Zoom down: users of video-calling platform report errors globally

Video-calling app Zoom, a lifeline for businesses and personal communication during the pandemic, was down for many users around the world on Sunday.

People reported audio and video problems when trying to join meetings from about 12pm.

The company's help centre listed Zoom Meetings and Zoom Dashboard and Reporting as having "degraded performance". All other services were listed as "Operational".

Zoom updated users at 7.40pm, writing: "Zoom users impacted by this issue should now be able to host, join, and participate in Zoom Meetings and Zoom Video Webinars if they restart their sessions.

"We will continue to assess this matter that impacted a subset of our users and monitor to ensure no further operational impact."

At 8.15pm, representatives for the platform said the issue affecting Zoom Meetings had been resolved.

"We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this might have caused,” a Zoom representative said.

As people around the world continue to work from home, the platform has been relied on for professional communication and personal calls, keeping families in touch with each other as they continue to maintain social distancing.

The National tested the app and found it to be down for several users in the UAE on May 17.

Problems were reported regionally, in Europe and across the US.

Some UAE users took to social media to find answers.

"Zoom can you confirm your status please? Many issues this afternoon here in Dubai," Natalie Bridge tweeted.

Another user said: "Zoom, is there an issue with your app? It's not working in Dubai."

This is not the first problem Zoom has had in recent weeks. At the end of April, there was confusion as to whether it had 300 million "participants" a day, or 300 million "active users".

"We want to be clear: this was first announced in our April 22 webinar as 300 million daily participants by our chief executive Eric Yuan," Zoom said on Thursday, April 30.

"In a follow-up blog post on April 22 recapping this webinar, in addition to referring to participants as ‘participants,’ we also inadvertently referred to them as ‘users’ and ‘people’.

"When we realised this error on April 23, we corrected the wording to ‘participants’. This was a genuine oversight on our part."

Zoom last released a software update on Thursday, April 30.

______________

How to judge people by their Zoom backgrounds

Zoom corrects earlier claim to say it has 300 million participants and not users

______________

Scoreline

Arsenal 0 Manchester City 3

Agüero 18'
Kompany 58'
Silva 65'

Tour de France

When: July 7-29

UAE Team Emirates:
Dan Martin, Alexander Kristoff, Darwin Atapuma, Marco Marcato, Kristijan Durasek, Oliviero Troia, Roberto Ferrari and Rory Sutherland

Punchy appearance

Roars of support buoyed Mr Johnson in an extremely confident and combative appearance

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid

Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.

3. More tax audits

Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.

4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit

There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.

6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.

7. Limited time periods for audits

Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.

8. Pillar 2 implementation

Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services

Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.

Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

EU Russia

The EU imports 90 per cent of the natural gas used to generate electricity, heat homes and supply industry, with Russia supplying almost 40 per cent of EU gas and a quarter of its oil.