WNN - Russia and Sri Lanka have held talks this week on establishing cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Nikolay Spassky, deputy director general of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom, met with Ranjith Siyambalapitiya and Susil Premajayantha, respectively Sri Lanka's minister of power and renewable energy and minister of science, technology and research, on 16-17 January.

WNA - The USA is the world's largest producer of nuclear power, accounting for more than 30% of worldwide nuclear generation of electricity. The country's 99 nuclear reactors produced 805 billion kWh in 2016, almost 20% of total electrical output.

WNA - Apart from adding capacity, utilisation of existing plants has improved markedly since 2000. In the 1990s capacity factors averaged around 60%, but they have steadily improved since and in 2010, 2011 and 2014 were above 81%. Balakovo was the best plant in 2011 with 92.5%, and again in 2014 with 85.1%.

WNA - India has a flourishing and largely indigenous nuclear power programme and expects to have 14.6 GWe nuclear capacity on line by 2024 and 63 GWe by 2032. It aims to supply 25% of electricity from nuclear power by 2050.

WNA - Mainland China has 38 nuclear power reactors in operation, about 20 under construction, and more about to start construction. The reactors under construction include some of the world's most advanced, to give a 70% increase of nuclear capacity to 58 GWe by 2020-21. Plans are for up to 150 GWe by 2030, and much more by 2050.

PLATTS - "The domestic uranium mining industry needs US government assistance to survive the foreign onslaught -- particularly from Russia and Kazakhstan -- that has undermined the US uranium industry while new players -- particularly China -- will soon make the situation worse," Energy Fuels and Ur-Energy said in a petition they jointly filed with the department.

WNN - Under the terms of the assignment and purchase agreement it has signed with Nucleus and Brookfield, Toshiba will sell its rights to assert claims against Westinghouse related to the parent guarantees in the amount of $5.788 billion, and on account of other claims Toshiba holds against Westinghouse in the amount of $2.284 billion to Nucleus, for the sale price of $2.160 billion.

ROSATOM - Following 2017, a share of electricity production by Russian nuclear power plants has increased up to 18.9%.

WNN - The UK government aims to maintain as many of the benefits the country has enjoyed from its membership of the European Atomic Energy Community since joining the EU and Euratom in 1973 through a "close and effective association" in the future, Greg Clark, secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy told Parliament yesterday. The UK will exit Euratom at the same time as withdrawing from the EU, on 29 March 2019.

ROSATOM - Russian NPPs exceeded the record of 2016 in the volume of generated electricity by increasing cumulative production by more than 6.5 billion kWh, up to 202.868 billion kWh (against 196.366 billion kWh in 2016).

WNN - Cooperation on nuclear power technology is to be expanded between China General Nuclear (CGN) and the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) under an agreement signed yesterday in Beijing. New Areva and China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) have also agreed to work towards signing a contract for the construction of a used fuel processing and recycling facility in China.

U.S.DT - "These sanctions target key entities involved in Iran's ballistic missile program, which the Iranian regime prioritizes over the economic well-being of the Iranian people. As the Iranian people suffer, their government and the IRGC fund foreign militants, terrorist groups, and human rights abuses," said Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin. "The United States will continue to decisively counter the Iranian regime's malign activity, including additional sanctions targeting human rights abuses. We will not hesitate to call out the regime's economic mismanagement, and diversion of significant resources to fund threatening missile systems at the expense of its citizenry."

WNN - Brookfield highlighted Westinghouse's "strong market position" as the "largest service provider" to the world's nuclear facilities; its well-established global base of long-term customers; its "attractive" revenue and cash flow profile, with regularly scheduled services provided under long-term contracts; and its "strong reputation", driven by focus on innovation.

ROSATOM - 29 December, 2017, ROSATOM and the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan signed a nuclear cooperation agreement.

ROSATOM - Khartoum, 21 December – Rusatom Overseas (a company of ROSATOM) and the Ministry of Water Resources, Irrigation and Electricity of the Republic of the Sudan signed an agreement on the development of NPP construction project in Sudan.