Panama hit by 6.2-magnitude quake – no tsunami risk
A 6.2-magnitude earthquake has struck off the coast of Panama, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS)...
A much-delayed nuclear fusion project involving more than 30 countries is ready to assemble the world's most powerful magnet - a key part of efforts to generate clean energy by smashing atoms together at super-high temperatures.
The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project, based in southern France and backed by the United States, China, Japan, Russia and the European Union, needs the magnetic system to create an "invisible cage" to confine super-hot plasma particles that combine and fuse to release energy.
ITER said late on Wednesday that the final component of the system - the central solenoid - had been completed and tested by the United States, and assembly was now underway.
"It is like the bottle in a bottle of wine: of course the wine is maybe more important than the bottle, but you need the bottle in order to put the wine inside," said Pietro Barabaschi, ITER's director general.
The magnet was originally scheduled for completion in 2021, but has been beset by delays.
"To be behind schedule by four years after 10 years of effort shows just how troubled this project is," said Charles Seife, a professor at New York University who writes about nuclear fusion.
Barabaschi said the "crisis" was now over and construction was proceeding at the fastest pace in ITER's history. The start-up phase of the project will begin in 2033, when it is scheduled to start generating plasma.
He said ITER proved that countries could still cooperate despite geopolitical tensions.
"They have a very, very strong cohesion of objectives and for the time being I see no sign of a withdrawal from anyone."
Fusion investment has been growing, with dozens of initiatives currently underway. Several private start-ups have said they can build commercial fusion reactors within a decade.
Barabaschi said he was sceptical but supportive of the dozens of ventures in development across the world.
"We already know that we can get fusion," he said. "The question is, are we going to get fusion in such a way that it would be cost-effective?
"I am quite sceptical that we will be able to achieve this within, say, one or even two decades. Frankly speaking, it will take more time."
A series of earthquakes have struck Guatemala on Tuesday afternoon, leading authorities to advise residents to evacuate from buildings as a precaution against possible aftershocks.
A deadly mass shooting early on Monday (7 July) in Philadelphia's Grays Ferry neighbourhood left three men dead and nine others wounded, including teenagers, as more than 100 shots were fired.
Australian researchers have created a groundbreaking “biological AI” platform that could revolutionise drug discovery by rapidly evolving molecules within mammalian cells.
Dozens of international and domestic flights were cancelled or delayed after Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki erupted on Monday, but Bali’s main airport remains operational.
French member of parliament Olivier Marleix was found dead at his home on Monday, with suicide being considered a possible cause.
EBRD stated that Ukraine urgently needs new generation capacity after Russian attacks severely damaged its power sector, creating a significant shortfall in electricity generation. In response, the bank announced the launch of the Ukraine Renewable Energy Risk Mitigation Mechanism.
Azerbaijan intends to bring ten wind and solar plants online by 2027 and channel about $2.7 billion into clean-energy projects, lifting renewables to one-third of its generating capacity and positioning the Caspian state as a new supplier of green electricity to Europe.
Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s state-owned renewable energy company, and Iberdrola, one of the world’s largest energy firms, have signed two major agreements as part of their €15 billion (almost $17.6 bn) alliance to expand offshore wind and green hydrogen projects in the UK, Germany, and the United States.
A searing heat wave sweeping in from Western Europe has gripped Greece, prompting emergency measures as temperatures soar across the country.
At the 17th Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Summit on 4 July in Khankendi in Azerbaijan, expressed support to the bid by the Republic of Türkiye to host COP31 in 2026. Antalya has been proposed as host city for COP31.
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