Many Twitter users found themselves unable to tweet, follow accounts or access their direct messages as the platform experienced a range of technical problems.
The company tweeted from its “support” account: “Twitter may not be working as expected for some of you. Sorry for the trouble. We’re aware and working to get this fixed.”
It is not clear what caused the meltdown, but Twitter engineers and experts have been warning that the platform is at an increased risk of fraying since owner Elon Musk fired most of the people who worked on keeping it running.
5 things to start your day
1) Disney to cut 7,000 jobs after fall in streaming subscribers | The job cuts represent just over 3pc of Disney’s global workforce of around 220,000
2) $120bn wiped off Google after Bard AI chatbot gives wrong answer | Company’s answer to Microsoft’s ChatGPT AI falls at the first hurdle
3) Global trade will contract this year, shipping giant Maersk predicts | Full warehouses and looming recessions have cut demand, company warns
4) Plot to almost halve number of HS2 trains and run them at slower speeds | Number of HS2 trains running per hour to fall as ministers grapple with inflationary measures
5) Union threatens to cause blackouts with strike at Britain’s biggest power station | Walkouts to strain electricity supplies and make it harder to keep the lights on
What happened overnight
Tokyo’s key Nikkei index ended lower, with investors taking cues from declines in US shares linked to hawkish comments by Federal Reserve officials.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.1pc to end at 27,584.35, while the broader Topix index edged up 0.1pc to 1,985.00.
Meanwhile, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.5pc to 7,490.30. In Mumbai, the Sensex gained 0.1pc. Shares fell in Bangkok, Taiwan and Singapore.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 1.3pc to 21,557.09, while the Shanghai Composite index advanced 1pc to 3,266.14.
US stocks slid overnight as investors grow anxious over the deteriorating corporate earnings outlook, as well as fears that the Federal Reserve could keep interest rates too high for too long.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.6pc to 33,939.01, while the broad-based S&P 500 slumped 1.1pc to 4,117.86.
The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 1.7pc to 11,910.52, with around $120bn wiped off Google’s market value after experiencing technical difficulties when presenting its challenger to Microsoft’s new ChapGPT-powered search engine.
