Confident Iran set for nuclear talks in Geneva

Iran is set to meet six world powers in the Swiss capital Geneva to discuss its nuclear programme.

They are the first talks in over a year, but analysts say any breakthrough is unlikely.

On Sunday Iran announced that it had delivered its first domestically produced raw uranium to a plant that can make it ready for enrichment.

The US criticised the announcement but Tehran said as a result it would go to the talks with "strength and power".

On state television, nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi said the talks were for the benefit of the other countries, not Iran.

"We want to create a graceful solution out of the political deadlock for those who have pressurised us," he said, according to Reuters news agency.

The US and its allies believe Iran may be trying to produce nuclear weapons.

Tehran says its nuclear programme is for peaceful civilian purposes. BBC News

Bangladesh 'ship seized by pirates' off India

A Bangladeshi-flagged ship is believed to have been seized by pirates off southern India, say shipping officials.

The MV Jahan Moni was attacked after a long pursuit near the Lakshadweep group of islands, some 300km (185 miles) from the Indian coast.

The ship, with 25 Bangladeshi crew on board, was on its way from Singapore to Europe via the Suez Canal.

Bangladeshi Rear Admiral Bazlur Rahman said the crew had raised the alarm and the ship was now moving erratically.

"We lost contact with the ship at 5.38pm (1138 GMT) Bangladesh time after it was attacked by pirates for the second time. We suspect the ship has been captured by the pirates," Adm Rahman told the AFP news agency.

"All symptoms are there that the pirates have taken control of the ship.

"It was chased by the pirates for more than an hour," said Adm Rahman, adding that the boat had sent out a distress signal.

"Now it is showing erratic movement".

The Bangladesh Shipping Department said it had sought help from the Indian coastguard and from anti-piracy teams in Dubai and Singapore.

Several nations are involved in operations to tackle Somalia-based piracy in the busy shipping lanes of the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.

Somali pirates have been seizing ships increasingly far away from their homeland, but have never been known to operate so close to India. BBC News

Sources: Israel, Turkey meeting aimed at mending rift

(CNN) -- Officials from Israel and Turkey met in Geneva, Switzerland, on Sunday in an attempt to reduce tensions between the two nations in the wake of an incident earlier this year involving an aid flotilla to Gaza, representatives from both countries said.

The meeting came about after Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan sent two firefighting planes Friday to Israel to aid in combating a deadly wildfire, according to a Turkish foreign ministry official.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly thanked Erdogan, then called him to thank him again, the official said. While on the telephone, Netanyahu said he hoped the two countries could discuss the state of their relationship in a different context, according to the official.

Yosef Ciechanover, an Israeli representative on a U.N. panel established to review the May 31 flotilla incident, traveled to Geneva for the meeting at Netanyhahu's request, according to an Israeli official.

"The two met in order to find ways to promote appeasement and diminish the tension between the two countries," the official said.

Another Israeli official said, "We regretted the deterioration of the relationship between the two countries and we of course like to see an improvement of the relations".

The Turkish foreign ministry officials said that Foreign Ministry undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu met with the Israeli representative.

Turkey was once Israel's strongest ally among Muslim nations, but the relationship between the two nations has been chilly since May 31, when Israeli forces intercepted an aid flotilla headed to Gaza from Turkey. Violence broke out, and nine Turkish activists were killed. CNN

Under pressure, WikiLeaks asks supporters for mirror sites

(CNN) -- Under heavy pressure from the United States and allied governments, WikiLeaks appealed to supporters worldwide to mirror its website Sunday as it continued the process of releasing thousands of sensitive U.S. diplomatic cables.

"Wikileaks is currently under heavy attack. In order to make it impossible to ever fully remove Wikileaks from the Internet, we need your help," the site told followers Sunday. The message was followed by instructions on how website operators could set up mirror sites that would distribute the documents as WikiLeaks released them.

On the microblogging site Twitter, supporters have rallied by offering their sites or by posting links to other mirrors. In an echo of "Spartacus," the 1960 film classic about a slave revolt against ancient Rome, many adopted the hashtag #imwikileaks.

"All the censoring of WikiLeaks is more alarming than the actual content of the leaks. It only further justifies WL's actions," read one widely distributed comment.

WikiLeaks, which facilitates the anonymous leaking of secret information, began posting the first of more than 250,000 U.S. State Department documents last week. Since then, the site has been hit with denial-of-service attacks, been kicked off servers in the United States and France, and lost a major revenue source on Friday when the U.S.-based PayPal cut off its account.

PayPal said WikiLeaks violated its policy against activities that "encourage, promote, facilitate or instruct others to engage in illegal activity." And a U.S.-based domain name provider shut down WikiLeaks early Friday, but the controversial website announced hours later that it had employed a company in Switzerland and was back up. CNN

Iraq: Gunmen kill elderly Christian couple inside their Baghdad home

(CNN) -- Attackers gunned down an elderly Christian couple late Sunday inside their Baghdad home, the latest in a string of religious-rooted violence that has spurred international outcry and a full-court press for justice from Iraqi authorities.

Gunmen broke into the couple's residence in Baladiyat, a predominantly Shiite area in eastern Baghdad, during the night and shot them dead, an Iraqi Interior Ministry official said.

Hours earlier, Maj. Gen. Qassim Atta said in a press conference broadcast on state-run Iraqiya TV that 15 "Arabs" -- in Iraq, a euphemism indicating they came from outside the country -- were responsible for three deadly attacks in Baghdad in recent months, including a bloody church siege.

The spokesman for the Iraqi military command in Baghdad showed pictures of each of the men, whom he called "terrorists" and said they had entered Iraq from unidentified countries between June and August.

Ten of them had died while carrying out suicide attacks or had been killed by Iraqi security forces, Atta said. The other five remain at large, with Atta urging the public to help in tracking them down. CNN

Russian satellite launch fails

Moscow (CNN) -- Russia's space agency is investigating the failed launch of three navigational satellites, the agency reported Sunday.

The satellites were meant to complete the Russian GLONASS satellite navigation system. But they went into a "non-targeted orbit" following their launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Sunday afternoon, the Federal Space Agency reported.

"A special Board has been established to find out the cause of the contingency and to define next steps," the agency said in a public statement.

No further information was immediately available. The Russian news agency RIA-Novosti, citing unnamed officials, reported that the satellites crashed into the Pacific Ocean off Hawaii, but U.S. military and Coast Guard said they could not confirm that report.

The satellites were launched aboard a Proton-M rocket from Baikonur about 3:25 p.m. Sunday (7:25 a.m. ET) and were slated to be fully operational in about six weeks. GLONASS is the Russian equivalent of the U.S. Global Positioning System network, and Sunday's launch would have brought the network up to its full strength of 26 satellites. CNN

Mexican police bust drug ring to Japan

(CNN) -- A Japanese man accused of operating a drug trafficking ring between Mexico and Japan was arrested in Mexico last week, the Ministry of Public Security said Saturday.

Phanor Eriko Kuratomi, known as "El Casio," was arrested Friday in Mexico City, according to a ministry news release.

The arrest was the result of an investigation that revealed that Eriko Kuratomi, a Japanese citizen, used women to transport drugs in their bodies.

Also arrested were three women, including 30-year-old Zaira Apodaca Vera, who is believed to have transported drugs in her body, and Isabel Alamilla Roa, 40, who had served time in prison for being part of a group of women who smuggled drugs into Mexican jails.

Also arrested was Juan Ignacio Angeles Reyes, accused of recruiting the women to travel to Japan and driving them to the airport.

The police secured one and a half kilos of cocaine and plane tickets to Tokyo. CNN

Troubleshooter Mbeki arrives in Ivory Coast

Abidjan, Ivory Coast (CNN) -- Former South African President Thabo Mbeki arrived in Ivory Coast Sunday on an emergency mission as two men claimed to be president of the west African nation.

Incumbent Laurent Gbagbo defied international appeals to step aside and was sworn in Saturday as the new president in a formal ceremony inside the presidential palace that was broadcast live on television.

Less than an hour-and-a-half later, his rival, Alassane Ouattara, told reporters that he, too, had taken the oath of office and asked Prime Minister Soro Guillaume to form a new government.

Mbeki, sent by the African Union, met with Gbagbo and the U.N. special envoy to the country in Abidjan, before meeting with Ouattara, according to Mbeki's spokesman, Mukoni Ratshitanga.

The capital Abidjan has remained calm so far. A 7 p.m. curfew contributed to an eerie calm Saturday evening.

But the political chaos heightened fears that the Ivory Coast -- known as Cote d'Ivoire in French -- would once again plunge into the unrest and bloodshed suffered after a civil war broke out in 2002.

The Constitutional Council declared Gbagbo the winner Friday, invalidating earlier results from the Independent Electoral Commission which handed Ouattara the victory with 54.1% of the vote.

The Constitutional Council said Gbagbo had won the election with 51.45% of the vote to Ouattara's 48.55%. It tossed out votes it said were marred by fraud in northern regions that were considered Ouattara strongholds. CNN

British lawmaker denies aide is a Russian spy

London, England (CNN) -- An aide to a British lawmaker has been arrested and is facing expulsion from the country, the member of Parliament said Sunday, but he denied that she is a secret agent.

"She is not a Russian spy," Liberal Democrat MP Mike Hancock said Sunday of his aide Katia Zatuliveter.

She was detained Thursday, he said. The arrest did not become public until Sunday.

"I know nothing about espionage, but she has been subjected to a deportation order," he said. "She is appealing it, because she feels -- quite rightly -- that she has done nothing wrong".

London's Sunday Times newspaper said the British intelligence service MI5 determined that the 25-year-old was a Russian sleeper agent.

Zatuliveter has been working for Hancock for more than two years and was "vetted and cleared to have a parliamentary pass," the lawmaker said.

"It is difficult to understand the reasons for all this. She has been an excellent and conscientious employee," Hancock said in a statement, wishing her well.

"It is now in the hands of her lawyers. I am sure that in the end she will be proved to be right," Hancock said.

The Home Office -- which is responsible for domestic security and speaks for MI5 -- declined to comment on the allegations, saying it did not routinely comment on individual cases.

Russia's secret service, the FSB, and the Russian Foreign Ministry also declined to comment on the case.

Hancock represents the southern section of the English city of Portsmouth on the south coast.

He has been a member of Parliament since 1997. The Liberal Democrat party to which he belongs has been the junior partner in a British coalition government since May.

He lists Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and Romania among his interests, and is active in lawmakers' groups focused on NATO and Western Europe. CNN

Iran nuclear program self-sufficient, top official claims

(CNN) -- Iran now produces everything it needs for the nuclear fuel cycle, making its nuclear program self-sufficient, the head of the country's Atomic Energy Organization told state media Sunday.

The Islamic republic has begun producing yellowcake, Ali Akbar Salehi told Press TV.

Salehi's announcement came just a day before Iran is to continue stalled nuclear talks with the so-called P5 plus 1 countries -- Germany and the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council: the United States, China, Russia, France and the United Kingdom.

That's no coincidence, CNN's Reza Sayah says. Iran wants to show that despite ever-tighter sanctions, it is not negotiating from a position of weakness.

The United States was not surprised by the announcement, National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer told CNN.

"Iran has been trying to develop an indigenous program for years given that the import of yellowcake is banned by United Nations Security Council resolutions," he said.

But he said the move raises further concerns about Iran's intentions "given that Iran's own supply of uranium is not enough for a peaceful nuclear energy program".

Salehi said the yellowcake was coming from the Gachin mine. CNN

Spain airports facing post-strike backlog

Air services in Spain are returning to normal after an unofficial strike by air traffic controllers disrupted hundreds of thousands of journeys.

But thousands of passengers are being warned to expect further delays as Spain works to clear a huge backlog.

Officials said 250,000 people were hit by Saturday's walkout, amid a long-running dispute about working hours.

Spain's government imposed emergency measures not seen since military rule in an attempt to halt the strike.

The state of alert allows the government to arrest those who refuse to work, Spain's interior minister said.

Threats of further strikes over the Christmas and New Year period would be quashed by the government, the AFP news agency quoted Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba as saying.

Air traffic controllers are now working under military supervision, with army trucks seen at many of Spain's major airports. BBC News

Wikileaks' Julian Assange to fight Swedish allegations

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange will fight attempts to take him to Sweden to face rape allegations, his lawyer said.

Mark Stephens told the BBC that legal moves against his client seem(ed) to be a "political stunt" by a state that allowed US rendition flights.

He warned Wikileaks could release more secrets in a bid to protect itself.

A Swedish arrest warrant for Mr Assange was issued on Thursday. It comes amid the phased Wikileaks release of some 250,000 US diplomatic secret messages.

The warrant to interview the journalist - thought currently to be in the UK - concerns alleged sexual crimes during a visit to Sweden in August.

But Mr Stephens told the BBC's Andrew Marr that the entire case against Mr Assange had been dropped by Sweden's chief prosecutor in September.

He said it was only "after the intervention of a Swedish politician" that a new prosecutor in Gothenburg - not Stockholm, where his client and two women had been - began a new case.

It resulted in the current warrants, and an Interpol notice being issued. His client denies the allegations. BBC News

Giant panda breeding breakthrough in China

A critical breakthrough has been made in efforts to save the giant panda, one that could kick-start attempts to reintroduce the animals to the wild.

Conservationists say they have perfected the difficult task of reproducing pandas, having reached their target of successfully raising 300 of the bears in captivity.

The breakthrough, mainly by scientists at the Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Centre, China, should lead to the first panda being reintroduced into the wild within 15 years.

The revelation comes after documentary makers were given unprecedented access to the research centre to film captive breeding activity over two years.

Just a few thousand wild pandas survive at best, and the species is classified as being Endangered.

In a bid to protect the animal, scientists have attempted to breed captive pandas since the first such cub was born in 1963.

But many obstacles stood in the way of achieving a stable captive panda population.

The first was the very short window of opportunity provided in the panda's natural reproductive cycle.

Female pandas are only on heat for 72 hours a year, and can only actually become pregnant during a 12 to 24 hour window during this time.

In order to correctly interpret the bears' breeding potential, caring for captive female pandas required close observation including daily urine samples to monitor hormone levels.

Understanding the giant panda's natural patterns of reproduction was only the start of the challenge. BBC Earth News

North Korea warns South against 'provocations'

North Korea has warned the South against "provocations", including planned military live-fire drills near the disputed maritime border.

A North Korean statement said the South was causing "extreme" tension.

It is Pyongyang's first response to South Korea's new defence minister, Kim Kwan-jin, saying Northern attacks would be met with air strikes.

He spoke following North Korea's shelling of a South Korean island that killed four people.

In a statement carried by North Korea's official news agency, KCNA, Pyongyang blamed the South's government for ratcheting up tension.

"The political situation on the Korean peninsula is reaching an uncontrollable level due to provocative, frantic moves by the puppet group," said the statement.

The shelling of Yeonpyeong island on 23 November killed two South Korean civilians and two soldiers, and shocked Seoul into reviewing its rules of engagement for such incidents. BBC News

Shark attack kills German tourist at resort in Egypt

A German woman has been killed in a shark attack while snorkelling off the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, officials say.

The death comes after four people were injured in similar attacks at the resort earlier in the week.

Egyptian authorities had re-opened the waters after saying they captured the sharks involved in the earlier attacks.

But some experts said the shark responsible was still loose in one of the world's most popular diving areas. BBC News

Egyptian polls open despite boycotts by opposition parties

Cairo, Egypt (CNN) -- Egyptians went to the polls Sunday for a second round of parliamentary elections, even though two major opposition parties are boycotting the vote in protest at what they called cheating in the first round last week.

The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest opposition bloc, announced their boycott Wednesday. The Wafd party followed suit later, it announced.

The Muslim Brotherhood's website dismissed Sunday's run-off vote, saying most schoolchildren would remember it as nothing more than a day off school.

"In the 2005 elections it was more difficult to stuff ballot boxes because judges were inside the polling stations, but in 2010 there are no judges present," the group said in a statement on its website. "Instead, the High Elections Commission, which is made up of government-appointed judges and parliament nominees, now has the job of supervising the electoral process".

The party was wiped out in the first round of voting Sunday, going from 88 seats in the legislature to zero.

Egypt's ruling National Democratic Party won 217 seats in the first round of voting, the semi-official Al-Ahram newspaper said.

The opposition parties won a mere handful of seats in the 508-seat parliament.

Twenty-seven candidates affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood qualified for runoff elections. Muslim Brotherhood candidates run as independents because the group is illegal under to Egyptian law, which bans parties based on religion. CNN

Flooding forces evacuations in Albania

(CNN) -- Torrential rains have forced the evacuation of 12,000 people from their homes in parts of Albania as floodwaters wash over roads and cause massive landslides, the country's government said.

More than 2,500 homes have flooded and more than 13,900 hectares (34,500 acres) of land are underwater, according to a statement from Albania's president after a late-night government meeting Saturday.

Officials have declared a state of emergency in affected areas as rains triggered massive floods, the statement said.

Albania's official ATA news agency described the situation as "critical" Saturday, with many major national roads impassable. Troops and police were assisting in rescue efforts, ATA said.

Residents in at least one neighborhood in the northwestern city of Shkoder were forced to use boats to travel, ATA said.

Alban Thika, who took pictures from a rescue helicopter used to distribute food to isolated homes, told CNN's iReport that nearly a quarter of the city had flooded after three weeks of heavy rains. CNN

Pietersen piles on agony for Aussies with double ton

(CNN) -- Kevin Pietersen scored an unbeaten double century as England built up a commanding 306 runs lead after the third day of the second Ashes Test at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday.

Pietersen was 213 not out with Ian Bell on 41 when rain washed out play after tea with England 551 for four wickets in reply to Australia's 245.

England will look the press on the final two days for a victory to put them 1-0 ahead in the five-Test series, but their hopes could be hit by an indifferent weather forecast.

"I think rain, no rain there's a really good chance that we can win this Test match," Pietersen told Sky Sports.

"We believe there's enough time to win the Test match". CNN

'I slit their throats,' accused teen hit man says

Mexico City (CNN) -- A 14-year-old accused of ruthless killings on behalf of a Mexican drug cartel boss faced a battery of questions from reporters after authorities detained him. And he answered, point-blank, as camera flash bulbs flickered.

"I slit their throats," he said, describing what he said was the killing of four people.

The teen told reporters after his capture Thursday night that he was an orphan who joined the Pacifico Sur drug cartel when he was 12. He said Julio "El Negro" Padilla, one of the group's alleged leaders, threatened him.

"I either work or he'll kill me," the 14-year-old said.

Analysts say the case offers a glimpse into Mexican drug gangs, which are increasingly recruiting youth to help with their turf battles.

"This won't be the last time we hear stories of young children picking up arms and killing people because it pays, and because they think it's cool," said Sylvia Longmire, a former U.S. Air Force officer and senior intelligence analyst specializing in Latin America and Mexico's drug war. CNN