Cambodia is drowning in a flood of plastic waste — almost literally in some cases — fueled by rapidly growing consumption and economic growth, poor to non-existent rubbish collection, almost no recycling, and a lack of public awareness. The kingdom produces 32 kilograms of waste per person — 33 percent more than other countries around the world at a similar stage of development, according to the government’s Plastic Action Roadmap released on Jan. 20, which sets out a 14-year strategy drawn up in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Underlining the issue: Phnom Penh, a city of barely 2.5 million people, uses 10 million plastic bags a day, most of which are thrown away the same day. The Environment Ministry says the volume of waste in the capital alone more than trebled from 343,657 tons in 2007 to 1,058,500 tons in 2019. About 20 percent is single-use plastics such as plastic bags, straws, PET bottles and cups. “In 2022… only five percent of Cambodia’s plastic waste was properly managed, with less than two percent properly recycled. The remaining 95 percent is mismanaged, ending up in dumpsites, being openly burned, or leaking into the environment,” the Roadmap said. “Without urgent intervention, this crisis will continue to escalate, seriously threatening Cambodia’s ecosystems and public health.” The Roadmap plans to increase recycling by 52 percent and cut mismanagement — basically, improper disposal or treatment —  by 74 percent by 2040.

Cambodia’s interfaith youth alliance has made this a priority and is working with local communities and organizations to promote awareness, conduct workshops, and help change the use and waste of plastic. The alliance of Buddhist, Christian and Muslim youth sees country’s waste crisis as a deadly legacy for future generations.

“We need to change the concept of using plastic,” says alliance leader Nhib Kimheang. “It is too easy to use and too easy to throw away without thinking of the effect,” she told UCA News. “It threatens the environment. And when people burn it, it pollutes the air and people choke. If Cambodia cannot cut its plastic waste, there will be a huge problem for the next generation. It is harming the ecosystem, reducing agricultural productivity, and harming food security and public health.” “It will also cost the country a lot of money if we don’t deal with the waste problem now.”

The Catholic Bishops of Thailand have reminded the faithful that they have a vital role to play as a “moral force” and “social conscience” in safeguarding a truthful and just electoral process. In a message addressed to parishioners nationwide and released on January 27, Archbishop Francis Xavier Vira Arpondratana, president of the CBCT, stressed that voting is not merely a civic right but a moral responsibility rooted in the Church’s social teaching.

“The Church invites all Christians to recognize that voting is a moral obligation for the common good,” Archbishop Vira said. “Exercising the right to vote is not simply a legal duty, but a moral requirement that citizens must collectively fulfill for the good of society.”

Citing the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Archbishop recalled that citizens are called to contribute to the common good through concrete actions such as paying taxes, defending the country, and participating in public life through voting. Neglecting to vote, he noted, constitutes a failure to participate responsibly in society.

The pastoral letter offers guidance to Catholic voters as the campaign period intensifies ahead of the election, which will determine all 500 seats in Thailand’s House of Representatives, whose members will nominate the new prime minister.

According to the CBCT, authentic democratic participation does not end at the polling booth. “Participation includes monitoring, scrutinizing, and upholding moral truth at every stage of the electoral process,” the statement said, adding that abstaining from voting may be morally permissible only in exceptional cases where no candidate meets minimum ethical standards.

The Bishops also warned against reducing democracy to procedural rules alone. “True democracy is not merely the result of laws and regulations,” Archbishop Vira said, “but arises from the acceptance of fundamental values such as human dignity, human rights, and the common good.” Without these values, he cautioned, democracy risks becoming a “disguised dictatorship” that ultimately oppresses the people, citing the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church (No. 408).

To mark the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the Diocese of Hong Kong, a celebration with prayer, song, and music brought people together from across the diocese. “May the Holy Face of Jesus always shine upon Hong Kong”, Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokin Tagle said, at the event at the Charter Garden in Hong Kong on January 18. The Cardinal Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization explained the Biblical origin and nature of the Christian practice of blessing. Following the explanation, he blessed everyone present and the entire city—together with the Jesuit Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-yan, Bishop of Hong Kong.

According to the Vatican’sFides news agency, the Pro-Prefect specifically drew inspiration from the blessing found in the Book of Numbers (“The Lord let his face shine upon you and give you peace”). He offered it as “the blessing that God desires to give us”—that His face shine upon men and women throughout all ages. “The blessing that God gives us and to Hong Kong is His Holy Face in Jesus Christ”, Cardinal Tagle noted. It is a face that is both “fully divine and fully human”. He also explained that it is also possible to encounter the Face of Jesus through the face of a child as they “are always a blessing for society”. The Pro-Prefect stressed that “no child or young person is a ‘problem’”. The true blessing for Hong Kong, therefore, is “the face of God that shines upon it”. Cardinal Tagle expressed his hope that the face of Jesus will always shine on Hong Kong and that Hong Kong may always rejoice in His face. In this spirit, people will be encouraged to “bring hope to society”, becoming “courageous witnesses of the Lord”.

In his address, the Pro-Prefect encouraged everyone in Hong Kong to foster these “blessings”, acknowledging that all have the ability to become “a blessing to others”.

At the ceremony, people and groups from various nationalities and backgrounds prayed for Hong Kong in different languages: Cantonese, Filipino, French, Mandarin, Korean, and Vietnamese. Of the more than 7.4 million permanent residents in Hong Kong, over 400,000 are Catholic.

Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, the Chaldean Patriarch of Baghdad, spoke to AsiaNews about recent events in Iraq, and more generally in the region, scene of a new escalation between Iran and the United States (and Israel). “Sadness, great concern, and a climate of fear” are pushing many government officials and religious leaders to remain silent, relegated to the margins while the country risks sinking back into a spiral of tension and violence, fuelled by new winds of war that are “blowing in the Middle East,” in addition to an “internal instability” that has already proven to be a decisive factor in plunging Iraq into chaos.

Amid a broad conspiracy of silence, fear, and silence that resonate louder than words, “several politicians have in recent days asked me to intervene, to make the voice of a religious authority heard,” said the cardinal by telephone at the end of a three-day retreat and prayer. Fear and anxiety are fed by internal instability in a country waiting for the new president to be elected after repeated postponements. Once he is named, he will have to name a prime minister charged with forming a new government.

“Not only in Iraq, but throughout the region, from Syria to Lebanon, people are very worried,” Cardinal Sako said. “The same goes for Christians, who have already paid a very high price in terms of exodus, and who certainly cannot live without security and stability.” Above all, “They fear for their children and their future,” he explained.

“Last but not least, there is also the problem of an economy that is 90 per cent dependent on oil revenues, plus other critical factors,” including a resurging threat from the Islamic State and other jihadist groups.

The Chaldean patriarch has also joined the chorus of criticism and concern over the United States’ decision to send Islamic State detainees from Syria, just over a hundred for now, but they number in the thousands, to neighbouring Iraq.

Instability and fear are also reflected in “the weakness of international institutions, starting with the United Nations, which is no longer capable of ensuring global order. The only superpower today seems to be the United States, which does what it wants,” especially since Trump’s return to the White House.