Rosatom's director general Alexey Likhachev and International Atomic Energy Agency director general Rafael Mariano Grossi held talks, which the Russian company said showed "significant closeness of positions" on a draft declaration on a safety and protection zone at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

X-Energy Reactor Company and Paragon Energy Solutions have worked for two years to deliver, install and test the reactor protection system prototype, a key safety feature of X-energy’s Xe-100 advanced nuclear reactors.

Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority has approved a draft of a new rule that would allow the country's nuclear power reactors to be operated for more than the current limit of 60 years. The amendment will require parliamentary approval.

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy has submitted a Generic Design Assessment entry application for its BWRX-300 small modular reactor to the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Meanwhile, Holtec International said it intends to soon submit an application for its SMR-160 design.

Bangladesh is committed to continuous improvement of nuclear and radiation safety, an International Atomic Energy Agency team of experts has concluded. The Integrated Regulatory Review Service mission team identified areas for possible improvements.

The International Atomic Energy Agency is going to establish a permanent presence at all operating nuclear power plants in Ukraine, as well as at Chernobyl, with the move seen as particularly important "at a time when Ukraine’s energy infrastructure is facing unprecedented challenges as a result of the war and in the middle of winter".

Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power confirmed that Hanbit unit 4 resumed power generation at 3:40 am on 11 December, ending an outage that began in May 2017.

In a wide-ranging interview for the World Nuclear News podcast, World Association of Nuclear Operators CEO Ingemar Engkvist:

• Explained how its members share ideas and tips with each other
• Discusses the impact of events in Ukraine
• Outlines WANO's new Action for Excellence initiative
• Predicts a bright future for the nuclear sector

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued the licence to GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy America for the "possession, transfer and storage of radioactive material" at the Morris Operation Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation in Illinois.

Sweden has a comprehensive regulatory infrastructure for nuclear and radiation safety and the protection of people and the environment, an International Atomic Energy Agency team of experts has concluded. The Integrated Regulatory Review Service mission team identified areas for possible improvements.

European safety regulators have backed Ukraine as the rightful owner and authority to oversee the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Meanwhile, Russia's Rosenergoatom has appointed Yury Chernichuk as 'director' of the plant.

The Russian president's press secretary Dmitry Peskov denied Ukrainian suggestions that Russian forces were preparing to withdraw from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.