Mining operations have resumed after a four-year break at the US Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). A continuous mining machine has begun cutting into panel of the underground salt formation, work that was halted following separate underground events in early 2014. World-nuclear-news.org

Japan has tacitly agreed to continue with an accord between itself and the United States that permits the country to continue processing spent nuclear fuel and enriched uranium, Japanese media noted Wednesday. Nuclearstreet.com

More than 100 local assemblies in Japan have called on the central government to join the U.N. nuclear weapons ban passed last year, according to a Kyodo News tally compiled Sunday. Japantoday.com

The nuclear alert siren at United Kingdom Devonport Naval Base was activated for eight minutes after somebody accidentally pressed a button, it has emerged. The alarm adjacent to HMS Raleigh in Torpoint sounded on the evening of Tuesday, December 19, sparking concern among some local residents. Plymouthherald.co.uk