Nuclear professionals from across Asia will be able to use new training facilities at a soon-to-be-opened Indian research centre under extended cooperation between India and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

China General Nuclear and the Kenya Nuclear Electricity Board have extended their cooperation in the development of nuclear energy in the African country with the signing of two new agreements.

Rosatom and Russian Venture Company have signed an agreement to cooperate in the promotion of advanced technologies and innovative developments at the Russian state nuclear corporation's subsidiaries. RVC is a Russian state institution responsible for funding national innovation projects on behalf of the National Technology Initiative.

The European Commission has approved Belgian plans to support the long-term operation of three nuclear reactors after finding measures to compensate operators Engie-Electrabel and EDF Belgium are in line with European Union rules on state aid.

Global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions - the largest source of man-made greenhouse gas emissions - stayed flat for the third consecutive year in 2016, the International Energy Agency announced. This was despite an expansion in the global economy.

Queen Elizabeth II has given Royal Assent to the Brexit bill, clearing the way for Prime Minister Theresa May to start talks to leave the European Union. 

The Coega Development Corporation has agreed to cooperate with utility Eskom in supporting the South African government's plans to build local capacity for its nuclear new build program through supplier development and localisation.

A US business consortium has called for "decisive, swift and tangible" action on used nuclear fuel and high-level waste storage, including the re-establishment of the Office for Civilian Radioactive Waste Management and re-engagement with the Yucca Mountain review process. The US Nuclear Infrastructure Council says the current "impasse" is costing US taxpayers billions of dollars. 

Ukraine expects to start supplying electricity to the European Union network via its planned 'energy bridge' as early as 2019, and to complete the project by 2025, the head of the country's nuclear power plant operator said this week. The energy bridge will link unit 2 of Ukraine's Khmelnitsky nuclear power plant to Burshtyn Energy Island and connect with powerlines to Rzeszów in Poland and Albertirsa in Hungary.

An "ethical barrier" could be put in place at the UK's National Nuclear Laboratory to ensure policy makers can draw on its world-class expertise whilst avoiding a conflict of interest with commercial customers, its CEO Paul Howarth told peers this week. NNL's operating model thus requires "refinement, rather than wholehearted change", he said.

Russia's Rosatom aims to become one of the three most successful global technology companies by the beginning of the 2040s, transformed from the state-backed nuclear power corporation it is today, according to its new director-general. "I know some will be sceptical about this, as if it's a fantasy, but I believe it's possible," Alexey Likhachov said in an interview for the company's weekly newspaper Strana Rosatom.

Vattenfall's nuclear power plants performed well in 2016, with a high level of availability and stable generation, according to Torbjörn Wahlborg, head of generation at the Swedish utility. "But 2017 can be an even better year if we continue to enhance our working methods and avoid a number of simple operational errors which caused stoppages last year," he said.