The US House of Representatives - the lower chamber of the United States Congress - has approved a handful of bipartisan bills from the last session of Congress that aim to bolster research on advanced nuclear reactors, allow for more challenges at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and change rules for federal efficiency standards. The Advanced Nuclear Technology Act of 2017 was passed by voice vote on 23 January.

The board of directors of French utility EDF yesterday approved the terms of the protocol negotiated between the company and the government for setting compensation for the closure of the Fessenheim nuclear power plant. Under France's energy policy, Fessenheim - the country's oldest nuclear power plant - must close when the Flamanville EPR is commissioned in late 2018.

Nuclear power could play a significant role in Poland's energy supply, according to the International Energy Agency. The use of nuclear, it said, would enable the country to boost its electricity generation capacity from clean energy sources while strengthening its energy security.

As the UK government moves towards the formal process to exit the EU, Jonathan Leech and Rupert Cowen consider the implications of Brexit for the nation's membership of the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom).

Rick Perry, nominated to be US Energy Secretary by President-elect Donald Trump, said yesterday he believes "some" climate change is manmade and promised to protect the Department of Energy's (DOE) scientific research activities into the issue. He told a Senate committee he regretted calling for the department's abolition five years ago and said he advocated all energy options for the USA's 21st century energy policy.

Horizon Nuclear Power - the UK subsidiary of Japan's Hitachi - and NuGeneration - the UK joint venture between Japan's Toshiba and France's Engie - have joined government officials, trade associations, and wider stakeholders during a trade mission to Tokyo this week.

Stakeholder support and involvement are "essential to achieving accepted and sustainable decisions for nearly all aspects of nuclear energy", an OECD Nuclear Energy Agency workshop has concluded. More than 130 experts from 26 countries came together to discuss international best practices at the workshop on 'stakeholder involvement in nuclear decision making', held at the NEA's headquarters in Paris this week.

Carbon emissions from California's electricity generation are two-and-a-half times higher today than they would have been if the state had kept open nuclear power plants forced to close prematurely and not abandoned plans for new units, according to a new analysis by the Environmental Progress research and policy organization.

There might have been a time in the past when the working of government was less visible and decisions announced as a fait accompli. That is not so much the case today - the arc of history reflects global movement toward broadening information flow and participation, says Stephen Burns.

One year on from implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the US president said the agreement with Iran "must be measured against the alternatives". Meanwhile, Behrouz Kamalvandi, deputy head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran for International, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, is on a two-day visit to Moscow to discuss progress with the JCPOA.

The Russian government has confirmed that its 2010 agreement with Ukraine on building a third and fourth reactor at the Khmelnitsky nuclear power plant has been cancelled. According to a statement posted on the Russian Foreign Ministry's website for legal information on 13 January, the intergovernmental agreement was terminated on 12 May last year.

The United Arab Emirates has unveiled plans to increase the contribution of "clean energy" in its total energy mix to 50% by 2050. The UAE's new energy strategy sees half of the country's energy coming from renewables and nuclear, with the remaining half coming from fossil fuels.