UPDATED Nations meeting at the United Nations COP21 climate change conference in Paris yesterday adopted a universal agreement on actions to combat climate change to keep the increase in global temperature to less than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, said today that governments serious about nuclear power should find the right frameworks to attract investors in order to overcome the challenges of large investments in liberalised markets.

Bangladesh plans to "build a nuclear city" in Rooppur using Russian reactors designed with 'post-Fukushima' safety features, Anwar Hossain of the country's Ministry of Science and Technology said this week. Hossain headed a delegation on a technical tour of Russia's Novovoronezh nuclear power plant on 1-3 December.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) deputy director general Mikhail Chudakov has called on world leaders to consider nuclear power as an important contributor to a sustainable energy future at the COP21 climate conference in Paris.

Engie - parent of Belgium's Electrabel - yesterday signed an agreement with the Belgian government that revises the tax contribution paid by the country's nuclear operators. It also allows for a ten-year life extension for units 1 and 2 of the Doel nuclear power plant.

(Updated with comment from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority) The UK will invest at least £250 million ($377 million) over the next five years in an "ambitious" nuclear research and development program, according to the Conservative Party-led government's Spending Review and Autumn Statement published yesterday. British Chancellor George Osborne's 'Comprehensive Spending Review' says this program will "revive the UK's nuclear expertise" and position the country as "a global leader in innovative nuclear technologies".

Australia has finalized its nuclear cooperation agreement with the United Arab Emirates and will now supply uranium for use in the Middle Eastern country's developing nuclear power program. The announcement today, by the office of Australia's minister for foreign affairs, Julie Bishop, followed news last week that the Australia-India nuclear cooperation agreement had also been completed.

Russian companies can again supply products, services and funds to support Iran's civilian uranium enrichment program following President Vladimir Putin's signing of a decree yesterday. The decree was issued on the same day as Putin arrived in Tehran on an official visit, during which he held talks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and the country's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and attended the Gas Exporting Countries Forum.

The European Commission announced today that it has opened an in-depth state aid investigation into Hungary's plans to provide financing for the construction of two new nuclear power reactors in Paks. The Commission has also launched an infringement procedure against Hungary as regards the Paks II project, because it "has concerns regarding the compatibility of the project" with EU public procurement rules.

The Russian government has approved the federal target program (FTP) for nuclear and radiation safety for 2016-2020 and the period up to 2030, Russian news agency Nuclear.Ru reported today, citing an unnamed source at Rosatom.

The prime ministers of India and Australia have announced the completion of procedures necessary for a bilateral nuclear safeguards agreement between the two countries to enter into force.

India and Britain yesterday signed a civil nuclear agreement, reaffirming the importance of addressing climate change and promoting "secure, affordable and sustainable supplies of energy". The agreement was signed on the first day of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's three-day official visit to Britain.