Nuclear power generation will play a role in helping Japan meet its post-2020 greenhouse gas emissions targets. The country has announced its intended contribution towards a possible global climate agreement later this year.

Laser technology for the removal of fuel debris from the damaged reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant could be developed through a joint research agreement signed between three Japanese organizations.

A road-map for "the clarification of past and present outstanding issues" regarding Iran's nuclear program was agreed yesterday between the country and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). All issues should be resolved by the end of the year.

NuGeneration Limited (NuGen) and the UK's Nuclear Decommissioning Authority have signed a contract to transfer land near the Sellafield site in Cumbria for NuGen's planned Moorside nuclear power plant.

A number of agreements were signed yesterday between Chinese and French nuclear energy companies aimed at strengthening their cooperation in the nuclear fuel cycle and power reactors.

Russia has signed the ten-year extension to the Generation IV International Forum (GIF) Framework Agreement for International Collaboration on Research and Development of Generation IV Nuclear Energy Systems .

Canada and the UK have today signed a memorandum of understanding on enhancing cooperation in the field of civil nuclear energy.

Saudi Arabia and France signed three nuclear-related cooperation agreements in Paris on 24 June. One is to carry out a feasibility study for the construction of two power reactors in the Middle Eastern country.

The International Atomic Energy Agency is considering the option of China as a transit route for low-enriched uranium to the planned international fuel bank in Kazakhstan, a Kazakh government official has told local journalists.

Ukraine is preparing the legal document required to cancel its contract with Russia concerning the completion of two units at the Khmelnitski nuclear power plant. The move was announced yesterday by Svetlana Kulchitskaya, deputy head of the atomic energy and nuclear industry department of the Ministry of Energy and Coal.

Russia and Saudi Arabia yesterday signed an agreement to cooperate in the development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. The document was signed by Rosatom director general Sergey Kirienko and the president of the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy Hashim Abdullah Yamani.

Russia and Norway plan to sign a protocol soon on early notification in the event of a nuclear accident, Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom said yesterday. The statement followed a meeting of the Russian-Norwegian commission on nuclear and radiation safety held in the Norwegian town of Kirkenes.