In prison for a year along with a local shop owner, the former "official" head of a diocese in Zhejiang province has denied corruption charges, maintaining that he acted as a priest. Pressure has ben put on Catholics who wanted to be in court to support him. Some argue that his  real 'fault' lies in a pilgrimage to Rome or the failure to support the nomination of a bishop imposed by the Communist Party.

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led alliance won a landslide victory in the Bihar elections, largely outperforming the opposition Mahagathbandhan bloc. The Modi government’s cash transfer programmes for women and youth played a decisive role. Voter turnout among women exceeded that of men for the first time.

At the start of the university’s academic year, the pontiff addressed the "pope's University”, which has students from around the world and associated institutes in Asia. In his speech, he called for training peace workers and justice advocates. He stressed the value of scientific studies to counter the idea that they are useless for pastoral work. In fact, the Church needs lay people and priests who are “prepared and competent”.

To combat overtourism, the Japanese government will increase the tax paid by foreign tourists when they leave the country: from 1,000 to 3,000 yen. Mass tourism affects mostly Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Hokkaido, and Fukuoka. This is yet another step to limit overcrowding, help regional economies, and promote more sustainable tourism. Overall, tourism revenue remains a pillar of the Japanese economy.

The expectations of the people of Beirut two weeks before the Pope's arrival. Sadness over a brief and heavily guarded visit: ‘Will he really be able to see the country as it is, or will they give him the false impression that everything is fine?’ But also the certainty that ‘his presence will be a message in any case’. Prevost will arrive immediately after the National Day on 22 November and exactly one year after the ceasefire that still does not spare the Lebanese from Israeli incursions.

The extradition of She Zhijiang from Thailand to China comes at a time of intense international pressure on Bangkok to crack down on criminal networks operating between Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos. The case reignites attention on the proliferation of scam centres and their impact on Thai tourism, which has seen sharp declines over the past year.