Author: SKYNEWS

It’s possible we are looking at the largest IT outage in history.More than 70% of the world’s desktop computers run on Microsoft Windows software. A software update from one of Microsoft’s clients – cybersecurity company CrowdStrike – has now taken a large number of those machines offline.The faulty code – just a few lines long – has led to global disruption with an economic impact that is as yet incalculable – but likely to be huge.Follow live: Major services across the world affected by outage The “Falcon Sensor” product designed to protect Windows from malicious attacks is used widely on…

Lord Saatchi, the former advertising guru, has hired the investment bank which helped Lloyds Banking Group recover a £1bn-plus loan to the Barclay family to advise him on a takeover of The Daily Telegraph.Sky News has learnt that Lazard is working with the Conservative peer and Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, a former director of The Economist Group. The recruitment of the Mayfair-based firm is likely to strengthen Lord Saatchi’s hand in the auction of the Telegraph titles, with a deadline set for indicative offers later on Friday.Lazard worked with Lloyds for months on recovering its outstanding loans from the…

Most GP practices in England have suffered disruption as a result of the major global IT outage, causing problems with booking appointments and issuing prescriptions.But NHS England said there was currently no known impact on 999 or emergency services as a result of the mass computer failure. Thousands of doctors’ surgeries have been affected after the widely-used EMIS appointment and patient record system went down.Global IT outage: Follow livePharmacies have also reported issues with accessing prescriptions from GP surgeries and said this would affect the delivery of medicines to patients. A spokeswoman for NHS England said: “The NHS is aware…

Businesses including banks, airlines, train companies, telecommunications companies, TV and radio broadcasters, and supermarkets have been taken offline following a mass global outage.Major US airlines including American Airlines, Delta Airlines and United Airlines have been grounded, while airports in Germany, Amsterdam and Spain are also reporting issues. It is believed the issue is related to an issue at global cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike and Microsoft – although it is unknown if it is the same issue affecting airports and train services across the globe.Microsoft said on Friday morning that it was continuing to address the “lingering impact” of its 365 applications…

Former Strictly Come Dancing star Graziano Di Prima did kick his celebrity partner Zara McDermott once during rehearsals last year, his spokesperson has said.It was announced earlier this month that the professional dancer had left the hit BBC show following reports of video footage brought to the attention of the broadcaster. Now, his spokesperson, Mark Borkowski, has told BBC News that while Di Prima does not clearly remember the incident during Strictly rehearsals, he does not deny there was a kick. Image: Di Prima was paired with Zara McDermott last year. Pic: BBC/Guy Levy “This week, the news agenda has…

Wage rises have slowed, official figures show, potentially signalling good news for those hoping for a fall in the cost of borrowing. But pay has increased faster than the overall rate of price rises. Money latest – We tried the UK’s cheapest three-course dinner* – here’s what you get for £5Earnings rose at an annual rate of 5.7% in the three months to May, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed.In the same month, inflation stood at 2%. Because of reduced inflation and pay rises remaining high, the ONS said real wages – which adjust for inflation -…

Bob Newhart, the US comedian and actor, has died.Known for his roles in the Christmas film Elf and US sitcom The Big Bang Theory, Newhart also had his own programme, The Bob Newhart Show. Jerry Digney, Newhart’s publicist, said Newhart had died at the age of 94 after “a series of short illnesses”.Newhart launched his career as a stand-up comic in the late 1950s.He gained nationwide fame in the US when his routine was captured on vinyl in 1960 as The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, which went on to win a Grammy Award as album of the year. Image:…

While longer-established names like Marks & Spencer, John Lewis and Next are often taken as good barometers of UK retailing, there is a case for saying that no one company better provides a snapshot of how the sector is faring than Frasers Group.Mike Ashley’s combine owns more than 40 consumer-facing brands, including Sports Direct – still the biggest part of the business – House of Fraser, Flannels, Game, Evans Cycles, Jack Wills, Gieves & Hawkes, Agent Provocateur, Cruise, Van Mildert and Sofa.com, not to mention a clutch of sports equipment and sports and leisurewear brands including Slazenger, Sondico, No Fear,…

A former model has been refused a licence for exotic animals after taking a meerkat and an owl to a pub.Jodie Marsh, who owns Fripps Farm in Lindsell, Essex, applied for a dangerous wild animals licence to keep eight ring-tailed lemurs in January. But Uttlesford District Council rejected the application this week, citing Ms Marsh twice bringing a young meerkat to a pub, and instances where rehomed creatures escaped from the five-acre animal sanctuary.The council’s licencing and environmental health committee also heard the 45-year-old once brought an owl to a pub, and raised concerns over the noise of the lemurs…

A senior minister has told the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry that accountability for the scandal lies with the government, while the leader of the Liberal Democrats said he was lied to by senior executives at the company.Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden was postal affairs minister from 2007 to 2009, years in which the biggest miscarriage of justice was taking place. Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey, who was postal affairs minister from 2010 to 2012, was also giving evidence to the inquiry established to investigate the Post Office’s wrongful prosecution of more than 700 sub-postmasters.Money latest: Santander swearing ban…