they have seen their loved ones.

Two suspects were arrested after a military vehicle was rocked by a landmine blast last week in Kyaukphyu Township, Arakan State, according to a statement issued by the Tatmadaw True News Information Team. 

An 11-year-old boy from Sanbalay (Muslim) village in Arakan State’s Minbya Township was injured by a stray bullet allegedly fired by the Tatmadaw on Sunday, according to village officials. 

The Union Election Commission (UEC) is pushing ahead with elections in southern Chin State’s Paletwa Township over the recommendation of the military, according to a Tatmadaw spokesman.  

The military and the government are working together to secure the release of three National League for Democracy (NLD) candidates who were abducted by the Arakan Army earlier this month, according to Brigadier-General Zaw Min Tun of the Tatmadaw True News Information Team.  

The military is investigating the killing of two children amid hostilities between government troops and the Arakan Army earlier this month in Pyinshay (Muslim) village, Buthidaung Township, according to Tatmadaw spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun.  

The Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) has claimed that the Arakan Army (AA) forced local villagers in Paletwa Township, Chin State, to sell rice to the ethnic armed group at prices below prevailing market rates.

The President’s Office on October 23 shed more light on ministry and departmental inputs provided to the Union Election Commission (UEC) ahead of its decision earlier this month to cancel voting in all or parts of 56 Myanmar townships ahead of the November 8 general election. 

Some Arakan Front Party (AFP) candidates have called on the Union Election Commission (UEC) to reconsider its decision to cancel elections in Arakan State’s Pauktaw Township, which they contend is capable of holding the polls as the effects of the broader Arakan conflict have been negligible there.

Six boats loaded with illegal goods and timber destined for Bangladesh have been seized by authorities in Arakan State’s Maungdaw Township, with three boatmen aboard testing positive for COVID-19. 

Cancelled elections in Arakan State’s Pauktaw and Maungdaw townships will disenfranchise more than 225,000 eligible voters, according to the township election subcommissions, as critics dispute the contention that security concerns are preventing the election from being held there. 

A total of 183 civil society organisations issued a joint statement on October 23 condemning the detention of student protesters demanding an end to armed conflict in Arakan and Chin states. 

A senior government official has called on the Arakan Army to stop “causing distress to innocent civilians” as the warring sides continue to point fingers over who is responsible for a conflict that has displaced more than 200,000 people and prompted the cancellation of most elections in Arakan State this year. 

Myanmar’s Marine Administration Department says it has been unable to conduct field surveys for the national oil spill contingency plan (NOSCP) in Arakan State due to the coronavirus pandemic.  

Forty-two signboards containing information about COVID-19 were erected this month in Arakan State’s Mrauk-U Township, where internet access is poor, but a local youth activist says a handful of the boards have already been vandalised.