Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has released a draft revision of the country's basic energy plan, removing the statement that the country would reduce its dependence on nuclear power.

The Australian opposition says newly released economic analysis shows its plan for a balanced energy mix that includes nuclear will be cheaper, cleaner, and more consistent than the renewables-only approach favoured by the current government.

Strategic agreements signed by Uzbek interests during a conference held in Samarkand include cooperation agreements with international organisations, business interests and academia.

The draft of the annual GenCost report which has been opened for public comment says nuclear technology has no unique cost advantage over other energy technologies despite the long operational life of nuclear plants.

As a one-day international conference on nuclear energy takes place, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced that the country is to work with the International Atomic Energy Agency to expand cooperation on nuclear energy development. Uzbekistan's national atomic agency Uzatom and World Nuclear Association have signed a memorandum of understanding to promote bilateral cooperation.

Serbia's National Assembly has voted through amendments to the energy law which has ended the 35-year prohibition on the construction of nuclear power plants.

The South African government remains committed to the use of nuclear energy and is planning to revive its Pebble Bed Modular Reactor programme and embark on new builds, the Deputy Director General of the Department for Mineral Resources and Energy has said.

The world is paying a price for letting "lingering concerns about safety and ideological opposition" deter governments from constructing new nuclear power plants, according to the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. If the ambitious approach to nuclear deployment had continued, it says, the world would have saved 28.9 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide since 1991. 

US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm and Lithuania's interim Minister of Energy Dainius Kreivys have signed an intergovernmental agreement to cooperate on the development of Lithuania's civil nuclear power programme, with a particular focus on the deployment of small modular reactors.