Five people including 100-household heads from Khabaw and Marlar (Mro) villages in Kyauktaw Township were released on May 19, one day after being abducted, according to a 100-household head from Khabaw village. 

Four out of 20 people believed to have been detained by authorities this week in Ann Township were released on May 20, according to their family members.

The Union Election Commission on May 18 announced the termination of Dr. Aye Maung’s status as a Pyithu Hluttaw lawmaker for Arakan State’s Ann Township and declared him ineligible to contest future elections, citing his 2019 conviction on high treason and incitement charges. 

The Committee for Scrutinizing Confiscated Farmlands and Other Land will meet with relevant departments in order to conduct a field inspection of confiscated farmland near Set Yoe Kya village in Sittwe Township, Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation U Hla Kyaw told the Amyotha Hluttaw on May 18.

The Myanmar government is arranging to provide a second round of financial aid for IDPs and other under-resourced households during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the President’s Office.

Some boat services in Arakan State have suspended operations as Cyclone Amphan bears down on neighbouring India and Bangladesh, bringing heavy rain and strong winds to parts of Myanmar. 

A 32-year-old man from Phone Nyo Late Muslim village in Arakan State’s Buthidaung Township was hit in the leg by a stray bullet while digging in a field near his home on Monday evening. 

University instructors should work from home during the coronavirus pandemic, the representative committee for the University Teachers’ Association said on May 17, amid apparent confusion over expectations for the upcoming academic year.

About 200 houses were destroyed by fire over the weekend in Lekka village, Mrauk-U Township, according to the village administrator and local residents.

Restaurants and other purveyors of dining experiences are facing mounting losses as demand has dipped amid COVID-19 restrictions, in place since April 11, that only allow for takeaway orders.

More than 500 IDPs at the Zedipyin refugee camp in Ponnagyun Township, Arakan State, returned to their homes on the morning of May 17.

Although the worst of Cyclone Amphan, currently churning in the Bay of Bengal, is projected to pass west of Arakan State, the Category 5 storm is a reminder that the region’s monsoon season is looming. It looms arguably larger for the tens of thousands of people displaced by conflict in Myanmar’s westernmost state.

Several houses reportedly caught fire last week in the largely deserted village of Lekka, Mrauk-U Township, where few residents remain after most relocated to IDP camps in April of last year.  

The Sittwe District Court has acquitted six men from Kyauktan village, Rathedaung Township, who were part of the sweeping detention of dozens of local residents last year and months-long subsequent legal proceedings. 

A coral reef off the coast of Pyin Kauk village in Manaung Township, Arakan State, is in need of systematic conservation, local residents say.

A recently married couple were arrested and charged under the Counter-Terrorism Law earlier this month in connection with a deadly explosion near the village of U Daung in southern Maungdaw Township.

Nyaung Chaung IDP camp in Kyauktaw Township has run out of rice as the government has failed to deliver an expected shipment of the staple grain, according to the camp leader.

Five men from Sar Pyin village in Taungup Township were charged under Section 52(a) of the Counter-Terrorism Law at the Taungup Township Court on May 11. 

A unilateral ceasefire declared by the Tatmadaw over the weekend is being described by a prominent alliance of ethnic armed groups as a sham peace overture that does not realistically further prospects for ending armed conflict in Myanmar.