LONDON, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Britain's Prime Minister Andy Burnham spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday, with the two leaders agreeing on "the need to continue working towards a ceasefire" to end Russia's war in Ukraine, Downing Street said.
• "The Prime Minister reiterated the UK's support for Ukraine and for recent U.S.-led peace negotiations," a Downing Street spokesperson said.
A near-complete nuclear reactor built secretly during the rule of toppled Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad would have been able to produce material to make nuclear weapons, the UN nuclear watchdog chief said on Monday.
Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last month visited two sites, one in Deir Ezzor and a second undisclosed location identified to them by Syrian authorities.
In a report seen by AFP last week, the IAEA said it found that Syria's previous government was building a nuclear reactor.
By Emma Farge
GENEVA, Sept 7 (Reuters) - U.N. rights chief Volker Turk warned on Monday that artificial intelligence could pose a threat to humanity, and pledged to press AI firms to reduce risks that his office said included disruptions to services, communications and democratic systems.
He called for "cast-iron guarantees" to secure AI in a speech ahead of the start of his unprecedented second term, in which he also demanded accountability over deaths in U.S. immigration custody and condemned Russia's reported use of autonomous drones.
By Francois Murphy
VIENNA, Sept 7 (Reuters) - The nuclear reactor Syria had nearly completed in 2007 when Israeli jets destroyed it was of a type that could quickly produce fissile material usable in nuclear weapons, U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said on Monday.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has described as a "historic breakthrough" its recent investigation into secret nuclear activities under the Assad family's rule. The investigation uncovered around 73 metric tons of natural uranium metal, mainly in the form of reactor fuel.
DUBAI, Sept 7 (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates is building alternative routes for its energy exports and trade to ensure they are not "held hostage" by the ongoing war between the U.S. and Iran, UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said on Monday.
The conflict has had a significant impact on Gulf Arab states, including the UAE, after Tehran fired missiles at the country and attacked its oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
"Our energy exports will not be held hostage, nor will our trade and economic activity," Gargash told the Hili Forum in Abu Dhabi.
A UN expert warned Monday that large-scale rubble removal in parts of Gaza under Israeli control risked erasing traces of "atrocity crimes", and preventing the recovery and identification of human remains.
Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories, warned in a statement that the implications of Israel's "ongoing removal, crushing and relocation of rubble in Gaza" were "profound".
By Francois Murphy
VIENNA, Sept 7 (Reuters) - A planned U.S.-Saudi atomic deal does not include Riyadh signing the Additional Protocol that gives the U.N. nuclear watchdog sweeping inspection powers, but something close to it on some points is in the works, the agency's chief said on Monday.
The U.S. and Saudi Arabia reached an agreement on civil nuclear power cooperation in July that would let Riyadh enrich uranium and build nuclear reactors using U.S. technology.
By Stephanie van den Berg
THE HAGUE, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Germany asked the International Court of Justice on Monday to throw out acase brought by Nicaragua which accuses Berlin of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention because it supplies arms to Israel.
Berlin suspended weapons exports to Israel for a few months in 2025 but they havesince resumed. A U.S.-backed ceasefire that took effect in October 2025 halted large-scale fighting that had devastated Gaza, but it has not ended Israeli strikes.
(In September 6 story, corrects paragraph 5 to say dead child was 3-year-old boy, not 7-year-old girl)
CAIRO, Sept 6 (Reuters) - An Israeli strike killed a man and his 8-year-old daughter in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, health officials said.
Mohamed Abu Selmia, head of Al Shifa Hospital, the enclave's largest medical facility, said the airstrikehit a vehicle in western Gaza City, killing Youssef Akila and his daughter, Wafaa, and wounding six others.
