Welcome back to another Thursday roundup of news you need to know from around the world.
Here’s what’s going on today:
After a container ship ran aground, the Suez Canal was briefly blocked (again)
A super-large freight ship named the Ever Given captured the internet’s attention when it ran aground in the Suez Canal for six days in March, getting wedged sideways and grinding trade through the critical passage in Egypt to a halt. It later made the trip through the canal (after being impounded for three months) without incident, but today, another cargo ship ran aground and temporarily held up traffic. The Coral Crystal, used to transport bulk goods and registered to Panama, became stuck 34 miles into the canal, but unlike the Ever Given, was pulled out and towed away within 15 minutes, avoiding any serious disruptions. The Suez Canal Authority is reportedly dredging and widening the canal after the incidents this year to avoid further delays.
H/t to Jalopnik
Strike MoMA gears up for a second round of protests
After a summer of protests outside of Manhattan’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) (and inside, leading to violent clashes), activist group Strike MoMA is preparing to launch “phase 2” of its protests tomorrow, September 10. That will kick off a week of protests against the museum through September 17 over the institution’s trustees, who protestors have targeted for their links to environmental destruction and weapon manufacturing, particularly in Palestine.
H/t to Hyperallergic
2 World Trade Center could soon begin construction, with Norman Foster at the helm
At the start of 2020, it was announced that Bjarke Ingels was out and Norman Foster was back in for the design of 2 World Trade Center, with Silverstein Properties promising to reconfigure the 2006 proposal for modern office considerations. Now it finally looks like the project is on the precipice of moving forward, as the project—which, unlike other towers at the World Trade Center complex, won’t be receiving government funding to build—is actively courting anchor tenants. The foundation at Church and Vesey Streets is already complete, and Silverstein is anticipating that it can secure a commitment from a big business in the next 6 to 12 months, after which construction will start.
H/t to Commercial Observer
This home was spared by the Caldor Fire thanks to a foil wrapping
If a wildfire is knocking at your door, should you wrap your home in silvery fire blankets? It worked for this cabin in the forest Phillips Tract that was threatened by the Caldor Fire near Sierra-at-Tahoe, California. The aluminum wraps work by keeping flaming debris out of any potential openings, stopping the structure from making direct contact with the passing flames, and reflecting up to 92 percent of the intense surrounding heat, preventing the building from catching fire.
H/t to the San Francisco Chronicle
A Columbus statue removed in Mexico City will be replaced with one of an Indigenous woman
Mexico City is moving ahead with plans to replace a statue of Christopher Columbus removed last year ahead of Columbus Day, with a monument instead to Indigenous women. The original statue was removed for maintenance ahead of October 12, Dia de la Raza in Mexico, which celebrates both Indigenous history and Columbus’s legacy, but the barricades around the statue’s pedestal were covered in anti-Columbus graffiti by protestors. Ultimately the monument was never returned, and Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum announced the replacement on Sunday, September 5. The new statue will be installed as soon as October 12.
H/t to the New York Times
