Sweden's nuclear regulator has instructed operator OKG to submit its next safety assessment for Oskarshamn 2 in 2017, three years earlier than scheduled, because of shortcomings in its previous submission.

The Belgian government has said that two of the country's oldest nuclear power reactors - Doel units 1 and 2 - can operate for a further ten years, reversing an earlier decision that the units must shut down in 2015.

Units 3 and 4 of Kansai Electric Power Company's Takahama nuclear power plant meet new safety standards, according to Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority.

The UK government should encourage the development and deployment of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), a parliamentary committee has recommended. However, it says the costs need to be fully understood beforehand.

Developing new nuclear technologies requires overcoming considerable financial and regulatory hurdles, as the promise of clean, efficient electricity remains essential to US energy policy, the Nuclear Energy Institute said, following a meeting on 11 December of a House Science Committee.

The South Korean nuclear regulator has given approval for full operation to begin at the first phase of the country's low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste disposal facility.

The construction and operation of Hitachi-GE's Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) in the UK is justified, the country's Energy and Climate Change secretary Ed Davey has announced.

Exelon has applied to the US regulator for a 20-year licence extension for its two-unit La Salle nuclear power plant in Illinois.

The Chinese government is set to resume approvals for the construction of coastal nuclear power plants, having suspended approvals and licensing for all new reactors projects in 2011.

The ACP1000 reactor design has successfully passed the International Atomic Energy Agency's Generic Reactor Safety Review, China National Nuclear Corporation has announced.

With a mandate to disseminate objective scientific, technical and regulatory information to the public, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) goes to great lengths to ensure that it is being open and transparent in all of its dealings, writes Jason Cameron, vice-president, Regulatory Affairs Branch, CNSC.

Bulgaria's nuclear regulatory agency has issued licences for the decommissioning of units 1 and 2 of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant.