The UK's Office for Nuclear Regulation has 53 research projects and proposals amounting to about £1.2 million ($1.5 million) in its Regulatory Research Register for 2016-17, which it published last week.

No new so-called hydrogen 'flakes' have been found in the reactor vessels of Belgium's Tihange 2 and Doel 3, a comparison of inspections carried out recently with those conducted in 2014 has shown. The country's nuclear regulator said there has also been no growth of previously detected flakes.

The permanent shutdown of unit 1 of the Kori nuclear power plant has been approved by the South Korea's nuclear safety regulator. The unit - the country's oldest operating reactor unit - will be taken offline on 19 June.

Unit 3 of the Takahama nuclear power plant in Japan's Fukui prefecture was restarted today, plant owner Kansai Electric Power Company has announced. Takahama 4 - which had also been kept offline since March 2016 by a court injunction - was restarted last month, joining three other reactors in operation.

Canada's Bruce B nuclear power plant has made significant progress in implementing the safety improvement recommendations of a 2015 International Atomic Energy Agency Operational Safety Review Team, a follow-up mission has confirmed.

The OECD-Nuclear Energy Agency - together with the International Atomic Energy Agency - plans to publish new guidance on improving cost estimates of nuclear decommissioning projects. Simon Carroll, a senior analyst with the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority, told delegates at the Nuclear Decommissioning & Waste Management Conference Europe that the guidance addresses project risk and uncertainty in cost estimates "in a more comprehensive fashion" than existing practice.

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has renewed the operating licence for Ontario Power Generation's Western Waste Management Facility until 31 May 2027. Meanwhile, OPG has responded to requests for information from the federal government about its proposed Deep Geologic Repository for the permanent disposal of low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste from its nuclear power plants.

The US Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will need to rebuild their organisational capabilities in order to restart the suspended licensing process for the Yucca Mountain high-level radioactive waste repository, according to the Government Accountability Office.

International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards inspectors have verified the correctness and completeness of the United Arab Emirates' initial inventory of nuclear material. The strategic document was prepared by the country's Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation.

The Czech Republic has significantly enhanced its regulatory framework for nuclear and radiation safety in recent years, but work remains in implementing the country's new Atomic Act, a mission from the International Atomic Energy Agency has concluded.

Initial construction has been completed at the UAE's first power reactor, Barakah 1. The operating company, Nawah Energy Company, must gain approval from national regulators before the final stage of loading fuel and bringing it into service.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has released an updated version of its self-assessment tool for countries to check whether their nuclear regulatory infrastructure is in line with IAEA safety standards.