Democratic Senators Edward Markey and Jeff Merkley led colleagues in demanding the Trump administration abandon a proposed civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia, citing the deal's failure to meet the "Gold Standard" and classified U.S. intelligence indicating Saudi Arabia has not ruled out developing nuclear weapons.
Google announced its largest single European investment of at least €13 billion ($15.1 billion) for AI infrastructure in Finland, including a 20-year nuclear power supply agreement with Fortum to power data centers.
The US Department of Energy approved a $1.9 billion loan to NextEra Energy to restart a shuttered Iowa nuclear power plant that will supply electricity to Google's AI data centers. The facility closed in 2020 and represents Google's partnership with NextEra announced last year.
The SCO issued its first dedicated declaration on nuclear safety and security at its Bishkek summit, condemning military strikes on Iranian territory and attacks on peaceful nuclear facilities. The joint statement, signed by member states including India, also criticized Western sanctions on Iran and other members.
Germany will allocate €50 million to restore the New Safe Confinement structure at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, which was damaged in a Russian drone attack in February 2025. The protective steel shelter over the destroyed reactor remains central to European nuclear safety.
International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors visited previously undeclared Assad-era nuclear sites in Syria for the first time this week, with IAEA chief Rafael Grossi reporting the discovery of several tons of nuclear materials. Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani stated the material is not dangerous as Damascus pledges to strengthen safeguards.
Record-breaking heatwaves across Europe are forcing nuclear plants offline, sparking widespread wildfires, and drying up major rivers, compounding economic pressures from higher energy prices caused by the Iran war. The dual crisis is threatening growth across the continent despite some resilience from events like the World Cup.
Hungary's government is planning interventions on the Danube River as record low water levels threaten operations at a nuclear power plant. Workers are already depositing loads of dirt and rocks onto barges to be sunk into the river as water levels drop to critical lows.
The Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine experienced two complete power losses on August 8, forcing reliance on diesel generators. The IAEA has expressed concern over the increasing frequency of off-site power losses and ordered water levels increased in used fuel pools as a precautionary measure.
Nuclear startup Valar Atomics secured $1 billion in Series B funding led by Sequoia Capital, plus a $200 million credit facility, to shift from demonstrating small reactors to volume production for AI data centers.
Nuclear startup Valar Atomics closed a $1 billion Series B funding round led by Sequoia Capital, tripling its valuation from $2 billion to $6 billion. The company plans to use the funding to shift from demonstrating small modular reactors to volume manufacturing, targeting growing energy demands from artificial intelligence.
Hungary's Paks nuclear plant, which provides nearly half the country's electricity, faces imminent shutdown within 72 hours due to record-low Danube water levels preventing cooling operations. Romania has declared a state of emergency after shutting down both reactors at its Cernavoda nuclear facility, with plans to import electricity from Ukraine.
Japan is managing energy security concerns through strategic reserves, subsidies, and nuclear power restarts as a crisis affecting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz continues to disrupt Gulf oil and gas supplies.
The Department of Energy plans to transform a Cold War-era uranium enrichment site in Paducah, Kentucky into a massive AI data center complex powered by new natural gas and battery storage facilities, funded through private equity investment.
President Donald Trump said Thursday that the newly signed civilian nuclear cooperation deal with Saudi Arabia would take effect only if the kingdom joined the Abraham Accords and normalized relations with Israel, a step Riyadh has said it will not take without a clear pathway to Palestinian statehood. Trump also said there would be no uranium enrichment, although that statement appeared to contradict descriptions of the signed agreement, which allows enrichment and includes a two-year feasibility study.
Trump's administration is preparing to submit to Congress a 30-year "123 Agreement" with Saudi Arabia that omits both the IAEA's Additional Protocol and the "gold standard" bar on uranium enrichment, while making no mention of Saudi normalization with Israel.
Australia has agreed to sell uranium to India for peaceful nuclear energy purposes in a landmark agreement signed by Prime Ministers Anthony Albanese and Narendra Modi in Melbourne. The deal supports India's goal of achieving 100 gigawatts of nuclear energy capacity by 2047.
U.S. energy regulators approved a waiver to accelerate the grid connection of Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, which is being restarted specifically to power Microsoft data centers in the region.
Urenco USA, the only commercial uranium-enrichment company in the United States, is planning a multi-billion-dollar investment to boost capacity by nearly 50% in anticipation of surging demand for nuclear reactors driven by AI data center power needs.
A drone strike sparked a fire at an electrical generator at the Barakah nuclear power plant in Abu Dhabi. The UAE condemned the attack as a 'dangerous escalation' and investigations are underway to determine the source.
International Atomic Energy Agency director Rafael Grossi said most of Iran's highly enriched uranium stockpile remains likely stored at the Isfahan nuclear complex, though IAEA inspectors have been blocked from verifying the site since the 2025 war.
International monitoring bodies report Iran's enriched uranium stockpile has increased significantly, while a Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists analysis highlights approximately 2,100 kilograms of weapons-usable plutonium stored at the Bushehr nuclear power plant—enough material for over 200 nuclear weapons—as missing from current US-Iran negotiations.
Russia allegedly orchestrated an extensive drone surveillance operation over 18 months using vessels from its shadow fleet to monitor nuclear facilities and military sites across the UK, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, while testing NATO air defenses. The campaign repeatedly disrupted civilian aviation and comes amid increased Russian warplane activity near NATO territory.
