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President Donald Trump again downplayed risks that TikTok is in danger of being banned in the United States, saying he remains confident of finding a buyer for the app’s US business by a Friday deadline.The hugely popular video-sharing app, which has over 170 million American users, is under threat from a law that passed overwhelmingly last year and orders TikTok to split from its Chinese owner ByteDance or face a ban in the United States.Motivated by widespread belief in Washington that TikTok is ultimately controlled by the Chinese government, the law took effect on January 19, one day before Trump’s inauguration.But the Republican president quickly announced a delay that has allowed it to continue to operate; that delay is set to expire on April 5.”We have a lot of potential buyers. There’s tremendous interest in TikTok,” Trump told reporters onboard Air Force One late Sunday.”We have a lot of people that want to buy TikTok. We’re dealing with China also on it, because they may have something to do with it,” he said, adding “I’d like to see TikTok remain alive.”Any deal to divest TikTok from ByteDance will require the approval of Beijing, and Trump has said he may offer to reduce tariffs on China as a way to get Beijing’s approval for the sale.Trump, though he supported a ban in his first term, has lately become the app’s greatest defender, seeing it as a reason more young voters supported him in November’s election.One of his major political donors, billionaire Jeff Yass, is also a major stakeholder in parent company ByteDance.- ByteDance on board? -Several proposals for TikTok’s US business have emerged since the law began to make its way through Congress last year.But according to The New York Times, citing people involved in coming up with a solution, the most likely fix would see existing US investors in ByteDance roll over their stakes into a new independent global TikTok company.Additional US investors would be brought on to reduce the proportion of Chinese investors. Trump at one point said the US government could also take a stake through a newly announced national sovereign fund.Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities told AFP that he believed cloud company Oracle would “play a major role” in such a deal and that “ByteDance will still control and own the algorithm” and have board seats.Much of TikTok’s US activity is already housed on Oracle servers, and the company’s executive chairman, Larry Ellison, is a longtime Trump ally who was also floated as a buyer of TikTok’s US activity in Trump’s first term.The arrangement would go against the spirit of the law, which is in part based on the premise that TikTok’s algorithm can be weaponized by the Chinese against US interests.But University of Richmond School of Law professor Carl Tobias said he did not expect opposition in the Republican-led Congress, or if Trump ordered another extension to the sale deadline.”Lawmakers have expressed little opposition to Trump’s actions (including ones) which federal judges have ruled violate the Constitution or congressionally-passed statutes,” he said.Other proposals include an initiative called “The People’s Bid for TikTok,” launched by real estate and sports tycoon Frank McCourt’s Project Liberty initiative.Artificial intelligence startup Perplexity recently expressed interest in buying TikTok as did a joint venture involving YouTube mega-celebrity MrBeast.When the last deadline passed, in January, TikTok temporarily shut down in the United States, to the dismay of millions of users.

A court granted bail on Monday to a man accused of damaging Donald Trump’s Turnberry golf resort in Scotland, after protesters targeted the US president’s luxury sporting retreat earlier this month.Kieran Robson, 33, was charged with maliciously damaging property and made no plea during the brief hearing at Ayr Sheriff Court in southwest Scotland.Robson, who was arrested on March 12, was released on bail pending a further court date.Police were called to the South Ayrshire resort overnight on March 8. Greens had been damaged, the resort’s clubhouse was sprayed with red paint and “GAZA IS NOT 4 SALE” was painted in white letters on the lawn.Following a call with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday, Trump took to his Truth Social network to condemn the damage to his resort and praise UK law enforcement.Last week, a 66-year-old woman and a 75-year-old man arrested during the investigation were released pending further enquiries, according to Scottish police.The Turnberry property in southwest Scotland is one of two resorts Trump owns in the country, his mother’s ancestral home.Another Trump golf course in Ireland was targeted in March, when activists planted Palestinian flags on the greens.

The clock is ticking down to Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” when the US president has threatened to unleash a wide range of tariffs against countries running persistent trade imbalances with the United States.The move — which comes as Trump has been making unprecedented use of presidential powers — is driven by his insistence that the world’s biggest economy has been “ripped off by every country in the world” and his conviction that reciprocal tariffs are needed to restore parity.But critics warn that the strategy risks a global trade war, provoking further retaliation by major trading partners like China, Canada and the European Union.The size of the levies to be announced on Wednesday will vary from country to country and the precise plans remain murky.”Expect the unexpected,” said Ryan Sweet, chief US economist at Oxford Economics.He expects the Trump administration to “take aim at some of the largest offenders.”But what matters ultimately is how broad-based the tariffs are and whether the tool is merely a negotiating tactic or part of a regime shift, he said.Trump on Sunday dashed hopes he might scale back, saying his tariffs would include “all countries.””You’d start with all countries, so let’s see what happens,” the president told reporters onboard Air Force One.”We’ve been talking about all countries, not a cutoff,” he said, insisting however that his tariffs would be “far more generous” than those levied against the United States.US trade partners have been rushing to minimize their exposure ahead of Trump’s deadline, with reports suggesting India might lower some duties.Besides the reciprocal country tariffs, Trump could also unveil additional sector-specific levies on the likes of pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.These would come on top of new auto levies due to take effect Thursday.Already, China and Canada have imposed counter-tariffs on US goods in response to Trump’s earlier actions, while the EU unveiled its own measures due to start in mid-April.European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said Monday that Europe was facing an “existential moment.””He calls it ‘Liberation Day’ in the United States. I see it as a moment when we must collectively decide to take greater control of our destiny and I think it is a step towards independence,” she told France Inter radio.Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told Trump his government would impose retaliatory tariffs after Washington’s action Wednesday.- ‘Dirty 15’ -Before Trump’s comments on Sunday, the upcoming salvo had been expected to target the 15 percent of partners that have persistent trade imbalances with the United States, a group that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called a “Dirty 15.”The United States has its biggest goods deficits with parties including China, the EU, Mexico, Vietnam, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Canada and India.With countries seeking compromise, it is “entirely possible” for fresh tariffs to be swiftly reduced or put on hold, said Greta Peisch, partner at law firm Wiley Rein.In February, she noted, steep levies on Mexican and Canadian imports were paused for a month as the North American neighbors furthered negotiations.”There are many different scenarios: delays while talks continue, potential reductions or tariffs being put in place immediately,” said Peisch, a former official at the US Trade Representative’s office.- ‘Dark cloud’ -Sweet of Oxford Economics warned that a “dark cloud of uncertainty” hangs over the economy.Some domestic steel manufacturers and union leaders have welcomed Trump’s recent tariff hikes on metals and autos.But while his proposals are meant to revitalize US industry, they have alarmed many other industries.The American Automotive Policy Council, which represents carmakers Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, cited a report Friday by economist Arthur Laffer, which noted that 25-percent auto tariffs stand to raise US vehicle costs and disrupt supply chains.While stressing its commitment to Trump’s economic vision, the council urged for “a fair and predictable trade environment.”In a letter Thursday, the International Fresh Produce Association cautioned that proposed US tariffs and other countries’ retaliation threaten the stability of farmers and businesses.And the National Retail Federation warned in February that reciprocal tariffs could prove “extremely disruptive,” warning of higher costs to households and an erosion of their spending power.More broadly, companies tend to hold off on investments when rules are unclear and this could weigh on hiring, Sweet said.Economists also warn that sweeping tariffs could cause a spike in inflation if companies fail to absorb additional costs, passing them on to consumers.

President Donald Trump said Sunday he was confident of reaching a deal on TikTok ahead of the April 5 deadline for its Chinese owner ByteDance to sell the popular short video app or see it banned in the United States.”We have a lot of potential buyers. There’s tremendous interest in TikTok,” Trump told reporters onboard Air Force One.”We have a lot of people that want to buy TikTok. We’re dealing with China also on it, because they may have something to do with it,” he said, adding “I’d like to see TikTok remain alive.”China on Thursday had rebuffed a suggestion from Trump that he might offer to reduce tariffs to get Beijing’s approval for the sale of TikTok to a non-Chinese firm.Trump said this month the United States was in talks with four groups interested in acquiring the platform, which has 170 million American users.A US law has ordered TikTok to divest from ByteDance or be banned in the United States, enacted over concerns that Beijing could exploit the app to spy on Americans or covertly influence US public opinion.The law took effect on January 19, a day before Trump’s inauguration, but he quickly announced a delay that has allowed it to continue to operate.That delay is set to expire on April 5.”There’ll be a deal with TikTok, I’m pretty certain,” Trump said when asked if he would extend the deadline if there was no deal.Trump attempted to ban TikTok in the United States because of national security concerns during his first stint in the White House but has warmed up to it.”Selfishly speaking, I won the young vote by 36 points. Republicans generally don’t do very well with the young crowd, and I think a lot of it could have been TikTok,” he said.

President Donald Trump said Sunday the tariffs he plans to impose in the coming days would include “all countries”, not just those with the largest trade imbalances with the United States.Trump has promised a “Liberation Day” on April 2, when he is set to unveil reciprocal levies to address trade practices that his government deems unfair.”You’d start with all countries, so let’s see what happens,” Trump told reporters onboard Air Force One, dashing hopes he might scale back some of the threatened levies or that they would target a select group with persistent trade imbalances.”I haven’t heard a rumor about 15 countries, 10 or 15,” he said when asked which nations would be affected.”Essentially all of the countries that we’re talking about. We’ve been talking about all countries, not a cutoff,” he said, without giving details.Trump’s upcoming tariff salvo had been expected to target the 15 percent of partners that have persistent trade imbalances with the United States, a group Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called a “Dirty 15.”But despite widening the target, the president insisted his tariffs would be more “generous” than those levied against the United States.”The tariffs will be far more generous than those countries were to us, meaning they will be kinder than those countries were to the United States of America over the decades,” he said.”They ripped us off like no country has ever been ripped off in history and we’re going to be much nicer than they were to us. But it’s substantial money for the country nevertheless,” he said.Trump has already slapped tariffs on steel and aluminum imports and additional levies on imports from China.Tariffs on imported autos are also due to take effect on April 3.Trump’s top trade aide Peter Navarro said the tax on auto imports could raise $100 billion a year.”And in addition, the other tariffs are going to raise about $600 billion a year, about $6 trillion over a 10-year period,” Navarro told Fox New Sunday.Trump’s plans to unleash a wide range of reciprocal tariffs risk a global trade war, with other countries already vowing to retaliate and economists warning the sweeping moves risk stoking inflation and triggering a downturn.Trump has defended the levies as a way to raise government revenue and revitalize US industry.

Microsoft has been at the heart of computing for half a century, becoming a tech stalwart almost taken for granted as lifestyles embraced the internet.As the company, founded with a vision of putting computers in every home and office, celebrates its 50th anniversary on Friday, it is looking to boost its fortunes by being a leader in the fast-developing field of artificial intelligence (AI).”From a storytelling standpoint, they’ve been a boring company and a boring stock,” eMarketer analyst Jeremy Goldman said of the Richmond, Washington-based behemoth.”It’s funny because they have a $2.9 trillion market cap, and that is huge,” he continued, referring to Microsoft’s value based on its share price.The only company with a higher market cap is iPhone maker Apple.Cloud computing is fueling Microsoft’s revenue with the help of its ubiquitous Office software, now hosted online and no longer released in boxes of floppy disks or CDs.”It’s not a very sexy infrastructure, but it’s a very valuable one,” Goldman said of Microsoft’s data centers and software at the foundation of its cloud-computing platform.Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google are Microsoft’s cloud-computing rivals.- ‘Micro-Soft’ -Clouds were the stuff of weather forecasts rather than computing when Bill Gates and childhood friend Paul Allen founded what was first called “Micro-Soft” in 1975.They launched the MS-DOS operating system that became known as “Windows” and went on to run most of the world’s computers.Microsoft Office programs including Word, Excel and PowerPoint became standard business tools, even fending off free Google Docs software.”Microsoft had a lot of businesses that were weaker and challenged — the perfect example is Office,” Goldman said.”That Office is still such a meaningful business for them says something about the way they were able to innovate.”Current chief executive Satya Nadella championed a Microsoft shift to making its software available on just about any device as subscription services hosted in the cloud.The move likely saved Microsoft from seeing free services like Google Docs reduce their market share to zero, the analyst said.- ‘Achilles heel’ -Microsoft remains in the shadow of other US tech giants when it comes to offerings such as social networks, smartphones and the AI-infused digital assistants that have become woven into people’s lives, but it is not for lack of effort.Microsoft introduced Xbox video game consoles in 2001, steadily building up its stable of studios, making the blockbuster buy of Activision Blizzard two years ago and adding an online subscription service for players.And despite its launch of the Bing search engine in 2009, Google still dominates that market.Microsoft in 2016 bought career-focused social network LinkedIn, which has seen steady growth. But it still lacks the reach of Meta’s Facebook or Instagram, or the influence of Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter).Microsoft is among those in the running to buy TikTok, which faces a ban in the United States if not sold by China-based ByteDance.While Apple and Google have excelled at making it easy or even fun for users to engage with products, that has been an “Achilles heel” for Microsoft, according to Goldman.”It’s never been a strong suit of theirs,” the analyst said.- Mobile miss -Known for a focus on sales rather than innovation, Steve Ballmer, who followed Gates as chief of Microsoft from 2000 to 2013, has been faulted for missing the shift to smartphones and other mobile computing devices.His successor, Nadella, took over with a vow to make Microsoft a “mobile-first, cloud-first” company and Microsoft has since invested heavily in AI, taking a stake in ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and building the technology into offerings including Bing, though to little avail.- Behind in AI? -Independent analyst Jack Gold believes that despite those investments and efforts, Microsoft lags in AI because it lacks its own chips or foundation model.”They are not as advanced in that as AWS and Google, so they’re still playing a little bit of catchup in that space,” Gold said of Microsoft.Google Cloud’s revenue growth is on pace to overtake Microsoft’s Azure for second place in the market in two years, the analyst said.

US President Donald Trump has launched a volley of tariffs impacting allies and adversaries this year, promising “Liberation Day” on Wednesday with action targeting countries that have persistent trade gaps with his country.What can we expect and what else is in the pipeline?- Tariffs imposed -Trump fired his first salvo in early February, announcing tariffs of up to 25 percent on goods from Canada and Mexico while demanding they do more to stop illegal immigration and the smuggling of the illicit drug fentanyl.While he postponed their implementation to March and later provided partial relief to aid the auto industry, the state of these exemptions after Wednesday remains unclear.China won no such reprieve over the same period. The Trump administration slapped an additional 20 percent tariff on goods from the world’s second-biggest economy, over its alleged role in supply chains of drugs like fentanyl.Trump has separately taken aim at key sectors, with 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports taking effect in mid-March. Tariffs on imported autos, meanwhile, kick in at 12:01am eastern time (0401 GMT) April 3.The president has unveiled blanket 25 percent tariffs on direct and indirect buyers of Venezuelan oil too, which can happen as soon as Wednesday.- Analysts’ expectations -Trump has not detailed the scale of his reciprocal tariffs, aimed at correcting trade imbalances and practices deemed unfair.But these will likely target around 15 percent of US trading partners, dubbed a “Dirty 15” by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.Analysts expect the group could be similar to economies mentioned by the US Trade Representative (USTR) in its call for comments to identify unfair trade practices.Parties on the list which the United States has notable trade deficits with include China, the European Union, Mexico, Vietnam, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Canada.According to the White House, Trump’s reciprocal duties will consider the tariffs that partners impose on US goods, and other factors like value-added taxes or digital service taxes.Trump could unveil further sector-specific tariffs on Wednesday, having earlier indicated plans to target pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and lumber.- Retaliation -US trading partners have pushed back on Trump’s measures.China swiftly imposed counter-levies of 10 percent and 15 percent on US agriculture goods like soybeans, while the EU unveiled countermeasures in response to US steel and aluminum tariffs.The bloc threatened duties to hit some $28 billion of US goods in stages from April, affecting products from bourbon to motorbikes.But their start has been delayed until mid-April to allow more time for dialogue. Trump has warned of punishing 200 percent tariffs on Europe’s wine and spirits sector in the meantime, alarming foreign producers and US businesses.More recently, major European economies urged for firm action by the bloc over Trump’s auto tariffs.Canada has struck back with tariffs on around Can$60 billion ($42 billion) in US goods, hitting steel products, aluminum and items like computers.But Mexico is waiting until early April to respond comprehensively.- Other investigations -Trump’s trade actions can continue past Wednesday, with the president already having ordered new probes into lumber and copper imports.These could form the basis for further charges.And the USTR has an ongoing investigation into China’s practices in the maritime and logistics sectors as Trump looks to “resurrect” American shipbuilding.The trade envoy’s office has found that Beijing’s policies warrant action, proposing remedies like port entrance fees of up to $1.5 million for Chinese-built ships.But businesses are contesting the plan, warning of higher costs and port congestion as carriers seek to avoid paying new fees.- ‘America First’ action -Similarly, a series of reports are due Tuesday under an “America First Trade Policy” that Trump signed on his inauguration day. These could lead to more trade actions.Deliverables include the results of an investigation on the “Phase One” trade agreement marking a truce in Washington and Beijing’s escalating tariffs war in Trump’s first presidency.The order also called for export control recommendations to secure US technological advantages and a probe on the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement. It sought a review of proposals surrounding permanent normal trade relations with China as well.

The world’s richest man took to the stage in the US state of Wisconsin on Sunday in a bid to swing the local supreme court to the right, with the help of two $1 million checks for voters.Elon Musk, the owner of Tesla and SpaceX and an advisor to US President Donald Trump, deployed his largesse along with his rhetoric to try to turn out the vote on Tuesday in favor of a conservative judge.Wisconsin is a swing state, in the balance between the Democratic and Republican parties, and Musk argued that only a supreme court leaning to the right could protect pro-Trump districts from gerrymandering and voter fraud.”What’s happening on Tuesday is a vote for which party controls the US House of Representatives,” Musk declared, arguing that the federal congress was so evenly balanced Wisconsin’s seats could decide its majority.”And whichever party controls the House … to a significant degree, controls the country, which then steers the course of Western civilization,” said Musk, who arrived wearing the “cheese head” wedge hat favored by local football fans.  “So it’s like, I feel like this is one of those things that may not seem that it’s going to affect the entire destiny of humanity, but I think it will.”To back up this ambition, Musk has piled some of his own money into the Wisconsin Supreme Court vote.The race pits conservative Brad Schimel against liberal Susan Crawford. The outgoing judge was backed by Democrats, so a Schimel win would tilt the court right, while Crawford would preserve its liberal leanings.Wisconsin was won by Trump in the 2024 presidential election, but its electoral districts could be redrawn before the next mid-term Congressional elections in November next year. The liberal candidate, 60-year-old Crawford, was campaigning Sunday the old-fashioned way, addressing a crowd at an antiques shop meeting on a rainy morning.”So Elon Musk, folks, that guy, right? He has now spent more than $25 million, it goes up every day,” Crawford told the crowd. “He’s working as the unelected right-hand man to the president. He’s got an agenda.”- Straight-armed salute -There was an enthusiastic crowd at Musk’s Green Bay rally but, at small-town meetings, the South African-born oligarch’s eruption into Wisconsin’s affairs seems to have provoked as much resistance as support. Rob Patterson, a 65-year-old retired electrical engineer, came to a rally in Crawford with a sign showing Musk giving a straight-armed salute. “Oi wanker, our Supreme Court is not for sale,” the sign read.Since buying himself a $277 million role in Trump’s presidential campaign last year, Musk has gained unprecedented un-elected power.Once Trump returned to the White House he invited his sponsor to head a new cost-cutting agency named after an internet meme: the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. In just a few weeks Musk has already sacked or suspended tens of thousands of federal workers, gutted foreign aid and begun the job of dismantling several agencies. “It’s like a bull in a china shop. He has no idea what he’s doing,” complained Patterson.Outside a supermarket in Elkhorn, 70-year-old retired elementary school teacher Linda Suskey says she plans to vote for Crawford to keep balance in the court.And she doesn’t have much time for Musk’s blandishments.”He uses his money to get what he wants, which is more money,” she told AFP.”I think he’s got too much power, and he doesn’t answer to anybody — and yeah, he’s just controlling things to help the rich get richer.”- ‘Activist judges’ -Aside from campaign donations to the conservative, Musk handed two prize checks of $1 million each.This mirrored his scheme during the presidential race to hand out $1 million a day to a voter who registered in a swing state vital to Trump’s victory.Through his political organization, Musk has also offered $100 each to voters who sign his petition against “activist judges” in Wisconsin.When he launched the petition, Crawford accused him of seeking to buy a seat on the state supreme court in order to swing judgements in favor of his companies.Tesla has launched a legal challenge to Wisconsin’s law banning car automakers from directly owning car dealerships. The case could well end up before the court.

Microsoft was shaped by Bill Gates, Paul Allen, Steve Ballmer and Satya Nadella over the course of the last half-century in the male-dominated tech world.Friends since childhood in Seattle, Gates and Allen founded Microsoft in 1975 with a stated goal of putting a computer in every office and home.- Gates -Born William Henry Gates III in 1955 in Seattle, he began writing software programs while a 13-year-old schoolboy.Gates dropped out of Harvard in his junior year to start Microsoft with Allen.The childhood friends created MS-DOS operating system, since renamed Windows, which went on to dominate office work.Gates built a reputation as a formidable and sometimes ruthless leader.Critics argue he unfairly wielded Microsoft’s clout in the market, and the US pressed a winning antitrust case against the company in the late 1990s.In 2000, Gates ceded the CEO job to Ballmer, whom he befriended while the two were students at Harvard.Gates chose to devote himself to a charitable foundation he established with his then-wife, Melinda.He resigned from Microsoft’s board of directors in 2020 — shortly after the firm acknowledged the existence of an “intimate” relationship with an employee in the past.The following year, the couple divorced. Melinda Gates faulted him for his relationship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was found guilty of sexually exploiting under-age girls.His support of Covid-19 vaccine campaigns and agriculture programs that focus on climate change and women made Gates a favorite target of conspiracy theorists.Baseless accusations aimed at Gates include him putting tracking chips in vaccines.- Allen -Paul Allen, born in 1953 in Seattle, was a schoolmate of Gates.Allen was 10 when he started a science club at home, and would later bond with young Gates over computers.”Microsoft would never have happened without Paul,” Gates wrote in tribute to Allen, who died of cancer complications in 2018.Gates told of Allen showing him a magazine featuring a computer running on a new chip, and warning that a tech revolution was happening without them.Allen is credited with combining “microcomputer” and “software” to come up with “Micro-Soft”.He left Microsoft in 1983, but remained a board member until 2000. He went on to accuse Gates and Ballmer of scheming to “rip him off” by getting hold of his shares while he battled cancer.- Ballmer -Ballmer was seen as a devoted salesman who ramped up Microsoft revenue while neglecting innovation.A Michigan native with a talent for mathematics, he graduated from Harvard.Ballmer joined Microsoft in 1980 and was best man at the 1994 wedding of Bill and Melinda Gates.Ballmer, now 69, succeeded Gates as chief executive in 2000.His enthusiastic gestures, awkward dance moves, and voice-straining shouts made him the stuff of internet memes and company lore.Ballmer oversaw the launch of Xbox video game consoles, Surface tablets, and Bing online search engine. Microsoft bought Skype and Nokia’s mobile phone division on Ballmer’s watch.During his tenure, Microsoft was seen as clinging to PCs while lifestyles raced toward mobile devices and cloud-based software.His product failures include Zune digital music players, Kin mobile phones, and a Vista version of Windows.- Nadella -Nadella took over as chief executive in early 2014 and says he learned leadership skills playing cricket as a boy growing up in India.Nadella, who will turn 58 in August, was hired in 1992 while studying at the University of Chicago.Early in his academic career, a drive to build things led him to pursue computer science, a focus not available during his engineering studies at Mangalore University.Nadella’s Microsoft bio shows stints in research, business, server and online services units.For relaxation, he turns to poetry, which he likened to complex data compressed to express rich ideas in few words.Nadella held firm that for Microsoft to succeed, it needed to adapt to a “cloud-first, mobile-first world”.Soon after becoming chief, he ordered the biggest reorganization in Microsoft’s history.He is credited with guiding Microsoft from a fading packaged software business to the booming market for cloud services.Microsoft has been pumping billions of dollars into AI, investing in ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and infusing the technology across its products.In a rare stumble, Nadella triggered an uproar his first year as chief by suggesting during an on-stage discussion that working women should trust “karma” when it comes to securing pay raises.Microsoft’s acquisitions under Nadella include Sweden-based Mojang, maker of the popular video game Minecraft; social network LinkedIn, and the GitHub online platform catering to software developers.

US President Donald Trump lashed out Sunday at the leaders of both warring parties in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, expressing frustration as efforts to kick-start ceasefire talks remain deadlocked.Trump first criticised Russian President Vladimir Putin for questioning the credibility of Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky as a negotiating partner, saying he was “very angry, pissed off” with the Kremlin chief.But the US leader later softened his tone on Putin and instead turned his ire on Zelensky, warning him Ukraine would have “big, big problems” if he got cold feet over a deal to sign over mineral rights to the United States.Trump is trying to broker a ceasefire between Ukraine and its Russian invader, and has been pushing Zelensky to sign an agreement to give US firms exclusive access to Ukrainian rare earth minerals.Earlier Sunday, NBC News journalist Kristen Welker said Trump had called her to express his fury over Putin questioning Zelensky’s future — something Trump himself has done — and threatening secondary tariffs on firms dealing in Russian oil.Later, Trump spoke to reporters on his plane flying back to Washington from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, and toned down some of his criticism.  – ‘Big problems’ -“I was disappointed in a certain way,” Trump said. “Some of the things that he said over the last day or two having to do with Zelensky because when he considers Zelensky not credible. He’s supposed to be making a deal with him, whether you like him or you don’t like him.”So I wasn’t happy with that, but I think he’s going to be good and I certainly wouldn’t want to put secondary tariffs on Russia.”Trump then turned his fire on Zelensky, saying: “I see he’s trying to back out of the rare earth deal. And if he does that he’s got some problems. Big, big problems.”We made a deal on rare earth and now he’s saying, well, you know, I want to renegotiate the deal. He wants to be a member of NATO. Well, he was never going to be a member of NATO. He understands that. So if he’s looking to renegotiate the deal, he’s got big problems.”The US president has been pushing for a speedy end to the more than three-year war since taking office, but his administration has failed to reach a breakthrough despite negotiations with both sides.Putin rejected a joint US-Ukrainian plan for a 30-day ceasefire, and on Friday suggested Zelensky be removed from office as part of the peace process.Warming ties between Washington and Moscow since Trump’s return to office and his threats to stop supporting Kyiv have bolstered Russia on the battlefield as it pursues its floundering invasion.Ukraine has accused Russia of dragging out talks with no intention of halting its offensive, with fresh attacks on the northeastern border city of Kharkiv.Six strikes hit overnight Saturday into Sunday, wounding personnel undergoing treatment at a military hospital and killing at least two people in a residential building, according to Ukrainian officials.Russian forces also captured a village just seven kilometers (four miles) from the border of Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region in their latest advance, Moscow said Sunday.The Kremlin’s troops have not crossed the boundary of the region since their offensive began in 2022, but they have been grinding toward it for months in the hope of a breakthrough.- No ceasefire -Putin, in power for 25 years and repeatedly elected in votes with no competition, has often questioned Zelensky’s “legitimacy” as president, after the Ukrainian leader’s initial five-year mandate ended in May 2024.Under Ukrainian law, elections are suspended during times of major military conflict, and Zelensky’s domestic opponents have all said no ballots should be held until after the conflict.Trump has himself had rocky relations with Zelensky, calling him a “dictator” and clashing with him live on camera at the White House last month.Zelensky, in his evening address on Saturday, sought to rally his country’s allies against Putin.”For too long now, America’s proposal for an unconditional ceasefire has been on the table without an adequate response from Russia,” Zelensky said. “There could already be a ceasefire if there was real pressure on Russia.”