In August 2025, the digital and cultural landscape of the United States continues to evolve rapidly, driven by breakthrough technologies, emerging wellness trends, and innovative educational platforms. But this isn’t just about fleeting social media fads or the latest Hollywood releases. Instead, the top trending topics right now represent deep-rooted shifts—trends with long-term impact across ... Read more
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PLANS for the world’s longest suspension bridge have been signed off after over 2,000 years in the making.
The impressive structure will connect holiday hotspot mainland Italy with the island of Sicily – currently only accessible by ferry.
Once finished, the bridge will stretch 3.6 kilometres (2.2 miles), surpassing Turkey’s Çanakkale Bridge as the world’s longest single-span suspension bridge.
It will be supported by two monumental steel towers – standing a mega 399 metres tall – and be fit with a roadway platform able to withstand powerful wind speeds of 292km/h (181mph).
The total cost of the project is estimated at an eye watering £12billion (€13.5 billion), with the European Union agreeing to fund 50 per cent of the executive design costs for rail infrastructure — around £20million.
The Italian government has vowed to manage costs carefully, including a safeguard clause that allows the cancellation of works if expenses exceed forecasts by 50 per cent.
The idea of linking Sicily to the Italian mainland dates back to ancient Rome, when Consul Metellus supposedly connected barrels and boats to transport war elephants across the strait in 252 BCE.
Since then, various attempts have been proposed but stalled, including recent efforts in 2009, which were abandoned in 2013.
Now, under the leadership of Italy’s right-wing government and Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini, the plan is back on track.
“The bridge will bring work, wealth, beauty, and will save tons of CO2 in the air, making it one of the greenest bridges in the world,” Salvini said.
The government has also emphasized the bridge’s potential to reduce Mafia influence in the region by creating jobs and economic opportunities.
But the Strait of Messina — linking the Ionian and Tyrrhenian Seas — poses significant engineering and environmental challenges.
Known for its strong currents and seismic activity, the area was the site of a devastating 7.1 magnitude earthquake in 1908, which killed over 100,000 people.
The bridge will feature three vehicle lanes in each direction, as well as railway lines to boost transport efficiency.
Officials estimate the project will create over 100,000 jobs and significantly ease congestion on the region’s busy ferry systems.
Cargo arriving in Sicily could also be transferred directly to trains, potentially speeding up trade routes between southern Italy and northern Europe.
THE idea of linking Sicily to the Italian mainland dates back to ancient Rome, when Consul Metellus supposedly connected barrels and boats to transport war elephants across the strait in 252 BCE.
A couple of millennia later, in the 1860s, Italy’s King victor Emmanuel outlined his own vision to build the bridge to symbolise the country’s unity.
Later, fascist dictator Benito Mussolini announced his own ambitions with the bridge – calling for it to be built after the war as a message to the growing secessionist movement in 1942.
Since, the average Italian prime minister has retained power less than half the appointed five-year term, reports The Atlantic.
The government’s frequent change of hands has set back construction of the bridge.
The current government insists this project will lay “the first stone” in turning a Roman dream into reality.
“The transshipment of ferries costs more each year than building the bridge,” Salvini claims, pointing to the long-term economic benefits.
If construction proceeds as planned, the Strait of Messina bridge could be operational by 2032, transforming connectivity and realising a vision that has endured through centuries of dreams and delays.
According to WeBuild, the infrastructure firm that won the bid to build the bridge, preliminary work could begin later this summer with construction due to start next year.
A HISTORIC meeting between Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and maybe Volodymyr Zelensky could finally decide the fate of the war in Ukraine.
With battlefields burning and sanctions ready to bite, this diplomatic showdown could be the start of peace – or another powder keg.
This isn’t just another summit – it’s a historic high-stakes gamble.
Trump is betting big that Putin wants peace, that Zelensky can stomach compromise, and that America’s economic firepower can bring the war to an end.
Here is everything you need to know about the major meeting and the men comprising the most explosive political triangle in years.
Trump could sit down with Mad Vlad Putin as early as next week, according to the White House.
A trilateral meeting including Zelensky is also on the table – a diplomatic first if it happens.
A top aide to Putin, Yuri Ushakov, announced that “an agreement was agreed in principle to hold a bilateral summit in the coming days,” following a suggestion from the American side.
All parties are now working on the details, and while the venue has been agreed, it will be revealed later.
The possibility of a trilateral meeting with Zelensky was also raised by US special envoy Steve Witkoff during his talks with Putin yesterday — though Ushakov says Moscow has, for now, left that idea “without comment.”
Don and Vlad last met in person at the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, on June 28, 2019, during Trump’s first term as America’s leader.
And if Zelensky joins the upcoming meeting, it would mark the first time all three leaders sit at the same table since war erupted in 2022.
One issue dominates: peace in Ukraine.
Trump’s administration says it is pushing hard for a deal.
His special envoy, Steve Witkoff, just wrapped up a three-hour meeting with Putin in Moscow this week, which Trump called “highly productive”.
But there’s a clock ticking.
The Republican strongman slashed his original 50-day deadline for a Ukraine peace deal to just 10 days – and that deadline expires Friday.
If Putin doesn’t budge, Trump is poised to hammer Moscow – and its enablers – with crippling secondary sanctions.
India has already been hit with 50 per cent tariffs over its Russian oil purchases – and China could be next.
Trump warned: “We did it with India. We’re doing it probably with a couple of others. One of them could be China.”
The White House says Trump has made it clear there will be “biting sanctions” if Russia doesn’t agree to a ceasefire.
Right now, everything hangs in the balance – and the power dynamic could shift in a heartbeat.
Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, former British Army officer and military analyst, said the fact the summit is even happening is a win in itself.
But as for who’s calling the shots? That’s where things get complicated.
Noting the Russian leader still believes he’s making ground in Ukraine, the expert told The Sun: “Until fairly recently, it’s been pretty clear that President Putin has absolutely no desire for peace.
“His aim at the beginning of his special military operation over three and a half years ago was to subjugate the whole of Ukraine.”
According to de Bretton-Gordon, Trump has only recently woken up to the fact that he’s being played.
“It would appear that Trump has had a bit of an epiphany, a bit of a change of mind, and has now realised that Putin has been playing him.”
And now, Don is bringing the businessman in him and threatening to hit Russia where it hurts most: the wallet.
“If Trump follows through with his sanctions and tariffs… then this is the reason I think that Putin has come to the table,” de Bretton-Gordon explained.
“Economic and financial analysts who really know about these things believe that the Russian economy would peter out pretty quickly without the massive amounts of money and resources it gets from oil.”
In other words, Trump holds the economic sledgehammer — if he’s willing to swing it.
But Putin isn’t out of the game. His forces are still advancing, still hammering Ukrainian cities, and still killing civilians.
“Russia seems to be moving forward slowly,” de Bretton-Gordon warned.
“Attacking civilian targets in Ukraine at an unbelievable scale.”
Zelensky, meanwhile, remains the wild card.
“The people who are most important here are the Ukrainians,” he said.
“A bad deal for Ukraine is worse than no deal at all.”
And that’s the real risk. Trump might be chasing headlines, not justice.
“I think Trump probably just wants to get a deal of some description,” the former army officer said.
“One just hopes that Trump doesn’t try and do some sort of backhand deal with Putin, just so that he can claim that there is now peace in Ukraine, because the short-term peace is no good to anybody.”
So who has the upper hand? Right now, it’s still up for grabs.
But if Trump sticks to his economic guns, and if Putin starts to feel the heat on the home front, the balance might just tip.
That’s the trillion-dollar question.
Trump insists he’s serious.
He’s been increasingly frustrated with Putin, telling reporters: “Can’t answer the question yet. I’ll tell you in a matter of weeks, maybe less. But we made a lot of progress.”
Zelensky says the pressure is working.
“It seems that Russia is now more inclined to a ceasefire,” he said, but warned, “The main thing is that they do not deceive us in the details – neither us nor the US.”
Putin, for his part, has not ruled out a meeting with Zelensky – a U-turn after rejecting talks for nearly five years.
But the Kremlin remains cagey.
Aides say they’re open to a summit “after preparatory work is done at the expert level.”
Still, Russia continues to play the long game.
Putin’s demands for peace remain unchanged, and behind the scenes, Moscow is preparing for no limits on nuclear deployments – a chilling echo of Cold War escalation.
If talks fail, Trump’s next move could ignite a global trade war.
A 100 per cent tariff on all Russian goods and those of its allies is on the table. His message to Moscow? Deal or suffer.
While diplomats talk, Putin bombs.
Russia has escalated its attacks in Ukraine in recent days – in what some see as a final show of force ahead of the talks.
Kyiv, Kherson, Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk – all hit.
One missile slammed into a residential tower, killing 31 people, including five children.
In Nikopol, a 23-year-old first responder was among the dead.
Putin’s war machine has launched hundreds of drones and missiles overnight in a relentless blitz.
Even as Moscow talks ceasefire, its rockets keep flying.
Ukrainian forces, meanwhile, have not backed down – striking deep into Russian territory with precision attacks on refineries, rail hubs, air defences and even military units inside Russia.
The Afipsky Refinery in southern Russia went up in flames after a massive Ukrainian strike – a clear message that Kyiv can hit back hard.
Just days ago, Russia declared there are now no limits on its deployment of nuclear missiles in a chilling warning to the West.
Throwing off its gloves and restraints, Moscow vowed to match US and Nato moves with force, reigniting fears of a Cold War-style arms race.
The Russian Foreign Ministry accused America and its allies of creating a “direct threat to the security of our country” by preparing to deploy intermediate-range weapons in Europe.
Saying Moscow now has a free hand to respond, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: “Russia no longer considers itself to be constrained by anything.
“Therefore Russia believes it has the right to take respective steps if necessary.”
The trigger, according to Russia, is the planned US deployment of Typhoon and Dark Eagle missiles in Germany starting next year.
The Kremlin said the move shattered what remained of strategic stability, accusing Donald Trump‘s USA of risking “a dangerous escalation of tensions between nuclear powers.”
It was the clearest warning yet that Vladimir Putin is prepared to redraw the red lines of nuclear deterrence — and challenge the West head-on.
THE prospect of peace in Ukraine remains uncertain as the Russia-Ukraine war continues into its fourth year.
While Trump’s diplomatic efforts and the planned meeting signal continued U.S. engagement, the gap between Russia’s demands and Ukraine’s conditions remains wide.
Putin’s history of stalling and Zelensky’s insistence on a full ceasefire and security guarantees suggest that a lasting peace agreement is unlikely in the immediate term without significant concessions from either side.
Next week’s meeting may produce a framework or memorandum for future talks, as Putin has indicated, but a concrete peace deal appears distant based on current dynamics.
Recent US-brokered talks, including direct negotiations in Istanbul on May 16 and June 2, 2025, have yielded no breakthroughs, though agreements on prisoner exchanges signal some dialogue.
US President Donald Trump has pushed for a ceasefire, shortening a 50-day deadline for Russia to negotiate or face sanctions, but tensions persist with Russian advances in eastern Ukraine and intensified drone and missile strikes on cities like Kyiv.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has suggested territorial swaps, while Russia shows little willingness to compromise.
With ongoing military escalation and divergent American and European approaches, a lasting peace deal appears distant.
The Tourism and Sports minister confirmed the location for Tomorrowland, a world-class music festival, which will be held at Wisdom Valley in Pattaya. Thailand expects the event to generate 21 billion baht over a five-year contract. Hopes among Thai EDM fans were raised last year when former Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin had dinner with the organiser …
The story Tomorrowland confirmed for Pattaya’s Wisdom Valley in 2026 as seen on Thaiger News.
A BELOVED Olive Garden location has been flattened after it permanently shut down – making way for a brand new property development.
The Italian-American diner closed its doors after selling the site for over a whopping $10million.
The location in Arizona was sold by parent company Darden Restaurants in 2022 to Empire Group.
And the firm are now constructing the Osborn – a 226-unit luxury senior living development in Old Town Scottsdale.
The exact location of the now demolished site was 3380 N. Scottsdale Road, on the southwest corner of Osborne and Scottsdale roads.
This is where the new construction is now being built.
Aspirant Development, an arm of Scottsdale-based Empire Group, is building the project.
It will include 118 active adult units, 74 assisted living units and 34 memory care units.
And it will also feature retail and restaurant space open to both the public and Osborn residents on the ground floor.
In May, the popular restaurant chain’s owner shocked customers and employees when it suddenly shuttered a third of its locations.
While popular for years, Darden Restaurants’ Bahama Breeze saw a 7.7% sales decline in 2024, per CNN.
Amid the struggles, Bahama Breeze decided to abruptly axe at least 15 locations, about a third of its footprint.
Before the closures, Bahama Breeze had expanded to 43 restaurants nationwide by 2014 after its humble beginnings in Orlando, Florida.
The affected locations were in Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, and Tennessee.
And in June, the parent company announced it was looking to “sell off” all restaurants after shutting the 15 Bahama Breeze locations.
Darden Restaurants CEO Rick Cardenas confirmed the company has made the decision to stop investing in all Bahama Breeze locations effective immediately, a chain known for its Caribbean inspired cuisine and tropical atmosphere.
The boss said: “We have made the difficult decision that these remaining locations are not a strategic priority for us.
“We also believe this brand and these restaurants have the potential to benefit from a new owner.
“Consequently, we will be considering strategic alternatives for Bahama Breeze.”
Thailand’s middle-aged adults are facing an emotional breaking point—and it’s worse than any other age group, according to a new health report. A total of 13.4 million people in Thailand are struggling with mental health issues, and those aged 45 to 59—the so-called “pre-senior” generation 98—report being the least happy, according to the Thai Health …
The story Mental health meltdown grips Thailand’s pre-seniors as seen on Thaiger News.