Microsoft’s globally popular productivity software suite, Microsoft 365, is reportedly down for thousands of users.

According to Downdetector, an independent outage tracking platform, around 3,960 users reported issues with Microsoft 365 as of 6:03 p.m. ET on Thursday.

Before that, there were over 15,880 user reports suggesting a Microsoft 365 outage.

Outlook, Teams, Defender, and SharePoint Online were not working due to the outage, and users complained that there were issues when sending and receiving emails, accessing files, and using collaboration tools.

It should be noted that the outage tracking website gathers status reports from various sources, including user-submitted errors, so the actual number of affected users may differ from the reported figures.

The Windows developers acknowledged the issue, stating that it was adjusting traffic across affected infrastructure while efforts were underway to fully restore the service.

According to Microsoft, a portion of its North American service infrastructure wasn’t processing traffic as it should, affecting several of its services at a time.

Rose Byrne has been finally nominated for her first-ever Oscar, a huge moment in her career.

The 46-year-old Australian actress earned a spot in the Best Actress category for her charming role in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.

This achievement came after her recent Golden Globes win, making it even more special time for her.

Byrne admitted that she was completely shocked when she got to know her Oscars nod.

“I can’t believe it. I feel like I’ve snuck into the back of the bus,” she said to Hollywood Reporter.

The actress added that being part of the Oscars’ history and ceremony felt overwhelming but amazing.

As a little girl in Sydney, she used to watch the star-studded event and dreamed about a moment like this in her entire life.

The Platonic star also shared a sweet update about her family which included the bearded dragon her husband Bobby Cannavale and their kids at the Globes.

“He’s doing well! The kids are very happy,” she shared.

However, Rose faced tough competition this year, including Jessie Buckley, Kate Hudson, Renate Reinsve, and Emma Stone.

At that same time, films like Sinners made history with record nominations, while some favourites like Ariana Grande were surprisingly left out.

The 98th Academy Awards, for the unversed, will take place at the Dolby Theatre on March 15.

• USS Abraham Lincoln moves from Asia-Pacific: US officials.
• Say other assets to arrive in ME in coming days.
• Trump says Iran ‘can’t do the nuclear’.

WASHINGTON: A US military aircraft carrier strike group and other assets will arrive in the Middle East region in the coming days, two US officials said on Thursday, even as President Donald Trump voiced hopes of avoiding new military action against Iran.

US warships, including the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, several destroyers and fighter aircraft, started moving from the Asia-Pacific last week as tensions between Iran and the United States soared following a severe crackdown on protests across Iran in recent months.

One of the officials said additional air defence systems were also being considered for the Middle East. The United States often increases troop levels in the region at moments of heightened tension, something experts note can be entirely defensive in nature.

However, the US military staged a major build-up last summer ahead of its June strikes against Iran’s nuclear programme, and later boasted about how it kept its intention to strike a secret.

Trump had repeatedly threatened to intervene against Iran over the recent killings of protesters there, but demonstrations dwindled last week and Trump’s rhetoric on Iran has since eased. He has shifted his focus to other geopolitical issues, including his pursuit of Greenland.

On Wednesday, Trump said he hoped there would not be further US military action in Iran, but said the United States would act if Tehran resumed its nuclear programme.

“They can’t do the nuclear,” Trump told CNBC in an interview in Davos, Switzerland, referring to major US air strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities in June 2025. “If they do it, it’s going to happen again.”

It has now been at least seven months since the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, last verified Iran’s stock of highly enriched uranium. Its own guidance says such checks should be carried out monthly.

Iran must file a report to the IAEA on what happened at the sites struck by the United States and on nuclear material believed to have been there, including an estimated 440.9 kg of uranium enriched to up to 60% purity, close to the roughly 90% weapons-grade level. That is enough material, if enriched further, for 10 nuclear bombs, according to an IAEA yardstick.

It remains unclear whether protests in Iran could surge again. The demonstrations began on December 28 as modest protests in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar over economic hardship and quickly spread nationwide.