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Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp users have reported that the platforms have suffered outages. Thousands of users reported issues at around 11.45am PST, according to DownDetector, which monitors tech outages. Users in Indiana, Washington state, Florida, Nebraska and New York all stated on DownDetector that their service had been impacted. More than 12,000 users reported having trouble accessing Facebook, while over 6,600 users were having trouble with Instagram. WhatsApp also had more than 1,300 outage reports. Meta, which owns all three platforms, addressed the issue in a statement to The Independent. “We’re aware that some people are having trouble accessing our products. We’re working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible, and we apologize for any inconvenience,” the company stated. Read More Meta scrambles to fix Instagram algorithm connecting ‘vast paedophile network’ Google revenue from anti-abortion campaigns and ‘fake’ clinics ‘topped $10m’ Police warn about dangerous emergency setting on Android phones

Microsoft has made a major change to its proposed takeover of the developer of Call of Duty, in yet another attempt to get it completed. The company is hoping to buy Activision Blizzard for $69 billion, or £54 billion, in what would be one of the biggest sales ever. But it has faced intense regulatory scrutiny, including by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, which has looked to block the deal. Now it has said that it has sent a fresh proposal for how the takeover would work in an attempt to convince the CMA that the deal should go ahead. But it has stressed that there is still no “green light” for the deal. It came as the regulator confirmed on Tuesday that Microsoft‘s original plan to buy the computer games company “cannot proceed”. Under the new proposal, Microsoft would sell off its rights to offer games via the cloud for new or existing Activision PC or console games for the next 15 years outside the European Economic Area (EEA). It will instead sell those rights to Ubisoft, a rival developer known for the Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry games series. This is designed to ensure that gamers have access to Activision Blizzard’s games, even on consoles and computers not made by Microsoft. The CMA will now launch a new probe into this deal, a so-called Phase 1 investigation. CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell said: “The CMA has today confirmed that Microsoft‘s acquisition of Activision, as originally proposed, cannot proceed. “Separately, Microsoft has notified a new and restructured deal, which is substantially different from what was put on the table previously “This is not a green light. We will carefully and objectively assess the details of the restructured deal and its impact on competition, including in light of third-party comments.” Microsoft president Brad Smith said: “Under the restructured transaction, Microsoft will not be in a position either to release Activision Blizzard games exclusively on its own cloud streaming service, Xbox Cloud Gaming, or to exclusively control the licensing terms of Activision Blizzard games for rival services.” It marks a new twist in the case, the biggest fight the CMA has taken on since gaining new post-Brexit powers. At one point the case looked like as though it would only end after a court battle. In January 2022 Microsoft announced that it planned to buy Activision Blizzard, the company behind the Call Of Duty and World Of Warcraft games, for an eye-watering sum. When the UK was still an EU member, a deal of that size would have been assessed by regulators in Brussels. But after Brexit the CMA now has the power to investigate such deals itself. Although both companies are American, both have significant businesses in the UK so their tie-up could have a significant impact on competition here. Activision Blizzard chief executive Bobby Kotick said: “For us, nothing substantially changes with the addition of this divestiture: our merger agreement with Microsoft, closing deadline, and the cash consideration to be paid for each Activision Blizzard share at closing remain the same. “We will continue to work closely with Microsoft and the CMA throughout the remaining review process, and we are committed to help Microsoft clear any final hurdles as quickly as possible. “This has been a longer journey than expected, and I am very proud of how focused everyone has remained on delivering great games.” Additional reporting by agencies Read More Meta could finally launch Threads feature everyone is waiting for Japanese scientists hoping for a message from alien life imminently iPhone 15 could bring two major changes to fix battery life Meta could finally launch Threads feature everyone is waiting for Japanese scientists hoping for a message from alien life imminently iPhone 15 could bring two major changes to fix battery life

A scientist who found the oldest water ever discovered on Earth decided the best course of action was, of course, to drink it. Professor Barbara Sherwood Lollar was leading a team of geologists studying a Canadian mine in 2016 when she made the remarkable discovery. The flowing water about three kilometres below the surface was between 1.5bn and 2.6bn years old, according to tests, making it the oldest water found on Earth. “When people think about this water they assume it must be some tiny amount of water trapped within the rock,” said Prof Sherwood Lollar. “But in fact it’s very much bubbling right up out at you. These things are flowing at rates of litres per minute – the volume of the water is much larger than anyone anticipated.” Upon tasting the ancient water, she found that it was “very salty and bitter” and “much saltier than seawater”. That was an encouraging sign, because saltier water tends to be older. In this case, where the water has been ageing for billions of years, it is hardly surprising. “If you’re a geologist who works with rocks, you’ve probably licked a lot of rocks,” said Sherwood Lollar. Her team also found that life had once been present in the water, by looking at the sulphate – the composition of salts – in it. “We were able to indicate that the signal we are seeing in the fluids has to have been produced by microbiology – and most importantly has to have been produced over a very long time scale. “The microbes that produced this signature couldn’t have done it overnight. “This has to be an indication that organisms have been present in these fluids on a geological timescale.” Fortunately, the scientist had no terrifying sci-fi movie-esq reaction to drinking the ancient water, and lived to tell the tale. The paper was published in Nature in 2016. How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Ubisoft has teased that development on their 'Prince of Persia' remake has passed an "important" milestone after suffering several delays.