Russia plans to put into operation a nuclear icebreaker "capable of piercing ice of any thickness", the country's president, Vladimir Putin, said yesterday.

Contributions totalling €4.7 million ($5.5 million) from Germany, Japan, Norway and the USA will enable the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to complete construction of a new laboratory building at Seibersdorf, Austria. The Flexible Modular Laboratory will support global health and development.

Toshiba has made its first payments to the owners of the VC Summer and Vogtle nuclear construction projects under its guarantee obligations as the parent company of Westinghouse Electric Company. The Japanese company also confirmed it is to acquire KazAtomProm's 10% stake in Westinghouse on 1 January.

US energy secretary Rick Perry has called on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to act swiftly to address threats to grid resiliency through market reforms to recognise the attributes of baseload generation sources including nuclear. Perry also announced further support of up to $3.7 billion in loan guarantees to the owners of the Vogtle nuclear construction project in Georgia.

Unit 3 of the Tianwan nuclear power plant in China's Jiangsu province today attained a sustained chain reaction for the first time. The Russian-supplied VVER-1000 is scheduled to enter commercial operation next year.

South Carolina Electric & Gas and Santee Cooper have sold to Citibank NA the settlement payments to be made by Toshiba under its guarantee obligations for the VC Summer nuclear construction project. The sale, for $1.8 billion, covers all payments to be made after October.

The containment dome of unit 5 of the Tianwan nuclear power plant in China's Jiangsu province was installed today, marking the reactor's entry into the equipment installation phase of construction, China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) said.

The World Nuclear Association has welcomed the start of general construction work at the site of the planned Akkuyu nuclear power plant, following confirmation by Alexey Likhachov, director-general of the Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom. Speaking to journalists last week at the 61st regular session of the International Atomic Energy Agency General Conference in Vienna, Likhachov said work on Turkey's first nuclear power plant project was underway, including the hydraulic facilities, the Daily Sabah reported.

The United Arab Emirates is confident that nuclear energy is the best choice to meet growing energy demand, energy minister Suhail Al Mazrouei said yesterday. The country, which expects to see its first nuclear power plant start up next year, is preparing to host an international ministerial conference on nuclear power.

China is moving rapidly towards using nuclear power as an industrial heat source and as a direct replacement for coal, Yulong Wu, CEO of Chinergy, told a side event at the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA's) General Conference today.

Unit 4 of the Fuqing nuclear power plant in China's Fujian province has completed commissioning tests and now meets the conditions for entering commercial operation, China National Nuclear Corporation announced today.

Finland's Fennovoima now expects to receive the construction licence for its planned Hanhikivi 1 nuclear power plant in 2019. The company had previously expected to start construction of the plant next year, but the review of documentation related to its application is taking longer than originally envisaged.