Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan today attended via videolink from Ankara a ceremony to mark the pouring of first safety-related concrete for unit 1 of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant. Putin arrived today for a two-day working visit to the Turkish capital.

Terrestrial Energy USA and Energy Northwest have agreed a memorandum of understanding on the terms of the possible siting, construction and operation of an Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR) at a site at the Idaho National Laboratory in southeastern Idaho.

The Czech government is expected to reach a decision on the best way to finance new nuclear projects by the middle of the year, after a Ministry of Industry and Trade committee agreed yesterday to finalise its recommendations to government.

Unit 1 of the Leningrad Phase II nuclear power plant in northwest Russia has today entered "experimental industrial operation", the final stage of its commissioning. The VVER 1200 reactor is scheduled to enter commercial operation before the end of this year.

President Moon Jae-in of South Korea and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan today attended a ceremony to celebrate the completion of construction at the United Arab Emirates' first nuclear power reactor.

The dome has been installed on the containment building of unit 6 at the Fuqing nuclear power plant. The unit is the second demonstration HPR1000 Hualong One reactor being built at the site in China's Fujian province.

The reactor pressure vessel for unit 5 of the Hongyanhe nuclear power plant has been delivered to the construction site in China's Liaoning province. Installation of the component began immediately.

Indonesia's National Atomic Energy Agency has launched a roadmap for developing a detailed engineering design for its Experimental Power Reactor. The design of the country's indigenous small modular reactor is expected to be finalised later this year.

First Light Fusion is investing GBP3.6 million (USD5.0 million) building what it says will be the only pulsed power machine of its scale in the world dedicated to researching fusion energy. The Oxford, England-based company said on 12 March it expects to commission the device - Machine 3 - by the end of this year.

An Industrial Way Forward Agreement signed on 10 March by the CEOs of EDF and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) sets out the industrial framework and planned timetable for the implementation of six EPR reactors at Jaitapur, as well as the roles and responsibilities of the partners.

Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima Oyj has agreed a settlement with French Areva and German Siemens in the long-running dispute over cost overruns and delays to the Olkiluoto 3 EPR project. TVO said yesterday that Areva-Siemens will pay compensation of EUR450 million (USD553.73 million).

Russia has today connected unit 1 of the Leningrad Phase II nuclear power plant to the grid and it has started producing its first power, state nuclear corporation Rosatom has announced. The VVER 1200 reactor was brought to the minimum controllable power level on 6 February.