Author: SKYNEWS

Disruption caused by the global IT outage has continued this weekend as airline passengers reported long delays and lost baggage, while pharmacies tried to deal with a backlog in medicine deliveries.The outage spread globally on Friday morning after an update from global cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike knocked many Microsoft Windows PCs offline with a “blue screen of death” appearing on screens. The company’s founder confirmed it was caused by a bug in the update and not a cyber attack, as some had feared.Experts have warned it could take weeks for systems to fully recover and problems at airports were being reported…

The National Lottery says it is investigating after users reported being unable to access its app and website.Both its website and app appeared to be offline today – a day after the global IT outage led to widespread disruption at airports, businesses, the NHS and broadcasters. Downdetector received thousands of reports of outages beginning around 8.30pm on Friday night.It is unclear if the issues facing the lottery are connected to Friday’s outage.In a post on X, the National Lottery said: “We are aware that some players are having issues accessing our website and app. “Apologies for the inconvenience, our team…

A five-year-old boy has been able to leave his home for the first time in six months after he received a stem cell transplant made from a baby’s umbilical cord blood which was donated in 2008.Gunner Lewis-Vale, from Shropshire, was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder in March 2021, when he was about 17 months old. At the time, his parents Holly and Jamie Lewis-Vale, both 34, were told that without a transplant, the toddler would only live for a year or two.But after a previous transplant from a donor in Germany failed, Gunner found a match with stem cells…

Rihanna, sex toys and role play – Slave Play has it all but it’s the show’s “black out” nights, which invite a black-only audience, that are getting more attention than the play’s themes of race, sexuality and identity.Black out nights were conceived in 2019 by Slave Play’s writer Jeremy O Harris. The official website describes the nights as being for “an all-black-identifying audience” that’s “free from the white gaze”. When they were announced, there was outcry from parts of the mainstream press and on social media, with Rishi Sunak even weighing in. “Restricting audiences on the basis of race would…

A new film that uses virtual reality (VR) technology to immerse users in the acid house party movement in 1989 has started its tour of the UK in Birmingham. The film, In Pursuit Of Repetitive Beats, sees the user become a character in a scene where, before mobile phones were available, party-goers listened to pirate radio for a number to call to find the secret location for a warehouse rave on the outskirts of the West Midlands. Users are fitted with a VR headset and a haptic suit which allows them to feel vibrations. Image: The film, In Pursuit Of Repetitive…

Even as the age of retirement continues to creep up for many, most people would assume they will have long finished work by the time they turn 94 – indeed think themselves lucky to even reach 94.But for actress June Squibb, 94 is the age that her first film in which she plays the lead role hits cinemas. Thelma is a brilliantly creative take on the comedy-action genre, with Squibb playing a woman who after falling for a phone scam, heads out on a mobility scooter to track down those who have wronged her. Image: Squibb with co-star Fred Hechinger,…

After the chaos of Friday’s global IT outage – without doubt the worst the world has seen – questions are starting to be asked about who, if anyone, will pick up the bill.Somewhat surprisingly, particularly given its share price has doubled during the year and was trading on a stratospheric rating, shares of CrowdStrike, the company at the heart of the outage, fell by only 11% having been down by twice as much during pre-market trade. That suggests investors are reasonably confident that the company, previously a darling of Wall Street, will be able to salvage its reputation after this…

Close to one million customers of deals website Wowcher have been refunded £4m, the competition regulator has said. The company has also agreed to change its sales practices, which the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) was concerned could mislead or unfairly pressure consumers into making quick purchases. Money latest: New mortgage deal allows friends, parents and even aunties or uncles to help you get a loanConcern about business practicesThe online retail and experiences platform used countdown clocks and claims such as “Running out!” and “In high demand!” to encourage buying but the CMA said the “overwhelming majority” of products on…

It could take “weeks” to fix a global IT outage which grounded more than 5,000 flights, an expert has warned, as the full impact of the software bug becomes clear.The outage spread globally on Friday morning after an update from global cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike knocked many Microsoft Windows PCs offline with a “blue screen of death” appearing on screens. The issue caused travel cancellations and left NHS systems inaccessible.The company’s founder later confirmed it was caused by a bug in the update and not a cyber attack, as some had feared.Follow live: Major services affected by global outage Image: Blue…

The mass global IT outage has exposed the vulnerability of modern daily life when technology fails. The chaos, which impacted businesses and services worldwide, from GP appointments and flights to news broadcasts and online payments, is thought to have been triggered by a security software update rather than any kind of deliberate cyber attack by a hostile state of malicious individuals. However, given the scale of the disruption, this disaster demonstrates just how powerful cyber and software could be if used as a weapon.Follow live: Major services across the world affected by outageIt is why any actual act of war by…