The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stated on Friday that it had been informed that a cooling tower at a reactor unit of Russia's Kursk nuclear power plant was struck by a drone the previous day.
The IAEA said on social media that the reactor unit was reportedly operating at the time of the incident. Its operational status was not affected, and no fire occurred.
The post said IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi called any attack on nuclear facilities unacceptable. Grossi reiterated that all parties should exercise maximum military restraint to reduce the risk of a nuclear accident.
In response to the IAEA statement, the Russian side said later the same day that Alexander Prytkov, head of the Kursk nuclear power plant's press service, denied that the plant had been attacked by a drone and said everything at the plant was normal and calm.
IAEA says it was informed of drone strike on Kursk nuclear plant; plant official denies attack
China's general public budget revenue reached 15.66 trillion yuan (around 2.33 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first eight months of 2026, up 5.7 percent year on year, according to data released by the Ministry of Finance on Friday. The central general public budget revenue increased 9.1 percent year on year to 7.0118 trillion yuan, while the local general public budget revenue increased 3.1 percent year on year to 8.6515 trillion yuan.
Tax revenue climbed 6.6 percent year on year to 12.91 trillion yuan in the period.
Domestic value-added tax rose 5.9 percent, driven by continuous growth in the industrial and service sectors and an upward trend in factory-gate prices, while corporate income tax grew 7.3 percent on the back of rapid profit growth. Meanwhile, value-added tax and consumption tax on imported goods increased 12.6 percent, driven by rapid import growth.
A total of 1.65 trillion yuan was refunded for value-added tax and consumption tax on exported goods, an increase of 70.7 billion yuan compared with the same period last year. By region, the revenues of eastern, central, western and northeastern regions increased 3.2 percent, 1.4 percent, 4.6 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively.
From January to August this year, China's national general public budget expenditure reached 18.15 trillion yuan, up 1.2 percent year on year. Expenditures on public well-being grew rapidly in the eight-month period, with social security and employment spending rising 6.5 percent and health care outlays increasing 9.2 percent.
China's general public budget revenue up 5.7 pct in first eight months
