Author: SKYNEWS

A mass IT outage has affected business, airlines, banks and hospitals around the world.The outage, which spread widely on Friday morning, is believed to be related to Microsoft and global cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. CrowdStrike’s boss said on X there had been a defective software update for Microsoft Windows hosts and a fix was deployed.Microsoft also said a resolution for Windows devices affected by the outage was “forthcoming”.Follow live: Major services affected by outage globally Here is a rundown of how the outage spread, and what we know about it so far. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video…

Outages have been reported today across airlines, supermarkets, banking and communication services as well as the NHS and trains.Crowdstrike, which provides cyber attack monitoring and protection to many major businesses, said the problem was caused by a “defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts”, adding it was not a security incident or cyber attack. Latest on worldwide IT outageSky News has been tracking issues like flight delays and cancellations, reports of service outages and Google searches to see when people first started noticing problems.AirlinesThe first signs of trouble in the UK were from users of airline services…

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,…