Vienna - The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) found uranium at an alleged secret Syrian nuclear reactor site that was bombed by Israel last year, a diplomat told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa in Vienna on Monday.

Another diplomat indicated that IAEA inspectors had found traces of the metal during their first visit to the al-Kibar site in the Syrian desert in June, which was bombed by Israeli warplanes in September 2007.

Both diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity.

Washington - President-elect Barack Obama was on Monday to meet with the man whose role he will fill in January, as he and wife Michelle come to the White House for talks with President George W Bush and First Lady Laura Bush.

Bush was a much-reviled figure on the campaign trail, as Obama attacked the unpopular president's handling of the economy and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan while accusing Republican rival John McCain of seeking to continue those policies.

Washington - The world's largest banking lobby Monday called for additional government intervention to help avoid a global recession, but warned that any state takeovers of the private sector must be temporary.

In an open letter to US President George W Bush, who will host a summit of the world's 20 leading economies in Washington on Saturday, the Institute of International Finance called on world leaders to better coordinate their efforts to stabilize the financial system.

Jerusalem - Israeli caretaker prime minister Ehud Olmert said Monday that Israel must cede parts of Jerusalem as part of a peace deal with the Palestinians.

Barcelona - Spain's Rafael Nadal, world number one, stepped down from the Davis Cup final against Argentina later this month, due to a knee injury.

Nadal himself explained his decision Monday in Barcelona, after undergoing several medical tests.

Spain is set to play Argentina in the Davis Cup final November 21- 23, on an indoor carpet court in the Argentine coastal city of Mar del Plata.

Argentina seeks its first-ever "salad bowl," as the tournament trophy is known, while Spain is seeking its third title.

Nadal, 22, quit his Paris Masters quarter-final 10 days ago, when he lost 6-1 to Russian Nikolay Davydenko. He was suffering from tendinitis in his right knee.

Brussels - Most of the money given by the European Union to member states is well spent, though problems remain when it comes to payments designed to boost employment, EU officials said Monday.

Officials in Brussels said the bloc's annual audit debunked the "myth" that EU spending is either mismanaged or riddled with fraud.

It found that more than 98 per cent of direct payments made in 2007 to farmers or on administrative expenditure was error free.

Other budget areas such as research grants and humanitarian aid also registered errors of less than 5 per cent.

However, spending in so-called structural funds - money designed to boost employment in the EU's poorest regions - remains a problem.