After brief X outage, Musk says refocusing on businesses

Social media platform X was hit by a two-hour outage Saturday, prompting owner Elon Musk to say he needs to spend more time focusing on his companies.The billionaire has an extraordinarily full plate as owner/CEO of X, xAI (developer of the AI-powered chatbot Grok), electric-car maker Tesla and rocket builder SpaceX — not to mention his recent polarizing efforts to help Donald Trump slash thousands of US government jobs.As a backlash to those job cuts grew and Tesla share prices slipped, Musk began drawing away from the government role and returning to his original work. On Saturday, following the X outage, he suggested that he might have been away too long.”As evidenced by the X uptime issues this week, major operational improvements need to be made,” he said.”Back to spending 24/7 at work and sleeping in conference/server/factory rooms,” the South African-born businessman posted on X.”I must be super focused on X/xAI and Tesla (plus Starship launch next week), as we have critical technologies rolling out.” Of the X outage, he said: “The failover redundancy should have worked, but did not.”X had largely returned to normal service by 11:00 am Saturday (1500 GMT). Contacted by AFP for comment, the company did not immediately reply.SpaceX announced Friday that it plans to attempt a new launch of its mega-rocket Starship next week. Still under development, Starship exploded in flight during two previous launches.Musk acknowledged early this month that his ambitious effort to slash US federal spending, led by his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), did not fully reach its goals despite tens of thousands of job cuts and drastic budget reductions.

Trump ‘on brand’ with anti-woke rant at army officer graduation

Attendees at a graduation event for new US army officers Saturday tried to brush off inflammatory remarks by Donald Trump, but said they were unsurprised by the president’s rhetoric.Trump’s speech at the West Point Military Academy veered between attacks on transgender people and army diversity, equity and inclusion policies to slamming his predecessors.An infantry major who declined to give their name said that Trump “sure had them on their toes” with his speech, but when asked about the political content said: “it was my first commander-in-chief’s speech” — so had nothing with which to compare.Trump railed against past army efforts to promote integration and tolerance, claiming that after he dismantled such policies, troops were no longer forced to perform drag shows overseas.”(I) liberated our troops from divisive and demeaning political trainings,” he said.Cadet George Montras, 23, said that he enjoyed parts of Trump’s speech about “winning” — but did not take a view on the more overtly political content. “(Winning) really matters here, whether it is sport, academically, whatever,” he said.On whether the speech was unusually political, Montras insisted that “it was pretty on brand” for Trump and he was unsurprised.- ‘Unravelled’ -The event was a jarring mix of precision regimented military ceremony against a backdrop of Trump’s freewheeling remarks.Graduates threw their hats into the air and marched accompanied by a military band, while Trump wore a red “make America great again” cap and joked about incompetent senior officers.One non-military attendee said Trump’s rambling speech “was good then it just kind of unravelled.”General Stephane Richou, visiting with a delegation of other senior officers from France, described Trump’s speech to the graduating class as “interesting.””I was fascinated by the ceremony,” he told AFP describing the “link between the commander-in-chief and the army for these youngsters” as an advantage. A lieutenant colonel in the US army chaplain corps who declined to be named said that the day was about “the joy of serving.”Trump attended the New York Military Academy private school but avoided the Vietnam war draft through a medical exemption.Declining to comment on the more controversial elements of the speech, the chaplain said “it was very encouraging” to hear Trump emphasize the importance of the military and that “it was a good time to become an officer.” At one point, Trump baselessly alleged that former president Barack Obama had given hypersonic missile technology to Russia, which prompted a large jeer from the non-graduating cadets assembled to see their classmates graduate.- ‘Divisive’ policies -There was also enthusiastic applause and cheering in the crowd when Trump rehashed his objection to transgender people competing in women’s sport.”We will not have men playing in women’s sports if that’s OK,” he said after vowing to stamp out “divisive” inclusion policies in the military.A special forces lieutenant colonel in the stands laughed out loud when Trump suggested in an off-the-cuff remark that he wanted a West Point gold ring, reserved for alumni of the gruelling four-year course.Kahena Wilhite was supporting a friend who graduated despite racking up 286 hours of disciplinary punishment time.Describing Trump’s words unfavorably, the 22-year-old said a number of Black and indigenous people left the stands in protest during the speech, which included praise for Levittown housing developments that formerly excluded non-white owners.On whether it was a safe time to become an officer under Trump, Tom McGill, 75, from Baton Rouge, Louisiana said he was relieved that his grandson was going into an army support role.”He’s going into intelligence, I don’t know if they see any action,” he said, stressing that commentators have “got to give (Trump) a chance” on foreign policy.Cadets that did speak to AFP stressed that the day was meant to be apolitical, and that they were excited to support their classmates.”We’re here to support each other,” said a second-year cadet who gave his name as Torres and wore a pristine white uniform with a white peaked cap with gold trim.”It’s such an honor. The whole company is here to support the graduating class.” 

Iranian filmmaker Panahi urges ‘freedom’ as he wins Cannes top prize

Iranian dissident director Jafar Panahi won the Palme d’Or top prize at the Cannes film festival on Saturday, using his acceptance speech to urge his country to unite for “freedom”.The latest film from the 64-year-old, “It Was Just an Accident”, tells the tale of five ordinary Iranians confronted with a man they believed tortured them in jail. The core of the political and wry drama examines the moral dilemma faced by people if they are given an opportunity to take revenge on their oppressors.Panahi used his own experiences in jail to write the screenplay.”Let’s set aside all problems, all differences. What matters most right now is our country and the freedom of our country,” he told the VIP-studded audience on the French Riviera. The leading light in the Iranian New Wave cinema movement has vowed to return to Tehran after the Cannes Festival despite the risks of prosecution. Banned from making films in 2010 and imprisoned twice, Panahi argued that cinema should be a space for free expression.”No one has the right to tell you what you (filmmakers) should do and what you should not do,” he told the audience, according to remarks in Persian which were translated into French by an interpreter.Iran was shaken by the “Women, Life, Freedom” protests in 2022 sparked by after the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was arrested for allegedly flouting dress rules for women.The demonstrations were quashed in a crackdown that saw thousands detained, according to the United Nations, and hundreds shot dead by security forces, according to activists.- Fairytale -Among the other Cannes awards, Brazil’s Wagner Moura, best known for playing Pablo Escobar in “Narcos” — picked up the best actor award for his performance in police thriller “The Secret Agent”.Its director, Kleber Mendonca Filho, also won the best director prize, making it a good evening for Brazil.France’s Nadia Melliti continued her fairytale fortnight in Cannes by clinching the gong for best actress.Melliti, who was spotted in the street by a casting agent and had never appeared in a film, plays a 17-year-old Muslim girl struggling with her homosexuality in Hafsia Herzi’s “The Little Sister”.”Sentimental Value” by Norway’s Joachim Trier, a moving family drama given a 19-minute standing ovation on Thursday, picked up the second prize Grand Prix.- Sabotage -Saturday’s closing ceremony was the final act of a drama-filled day in Cannes that saw the glitzy seaside resort suffer a more than five-hour power cut.The outage knocked out traffic lights and had visitors and locals scrambling for paper money because cash machines were out-of-order and restaurants were left unable to process card payments.Local officials said a suspected arson attack on a substation and vandalism of an electricity pylon had caused the disruption.  German director Mascha Schilinski joked that she had “had difficulty writing her speech” because of the black-out as she accepted a jury prize for her “Sound of Falling”.- Politics -Panahi has won a host of prizes at European film festivals and showcased his debut film “The White Balloon” in Cannes in 1995 which won an award for best first feature. The head of the Cannes 2025 jury, French actress Juliette Binoche, paid tribute to “It Was Just an Accident”.”This is a film that emerges from a place of resistance, a place of survival, and it felt essential to bring it put it on top today,” she told reporters afterwards.”Art will always prevail, humanity will always prevail.” Panahi has always refused to stop making films and his efforts to smuggle them out to foreign distributors and film festivals has become the stuff of legend.A year after being handed a 20-year ban on filmmaking in 2010 he dispatched a documentary with the cheeky title “This is Not a Film” to the Cannes Festival on a flash drive stashed in a cake.”I’m alive as long as I’m making films. If I’m not making films, then what happens to me no longer matters,” he told AFP this week. 

C1 féminine: Arsenal s’offre l’ogre barcelonais et la Ligue des champions

Arsenal, globalement dominé, mais très efficace, a remporté samedi à Lisbonne la Ligue des champions féminine en déjouant tous les pronostics pour battre Barcelone, archi-favori 1-0, grâce à un but de la remplaçante Stina Blackstenius.En faisant entrer à la 68e minute l’attaquante suédoise en même temps que Beth Mead à la place respectivement de Frida Maanum et Chloe Kelly, percluses de crampes, la jeune entraîneuse néerlandaise d’Arsenal, Renée Slegers, a permis aux Anglaises de s’offrir en même temps que l’ogre barcelonais, leur deuxième sacre européen, dix-huit ans après le premier acquis lors de la saison 2006-2007.Quelques minutes après son entrée en jeu, Blackstenius s’est infiltrée dans la surface catalane, a frappé, obligeant Catalina Coll, la gardienne espagnole à son deuxième sauvetage décisif de l’après-midi (73e).Une minute plus tard, après une passe de Mead dans la surface, elle n’a cette fois laissé aucune chance à Coll pour ouvrir le score (74e, 1-0).Déjà regroupées en défense depuis de nombreuses minutes pour contenir les assauts catalans, les Gunners ont résisté vingt minutes pour s’offrir un magnifique exploit et le scalp d’un troisième géant d’Europe en finale, après celui du Real en quart et de l’Olympique lyonnais en demie.- Le Barça privé d’un quadruplé -Le Barça des doubles Ballon d’Or Alexia Putellas et Aitana Bonmati ne réalisera pas deux années de suite, un quadruplé incroyable en remportant la C1, le championnat, la Coupe et la Supercoupe d’Espagne. Sur la scène européenne, son nombre de trophées reste bloqué à trois, loin derrière Lyon et ses huit titres et désormais talonné par Arsenal, que personne n’avait vu venir en début de saison, avec deux Ligues des champions.Le sacre d’Arsenal, mérité, n’en est que plus beau. Comme face à Lyon, lors de la demi-finale retour, les Anglaises ont laissé la possession du ballon aux Catalanes, bien supérieures techniquement, mais ont quadrillé le terrain pour exercer un pressing efficace, récupérer un nombre important de ballons et procéder à des contres rapides. Le plan de jeu a failli fonctionner à la 23e minute lorsque la milieu norvégienne d’Arsenal Frida Maanum s’est extirpée de son aile droite pour centrer à ras de terre dans la surface barcelonaise, et que Irène Paredes, l’ancienne défenseuse du Paris SG a détourné le ballon dans son propre camp. Le stade Alvalade, presque rempli, et très largement acquis à la cause catalane, a été plongé dans l’effroi, le temps que Ivana Martincic, l’arbitre croate de la rencontre, ne constate, avec l’aide de la VAR, que Maanum était partie légèrement hors-jeu.Il a une nouvelle fois retenu son souffle quelques minutes plus tard, lorsque Maanum, dans tous les bons coups anglais lors du premier acte, a frappé en première intention des 25 mètres, forçant Coll, d’une superbe parade, à détourner le ballon en corner au-dessus de son but.  Si Arsenal a pu profiter de la fébrilité défensive du côté gauche barcelonais, les Anglaises ont surtout bénéficié de l’apathie des Catalanes.Maîtrisant globalement la possession du ballon et plus généralement la partie, possédant en Aitana Bonmati, de très loin la meilleure joueuse sur le terrain, possiblement la meilleure joueuse au monde, les Blaugrana n’ont jamais eu ce surcroit de vitesse leur permettant de concrétiser leur domination. Le scenario du match n’a pas tellement varié en seconde période, les Gunners laissant la domination aux Barcelonaises pour mieux procéder en contres, beaucoup moins tranchants toutefois, les efforts fournis lors du premier acte, se faisant de plus en plus ressentir au fil de la rencontre. Jusqu’à l’entrée de Stina Blackstenius.  Ce titre doit beaucoup à l’entraîneuse d’Arsenal, Renée Slegers, arrivée en intérim au chevet de l’équipe à la petite mine en cours de saison, et qui en a fait une irrésistible machine battre les meilleures équipes, puis lors de la deuxième partie de saison, la meilleure équipe d’Europe. Tout simplement.

C1 féminine: Arsenal s’offre l’ogre barcelonais et la Ligue des champions

Arsenal, globalement dominé, mais très efficace, a remporté samedi à Lisbonne la Ligue des champions féminine en déjouant tous les pronostics pour battre Barcelone, archi-favori 1-0, grâce à un but de la remplaçante Stina Blackstenius.En faisant entrer à la 68e minute l’attaquante suédoise en même temps que Beth Mead à la place respectivement de Frida Maanum et Chloe Kelly, percluses de crampes, la jeune entraîneuse néerlandaise d’Arsenal, Renée Slegers, a permis aux Anglaises de s’offrir en même temps que l’ogre barcelonais, leur deuxième sacre européen, dix-huit ans après le premier acquis lors de la saison 2006-2007.Quelques minutes après son entrée en jeu, Blackstenius s’est infiltrée dans la surface catalane, a frappé, obligeant Catalina Coll, la gardienne espagnole à son deuxième sauvetage décisif de l’après-midi (73e).Une minute plus tard, après une passe de Mead dans la surface, elle n’a cette fois laissé aucune chance à Coll pour ouvrir le score (74e, 1-0).Déjà regroupées en défense depuis de nombreuses minutes pour contenir les assauts catalans, les Gunners ont résisté vingt minutes pour s’offrir un magnifique exploit et le scalp d’un troisième géant d’Europe en finale, après celui du Real en quart et de l’Olympique lyonnais en demie.- Le Barça privé d’un quadruplé -Le Barça des doubles Ballon d’Or Alexia Putellas et Aitana Bonmati ne réalisera pas deux années de suite, un quadruplé incroyable en remportant la C1, le championnat, la Coupe et la Supercoupe d’Espagne. Sur la scène européenne, son nombre de trophées reste bloqué à trois, loin derrière Lyon et ses huit titres et désormais talonné par Arsenal, que personne n’avait vu venir en début de saison, avec deux Ligues des champions.Le sacre d’Arsenal, mérité, n’en est que plus beau. Comme face à Lyon, lors de la demi-finale retour, les Anglaises ont laissé la possession du ballon aux Catalanes, bien supérieures techniquement, mais ont quadrillé le terrain pour exercer un pressing efficace, récupérer un nombre important de ballons et procéder à des contres rapides. Le plan de jeu a failli fonctionner à la 23e minute lorsque la milieu norvégienne d’Arsenal Frida Maanum s’est extirpée de son aile droite pour centrer à ras de terre dans la surface barcelonaise, et que Irène Paredes, l’ancienne défenseuse du Paris SG a détourné le ballon dans son propre camp. Le stade Alvalade, presque rempli, et très largement acquis à la cause catalane, a été plongé dans l’effroi, le temps que Ivana Martincic, l’arbitre croate de la rencontre, ne constate, avec l’aide de la VAR, que Maanum était partie légèrement hors-jeu.Il a une nouvelle fois retenu son souffle quelques minutes plus tard, lorsque Maanum, dans tous les bons coups anglais lors du premier acte, a frappé en première intention des 25 mètres, forçant Coll, d’une superbe parade, à détourner le ballon en corner au-dessus de son but.  Si Arsenal a pu profiter de la fébrilité défensive du côté gauche barcelonais, les Anglaises ont surtout bénéficié de l’apathie des Catalanes.Maîtrisant globalement la possession du ballon et plus généralement la partie, possédant en Aitana Bonmati, de très loin la meilleure joueuse sur le terrain, possiblement la meilleure joueuse au monde, les Blaugrana n’ont jamais eu ce surcroit de vitesse leur permettant de concrétiser leur domination. Le scenario du match n’a pas tellement varié en seconde période, les Gunners laissant la domination aux Barcelonaises pour mieux procéder en contres, beaucoup moins tranchants toutefois, les efforts fournis lors du premier acte, se faisant de plus en plus ressentir au fil de la rencontre. Jusqu’à l’entrée de Stina Blackstenius.  Ce titre doit beaucoup à l’entraîneuse d’Arsenal, Renée Slegers, arrivée en intérim au chevet de l’équipe à la petite mine en cours de saison, et qui en a fait une irrésistible machine battre les meilleures équipes, puis lors de la deuxième partie de saison, la meilleure équipe d’Europe. Tout simplement.

Bangladesh govt calls for unity to stop ‘return of authoritarianism’

Bangladesh’s interim government, which took over after a mass uprising last year, warned on Saturday that unity was needed to “prevent the return of authoritarianism”.The South Asian nation of around 170 million people has been in political turmoil since former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted by student-led protests in August 2024, ending her iron-fisted rule of 15 years.After a week of escalation during which rival parties protested on the streets of the capital Dhaka, the government led by Muhammad Yunus said political power struggles risked jeopardising gains that have been made and pleaded for people to give it their full support.”Broader unity is essential to maintain national stability, organise free and fair elections, justice, and reform, and permanently prevent the return of authoritarianism in the country,” it said in a statement.- ‘Continuously obstructing’ -Yunus, the 84-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner who returned from exile at the behest of protesters last year, says he has a duty to implement democratic reforms before elections that are due by June 2026 at the latest.However, the government warned that it had faced “unreasonable demands, deliberately provocative and jurisdictionally overreaching statements”, which it said had been “continuously obstructing” its work.Sources in his office and a key political ally said on Thursday that microfinance pioneer Yunus had threatened to quit.”If the government’s autonomy, reform efforts, justice process, fair election plan, and normal operations are obstructed to the point of making its duties unmanageable, it will, with the people, take the necessary steps,” Saturday’s statement said, without giving further details.Wahiduddin Mahmud, who heads the finance and planning ministry, insisted that Yunus will not step down early. “We are going to carry out the responsibilities assigned to us,” Mahmud told reporters on Saturday. “We can’t simply abandon our duties.” – ‘Return of dictatorship’ -Yunus held talks on Saturday evening with key political parties, including those who have protested against the government this month.His press secretary Shafiqul Alam insisted that the parties all had “full trust” in Yunus, with an all-party meeting scheduled for Sunday.Yunus met leaders of the powerful Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), seen as the election front-runners, who are pushing hard for polls to be held by December.”Any excuse to delay the election may open the door for the return of dictatorship”, senior BNP leader Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain said after the meeting.”The interim government and its allies will be held responsible for such a consequence.”Yunus has said polls could be held as early as December but that holding them later — with the deadline of June — would give the government more time for reform. But Hossain said that reforms, justice and elections were not “mutually exclusive goals”.According to Bangladeshi media and military sources, army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman also said this week that elections should be held by December, aligning with BNP demands.Bangladesh has a long history of military coups, and the army retains a powerful role.The upcoming elections will be the first since Hasina fled to India, where she remains in self-imposed exile in defiance of an arrest warrant to face trial for crimes against humanity related to last year’s police crackdown on protesters, during which at least 1,400 people were killed.Shafiqur Rahman, the leader of Jamaat-e-Islami, the Muslim-majority nation’s largest Islamist party, said after his meeting with Yunus that he had asked for an election timetable — saying he was open to a later date if it allowed for reforms.He also said he had sought “progress in the ongoing trials” of those from Hasina’s ousted regime. – ‘Anti-democratic’ -Nahid Islam, leader of the National Citizen Party (NCP) made up of many students who spearheaded the uprising that ended Hasina’s rule, has said he wants later elections to allow time for “fundamental reforms”.He fears rival parties want swift elections to “assume power”.Speaking after meeting with Yunus, he said the NCP had “demanded a specific roadmap for reforms, trials, and the election of a constituent assembly”.Islam, an ally of Yunus who previously served in his cabinet, speaking earlier on Saturday, warned that he had seen “indications” that a “military-backed government could re-emerge — one that is anti-democratic and anti-people”.

Attal actes les “profondes différences” avec Retailleau, et pousse les feux sur le régalien

Le patron de Renaissance Gabriel Attal a martelé samedi dans Le Parisien de “profondes différences” avec les LR de Bruno Retailleau, membres de la même coalition, tout en regrettant que son propre parti ne se soit “jamais emparé” de certains sujets régaliens.Une semaine après l’arrivée de Bruno Retailleau à la tête des Républicains (LR), Gabriel Attal a réfuté toute course derrière celui qui pourrait être un rival à la prochaine présidentielle, soulignant de “profondes différences” avec LR.”LR n’est plus un parti pro-européen. Nous voulons faire progresser les droits des Françaises et des Français, là où avec Bruno Retailleau, LR a choisi la ligne qui s’oppose à la constitutionnalisation de l’IVG, vote contre l’interdiction des thérapies de conversion pour les homosexuels et rejette toute évolution sur la fin de vie”, a-t-il égrené.”Nous n’accepterons jamais la stigmatisation d’une partie des Français pour leur religion comme la phrase +à bas le voile+ (prononcée par le ministre de l’Intérieur lors d’un meeting, NDLR) le laisse craindre”, a-t-il ajouté.L’ancien Premier ministre a également dévoilé de nouvelles propositions sur le régalien, son parti tenant une conférence de presse lundi sur le sujet.Il propose notamment de systématiser les polices municipales dans les villes de plus de 10.000 habitants et de pérenniser la vidéosurveillance associée à des algorithmes de détections.Sur le volet judiciaire, Gabriel Attal soutient la proposition controversée du garde des Sceaux Gérald Darmanin d’une prison de haute sécurité en Guyane et prône la suppression du juge d’application des peines. Une dernière mesure également envisagée par Édouard Philippe, patron d’Horizons, et candidat à la présidentielle. “Il me semble qu’Édouard Philippe n’a pas émis de proposition mais un questionnement (…) nous émettons des propositions”, a piqué M. Attal.Sur l’immigration, il a de nouveau proposé la mise en place de “quotas” votés au Parlement et “un système d’immigration à points”.Le chef de Renaissance s’est aussi livré à une critique tranchante de l’approche régalienne du parti macroniste.”La délinquance et les trafics continuent d’empoisonner la vie de nos concitoyens. Les Français n’ont pas confiance en notre justice et notre immigration n’est pas pilotée. Je reconnais que notre parti ne s’était jamais emparé de ces questions-là. Je le fais désormais sans aucune ambiguïté”, a-t-il déclaré.L’ancien ministre de l’Education a également proposé “la mise en place d’un un barème national de sanctions” pour soutenir “l’autorité” à l’école, et préconisé deux rendez-vous chez un professionnel de la santé mentale avant 18 ans (avant le collège et au lycée).Interrogé sur ses relations réputées froides avec Emmanuel Macron, Gabriel Attal s’est dit “touché” par un récent message d’anniversaire, le 16 mars.