An International Atomic Energy Agency team of experts has completed a Safety Aspects of Long-Term Operation mission to units 1 and 2 of the Forsmark nuclear power plant in Sweden, which operator Vattenfall plans to operate for 60 years.

The pressurised water reactor was synchronised to the South African energy grid on 18 November after nearly a year offline for the replacement of the plant's three original steam generators, a prerequisite for the long-term operation of the plant.

France's nuclear safety regulator, the Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire, has said it is prepared to give EDF more time in order to implement safety upgrades required at its fleet of 900 MWe nuclear power reactors.

The International Atomic Energy Agency says it is continuing to monitor the status, training and condition of staff at the nuclear power plant - while the Russian operators say that there are enough staff to maintain it in "self-sufficiency" mode.

The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine has said unit 1 of the South Ukraine nuclear power plant can operate safely for a further 10 years.

Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority has approved the operation of units 1 and 2 at Kyushu Electric Power Company's Sendai nuclear power plant beyond 40 years. Under incoming legislation, the units may be able to operate beyond 60 years.

The Krško nuclear power plant was shut down in early October after the discovery of a leak in the primary circuit connection system pipeline. Operator Nuklearna elektrarna Krško says that following further investigation and analysis, a decision has been taken to replace the complete pipeline segment from the reactor vessel to the first valve.

Nucleoeléctrica Argentina has delivered the environmental impact study for the Atucha I extension project which aims to add a further 20 years to the unit's operating life.

Slovenské elektrárne has announced that the new Mochovce 3 unit has successfully completed a 144-hour demonstration run at full reactor power - and been welcomed into their nuclear fleet.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said it has been informed that a second reactor at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine is being brought into hot shutdown in order to provide hot water and district heating over the coming winter.

International Atomic Energy Agency experts at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant have inspected the rooftop of the second unit and did not observe any mines or explosives, but continue to seek access to the rooftops of all six reactor buildings and to the turbine halls.

Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima Oyj announced it has initiated an environmental impact assessment procedure for a possible operating licence extension and potential power uprating of units 1 and 2 at its Olkiluoto nuclear power plant.