Social Media Platform X Back Up after Global Outage

A woman holds a smartphone displaying the logo of US social network X (former Twitter), in Nantes, western France, on November 29, 2023. (Photo by LOIC VENANCE / AFP)
A woman holds a smartphone displaying the logo of US social network X (former Twitter), in Nantes, western France, on November 29, 2023. (Photo by LOIC VENANCE / AFP)
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Social Media Platform X Back Up after Global Outage

A woman holds a smartphone displaying the logo of US social network X (former Twitter), in Nantes, western France, on November 29, 2023. (Photo by LOIC VENANCE / AFP)
A woman holds a smartphone displaying the logo of US social network X (former Twitter), in Nantes, western France, on November 29, 2023. (Photo by LOIC VENANCE / AFP)

Social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, was restored globally early Thursday, with over 77,000 US users facing issues at the peak of the outage, Reuters said on Thursday.
Users in Canada, Britain, France and other countries reported issues with accessing both X and X Pro, earlier known as TweetDeck.
Over 7,000 users in Canada and Britain experienced issues with the platform, according to Downdetector data.
Downdetector tracks outages by collating status reports from several sources including users.
The cause of the outage, which began a little after 12 am ET(0500 GMT), is not yet known, and emails to X's communications and support teams bounced back.
Users on X, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, experienced an inability to view posts, receiving a "Welcome to X!" message. X Pro users encountered a message that said "Waiting for posts."
The social media platform faced upheaval and uncertainty following Musk's $44 billion acquisition, leading to layoffs, including numerous engineers responsible for fixing and preventing service outages, sources have previously told Reuters.
Users took to rival Meta's app, Threads, to discuss the outage, citing difficulties in accessing posts, replies and profiles on X.



Microsoft to Train 1 Million South Africans on AI Skills

A view shows a Microsoft logo at Microsoft offices in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France, March 25, 2024. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo
A view shows a Microsoft logo at Microsoft offices in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France, March 25, 2024. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo
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Microsoft to Train 1 Million South Africans on AI Skills

A view shows a Microsoft logo at Microsoft offices in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France, March 25, 2024. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo
A view shows a Microsoft logo at Microsoft offices in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France, March 25, 2024. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo

Microsoft aims to provide 1 million people in South Africa with artificial intelligence (AI) and cyber security training opportunities by 2026, Lillian Barnard, President for Microsoft Africa, said on Thursday.

Microsoft's (AI) national skilling initiative targets a broad audience, and in South Africa will prioritise all sectors from companies to government and the youth, Barnard said at the company's "AI Tour" in Johannesburg.

She did not disclose the investment figure for the initiative, according to Reuters.

"By providing skilling opportunities and access to industry recognised certifications, our youth will be well positioned to compete on the global stage," Barnard said.

Microsoft, the first global "hyperscale" public cloud provider to build data centres in South Africa, has trained four million Africans in the last five years and has committed to train 30 million Africans in the next five years.