The report, which was adopted after a five-day set of discussions between scientific experts and government delegates from more than 120 countries, broke down its findings into regions for the first time.

Africa, a continent mainly composed of less developed countries, will be the hardest hit by the adverse effects of global warming, 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," experts said in a 21-page summary of the whole report for policy makers.

By 2020, between 75 and 250 million people in Africa are projected to be exposed to an increase in water shortages, the report said.

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 their gross domestic products to cover the cost of adaptation to climate change, the report said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Qin Gang blasted a new human rights report released by the US Department of State as being inconsistent with "basic facts" Saturday, characterizing it as unsubstantiated and slanderous to the human rights conditions in China. The annual report on US efforts to support human rights and democracy abroad was delivered to Congress Thursday in compliance with the FY 03 Foreign Relations Authorization Act.

The report criticized the Chinese Communist Party (CPC) for suppressing the human rights of those "perceived to threaten the legitimacy or authority" of the party; Qin responded that China has received international acclaim for its protection of human rights, freedom of expression and fundamental liberties of all of its various ethnic groups. Qin noted that there is a consensus amongst the international community that the "United States is not in the position to depict itself as a human rights watchdog," and that the United States should examine its own human rights practices, and refrain from applying double or multiple standards as a pretext to intervene in the domestic affairs of states. Qin stated that doing so would remove the barriers between serious interstate dialogue concerning human rights.

The report, the fifth annual submission, is intended to complement the annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, which highlight and publicize foreign rights abuses. Since 1998, the People's Republic of China (PRC) has published a responsive annual report titled the Human Rights Record of the United States.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on governments on Friday to take immediate action following the release of a UN report on impacts of climate change.

The secretary-general welcomed the release of the findings of Working Group II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a statement issued by his spokesperson said.

"He notes with concern that the impacts of climate change are increasingly noticeable, and likely to become more so in the future as extreme weather events intensify," it said.

"Adequate, large-scale adaptation measures have the potential to alleviate some of the worst consequences outlined in the report, if governments take action without delay," the statement said.

"The secretary-general hopes that the Parties to the Convention on Climate Change will work decisively towards a comprehensive framework to replace the existing regime once it expires in 2012,"it said.

"He hopes the parties will avail themselves of the opportunity to make progress towards such a framework at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali in December this year," it added.

Climate experts on the IPCC warned in the report that impacts of global warming, ranging from water and food shortages to rising seas, are set to adversely affect human's living environment. ?

If convicted, the officers face a maximum five-year sentence. The captain, chief mate, second mate, third mate, chief cabin steward, and housekeeper of the Greek-flagged vessel were arrested after the accident, a merchant marine ministry spokeswoman said earlier on Saturday. All were released pending further investigations.

Missing tourists

Two French passengers are still missing after the sinking of the Sea Diamond, which hit rocks on Thursday and sank off the coast of the Greek island of Santorini. The rest of the 1,154 passengers and 391 crew were safely evacuated. The 469ft vessel hit a well-marked and charted reef in fair weather inside Santorini's sea-filled crater. The ship had been due to dock a few minutes later. The sinking vessel was evacuated in a three-hour rescue operation, but Jean-Christophe Allain, 45, and his 16-year-old daughter, Maud, from Doue-la-Fontaine in western France were later listed as missing, feared to have been trapped in their flooded lower-deck cabin.

Largest Greek rescue

The ministry spokeswoman said the search for the two continued, while divers continued to investigate the hulk of the Sea Diamond. Officials were also carrying out a clean-up effort for fuel that leaked out of the 21-year-old vessel, which sank 15 hours after the accident.

"The vessel maintained the highest level of safety standards and was equipped with the latest navigation systems," said Giorgos Stathopoulos, spokesman for the ship's operator, Louis Cruise Lines. Thursday's evacuation was the largest Greek rescue operation since the September 2000 Express Samina ferry disaster, which killed 80 people near the holiday island of Paros when it struck rocks in the night and sank. It also created a major headache for officials in Greece's key tourism industry - which accounts for an estimated 18 per cent of the country's Gross Domestic Product.

"Whoever is responsible for this will be held accountable in the strictest way," Fanny Petralia, the tourism minister said. "Greece is a major tourism destination and incidents like this must not be allowed to occur. Authorities handled the rescue very well."

'Orderly evacuation'

Manolis Kefaloyannis, the merchant marine minister, said the evacuation "was orderly and successful. "Every decision was taken in a way that would not endanger lives". But some passengers complained of an insufficient supply of life vests, little guidance from crew members and being forced into a steep climb down rope-ladders to safety. Most of the passengers were American, but there also were groups from Canada and Spain.

After its evacuation, the 20-year-old ship run by "Louis Hellenic-Cruises" anchored at Athinio coast but it finally sank at dawn on Holy Friday, when water flooded the engine room and decks No 2 and 3, resulting in increase of its list.

It is reported that Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis is being continually briefed by Merchant Marine Minister Manolis Kefalogiannis and Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos on the case.

On board the ship were 1,170 passengers, the majority being American and German tourists, and 390 crew members. Two French people were reported missing while the rest of passengers and crewmen were rescued.

The 22,412-ton Sea Diamond, which flew the Greek flag since 2006, was built in 1986 and was refurbished in 1999. It could carry 1,250 passengers in 570 cabins. The ship was on a 7-day cruise, scheduled to arrive in Piraeus on Holy Friday morning. 

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

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.