Jul 20, 2024
CrowdStrike IT outage affected 8.5 million Windows devices, Microsoft says
EPA. Microsoft says it estimates that 8.5m computers around the world were disabled by the global IT outage. The glitch came from a cyber security company called CrowdStrike which sent out a corrupted software update to its huge number of customers. Microsoft, which is helping customers recover said in a blog post: "We currently estimate that CrowdStrike's update affected 8.5 million Windows devices." The company can be very accurate on how many devices were disabled by the outage as it has...
Jul 19, 2024
Bridgerton and Baby Reindeer drive Netflix sign-ups
Netflix said it added more than eight million subscribers in the three months to June, reeling in audiences for the new season of Bridgerton and and new drama Baby Reindeer. The streaming giant warned the impact of the crackdown on sharing passwords may run out in coming months, leading to slower growth in the months ahead. It said it was looking into new areas, such as sports, live events and gaming to extend its lead. Its plans include a multi-player video game tied to the release of a new...
Jul 19, 2024
Crowdstrike and Microsoft: What we know about global outage
The cause is unknown, but Microsoft says it is taking "Mitigation action" to deal with "The lingering impact" of the outage. Australia's home affairs ministry and American Airlines have both said the outage appeared to be related to an issue at global cyber-security firm Crowdstrike. A spokesperson for Australia's Home Affairs Minister said the outage appeared to be related to an issue at global cyber-security firm Crowdstrike. United Airlines told the BBC: "A third party software outage is...
Jul 19, 2024
Disneyland workers say they live in cars and motels due to low pay
About 10,000 union workers at Disneyland - the first of 12 parks created around the globe - are threatening to strike over the wages and what they say are retaliatory anti-union practices. "Mickey would want fair pay," workers chanted outside Disneyland near the park's gates. The contract for cast members at Disneyland expired 16 June, and the current negotiations involves a coalition of unions that represent nearly 10,000 employees at the park, which includes everyone from those who work as...
Jul 18, 2024
Bangladesh state TV set ablaze in deadly protests
Protesters have set fire to the headquarters of the state broadcaster in Bangladesh as violent clashes between students and police continue, the authorities say. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had appeared on the network the night before, appealing for calm after days of violent protests which have left at least 10 people dead and hundreds more injured. Students have been holding rallies demanding change to a system which reserves a third of public sector jobs for the relatives of war heroes,...
Jul 16, 2024
Senator Bob Menendez found guilty in bribery scheme
New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez has been found guilty on 16 counts tied to a scheme where he accepted bribes, including gold bars and a Mercedes-Benz, in exchange for helping foreign governments. Menendez's wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, also faces charges in the bribery case, but her trial was delayed so she could undergo breast cancer treatment. A jury convicted Menendez of all charges after more than 12 hours of deliberating over three days. A third businessman, Jose Uribe, pleaded...
Jul 14, 2024
America's Sweethearts: Netflix lifts lid on life as a cheerleader
America's Sweethearts, which lifts the lid on life in the most famous cheerleading team in the US, has been climbing up the Netflix charts since its release last month. It's not the first show about the cheerleaders, who are nicknamed America's Sweethearts - there had already been 16 seasons of a reality show about the team on US network CMT. But Netflix has brought DCC to a new audience. In the opening episode, Cowboys boss Charlotte Jones admits the cheerleaders are "Not paid a lot" - but...
Jul 13, 2024
As Apple headset reaches Europe, will VR ever hit the mainstream?
To get a sense of the public interest in the Vision Pro, Apple's very high-tech, very expensive virtual reality headset - finally launched in the UK and Europe on Friday - where better to head than one of its own stores? In the past, people camped outside Apple branches overnight, so desperate were they to get their hands on the tech giant's latest product. Apple and Meta are the two big players but VR is a crowded market - there are dozens, maybe hundreds, of different headsets already out...
Jul 5, 2024
Amazon at 30: What next for 'The Everything Company'?
Even if you think you can visualise that never-ending blur of parcels crisscrossing the globe, you need to remember something else: that's just a fraction of what Amazon does. "For a long time it has been called 'The Everything Store', but I think, at this point, Amazon is sort of 'The Everything Company'," Bloomberg's Amanda Mull tells me. Or, as the company itself once joked, pretty much the only way you could get though a day without enriching Amazon in some way was by "Living in a cave"....
Jul 5, 2024
Samsung expects profits to jump by more than 1,400%
Samsung Electronics expects its profits for the three months to June 2024 to jump 15-fold compared to the same period last year. The announcement pushed Samsung shares up more than 2% during early trading hours in Seoul. The firm also reported a more than 10-fold jump in its profits for the first three months of this year. In this quarter, it said it is expecting its profit to rise to 10.4tn won, from 670bn won last year. Samsung Electronics is the flagship unit of South Korean conglomerate...
Jul 4, 2024
Bird flu hits McDonald's Australia breakfast hours
The fast food giant has temporarily shortened the hours of its breakfast service in the country by 90 minutes due to an egg shortage caused by a bird flu outbreak. "Like many retailers, we are carefully managing supply of eggs due to the current industry challenges," McDonald's Australia said in a statement sent to the BBC. "We're continuing to work closely with our network of Aussie farmers, producers, and suppliers, as the industry comes together to manage this challenge." Several strains...
Jul 4, 2024
Jeff Bezos to sell another $5bn of Amazon shares
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos says he will sell another 25 million shares in the technology giant, worth nearly $5bn. It comes after the company's stock market value hit a record high on Wednesday. In February, he announced that he would sell Amazon shares worth around $8.5bn. That marked the first time since 2021 that Mr Bezos had sold Amazon shares. Amazon reported robust quarterly earnings at the end of the April, that showed the company's bet on AI was paying off. Mr Bezos stepped down as the...
Jul 3, 2024
How Microsoft and Nvidia bet correctly to leapfrog Apple
Last month, AI chip giant Nvidia briefly became the world's richest company, overtaking Microsoft, which had in turn risen above Apple. Nvidia boss Jensen Huang pushed his company towards AI chip development many years before generative AI exploded onto the scene. Both firms took a long-term bet on the current AI boom - and so far, it's paid off, leaving former top-dog Apple trailing in their wake. "Given how high valuations have leapt for tech companies, missteps ahead could cause big...
Jul 3, 2024
A Bugatti car, a first lady and the fake stories aimed at Americans
Interspersed within this tsunami of content is the real meat of the operation - fake stories aimed increasingly at American audiences. The BBC has found that forged documents and fake YouTube videos were used to bolster both false stories. Several of the videos appear to be shot against a similar-looking background, further suggesting a co-ordinated effort to spread fake news stories. In a harbinger of his activities in Russia, Mr Dougan's site published authentic information including the...
Jun 27, 2024
Paris Hilton testifies to US Congress about childhood abuse
Paris Hilton has called for change to youth residential facilities and shared her own experience with alleged abuse before a US congressional committee. New Yorkers react to Hunter Biden's guilty verdict. BBC reporter describes Hunter Biden's reaction to verdict. Hunter Biden on criminal trial: 'I think it went well'. The BBC's Carl Nasman doorstepped Hunter Biden on the same day jury deliberations began in his criminal trial.
Jun 24, 2024
Apple in breach of law on App Store, says EU
The European Commission, which regulates competition in the EU, said Apple's App Store squeezes out rival marketplaces, marking the first time it has found a company in breach of the Digital Markets Act. The tech giant has been given the opportunity to review the investigation's preliminary findings, and it can avoid a monster fine if it comes back with a proposal which is satisfactory to the EU. The European Commission says that developers should be able to freely tell customers when there...
Jun 21, 2024
Microsoft back as most valuable firm as Nvidia slips
Nvidia has handed back the position as the world's most valuable company to Microsoft after its share price fell by more than 3.5% on Thursday. The artificial intelligence chip giant briefly held the top spot from Tuesday, with a stock market valuation of $3.34tn. But Nvidia's shares fell to $130.78 on Thursday, sending its value down to around $3.22tn, with Microsoft reclaiming the title as it held steady at more than $3.3tn. Nvidia's rise has been fuelled by its dominance of what analysts...
Jun 20, 2024
US airline suspends staff after black men kicked off flight
Several American Airlines employees have been put on leave for their involvement in an incident in which black passengers were removed from a flight after a complaint about body odour. The company has also announced a number of initiatives aimed at preventing such incidents from taking place, including an "Advisory group" focused on the experience of black passengers. In the May lawsuit, three men - who were not seated together and did not know each other - said that every black man was...
Jun 18, 2024
Apple scraps its Pay Later loan scheme
Apple is ending its in-house buy now, pay later scheme in the US, which it launched just last year. The decision marks a retreat for Apple from plans to offer traditional financial services. Apple Pay Later users in the US could break up the cost of their purchases into four instalments over six weeks without having to pay interest or fees. The scheme represented a move into providing financial services, with Apple effectively offering customers loans, instead of resorting to banks and other...
Jun 12, 2024
Bridgerton star on being the show's 'working class hero'
"It's nice to know there is evolution to the character, and a whole roundness," Martins Imhangbe, who plays Will, tells BBC Newsbeat. Martins says the Mondrich family go on a "Complex journey" navigating their new-found wealth and status. Martins says the Mondriches aren't in Julia Quinn's series of Bridgerton novels, and as an actor the roles were "Almost a gift". Bridgerton's been praised for the diversity of its cast and storylines, and Martins says representation is an opportunity that...
Jun 10, 2024
Apple brings ChatGPT to iPhones in AI overhaul
Apple is to boost its Siri voice assistant and operating systems with ChatGPT as it seeks to catch up in the AI race. It is part of a new personalised AI system - called "Apple Intelligence" - that aims to offer users a way to navigate Apple devices more easily. Apple has faced pressure to introduce new AI features to its products after the rapid rise of rivals who have adopted the technology. Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight, said that while Apple's new personal AI system "Should help...
Jun 9, 2024
Price hikes and boycotts: Is trouble brewing at Starbucks?
Rew Buckley, a self-described "Mocha guy", recently swore off his Starbucks habit, reeling after the firm's latest price increase sent the cost of his drink above $6. The 50-year-old, who works in tech sales in Idaho, had been a loyal customer for decades, treasuring his near-daily venti mocha as a little luxury that allowed him to stretch his legs during the work day. Former regular David White says he has stopped nearly all of his purchases with Starbucks in recent months, at times...
Jun 5, 2024
Paris Hilton among users targeted in TikTok hack
TikTok says it is addressing a cyber-attack that targeted several brands and celebrities. TikTok did not share further details on the perpetrators of the cyber-attack, or how it was carried out. One of the compromised accounts belonged to news outlet CNN. "We have been collaborating closely with CNN to restore account access and implement enhanced security measures to safeguard their account moving forward," a TikTok spokesperson said. TikTok said the account of reality TV star Paris Hilton...
Jun 5, 2024
Nvidia value surges past $3tn and overtakes Apple
Nvidia's market value has surged past $3tn, lifting the chipmaker ahead of Apple to become the second most valuable publicly listed company in the world. The firm's share price rose more than 5% on Wednesday, to more than $1,224. Its market value now sits just behind Microsoft, another key player in the industry thanks to its investments in Chat GPT-maker OpenAI. Valued at "Just" $2tn as recently as February, Nvidia sparked a new wave of share purchases after it announced plans last month for...
May 30, 2024
Black men sue American Airlines for racial discrimination
Three black men have filed a lawsuit against American Airlines, alleging that the carrier briefly removed them from a flight after a complaint about body odour. American Airlines employees tried to re-book the men on other flights, but there were no other services to New York that night. American Airlines said in a statement: "We take all claims of discrimination very seriously and want our customers to have a positive experience when they choose to fly with us."Our teams are currently...
May 30, 2024
Moment winds push plane away from airport gate in Texas
A plane has been pushed away from an airport gate in Texas, as storms and strong winds battered the region. Video shows the American Airlines plane being blown sideways at Dallas Fort Worth Airport on Tuesday, with its door open and its wing almost hitting a passenger bridge. Tornadoes and storms hit four states in the US. Video shows a trail of destruction as homes ripped apart by strong storms in the southern US. 3 days ago US & Canada. Multiple people were killed as severe storms destroyed...
May 29, 2024
Samsung Electronics union calls first-ever strike
A union representing thousands of workers at Samsung Electronics has called the first strike at the South Korean technology giant since it was founded five and a half decades ago. The National Samsung Electronics Union says it will hold a one-day protest by asking all of its members to use their paid leave on 7 June and has not ruled out a full-scale strike in the future. Samsung Electronics says it will continue to negotiate with the union. Samsung Electronics' management has been in talks...
May 27, 2024
Benedict Cumberbatch dons 7ft monster suit
Being versatile should be part of any actor's repertoire, but Benedict Cumberbatch was taken to new limits when he jogged around New York dressed as a 7ft monster. "It was one of the most ludicrous things I've ever done - and I've done a few," he tells BBC News. The puppeteer even hallucinates seeing Eric standing next to him, wisecracking and poking holes in his ego - because "Puppets say the things we can't". Cumberbatch says the monster represents Vincent's "Shadow self" - a term developed...
May 27, 2024
British Museum gems for sale on eBay - how a theft was exposed
BBC. In 2020, Danish antiquities dealer Dr Ittai Gradel began to suspect an eBay seller he had been buying from was a thief who was stealing from the British Museum. Dr Gradel says it is "Totally bizarre" that he could sit at a computer on a small Danish island and be the first person to discover something was awry at the British Museum. Dr Gradel decided to check it against property records - and the name given was Peter Higgs, the British Museum curator. The British Museum chairman, George...
May 27, 2024
Longest-serving flight attendant dies at 88
CBS. Bette Nash, the world's longest-serving flight attendant, has died aged 88 after nearly 70 years of airborne service. "She started in 1957 and held the Guinness World Record for longest-serving flight attendant," the airline said. "Bette inspired generations of flight attendants. Fly high, Bette." Ms Nash began her career at the age of 21 with Eastern Airlines, the forerunner of American Airlines, working on its shuttle flight between Washington DC, where she lived, and Boston. The...