World at a glance

GT keeps the newswire ticking by bringing you news from around the globe

USA

Subway station reopened after 17 years

Cortlandt Street station under the World Trade Center, which collapsed on September 11, 2001 after the terrorist attacks has opened again. The station was buried and tunnels were destroyed completely. The reconstruction of the station has costed $181 million. People cheered, clapped and held their phones up to record the event.

Libya

Hundreds of migrants drown in shipwreck

In an attempt to cross the Mediterranean sea, hundreds of migrants lost their lives in a major shipwreck off the Libyan coastline. As per the reports of the International Organisation for Migration, over thousands of migrants have died while attempting to cross the Mediterranean so far this year.

Brazil

Big thumbs down to whale sanctuary proposal
In a meeting held by International Whaling Commission (IWC), the proposal to construct a whale sanctuary in the South Atlantic Ocean was defeated. It was backed by 25 countries voting against the proposal including pro-whaling countries such as Japan, Iceland, Norway and Russia. Environment Minister of Brazil, Edson Duarte said he was disappointed but would continue to enlist support worldwide.

Russia

Biggest war game launched in decades
The country launched its largest military game since the Cold War. The week-long war game has been titled ‘Vostok-2018’. Around 300,000 soldiers;, 36,000 military tanks, 80 warships, 1000 aircrafts and helicopters are set to take part in the drills. However, it has been condemned by NATO as a rehearsal for large-scale conflict’.

China

Founder of Alibaba to step down
Jack Ma, Co-founder and Chairman of Alibaba Group, has announced his plan to step down as the head of the e-commerce giant Alibaba from September 10, 2019. Currently, Ma is presiding as Executive Chairman for the remaining year to ensure a ‘smooth transition’ before he hands over his role to CEO Daniel Zhang.

Japan

First Japanese player to win a major tennis title
Naomi Osaka became the first Japanese tennis player to win the US Open. She beat tennis ace, Serena Williams by 6-2 6-4 in the finals in Women’s Singles category. Osaka also held the Gram Slam singles title last year after defeating Madison Keys, American tennis player last year.

North Korea

Huge 70th anniversary celebrations
To mark the 70th anniversary of the country’s establishment, thousands of military troops, artilleries and tanks paraded through Pyongyang, the capital city. However, the celebrations refrained from the display of intercontinental ballistic missiles and instead showed friendship with China.

India

Twitter signs video content partnership
Twitter recently signed 12 premium video content deals with India for live streaming and video highlights programs in sports, entertainment and news. Some of the Indian partners include Viacom18, Vh1 Supersonic, Comic Con India, Network 18 and news publishers such as NDTV. This collaboration aims to bring in new content to the Indian audience. 

Iran

Theatre figures detained over a trailer
Iranian authorities arrested two leading theatre artists over the violation of an act under the Islamic Republic’s strict rules forbidding men and women dancing together in public. The artists were dancing together in a trailer for Shaksepeare’s renowned play ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’.