The Finnish government has today granted a construction licence to waste management specialist Posiva for a used nuclear fuel encapsulation plant and final disposal facility at Olkiluoto.

Nuclearelectrica has signed a memorandum of understanding with China General Nuclear for the development, construction, operation and decommissioning of units 3 and 4 of the Cernavoda nuclear power plant. The Romanian national nuclear company said a joint venture project company is to be established, with CGN owning at least 51% of the share capital.

Unit 1 of the Changjiang nuclear power plant on China's southern island province of Hainan has been connected to the electricity grid, China National Nuclear Corporation announced today.

Argentina and China have concluded negotiations on the technical and commercial contracts for the construction of Argentina's fourth nuclear power plant. The text of a framework agreement for construction of a fifth plant has also been agreed.

The loading of fuel into the core of unit 3 at South Korea's Shin Kori plant has begun, plant owner Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power announced today. The unit - featuring the country's first APR-1400 reactor - is expected to enter commercial operation in mid-2016.

A nuclear technology research and development centre is to be constructed in the Bolivian city of El Alto with Russian assistance, the country's president Evo Morales announced yesterday.

Final performance testing and post-test inspections have been successfully completed for the reactor coolant pump for the first Westinghouse AP1000 reactor, under construction in China. The first two of four such pumps for Sanmen 1 will now be shipped from the USA to China by the end of the year.

Westinghouse has signed a definitive agreement with consortium partner CB&I to acquire CB&I Stone & Webster, its nuclear construction and integrated services businesses. In a related move, Westinghouse has appointed Fluor to manage the two AP1000 construction projects currently under way in the USA.

Unit 1 of the Fangchenggang nuclear power plant in China's Guangxi province was connected to the electricity grid yesterday. The unit is expected to start up by the end of this year.

The shareholders of Romanian national nuclear company Nuclearelectrica have approved an agreement with China General Nuclear to develop two units at the Cernavoda nuclear power plant. Nuclearelectrica said on 22 October that the November 2013 document had been approved at an extraordinary general meeting.

Yesterday's announcement that China and the UK have completed a financial and commercial agreement that will see a final investment decision on EDF Energy's Hinkley Point C project by the end of the year has been widely welcomed.

China has agreed to take a one-third stake in the project to build a new nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point in the UK and to take shares in two further plants. A final investment decision for the Hinkley project by EDF Energy is expected by the end of the year.