The European Commission has approved the restructuring of France’s Areva group, ruling that the French government’s plan to grant a capital injection of €4.5 billion ($4.8 billion) into Areva does not breech European Union (EU) state aid rules. world-nuclear-news.org

Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority has cleared two more plants for restart based on preliminary safety assessments, Kyushu Electric Company’s Genkai Units 3 and 4, but their restart is not likely until sometime this summer, media reports indicate. nuclearstreet.com

Chinese President Xi Jinping called for a world without nuclear weapons at the UN on Wednesday and urged a multilateral system based on equality among nations large and small. scmp.com

In an ironic twist, fracking has been cited as a prime reason for shutting down New York’s Indian Point nuclear power plant, as cheap natural gas eroded the economics of generating nuclear power in the region.  forbes.com