- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
- Ohtani set for MLB playoff debut as Dodgers face Padres
- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
- Devine leads New Zealand to big win over India in Women's T20 World Cup
- Bosnia floods kill 16 people
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Prosecutors seek dismissal of rape charges against French rugby players
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- Bolivia's Morales says claims he raped a minor are a 'lie'
- MLB Reds hire two-time champion Francona as manager
- Daniel Maldini receives first Italy call-up for Nations League
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- Ancelotti points finger at Madrid's 'lack of intensity'
- Haiti reeling after 70 killed in gang attack
- Five Czech kids in hospital over TikTok 'piercing challenge'
- What happens next in Iran-Israel conflict?
- Country star Garth Brooks denies rape accusations
- Stubbs hits maiden century as South Africa make 343-4 against Ireland
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Odegaard injury has forced Arsenal to be 'different', says Arteta
- Ratcliffe refuses to guarantee Ten Hag's Man Utd future
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Mauritius to hold legislative election on November 10
- Britain qualify for America's Cup final after 60-year wait
- IMF asks Sri Lanka to protect hard-won gains
- Morata returns to Spain Nations League squad after injury
- Irish regulator to probe Ryanair use of facial recognition
- Public allowed to see video evidence in France mass rape trial
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- Under-fire Ten Hag 'together' with Man Utd hierarchy
- Guardiola talks of Man City love affair as financial hearing rumbles on
- De Bruyne out of Belgium Nations League squad
- Japanese trainer Yahagi hopes Shin Emperor achieves 50-year-old Arc dream
- UK's Starmer hails 'landmark' carbon capture funding
- As EU targets Chinese cars, European rivals sputter
- Bosnia floods kill 14 people
Despite conflict Russia sends France giant magnet for nuclear fusion project
Russia on Tuesday dispatched one of six giant magnets needed for the ITER nuclear fusion programme in France, one of the last international scientific projects Moscow participates in despite the Ukraine conflict.
The ship carrying the Russian-made magnet -- or "poloidal field coil" -- departed Saint Petersburg on Tuesday under grey skies.
On board, the massive nine-metre-wide coil, which weighs 200 tonnes had been tightly wrapped to withstand a two-week trip to Marseille, southern France.
The ring-shaped magnet built under Russian atomic agency Rosatom's supervision will make up the top part of the world's largest "tokamak".
The tokamak is a magnetic fusion device built in France following the same principle that powers our sun and stars.
The Russian piece was meant to leave in May but sanctions forbidding Russian ships docking in Europe delayed the departure.
Still, the "current situation did not change the fact that we will fullfil our obligations", Rosatom representative for international projects Viacheslav Perchukov said.
Geopolitical tensions "practically did not affect the realisation of this project", Perchukov said.
"Without (the Russian coil), the tokamak will not work," senior ITER centre scientist Leonid Khimchenko told AFP.
He hailed a "unique" achievement, over eight years in the making.
In southern France, 35 nations are collaborating to build the largest nuclear fusion device in the world.
"This is such an interesting project that in fact we are all one family... there is no competition between us, nothing," Khimchenko said.
The project was set in motion after a 1985 summit between US President Ronald Reagan and Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
Andrey Mednikov, a scientist in charge of the production of the poloidal field coil, praised the continuing international cooperation.
"If this cooperation was brought to a halt," Mednikov said, "everyone would lose: both Russia and the international community."
A.Motta--PC