Myanmar regime rejects Time magazine interview; Bangladesh’s 5-point plan for Rohingya refugees

Myanmar regime calls Min Aung Hlaing interview ‘unethical’ The regime’s Information Team on Wednesday accused Time Magazine and its Singapore-based editor Charlie Campbell of publishing an “unethical” article to its website based on an interview with regime leader Min Aung Hlaing, which took place at the President’s office in Naypyidaw on Aug. 28. Min Aung Hlaing was inaugurated Burma’s president by a military-backed parliament on April 10. The regime added in its Sept. 23 statement that the article “Myanmar’s Dictator Wants to Rebuild Ties With the West,” published on Sept. 22, “didn’t reflect” the actual exchange that took place between Campbell and Min Aung Hlaing, adding that he published “non-constructive writing and unfounded commentaries” to Time Magazine rather than the actual interview with Min Aung Hlaing. The regime leader claimed that he’s been “lenient” toward jailed State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. “She is being held properly at home, not in prison. The sentence we have imposed on her allows her to live in a relaxed and comfortable environment,” he told Campbell. Her son, Kim Aris, delivered a personal letter to Min Aung Hlaing at the Burma Embassy in London on Sept. 22 demanding access. Bangladesh proposes 5-point plan to resolve Rohingya crisis Speaking at a high-level side event during the 81st United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Tarique Rahman proposed urgent measures to address the Rohingya refugee crisis, urging international stakeholders to shift from managing displacement to actively ending it. “The time has come to move from empathy to a search for root causes and their solutions,” Prime Minister Rahman told delegates at the event called “The Rohingya Crisis: A Renewed Call for a Durable Solution from Protracted Displacement, with Justice and Accountability” at the U.N. Headquarters in New York City on Sept. 23. Prime Minister Rahman emphasized that international generosity must be accompanied by decisive political action to tackle the root causes of systemic persecution inside Burma. He outlined a five-point proposal to establish a clear and comprehensive refugee repatriation plan for the 1.2 million Rohingya living in camps in Bangladesh. National Teqball team wins 3 medals at Asian Games in Japan Burma welcomed home its national Teqball team at Yangon International Airport on Tuesday, following a medal-winning campaign at the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 in Japan. “I was a bit down at first as there were no Myanmar audience during the competition,” Khin Hnin Wai, who won a gold medal for Burma, told the media at a press conference on Sept. 22. Competing in the sport’s Asian Games debut, Khin Hnin Wai triumphed in the women’s singles category on Sept. 20, overcoming Indonesia’s Sumaya 2-1 (10-12, 12-8, 12-9) in a hard-fought final. Affectionately known as “Arnold,” Khin Hnin Wai was Burma’s first female gold medalist at 2026 Asian Games in Japan—scoring the gold medal during the inaugural Teqball competition. The road to the gold for “Arnold” included straight-set victories against opponents from Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, and Indonesia during preliminary rounds. Overall, the four-person Burma national Teqball team clinched two other medals, including one silver and one bronze for the women’s doubles, and men’s singles events in Teqball at the Asian Games. News by Region MON—Ongoing armed clashes between regime and resistance forces in rural areas have forced legitimate microfinance institutions to withdraw operations, leaving local farmers and small business owners reliant on predatory informal moneylenders charging extortionate interest rates. Microfinance personnel in Yangon confirmed that commercial lenders have designated conflict-affected townships across the state as “red zones” due to acute security risks to staff and field loan officers. Borrowers must remit repayments exclusively via mobile payment applications. SAGAING—Two civilians, including one truck driver and his assistant, were killed and two trucks were destroyed by airstrikes carried out by the Burma Air Force along the Mandalay-Myitkyina highway, in Indaw Township’s Sattawkone village on Wednesday. Indaw is located 209 miles (336 km) north of the region’s capital Monywa A truck driver told DVB on the condition of anonymity that the airstrikes hit a rest stop. Residents told DVB that there was no fighting between the People’s Defense Force (PDF) and regime forces in Indaw, which was seized by the PDF and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) on April 7, 2025.