Russia Requests ‘Explanations’ from IAEA on Zaporizhzhia Report

A motorcade transporting the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expert mission arrives at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict outside the Russian-controlled city of Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, September 1, 2022. (Reuters)
A motorcade transporting the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expert mission arrives at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict outside the Russian-controlled city of Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, September 1, 2022. (Reuters)
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Russia Requests ‘Explanations’ from IAEA on Zaporizhzhia Report

A motorcade transporting the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expert mission arrives at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict outside the Russian-controlled city of Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, September 1, 2022. (Reuters)
A motorcade transporting the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expert mission arrives at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict outside the Russian-controlled city of Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, September 1, 2022. (Reuters)

Russia has requested "additional explanations" from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on parts of its report on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

The IAEA on Tuesday called for shelling near the power station to be halted and for a security zone around the plant to be established immediately in a report published after its long-awaited mission to Zaporizhzhia last week.

The plant has been controlled by Russian forces since March but is still operated by Ukrainian staff and connected to the Ukrainian power grid. Both Kyiv and Moscow have accused each other of firing missiles at the power station, prompting fears of a Chornobyl-style nuclear disaster.

Lavrov told the Interfax news agency that Moscow required more information about the IAEA's findings and had sent a request to provide extra information.

"There is a need for additional explanations because there are a number of issues in the report. I will not list them now, but we have requested clarifications from the IAEA Director General," Interfax cited Lavrov as saying.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused the West of putting pressure on the IAEA mission to the plant.

The RIA Novosti news agency quoted Zakharova as saying Russia had provided full data on the source of shelling to the IAEA and was questioning why the organization did not name Ukraine as the source of attacks on the nuclear power plant in its report.

She also said Ukraine was coordinating its attacks on the facility with the help of the United States and other Western states.

Ukraine denies attacking the plant and has accused Moscow of storing heavy weapons at the nuclear power station, a claim rejected by Russia.



Strong Quake Shakes Taiwan, Though No Damage Immediately Reported 

Motorists maneuver on a street in Taipei, Taiwan, 08 April 2025. (EPA)
Motorists maneuver on a street in Taipei, Taiwan, 08 April 2025. (EPA)
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Strong Quake Shakes Taiwan, Though No Damage Immediately Reported 

Motorists maneuver on a street in Taipei, Taiwan, 08 April 2025. (EPA)
Motorists maneuver on a street in Taipei, Taiwan, 08 April 2025. (EPA)

An earthquake shook Taiwan on Wednesday morning, setting off alarms in the capital, but no damage was immediately reported.

The Central Weather Administration measured the quake at 5.8 magnitude. The shaking in Taipei lasted only a few seconds.

The US Geological Survey said the magnitude 5.0 quake was about 21 kilometers (12 miles) south-southeast of Yilan on the northeast coast. It was centered 69 kilometers (43 miles) below the Earth's surface. Deeper quakes can be widely felt while generally causing less damage than shallow quakes.

Taiwan lies along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” the line of seismic faults encircling the Pacific Ocean from Chile to New Zealand where most of the world’s earthquakes occur.

Taiwan's worst modern quake, a 1999 magnitude 7.7 temblor killed 2,415 people, damaged buildings around the island of 23 million people and led to tightened building codes, better response times and coordination and widespread public education campaigns on earthquake safety.

Schools and workplaces hold earthquake drills, while cellphones buzz whenever a strong earthquake is detected.