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Bhubaneswar, September 10: A cargo ship carrying around 25,000 tonnes of iron ore capsized off India’s east coast on Wednesday evening and a crew member is missing, a senior port official said.

The vessel, operating under a Mongolian flag, capsized 5-6 km (3-4 miles) off the harbour area after it had loaded iron ore at Paradip port in the state of Orissa, the port’s Deputy Chairman Biplav Kumar said.

“Of the total 27 crew members, 26 have been rescued,” he said, adding the accident had not disrupted shipping traffic.

Kumar did not say why the ship sank.

Vienna, September 10: Iran may have enough nuclear material to put together an atomic bomb, the United States said Wednesday, as Tehran submitted proposals to resolve the international standoff.

While the head of the UN nuclear watchdog sought to downplay fears over Iran’s nuclear programme, the US envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Iran’s enrichment drive was moving closer to “breakout capacity”.

Freetown, September 10: A boat carrying children in Sierra Leone back from their school holidays capsized in a heavy storm off the capital Freetown, killing at least 80 of its 150 passengers, police said on Wednesday.

Emergency services rescued 36 people and were continuing the search for more survivors from the wreck on Tuesday, federal police spokesman Ibrahim Samuro told reporters.

“The rest are still missing. The vessel cannot be traced,” Samuro said of the search effort off the coast by Freetown’s Tombo suburb.

Istanbul, September 10: Flash floods killed 31 people in northwest Turkey, sweeping through the city of Istanbul, swamping houses, turning highways into fast-flowing rivers and drowning seven women in a minibus that was taking them to work.

Twenty-four died in Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, after two days of the heaviest rain in 80 years produced sudden flood waters which engulfed low-lying areas.Another seven died in Saray, west of Istanbul, five of whom were from the same family.

Washington, September 10: NASA scientists on Wednesday unveiled the first images taken by a revamped Hubble telescope, providing even crisper pictures of distant stars and galaxies.

The colourful images provide a taste of the Hubble’s new capability after a servicing mission in May that installed new instruments and repaired broken ones that had hampered the world’s most famous telescope.

Washington, September 10: U.S. President Barack Obama readied a high-stakes plea for healthcare reform on Wednesday, as a Senate Democrat leading bipartisan negotiations said he was ready to push ahead even without Republican support.

Faced with falling public approval ratings, Obama said his televised address to the U.S. Congress at 8 p.m. EDT (0000 GMT) would provide Americans with “a much more detailed plan” for overhauling the $2.5 trillion U.S. healthcare system in the face of bitter differences.

Washington, September 10: The U.S. government warned mariners on Tuesday to expect an increase in piracy off the Horn of Africa and in the Indian Ocean and counseled seamen on U.S.-flagged ships to be prepared to defend against boarders.

An advisory from the Maritime Administration said increased piracy can be expected because the monsoon has ended in the area off eastern Africa, and pirates from lawless Somalia will have easier access to passing ships.

Jerusalem, September 08: Israel on Monday gave the go-ahead to build hundreds of new homes in settlements in the occupied West Bank, defying warnings that the move jeopardises any resumption of Middle East peace talks.

Defence Minister Ehud Barak authorised the construction of 455 units, most of them in the large settlement blocs that Israel has said it wants to keep in the event of a final peace agreement.

Brasilia, September 08: Brazil and France have signed a major arms pact worth billions of dollars that includes transfer of key military technologies, building of submarines and purchase of helicopters.

The agreement was sealed after a meeting between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva here Monday.

The pact will allow the two countries to share key military technologies, including building of five submarines, one of which is nuclear-powered, in the country, as well as the purchase of 50 EC-725 helicopters by Brazil.

London, September 08: Three men have been found guilty of plotting to kill thousands of people by blowing up planes flying from London to America with home-made liquid bombs.

A Woolwich Crown Court jury convicted Abdulla Ahmed Ali, 28, Tanvir Hussain, 28, and Assad Sarwar, 29, of conspiring to activate bombs disguised as drinks.

Four other men were found not guilty of involvement in the suicide bomb plot.

The men’s arrests in August 2006 led to new airport restrictions on liquids and brought chaos to travellers.

Jakarta, September 08: A push by Indonesia to dramatically toughen its approach to fighting Islamist militants has come under fire as a threat to human rights that could ultimately reverse gains in tackling extremists.

The security ministry has asked lawmakers for sweeping amendments to strengthen the hand of the state under the country’s 2002 anti-terror law, rushed into effect after bombings in Bali that year that killed 202 people.