Cambodia has signed a memorandum of understanding with China National Nuclear Corporation on cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy. The agreement calls for cooperation on human resources development.

The UK government must give the country's nuclear industry clarity on the potential development and deployment of small modular reactors, Rolls-Royce and its partners in the UK SMR consortium said today. There is a "once in a lifetime" opportunity for Britain to design, manufacture and operate such reactors, they added.

Kazakh uranium producer KazAtomProm and Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear fuel and power generation. The MOU was signed in Astana on 5 September by Galymzhan Pirmatov, CEO of KazAtomProm and Mohamed Al Hammadi, CEO of Enec.

NuScale Power of the USA has today launched an action plan for the near-term deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs) in the UK. The plan sets out how the company will partner with UK industry to deliver a "multi-billion pound SMR venture".

The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute has signed contracts with several domestic companies to develop technologies for decommissioning Kori unit 1, which was permanently shut down in June. It is the first South Korean reactor to enter decommissioning.

The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) has called on the Australian government to reverse legislation that effectively bans the country from developing a nuclear energy industry. The MCA, which represents the country's exploration, mining and minerals processing industry, has also called for uranium projects to be removed from the definition of "nuclear action" under federal environmental law.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said yesterday that, by the end of this year, it will have held Nuclear Power Human Resources Planning workshops for Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Jordan, Morocco, Sudan, Macedonia and Thailand. These events support the development of educational, vocational and training infrastructure among the Vienna-based agency's Member States.

Low-cost abundant natural gas and the growth of renewable energy are accelerating the premature retirement of baseload power plants, particularly coal and nuclear ones, says a report from the US Department of Energy. This, it suggests, is putting the resilience of the USA's electricity grid at risk.

Nuclear power is to remain a key component of Ukraine's energy mix under a new energy strategy approved by the cabinet at a meeting on 18 August. Under the strategy, nuclear's share of the country's electricity generation will remain at around 50% to 2035.

In 1960, there was a small boy taking a stainless steel cup in his school backpack each morning to have UN-AID Food Rations at lunchtime. Now that boy is standing in the lecture room as a mentor at the WNU Summer Institute, to share his experience and knowledge about nuclear energy. Jaekyu Lee reflects on Korea's progress and its current debate on the future of nuclear power.

A Washington, DC-based organisation led by former US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz has called for greater federal-level recognition of the importance of the USA's nuclear energy supply chain to national security. In its first major report, Energy Future Initiatives recommends immediate government action to support and encourage existing and future new-build projects and strengthen the supply chain.

Half of Taiwan experienced a power outage yesterday and Minster of Economic Affairs Lee Chih-kung has resigned after a blunder at a large natural gas plant. Three of Taiwan's six reactors are offline due to political blocking.