Twitter back online after global shutdown

Social media giant investigates access problems around the world

FILE - This April 26, 2017, file photo shows the Twitter app on a mobile phone in Philadelphia.  Twitter will now prohibit hate speech that targets religious groups using dehumanizing language. The social network already bans hateful language related to religion when it's aimed at individuals. The change broadens that rule to forbid language that likens members of religious groups to subhumans or vermin. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
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Twitter went down for about an hour on Thursday evening, with users greeted by a "something is technically wrong” message.

The shutdown has so far been reported across Europe, US, the Middle East and Asia.

"We were down ... and now slowly coming back up. Sorry!," Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey said in a tweet

Tracking website Downdetector.com said users reported more than 70,000 incidents worldwide with problems accessing Twitter.

Reports came from the UAE, the US, UK, France, Canada, India and 97 other countries.

The interruption was due to an internal system change, the company said, adding that it was working to fully fix the problem.