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ZALAM BESA, Ethiopia (Reuters) - Two Eritrean rebel groups said on Friday they have killed 25 government soldiers and wounded at least 38 others, in ambushes on two military camps.

There was no immediate comment from the Eritrean government and the report could not be independently confirmed.

Rebel spokesman Yasin Mohamed said the attacks by the Red Sea Afar Democratic Organization (RSADO) and the Eritrean Salvation Front (ESF) rebels were in retaliation for the repression of the Afar minority and others by the government.

"The joint forces earlier today, made a surprise attack at the camp of 13 sub-division of the 2nd brigade at the vicinity of Kokobay, killed 13 and wounded 20 others," Yasin said.

He said a separate attack killed 12 members of an intelligence unit and wounded 18 others in Kermeti area.

The United Nations Security Council imposed sanctions on Eritrea last week for arming and supporting Islamist insurgents in Somalia.

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NIAMEY (Reuters) - Ten people including seven soldiers were killed late this week during attacks by gunmen in Niger, security sources said on Saturday, adding to the week's death toll from armed clashes in the uranium-exporting northwest African country.

The attacks are heightening tensions in the Sahel region, which saw a wave of kidnappings in 2009. Four westerners -- three Spaniards and one Frenchman -- are believed to be in Mali and held hostage by al Qaeda operatives.

In attacks on Wednesday and Thursday, unidentified armed men killed seven soldiers and a civilian in the Tahoua region, which borders Mali, around 750 km north of Niger's capital Niamey. Soldiers killed two of the raiders.

"Soldiers who pursued the men said they fled in the direction of Mali," a military officer in Niger told Reuters.

On Tuesday, Niger's security forces arrested three people suspected of a botched desert hostage-taking the day before that left four Saudi Arabian travellers dead.

That attack, near the village of Djambala in the remote Tillabery region, comes in a restive zone where Tuareg rebels and al Qaeda cells are active.

Three Saudis were shot dead during the attack and three others in the group -- made up of six Saudis and two Malians -- were seriously wounded and transferred to hospital in Niamey. One of the Saudis later died of his wounds.

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allafrica

On the morning of 1 January 2010, the Singaporean Flagged M/V PRAMONI, a chemical tanker of 20,000 dead weight tonnes, was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden.

At the time of the attack she was travelling eastbound with a destination of Kandla, India. EU NAVFOR can confirm that the ship has a crew of 24 persons (5 Chinese, 17 Indonesian, 1 Nigerian, 1 Vietnamese).

The ship’s master reported on VHF that the ship was hijacked and all the crew are well. The ship is presently heading south towards Somalia.

The main tasks of EUNAVFOR mission Operation ATALANTA are to escort merchant vessels carrying food of the ‘World Food Program’ (WFP), the protection of vulnerable ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean and to deter and disrupt piracy wherever possible.

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allafrica

Somalia's Al-Shabaab insurgent group has reportedly seized the control of central town of Dhusamareb, the capital of Galgadud region 500km north of capital Mogadishu.

Reports say heavily armed Al-Shabaab militia attacked the town on Saturday morning and overpowered militia loyal to Ahul-Sunnah Wal-Jamaa, who controlled the strategic town.

Local residents report that dozens have been killed in the fighting, but information about the actual figure is still scanty.

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allafrica

On the late afternoon of 1 January, UK Flagged M/V Asian Glory (a vehicle carrier) owned by ZODIAC Maritime Agency, was hijacked in the Somali Basin approximately 900 nautical miles north of the Seychelles and 600 miles from the coast of Somalia.

ASIAN GLORY was well outside the normal EU NAVFOR operating area. The ship has a crew of 25 persons (8 Bulgarian, 10 Ukraines, 5 Indians, 2 Romanian) and all are reported to be well.

ACCRA, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- Ghanaian President John Evans Atta Mills in his New Year message asked his countrymen to forge a united front and rally solidly behind the government to build on the solid foundation laid in 2009 for national prosperity.

In the message, President Mills gave hope to the citizenry, and gave the assurance that the government was more than convinced of its ability to transform the county.

He said the government was in a better position to create jobs, invest in people, expand the frontiers of democracy and to move the nation in the right direction in an open, honest and transparent manner.

The president reminded Ghanaians that 2010 was the second year in a four-year journey for his presidency, stressing the need for hard work, strong faith and determination to turn the challenges into opportunities.

"Let's forge ahead in unity," President Mills said, adding that faith and commitment are national ideals for a brighter future.

The president urged the youth to be inspired by the shining example of the victorious national under-20 football team, the Black Satellites, and to emulate their "sheer determination and the willingness to die for the nation."

"This is the kind of spirit which should move us in whatever we do," said the president.

He encouraged the Senior National Team, the Black Stars to be guided by the performance of the Black Satellites as they approached their continental assignment in Angola 2010 and at the World Cup tournament in South Africa.

President Mills urged Ghanaians to rally a solid support for the Black Stars in their determination to lift the flag of Ghana high in their assignments.

As the commander in chief of the armed forces, President Mills paid tribute to Ghana's police personnel on peacekeeping assignment, praising them for their sacrifices at a time when they should be with their families.

He wished Ghanaians a fruitful and fulfilling New Year, and invoked divine blessings for Ghanaians as he repeated the words of the national anthem "God Bless Our Homeland Ghana."

KINSHASA, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- The president of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), Joseph Kabila Kabange, promised in his New Year message to improve the social conditions of the Congolese people.

"I would wish to reaffirm another challenge that will get more of our attention in the coming year: the improvement of the social conditions of our people especially in the domains of education and health, water and electricity, housing, employment as well as raising of people's purchasing power," Kabila declared on state radio and television.

He also vowed "the courageous measures of reforming our judicial system which were taken in the beginning of 2009 to improve morals in our society," while pledging to "institute good governance and bring an end to impunity."

Kabila said 2009 was for his country a year "which marked the end of a lot of uncertainties. Uncertainties related to the prospects of sustainable peace in the east of the country especially after several military operations against foreign armed groups, the signing of the Goma peace agreement and the normalization of our relations with the neighboring countries."

"And for the first time in 15 years, the Congolese people are peacefully beginning a year without the noise of the boots or the crackling of the bullets across the national territory," he noted.

The Congolese president said the war-torn central African country in the new year will focus on "the prospects of getting to the point of achieving the PPTE initiative (highly indebted countries) and the reduction of the heavy burden of the external debt to our country, as well as the national reconstruction program titled the "five main constructions of the Republic."

Kabila declared 2010 a year of good luck as the country will mark its 50th anniversary of independence.

"This is an anniversary that we are proud to celebrate because despite the plots to destabilize and balkanize the country, the Democratic Republic of Congo has remained united within her borders since 1960."

"The Congolese nation is a reality and this is indisputable and unchangeable," the Congolese head of state said, adding that 2010 "will be the special year for accelerating the work to modernize the Congolese nation and institutionalize structural and institutional reforms in all areas."

The president was optimistic about "the prospects for the resumption of the world economy, the improvement of the business climate in the country," expressing belief that "there will be an economic growth" from now on.

"Have the determination that is required and let us encourage one another. I call upon all of you one more time to get involved in the national reconstruction work, to exercise responsibility while carrying out national duty, to respect the law and show individual and collective discipline," Kabila told his nationals.

"On my part," he said," I want to work for total return of peace and its consolidation across the entire country so that all the Congolese people can have a chance to blossom and concretize their noble dreams."

Kabila said he was convinced that "we shall make 2010 a jubilant year for our national independence ...so that we can lay the basic foundations for sustainable development of our country."

KINSHASA, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Nyamulagira volcano in the eastern province of North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) erupted overnight, a local source reported.

According to a correspondent of the Observateur newspaper in Goma, the provincial capital, the eruption occurred between Friday night and early Saturday.

The lava of the volcano headed towards the Virunga national park. Until now, there have been no reports of any loss of live or property.

The Niamulagira volcano is situated 20 km north of Lake Kivu in the vocanic mountain chain of Virunga.

ABIDJAN, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- Cote d'Ivoire's President Laurent Gbagbo reaffirms that "2010 will be the year of elections" in his country, promising that "everything is ready" for the holding of the presidential vote which has been postponed several times since2005.

"For us, for Cote d'lvoire, 2010 will not be an ordinary year. It will be a year of very important events that will change our history and our way of life, it will be the year of a general elections," Gbagbo declared in his New Year speech broadcast on national television.

According to the president, "Ivorians are waiting for these elections in order to put an end to an unfortunate situation that was brought about by the civil war" and "to bring about normal electoral cycle and institute regular and democratic functioning of institutions."

"Our partners are equally waiting for these elections in order to intensify their cooperation with Cote d'lvoire," he added.

The elections are very important also because they will bring to an end "the succession crisis" that Cote d'lvoire suffered after the death of president Felix Houphouet Boigny in 1993, with the 1999 coup d'etat and the September 2002 war, Gbagbo told his nationals.

The forthcoming elections, he said, will lead to an "end of getting power through inheritance or coup d'etats and end to a culture of a one party rule."

"Everything has been prepared to ensure that elections are held in 2010," he noted, declaring that the "most crucial and delicate stages in the electoral process were behind."

The president recalled having signed orders in relation to the issue of the military in the Ouagadougou political accords.

With the mediation of Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore, the rival sides have signed four peace agreements in Ouadougou to pave the way for the widely expected elections to lead the West African country out of the political crisis and end its de facto division.

The peace deal covers the harmonization of the ranks of the ex-rebel New Forces (FN) and loyalists, the opening of zones which were initially under the control of the FN, the deployment of officers of the integrated command center (CCI) to the central, northern and western zones for purposes of offering security during the electoral process without forgetting the joint brigades (rebels and loyalists).

After the voter identification and registration operation, which involved 6.5 million nationals, the process entered the stage of resolving contentious issues over the electoral list. About 1.03 million people are being targeted pending the long-awaited vote.

Originally planned for 38 days after its launch on Nov. 24, the cross check was adjourned to Jan. 6 with 250,000 cases handled out of the 350,000 complaints reported to the independent electoral commission.

The commission has reiterated that this deferment will not have any effect on the election date already set between late February and early March.

LAGOS, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Nigerian National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted 56.25 kg of heroin concealed inside car shock absorbers at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos, it said in a statement on Saturday.

The car shock absorbers, which originating from Pakistan, were intercepted at the cargo section of the airport before the new year.

Mitchell Ofoyeju, the agency head of public affairs, said in the statement that a clearing and forwarding agent, Yekini Shittu, was being quizzed by the anti-narcotic agents over the incident.

The statement said an airport taxi driver, Kamoru Gbadamosi, had been declared wanted in connection with the unlawful importation of the substance.

"The seizures were the single largest of heroin made in 2009," the statement said.

"A drug cartel had wanted to smuggle the drug into the country on two separate occasions in November and December 2009 when NDLEA officials uncovered the plots," it added.

The statement expressed satisfaction with the success of "Operation West Bridge" under the Memorandum of Understanding between Nigeria and Britain.

KINSHASA, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) has ended the "Kimia 2" operation in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces and launched "Amani Leo" (a Kiswahili word for "peace today"), according to the military.

The Kimia 2 command of the army known as FARDC said the new anti-insurgency operation began on Friday and will last three months.

Kimia 2 has already achieved its objectives with nearly 5,000 combatants of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) neutralized by the FARDC with the logistical support from the UN mission DR Congo (MONUC).

The figure represents 75 percent of the Rwandan Hutu rebels in the two Congolese provinces, the military said in a statement, adding the insurgents were either killed in battles, or repatriated to Rwanda by MONUC.

All the FDLR hiding places were dismantled, their commands and their means of communication dislocated, their leaders chased from the zones they used to control and away from all the regions where they were able to get essential incomes, the document added.

The military hailed the "successful" mission in which the FARD C also lost 211 soldiers in battles with the FDLR and other armed groups. Up to 200 FARDC soldiers were serious injured and 27 others went missing, it added.

The Amani Leo operation aims to consolidate the surveillance of Rwandan Hutu rebels with a view of eradicating them completely through the rigorous actions launched jointly by the FARDC and MONUC on the ground, the statement said, vowing to be committed to human rights.

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africanews

Angola has signed a lucrative but potentially dangerous oil deal with war-torn Iraq. The state-owned oil company, Sonangol, signed the deals which will see it take over oil fields in Qayara and Najmah, in the restive Nineveh province, described as one of the most dangerous regions in Iraq.
Africa20Oil.jpg
The Angolan state run oil company will receive between $5 and $6 a barrel, one of the highest fees awarded in Iraq's oil deals, the BBC reported. The two fields combined are said to contain an estimated 1.7 billion barrels of oil.

Reports also say that Sonagol is one of several oil companies which were awarded deals as part of Iraq's second bidding round for oil contracts, held earlier last month. The deals now await Iraqi cabinet's approval before it can be finalized.

But worries of violence are a cause for serious concern for the Angolans due to frequent insurgencies in the area with Sunni Islamic militants and al-Qaeda activist both active there.

Observers say the level of unbearable insecurity in the region tends to discourage a number of Western based companies from going to Iraq. In Sierra Leone, concerns have recently been raised that its youth have been flocking into the Middle Eastern nation in search of unavailable job back home.

According to the BBC, the Angolan state-owned oil company intends to invest $2bn in Qayara. It also announced that several firms have shown interest in forging joint exploration partnerships with it.

"There are at least five companies that have approached us and showed an interest to work with us to invest. We are still holding talks with them. The companies are European and American," the BBC quoted Paulino Jeronimo, exploration manager at Sonangol.

The southern African country is the second largest producer of crude oil in Africa after Nigeria.

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africanews

South Africa Police have announced that four suspects have been arrested for allegedly killing a 20-year-old Somali man in his shop in Cape Town. The Somali was murdered when a man went to the shop on Delft residence in Cape Town under the pretense of using the pay phone at around 13:45 on Wednesday.
South africa police
Police spokesperson Captain Joe Wilson said the unidentified assailant then insisted that the shopkeeper open the door, adding that the killer attacked the Somali when he obliged.

Police said the suspect hit his victim on the left side of the chest with a knife after which six other men joined the killer in looting the shop and bolted. They left with unspecified quantity of cell phones’ airtime and cigarettes.

Wilson said two assistants in the shop were left unhurt. Police said the four arrested suspects are aged 22, 23, 24 and 38. They would be arraigned before court on January 4 for charges of robbery and murder.

South Africa, with a population of more than 44 million, officially has nearly 30,000 refugees and 100,000 asylum seekers but unofficially there are believed to be more than five million illegal immigrants in the country.

AfricaNews reporter said the refugees have not always been welcomed in South Africa, especially in poorer black communities, since they are seen as competing for the same scarce resources and jobs.

Township businessmen, who are alleged to be directing the attacks, claim the Somalis are attracting their customers by offering cheaper prices and forcing them to shut down shops.

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africanews

Two experts from the Earthquake Disaster Assistance Team in the United States Geological survey [USGS] are expected to arrive in Malawi to carry out detailed assessment of the causes of recent earthquakes in Karonga District.
a town in Malawi
A statement from the US embassy in Malawi said the two are scheduled to arrive from January 4 – 16 to consult local authorities and visit the site of the recent earthquake in Karonga.

The statement added that the team would “evaluate the probabilities of future large earthquakes and to determine the factors that contributed to the loss of lives and buildings.”

The statement also said the team will train local experts in Malawi in the science of post-earthquake assessments and in communicating with the public and assess existing disaster response plans and the monitoring of earthquake hazards.

“Following a site visit to the area surrounding the epicenter of the quakes, the USGS officials will conduct a one-day training workshop on ‘Earthquake Hazards and Disaster Preparedness in Malawi’ in Zomba,” it stated.

Malawian geological experts say over 30 earthquakes have hit Karonga since December 6, killing four people, displacing over 4,000 people and destroying 1,11O houses.
The largest quake measured 6.2 on the Richter scale.

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africanews

Zambia is set to sign a new 1.4 million tonnes oil supply contract this month after the expiry of an existing arrangement with Kuwait's Independent Petroleum Group (IPG), energy minister Kenneth Konga said.
zambia fuel shortage Photo: Sanday
Konga said Zambia, Africa's top copper producer, would announce a new preferred bidder to supply its crude oil during the same month after the closing of tenders.

In the past Zambia has concluded long term contracts lasting two years for the purchase of 1.4 million tonnes of oil but Konga did not specify what period the coming deal would cover.

The country's fuel needs have grown along with mining activity.

The government had initially said it would rely on imports of petrol and diesel to supply to the mines, the country's economic lifeblood, and for other uses until April 2010 when crude oil imports where expected to resume.

Finished products

Zambia resorted to imports of finished petroleum products after its sole refiner, Indeni Petroleum Refinery, shut due to a machinery fault last October ahead of a planned routine maintenance closure during the same month. The refinery has slowly been ramping up production.

"The closing and opening date for the oil tender (will now be) January 8, 2010 and we expect that the long-term contract will be signed in the same month," Konga said.

Media reports say an industry expert said that fuel imports, which the country started in October, would continue to avoid disruptions mainly to the copper mines which use a lot of diesel in their production of minerals.

"When the tender closes there will be sufficient time for us to agree with the supplier when the first shipment will be delivered but we don't anticipate shortages of fuel because there are measures in place for a steady flow," Konga said.

The Zambia Public Procurement Authority (ZPPA) said last month that the 1,440,000 tonnes buyer's option would be brought in cargo lots of 60,000-90,000 tonnes at evenly spread intervals and that the signing of a new crude oil supply deal would be delayed until April.

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france24

Somalia's hardline Shabaab insurgents Friday said they will send fighters to Yemen to help an al Qaeda affiliate behind the failed Christmas Day jetliner bombing in its fight against government forces.

AFP - Somalia's hardline Shebab insurgents Friday said they will send fighters to Yemen to help an Al-Qaeda affiliate behind the failed Christmas Day jetliner bombing in its fight against government forces.

Sheikh Mukhtar Robow Abu Mansour, a senior official of the Shebab militia that pledges allegiance to Al-Qaeda, announced the plan as he presented hundreds of newly-trained fighters in the north of Mogadishu.

"We tell our Muslim brothers in Yemen that we will cross the water between us and reach your place to assist you fight the enemy of Allah," said Robow, to chants of "Allahu Akbar", or Allah is great, by the young fighters.

"Today you see what is happening in Yemen, the enemy of Allah is destroying your Muslim brothers," he added.

"I call upon the young men in Arab lands to join the fight there."

Yemeni forces have been battling Al-Qaeda militants in the country and last month launched raids on suspected targets in the central and the Sanaa regions, killing more than 60 Islamist militants.

Several others were also wounded in clashes this week in a western province of the impoverished Arabian peninsula state which lies north of Somalia across the Gulf of Aden.

Yemen is Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's ancestral homeland and has seen a spate of attacks against Western targets over the past decade.

An Al-Qaeda affiliate based in Yemen claimed it was behind the botched Christmas Day plot to bring down a US jetliner from Amsterdam to Detroit.

Sanaa acknowledged that the Nigerian citizen accused by the United States of attempting to blow up the Northwest Airlines plane had been in the country just weeks before the foiled bombing.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who allegedly tried to blow up the plane, is suspected of receiving training for his mission from an Al-Qaeda bomb maker in Yemen.

On Thursday, Somalia's police chief said a man had been arrested in November at Mogadishu airport with chemicals and a syringe in a similar incident to the failed attack on the US airliner.

The suspect was however released on December 12 by a Mogadishu court which threw out a case against him for lack of evidence.

Another police official among those who arrested the unnamed Somali man said further investigation had been launched after the December 25 jetliner incident.

The Al-Qaeda-inspired Shebab control large swathes of south and central Somalia and have wrested control of much of the capital Mogadishu where they have relentlessly attacked government and African Union forces.

"These young fighters successfully completed several months of tough training and they are now ready to join their brothers in the holy war against the enemy of Allah worldwide," Robow said.

On Monday, a Yemeni defence ministry official said the country "will never be a refuge" for Islamist militants and pledged more attacks on their hideouts like those of December.

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LOS ANGELES, Dec 31 (Reuters Life!) - Prosecutors said on Thursday they did not have enough evidence to charge boxer Mike Tyson over an altercation with a paparazzi photographer at Los Angeles airport in November.

The photographer, who went to the hospital that day with a cut to his forehead, will also not be charged.

"Our office conducted a full and thorough review of the case and ultimately we decided not to file charges against Mr. Tyson or the photographer," said Frank Mateljan, a spokesman for the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office.

Former heavyweight boxing champion Tyson and the photographer were both arrested on November 11 after a clash at Los Angeles International Airport. Police said both men were pressing charges against each other for battery.

Prosecutors on Thursday cited insufficient evidence in their decision not to charge the two men, who each faced up to six months in jail if convicted.

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LAGOS (Reuters) - A Nigerian man charged with trying to blow up a U.S. passenger jet on Christmas Day began his journey in Ghana and spent less than 30 minutes in Nigeria's Lagos airport, the Nigerian government said on Thursday.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab has been charged with trying to blow up Northwest Airlines flight 253 as it approached Detroit from Amsterdam on December 25 with almost 300 people on board.

"Further investigations by the Nigerian government have revealed that Abdulmutallab spent less than 30 minutes in the Nigerian airport before boarding the flight to Amsterdam," Information Minister Dora Akunyili said in a statement.

"He arrived in Nigeria on 24 December from Ghana via Virgin Nigeria. His passport was scanned on entry into Nigeria at 20:08 and was scanned in at check-in for departure to Amsterdam at 20:35," she said.

Although Abdulmutallab was known to have bought his ticket in Ghana's capital Accra, he had been thought to have started his journey on December 24 in Lagos, where he boarded a KLM flight to Amsterdam before transiting to the Detroit flight.

Nigerian and Dutch officials have said Abdulmutallab, 23, went through normal security screenings in both Lagos and Amsterdam's Schiphol airports.

He did not check in any baggage but was carrying a shoulder bag when he checked in for the KLM flight in Lagos, according to the head of Nigeria's Civil Aviation Authority. He went through a metal detector and his bag was x-rayed before he went through a second screening at the boarding gate.

The United States asked airports and airlines around the world to tighten security after the foiled attack, which raised questions about how Abdulmutallab had been able to get explosive materials onto the plane despite higher security worldwide since the September 11 hijacked airline attacks in 2001.

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MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somalia's hardline Islamist rebel group al Shabaab said on Friday it was ready to send reinforcements to al Qaeda in Yemen should the U.S. carry out retaliatory strikes, and urged other Muslims to follow suit.

Yemen-based al Qaeda groups have come under intense scrutiny since the Nigerian who tried to explode a bomb aboard a Detroit-bound Christmas Day flight from Amsterdam was linked to the country.

Yemeni and American officials are reported to have mulled targets for retaliatory strikes against such groups inside Yemen.

"We call upon all Muslims to give a hand to our brothers in Yemen and we, al Shabaab, are ready to send them reinforcements ... and Inshallah we shall win over America," said Sheikh Mukhtar Robow Abuu Mansuur, a senior al Shabaab official.

He urged hundreds of the group's soldiers, who marched around the northern parts of the battle-scarred capital in brand-new uniforms, to redouble their efforts in the fight.

Somalia has had no central government for 18 years and efforts to install one have been greatly undermined by the insurgency led by al Shabaab, which Washington views as al Qaeda's proxy in the region.

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VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict used his traditional New Year address on Friday to call on people to change their lifestyles to save the planet, saying environmental responsibility was essential for global peace.

Recalling that world leaders had gathered in Copenhagen last month for the U.N. climate conference, the pope said action at a personal and community level was just as important to safeguard the environment.

"Nevertheless, in this moment, I would like to underline the importance of the choices of individuals, families and local administrations in preserving the environment," the Pope told the thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square.

"An objective shared by all, an indispensable condition for peace, is that of overseeing the earth's natural resources with justice and wisdom."

The pope, who had a scare last week when a woman with a history of mental problems knocked him down during Christmas Eve mass, also said "ecological responsibility" should be taught as part of the education syllabus.

The pope and his predecessor John Paul have put the Vatican firmly on an environmentalist footing. Last month, in a message sent to heads of state and international organisations, the pope called on rich nations to acknowledge responsibility for the environmental crisis and shed consumerism.