The report said global warming, widely blamed on human activities, will cause species to extinct, seas to rise, water shortages to spread and droughts and floods to become more frequent. With poor countries to be worst hit, all regions from Africa to Pacific islands will suffer from the adverse effects of climate change.

"Approximately twenty to thirty percent of plant and animal species assessed so far are likely to be at increased risk of extinction if increases in global average temperature exceed 1.5-2.5 degrees Celsius," said the report, drafted by experts from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

The IPCC had said in its previous report issued in February that global average temperature had already increased by 0.74 degrees Celsius in the past century, while it could rise by another 1.1 to 6.4 degrees Celsius this century.

According to Friday's report, many ecosystems are likely to be overburdened this century by an unprecedented combination of climate change and its associated disturbances like flooding, drought and wildfire. Other man-made consequences like land use change, pollution and over-exploitation of resources could make the situation even worse.

The overall picture drawn by the report showed that drought-affected areas will likely increase in extent, while frequent heavy rainfalls will augment flood risk. During this century, water supplies stored in glaciers and snow cover are projected to decline, leaving one-sixth of the world population at risk.

For the first time, the nearly 1,500-page report broke down its findings into regions.

Take Asia as an example. More than 1 billion people there will be affected by less freshwater by the 2050s.

"Freshwater availability in Central, South, East and Southeast Asia particularly in large river basins is projected to decrease due to climate change," the report said.

Ironically, some Asian areas will first be hit by flood ahead of drought due to the melting of glacier in the Himalayas, an obvious proof of climate change.

While 1 billion people are thirsty for water, the coastal areas throughout the continent will be at great risk due to increased flooding from the sea and in some mega-deltas flooding from the rivers, the report said.

Besides water shortage, Asia will also face the risk of hunger, particularly in Central and South Asia, by the middle of this century.

Experts estimated that crop yields could increase up to 20 percent in East and Southeast Asia while it could decrease up to 30 percent in Central and South Asia by 2050s.

However, the places that will be worst affected by global warming are poor countries.

"Poor people are the most vulnerable and will be the worst hit by the impacts of climate change. This becomes a global responsibility," said Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of IPCC.

Africa, a continent mainly composed of less developed countries, will be hardest hit by the adverse effects of climate change, according to the report.

"New studies confirm that Africa is one of the most vulnerable continents to climate variability and change because of multiple stresses and low adaptive capacity," the report summary said.

By 2020, between 75 and 250 million people in Africa are projected to be exposed to an increase of water shortages. As a result of climate change, the area suitable for agriculture, the length of growing seasons and yield potential are expected to decrease, which will further adversely affect food production in the continent as it was already suffering from malnutrition.

In some countries, yields from rain-fed agriculture could be reduced by up to 50 percent by 2020, the report warned.

The poverty-inflicted continent may also have to spend at least five to ten percent of gross domestic products to cover the cost of adaptation since sea-level rise will affect low-lying coastal areas with large populations towards the end of this century.

The report is part of the IPCC's first review since 2001 of the evidence for climate change resulting from human activities. It is the second of four reports from the IPCC this year. With the first report in February elaborating how global warming is happening, the second one is focused on what the effects of global warming will be.

As the summary for policymakers was unanimously adopted by government delegates, it may serve as a policy guide in future international negotiations on climate change.

The mother and wife of the two missing notified the authorities about her beloved ones after the ship had been evacuated and after she and her son boarded a ship that transferred them to Piraeus.

The French woman said that after the collision, their cabin flooded with water and had to try hard to open the door. She added that she had to dive into the water to escape death, but it seems that her husband Jean-Christophe Allain and her daughter Maud were not successful with their efforts.

Local television reported that "Aegean 2" ship carrying the first 296 passengers and 38 crew members arrived in Piraeus Friday morning. Tourism Minister Fani Palli Petralia was there to welcome them.

The rest of the 1,040 passengers and crew members, who were transferred by the cruise ship Perla and arrived in Piraeus later Friday.


Capt., 5 officers charged in Greek cruise ship accident

However, the judge said Verizon would be injured if Vonage was completely free to continue infringing the patents.

A lawyer for Vonage, Roger Warin, told the court the ruling was a "slow strangling" of the company. The difference between a partial stay or a total prohibition on using the technology amounted to "cutting off oxygen or a bullet to the head," he said.

Hilton is expected to sign his order next Thursday. Vonage is then free to take the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which specializes in patent cases.

U.S. equities markets were closed for the Good Friday holiday. Vonage shares closed down almost 7 percent on Thursday to $3.37 on the New York Stock Exchange ahead of the court hearing. Verizon shares rose 1 percent to $38 on the NYSE.

Rebecca Arbogast, an analyst with Stifel Nicolaus, said Hilton's order was a blow to Vonage. "If they can't get new customers (while they appeal the case), I think it's going to be tough to attract capital."

Hilton announced on March 23 that he intended to issue an injunction blocking all use of Verizon's technology, sending Vonage shares down nearly 26 percent that day.

The judge gave Vonage two weeks to try to convince him to stay the injunction. Verizon then suggested the judge allow Vonage to keep servicing its existing customers if a stay was necessary.

Earlier in March, a jury found Vonage had infringed three patents owned by Verizon. The jury said Vonage must pay $58 million, plus 5.5 percent royalties on future sales.

Vonage stock has steadily lost value since its initial public offering at $17 a share in May last year. The shares posted an all-time closing low of $3 after Hilton's March 23 hearing.

Software giant Oracle is to open its fifth branch in China's Xi'an, capital of northwestern Shaanxi Province, an ambitious move to strengthen its presence in China's vast western market.

The company will work with local partners to develop IT products and solutions, and persuade businesses and government agencies to use more IT products, said Yan Xuan, vice president of Beijing Oracle Software Systems Co. at a trade fair in Xi'an on Friday.

Oracle will also provide internship and training opportunities for local university students, said Yan, adding Oracle plans to set up offices in Shenyang, Nanjing and Jinan.

Though he did not elaborate on the size of the Xi'an branch, Yan said "the bigger the better" as Xi'an has considerable scientific expertise, hosting lots of universities and colleges.

"The Xi'an office will manage Oracle's business in northwestern China," said Yan.

Founded in 1977, Oracle has developed into one of the world's leading software suppliers and independent software companies. It was the first global software titan to enter the Chinese market in1989.

Oracle China has offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu and two development centers in Beijing and Shenzhen.

Mr. Li, 35, of El Monte, California, was originally indicted by a federal grand jury on June 15, 2004. He was charged with possession and use of counterfeit access devices as well as possession of access-making equipment. Mr. Li pleaded guilty to possessing over fifteen counterfeit credit cards. Mr. Li also admitted to using counterfeit credit cards to fraudulently purchase merchandise in retail stores in the Bay Area that resulted in a total loss of between $1,000,000 and $2,500,000.

Ms. Tan, 36, of Richmond, California, was indicted by the same grand jury with the same violations of federal law and pled guilty to the same violation as Mr. Li. Ms. Tan admitted that her actions in using counterfeit credit cards resulted in loss of more than $5,000.

"These sentences embody the United States Attorney’s Office ongoing commitment to work closely with the United States Secret Service to investigate and prosecute credit card fraud," U.S. Attorney Scott N. Schools stated. "The possession and use of counterfeit credit cards is a scourge on our modern society. Counterfeit credit cards threaten the integrity of our banking system and result in higher costs to businesses and consumers. Those who choose to engage in such fraud will be prosecuted, and if convicted, face lengthy jail time. The Department of Justice commends the dedication of the Secret Service in bringing Mr. Li and Ms. Tan to account for their crimes."

China's State Council on Friday banned the sale of human organs used for transplants effective May 1. The new regulation prohibits individuals and organizations from trading organs, such as hearts, lungs, and kidneys, following allegations of involuntary donations and international criticism that human organs taken from executed prisoners were sold to foreigners. The regulation only bans the sale of organs; sales of human tissue, such as marrow, cornea and cells, are still permitted.

Last month, an anonymous senior Chinese Supreme Court official told the state Xinhua News Agency that China uses the same strict organ donation procedures when accepting organs from executed criminals as it does with any other organ donations, but doubt exists as to how the requirement for informed consent is enforced. Last March, the Chinese Ministry of Health  issued a general ban on the sale of human organs that took effect on July 1, 2006. The Ministry also issued new regulations in August 2006 to counter unauthorized international trade in organs, including rules that would restrict the number of hospitals permitted to perform transplants.

The SEC said yesterday it will work to resolve conflicts between the proposals over the issue of symbols with three or fewer characters. The NYSE and other exchanges are pushing to limit the use of one-, two-and three-character symbols to those listing markets that have traditionally used them.

Nasdaq and other self-regulatory organizations are trying to permit any listing market to use one-, two-, three-, four- or five-character symbols, allowing companies to move their securities onto the Nasdaq while retaining their ticker symbols.

The SEC said it plans to publish the proposals for comment and "will resolve the conflicts ... as fairly and expeditiously as possible." A spokesperson did not know when the issue would be decided.

The investor protection agency asked the exchanges in February 2005 to work together to develop a national plan for reserving, selecting and allocating securities symbols.

"Securities symbols are an important part of a listed company's identity and developing a formal process to reserve, select and allocate symbols ... will help promote a fair and orderly national market system and prevent investor confusion," said SEC Market Regulation Director Eric Sirri.

Following the SEC request to formalize the symbol allocation system, Nasdaq announced its intention to begin listing companies with three or less symbols. Last month, Delta Financial Corp. became the first company to trade on the Nasdaq with a three-character symbol – DFC – after a proposal to list that specific company was approved. Nasdaq moved a step further with a March 29 proposal to the SEC that would explicitly permit the display of three-character symbols on its exchange. The SEC will consider the proposal after the public comment period ends April 25.