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The Italian government this week gave the green light for construction to start on what it says would be the world’s longest single-span suspension bridge.

The Strait of Messina Bridge would connect Sicily to the rest of Italy over a 2-mile stretch. It’s expected to cost 13.5 billion euros ($15.7 billion), which Italy’s Presidency of the Council of Ministers says will be completely funded by the public and has already been accounted for in the 2024 and 2025 budget.

The government first approved the project in 1971. It has been canceled many times over the years over concerns about money and practicality, but was revised in 2022. Construction is planned to begin in May 2026 and end in 2032.

“The decision made by [the Italian planning committee] CIPESS to approve the Strait of Messina Bridge project marks the start of a new season of vision, courage and confidence in the capabilities of Italian industry and the entire infrastructure sector,” said Pietro Salini, CEO of Webuild, one of the companies behind the construction.

How feasible is it?

The bridge is in an area rife with seismic activity. But Lamya Amleh, a structural engineering researcher at Toronto Metropolitan University, says there is precedent for successful bridges in earthquake-prone countries. She points to Japan, having routinely and successfully built major bridges, such as the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge (which the Japanese tourism department says is one of the longest suspension bridges in the world). In Turkey, there’s the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge (the longest suspension bridge in the world).

“The risk doesn’t go away, but it can be managed,” Amleh said. “It just needs to be taken seriously throughout the design and construction process, throughout the bridge’s life cycle.”

Fiber-reinforced polymers could be useful in certain components to make the bridge less heavy and resist corrosion, while certain expansion joints could help absorb seismic activity and heat generated as the bridge moves, Amleh said.

“It’s not just about strength, it’s about how they perform over decades,” Amleh said.

What could go wrong?

Outside of earthquakes, builders also have to consider wind and corrosion.

“With the salty air, materials will degrade faster, so durability and maintenance have to be built into the plan,” Amleh said.

Webuild says it has put the construction materials through rigorous testing, and they can withstand wind speeds of up to 181 mph. Speeds have never exceeded 89 mph in the area, the company says.

That’s not all. Resistance from locals is also a factor, as opposing residents have started a movement called “No Ponte,” or “no bridge.” They argue the funding should go to existing infrastructure projects that need attention, The Italian Insider reports.

There has been a lot of stop-and-start activity surrounding the bridge, including several cancellations, revisions and long gaps between major milestones, such as choosing the designers.

Webuild says the site was deemed sound and stable in the most recent environmental impact assessment, which the European Union has made mandatory for major developments. The report evaluates the impact a venture might have on people, cultural heritage, land, soil, water and more.

Webuild says the newest report improves upon previous iterations, as it now includes more protections for surrounding rivers and plans for reforestation.

Amleh estimates a bridge of that size could take eight to 10 years to build if things go smoothly, and 15 or more if they don’t.

What could go right?

If the bridge makes it to completion, it could bring lots of prosperity to southern Italy, Amleh said.

About 40% of the project’s cost is going to construction, and more than 100,000 employees will be hired for the project. But the rest of the money will be devoted to building new roads, train stations, shops and restaurants, and redeveloping old parks, quarries and areas affected by coastal erosion, according to Webuild.

As of now, a ferry runs from Messina in Sicily across the strait to Reggio Calabria on the mainland. The bridge will have three lanes in each direction dedicated to vehicular traffic and train tracks. It could handle up to 200 trains a day and 6,000 vehicles per hour, Webuild says.

The Italian government this week gave the green light for construction to start on what it says would be the world’s longest single-span suspension bridge.

The Strait of Messina Bridge would connect Sicily to the rest of Italy over a 2-mile stretch. It’s expected to cost 13.5 billion euros ($15.7 billion), which Italy’s Presidency of the Council of Ministers says will be completely funded by the public and has already been accounted for in the 2024 and 2025 budget.

The government first approved the project in 1971. It has been canceled many times over the years over concerns about money and practicality, but was revised in 2022. Construction is planned to begin in May 2026 and end in 2032.

“The decision made by [the Italian planning committee] CIPESS to approve the Strait of Messina Bridge project marks the start of a new season of vision, courage and confidence in the capabilities of Italian industry and the entire infrastructure sector,” said Pietro Salini, CEO of Webuild, one of the companies behind the construction.

How feasible is it?

The bridge is in an area rife with seismic activity. But Lamya Amleh, a structural engineering researcher at Toronto Metropolitan University, says there is precedent for successful bridges in earthquake-prone countries. She points to Japan, having routinely and successfully built major bridges, such as the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge (which the Japanese tourism department says is one of the longest suspension bridges in the world). In Turkey, there’s the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge (the longest suspension bridge in the world).

“The risk doesn’t go away, but it can be managed,” Amleh said. “It just needs to be taken seriously throughout the design and construction process, throughout the bridge’s life cycle.”

Fiber-reinforced polymers could be useful in certain components to make the bridge less heavy and resist corrosion, while certain expansion joints could help absorb seismic activity and heat generated as the bridge moves, Amleh said.

“It’s not just about strength, it’s about how they perform over decades,” Amleh said.

What could go wrong?

Outside of earthquakes, builders also have to consider wind and corrosion.

“With the salty air, materials will degrade faster, so durability and maintenance have to be built into the plan,” Amleh said.

Webuild says it has put the construction materials through rigorous testing, and they can withstand wind speeds of up to 181 mph. Speeds have never exceeded 89 mph in the area, the company says.

That’s not all. Resistance from locals is also a factor, as opposing residents have started a movement called “No Ponte,” or “no bridge.” They argue the funding should go to existing infrastructure projects that need attention, The Italian Insider reports.

There has been a lot of stop-and-start activity surrounding the bridge, including several cancellations, revisions and long gaps between major milestones, such as choosing the designers.

Webuild says the site was deemed sound and stable in the most recent environmental impact assessment, which the European Union has made mandatory for major developments. The report evaluates the impact a venture might have on people, cultural heritage, land, soil, water and more.

Webuild says the newest report improves upon previous iterations, as it now includes more protections for surrounding rivers and plans for reforestation.

Amleh estimates a bridge of that size could take eight to 10 years to build if things go smoothly, and 15 or more if they don’t.

What could go right?

If the bridge makes it to completion, it could bring lots of prosperity to southern Italy, Amleh said.

About 40% of the project’s cost is going to construction, and more than 100,000 employees will be hired for the project. But the rest of the money will be devoted to building new roads, train stations, shops and restaurants, and redeveloping old parks, quarries and areas affected by coastal erosion, according to Webuild.

As of now, a ferry runs from Messina in Sicily across the strait to Reggio Calabria on the mainland. The bridge will have three lanes in each direction dedicated to vehicular traffic and train tracks. It could handle up to 200 trains a day and 6,000 vehicles per hour, Webuild says.

Armenia‘s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev signed a historic peace deal on Friday at the White House in front of US President Donald Trump.

The deal, if it holds, would end almost four decades of tensions and conflict between the two nations over control of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan.

“Today we are writing a great new history,” Azerbaijani President Aliyev said as he addressed journalists at the White House together with Trump and Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan. 

Aliyev thanked Trump for bringing “peace” to the Caucasus region.

Armenia’s Pashinyan said the deal represented “opening a chapter of peace,” calling it a success “for our countries and for our region.”

He also commended Trump for his “legacy as a statesman and the peacemaker.”

Trump said all three of them had an “extensive” conversation and had signed “voluminous documents” related to a peace deal.

“It’s a long time, 35 years, they fought, and now they’re friends, and they’re going to be friends for a long time,” Trump said. 

Armenia, Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh

Tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan emerged in the late 1980s when Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous Azerbaijani region mostly populated by ethnic Armenians, broke away from Azerbaijan with support from Armenia.

Azerbaijan took back full control of the region in 2023 in a military offensive, prompting almost all of the territory’s remaining 100,000 ethnic Armenians to flee to Armenia.

Speaking on Friday, Trump said the two countries had committed to stop fighting, open up diplomatic relations and respect each other’s territorial integrity.

The US president also said he was lifting restrictions on US military cooperation with Azerbaijan.

Transit corridor at center of Armenia-Azerbaijan deal

The wording of the agreement hasn’t yet been released. 

But at the center of the deal is the establishment of a trade and transit corridor through the South Caucasus, which is to be named after Trump. 

That route will connect Azerbaijan and its autonomous Nakhchivan exclave, which are separated by a 32-kilometer-wide (20-mile-wide) strip of Armenian territory.

The deal grants the United States exclusive development rights to the transit corridor, which the White House said would facilitate greater exports of energy and other resources in the region.

The demand from Azerbaijan for a transit route to Nakhchivan had previously hindered peace talks.

The two nations were also due to sign a letter officially requesting the dissolution of the Minsk Group, a now-defunct mediation body under the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Russia’s influence wanes in South Caucasus

The deal between the two former Soviet republics strikes a geopolitical blow to Russia.

Long after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia has played the role of a de facto regional leader in the South Caucasus.

But Russian influence in the region has drastically weakened in the past several years, especially as it is bogged down in its war against Ukraine.

Armenia, Azerbaijan leaders say Trump deserves Nobel Peace Prize

Both leaders praised Trump for helping to end the conflict and said they would nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize. 

On Thursday, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet announced that he had nominated Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize for de-escalating a border conflict between Cambodia and Thailand. 

In early July, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nominated Trump for the prize.

Trump has repeatedly praised his own diplomatic efforts, saying he deserves the peace prize.

Edited by: Sean Sinico

Mexican officials say sportswear giant took design idea from Indigenous community in country’s southern Oaxaca state.

Mexico’s government is seeking compensation from Adidas, accusing the sportswear giant of cultural appropriation for launching a new shoe design strikingly similar to traditional Indigenous footwear known as huaraches.

Adidas’s new Oaxaca Slip-On was created by United States fashion designer Willy Chavarria, who has Mexican heritage.

But the footwear has drawn strong pushback from officials in Mexico’s southern state of Oaxaca, who say no authorisation was given by the Indigenous community, in the village of Villa de Hidalgo Yalalag, behind the original design.

“It’s collective intellectual property. There must be compensation. The heritage law must be complied with,” Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum said during her regular news conference on Friday.

“Big companies often take products, ideas and designs from Indigenous communities,” Sheinbaum said.

“We are looking at the legal part to be able to support them,” she said.

The government said that Adidas representatives had agreed to meet with Oaxaca authorities.

In a public letter to Adidas, Oaxaca state governor, Salomon Jara Cruz, criticised the company’s design – which has a sneaker sole topped with the weave of huarache sandals – saying that “creative inspiration” is not a valid justification for using cultural expressions that “provide identity to communities”.

“Culture isn’t sold, it’s respected,” he said.

Mexican news outlet Periodico Supremo said the country’s National Institute of Indigenous Peoples will launch a legal challenge over the Adidas design, and asked followers on social media: “Are you going to buy them?”

🔴 Están “padres”….🩴

Gobierno de #México defiende propiedad intelectual indígena, en contra de la reconocida marca ADIDAS (@adidas)

El INPI (@INPImx) reclamará legalmente el uso indebido del diseño tradicional de guaraches originarios de Villa Hidalgo Yalálag, #Oaxaca

¿Vas a… pic.twitter.com/KPtrfZMLGC

— PERIÓDICO SupreMo 🔴 (@Diario_Supremo) August 8, 2025

Translation: The government of Mexico defends Indigenous intellectual property, against the well-known brand ADIDAS. The INPI will legally challenge the improper use of the traditional design of huaraches originating from Villa Hidalgo Yalalag, Oaxaca. Are you going to buy them?

The controversy is the latest instance of Mexican officials denouncing major clothing brands or designers using unauthorised Indigenous art or designs from the region, with previous complaints raised about fast fashion juggernaut Shein, Spain’s Zara and high-end labels Carolina Herrera and Louis Vuitton.

Mexico’s Deputy Culture Minister Marina Nunez confirmed Adidas had contacted Oaxacan officials to discuss “restitution to the people who were plagiarised”.

Neither Adidas nor the designer Chavarria, who was born in the US to an Irish-American mother and a Mexican-American father, immediately responded to requests for comment from reporters.

Chavarria had previously told Sneaker News that he had intended to celebrate his cultural heritage through his work with Adidas.

“I’m very proud to work with a company that really respects and elevates culture in the truest way,” he said.

Handicrafts are a crucial economic lifeline in Mexico, providing jobs for about half a million people across the country. The industry accounts for approximately 10 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of states such as Oaxaca, Jalisco, Michoacan and Guerrero.

For Viridiana Jarquin Garcia, a huaraches creator and vendor in Oaxaca’s capital, the Adidas shoes were a “cheap copy” of the kind of work that Mexican artists take time and care to craft.

“The artistry is being lost. We’re losing our tradition,” she said in front of her small booth of leather shoes.