Scientists celebrated the first beam in the world's largest particle accelerator today. The Large Hadron Collider should reveal more about conditions after the Big Bang than ever known before and even create tiny black holes.

Land adjacent to the Bradwell, Oldbury and Wylfa nuclear power plants is to be sold by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority in the latest development in UK new build. Further sales by the NDA will include the Springfields nuclear fuel plant.

Dutch utility Delta says it has started the licensing process to build a new nuclear power station at the Borssele site, despite government declarations that no construction decisions will be made under its present mandate.

A Joint Review Panel (JRP) has been established to review the environmental impact of the proposed Bruce C nuclear power plant in Ontario, Canada. Four new reactors could be built - alongside eight already in the vicinity at Bruce A and B.

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has approved uprates to seven nuclear reactors over the last year, adding a further 249 MWe to overall US nuclear capacity.

Tackling the associated project risks will be vital if nuclear new build ventures are to be a success, according to a newly released report from an industry working group.

Britiain's Sheffield Forgemasters has won a contract to produce nuclear-grade steel pumps casings for Westinghouse AP1000 reactors. The company is considering adding a press that would allow it to make the largest reactor pressure vessels.

South Africa's National Nuclear Regulator has given the go-ahead for the start of production of graphite feedstock for the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor demonstration unit. The graphite will shape and hold the unit's reactor core within the pressure vessel.

Excavations for the nuclear island of Sanmen 1 are complete, China's State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation told World Nuclear News. The works were accepted by regulators some 69 days early.

Siemens has established a plant in Chennai, southeastern India, for the production of medical radioisotopes for use in PET-CT scanners and plans to add a further four or five such facilities across the country over the next two years.

Russia's Rosatom has given approval for construction of the 2400 MWe Baltic nuclear power plant in Kaliningrad, the separate part of Russia west of the Baltic States.

Slovakian utility Slovenske Elektrarne (SE) has launched a tender for the construction of two new reactors at the Mochovce nuclear power plant.