Paolo Fossati

TV stars lent their voices to the official song of the apostolic visit. Tickets for Masses have been snapped up. The Sisters of the Sacred Heart are preparing the sacred vestments at a Catholic-owned garment factory with 12 seamstresses working ten hours a day to finish the job. A PIME missionary talks about the preparations.

The leader of the opposition party wanted to return home from self-imposed exile to lead demonstrations against the prime minister. Thai Airways, the Thai national airline, refused to let him board. Phnom Penh urges the nations of Southeast Asia to treat CNRP politicians as fugitives. The Malaysian government backtracks and orders the release of Mu Sochua, vice president of the party.

Fr Peter Geremia, an 80-year-old PIME missionary, is involved in relief operations. Yesterday he carried out a first medical mission at an evacuation centre in Makilala, one of the cities most affected by the seismic swarm in late October. He writes: “We pray that God may give us the strength and determination to reach out to many of our people who are struggling to survive.”

Vice president of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), a political group dissolved by Phnom Penh in 2017. Sochua wanted to return home the day after tomorrow, along with the founder of the Party. Last week, Thailand denied her entry on her arrival in Bangkok. "The regime fears the determination of the Cambodians".

The death toll from the recent earthquake swarm in the southern Philippines stands at 22, plus hundreds of injured and over 24,000 displaced. More than 188,000 people have been affected by the emergency. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) recently issued an appeal for aid. Bishop Valles visited survivors.

Most of the victims were defense volunteers on duty. No rebel group has yet claimed the act. About 90% of Thais are Buddhists, but Muslims are the majority in three southern provinces. Since 2004, armed Islamic groups of ethnic Malay have given rise to an insurrection in which nearly 7 thousand people have died.

The pontiff will be in Thailand from 20 to 23 November. For the apostolic nuncio, “He is coming to spur us on to build a society capable of true human values.” The local population is looking forward to his message of peace, mercy and harmony. The Pope is seen as a spiritual leader for all humanity, no more only as the head of the Catholic Church.

The British authorities have confirmed that the corpses discovered in the south-east of England are all fellow citizens. Fr. Simon Nguyen: "The 39 have lost their lives seeking freedom, dignity and happiness". Msgr. Hudson asks for prayers for the traffickers, in the hope that "this tragedy has changed their hearts".

British police are in “direct contact with a number of families in Vietnam and the UK” and the Vietnamese government. The identities of the bodies still have to be confirmed by the competent authorities. The inquiry into the smuggling network continues. A man arrested in Dublin is set to be extradited to the United Kingdom whilst police are still looking for two Northern Irish brothers.

A former inmate speaks out. “The screaming, pleading, crying, is still in my head,” she says. According to the UN, around a million minority Muslims are being held in facilities built by Beijing in the region. For Chinese authorities, they are necessary to fight extremism.

The number of victims of people smuggling is growing. Every year, thousands of illegal immigrants try to enter the United Kingdom through European ports. Stories and pictures of those who died in Essex are leading investigators down a trail that leads to France.

A World Heritage Site since 2000, the flames destroyed seven wooden buildings. The original castle dates back to the mid-1400s. The main halls of the complex were not equipped with automatic fire extinguishing systems. The government "will do its best to rebuild it".