BBC News with Sue Montgomery

An Italian cruise ship with 1,000 people on board is floating adrift in the dark in an area of the Indian Ocean where Somali pirates have been active. The crew of the ship Costa Allegra issued a

distress signal

when a fire knocked out the ship's generators. David Willey reports.

The 28,000-tonne liner, the Costa Allegra, belongs to the same Italian cruise line as the Costa Concordia, which

went aground

off the coast of Italy last month with a loss of more than 30 lives. Rome coastguards say three merchant ships and two fishing boats in the area have been directed towards the stricken vessel. The authorities in the Seychelles have also dispatched a

tugboat

, a coastguard ship and a plane to the area where the Allegra is drifting without power.

The Syrian government says around 90% of those who voted in the referendum on Sunday approved the constitutional changes

put forward

by President Bashar al-Assad. His opponents rejected the vote as a

farce

. The American State Department said it was absolutely

cynical

to hold the referendum when Syrian government guns and tanks were still firing into Syrian cities. Activists say at least 40 people were killed today. With more, Jim Muir.

As reports of violence came in from many parts of the country, the interior minister announced the results of the referendum on the constitution. The referendum results showed a