Global Microsoft outage disrupts governments and businesses across 74 countries

A global Microsoft outage affecting services like Outlook, Teams, and Copilot has disrupted operations across at least 74 countries since Thursday, impacting governments, businesses, and emergency services worldwide. The outage, detected midday US Eastern Time, has hit city governments in the US, Australian spy agencies, and UK health and police services. Companies like OpenAI reported connection issues, while courts and hospitals in North America warned of email delays, though emergency services remained operational. In Asia, Japan, India, and Singapore confirmed government disruptions, with some firms using alternative communication methods. Russia remained largely unaffected due to restricted Microsoft use, though under-reporting in censored countries may mask the true scope.