This is how Harvard economist Jeffrey Sachs learned about 9-11:
...The way I experienced that morning continues to impress on me the nature of our global society. I was in my office at Harvard University, on a live videoconference feed to South Africa, giving a lecture on AIDS to a group of community leaders and business people in Durban. As I was speaking, I saw the people at the podium in south Africa begin whispering to each other. I was shocked when one turned to the video camera and said, "Professor Sachs, I regret to inform you that your country is under attack and we have to end this conference immediately." With that, the transmission went down, and I walked out of the room to see dozens of shocked and dazed colleagues milling in the halls. People congregated in front of a giant television screen in the central foyer. Within minutes, we watched in horror as the towers collapsed before our eyes.
The End of Poverty, page 214.