China General Nuclear is expected to acquire a 49% stake in Ortalyk LLP, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kazakh uranium producer Kazatomprom, by mid-2021. The transfer of the stake was part of cooperation agreements signed between CGN and Kazatomprom in 2014, 2015 and 2016.

"Morocco has shown a clear interest in participating in the modernised nuclear liability instruments," Karim El-Assefry, head of the Nuclear Applications and Safety Division of the country's Ministry of Energy, Mines and Environment, said at a recent virtual seminar on civil liability for nuclear damage.

The UK and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) have signed a Nuclear Cooperation Agreement. This is separate from the wider UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement that was also announced on 24 December and which has since been approved by ambassadors from the 27 EU Member States, paving the way for it to take effect on 1 January. UK lawmakers will tomorrow return to the House of Commons, the lower chamber of parliament, to vote on the so-called post-Brexit trade deal.

Swedish utility Vattenfall and Estonia's Fermi Energia have signed a Letter-of-Intent to further expand their cooperation on small modular reactors (SMRs). For the past year Vattenfall has participated in a feasibility study by Fermi Energia to explore the possibilities for the deployment of such reactors in Estonia.

India and the USA have extended their Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation on the Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership by 10 years. The centre - officially opened in 2017 - supports international cooperation in nuclear energy applications.

The European Union has expressed its "resolute commitment to and continued support for" the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in a statement to the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors. It expressed concern about Iran's continued accumulation of low enriched uranium in excess of JCPoA thresholds.

The UAE's Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation and Saudi Arabia's Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Commission have agreed to cooperate in nuclear and radiation regulatory matters, and to form topical working groups. The agreement follows the signing of a bilateral accord on cooperation in nuclear energy between the two countries in 2019.

Rolls-Royce and US utility Exelon Generation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to pursue the potential for Exelon to operate small modular reactors both in the UK and internationally. The announcement came as the British engineering company also signed an MoU with Czech utility ČEZ to explore the potential for SMRs in the Czech Republic. The consortium comprises Assystem, Atkins, BAM Nuttall, Jacobs, Laing O'Rourke, National Nuclear Laboratory, Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, Rolls-Royce and TWI.

The UN Climate Change secretariat said yesterday that it "remains committed to working with all US stakeholders and partners around the world" as it noted that the USA's withdrawal from the Paris Agreement three years ago had formally come into effect. In a joint statement with Chile, France, Italy and the UK, it said: "There is no greater responsibility than protecting our planet and people from the threat of climate change".

The Iranian parliament yesterday approved a bill requiring the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran to produce at least 120 kg of 20% enriched uranium annually at the Fordow nuclear site, FARS news agency reports. AEOI is required to start this process within two months and store the enriched uranium inside the country.

Holtec International's canister-based dry used fuel storage technology is set to be deployed in Japan following its signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy. Holtec said its technology provides an alternative option to the technologies currently used in Japan.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has developed arrangements to help countries respond quickly to protect the public and the environment in the event of an accident involving radioactive materials launched into orbit or travelling in spacecraft.