Afternoon briefing Monday 20th October

0:00This episode of the Times Radio News Briefing is sponsored by PwCWC. Staying competitive means getting ahead, not just keeping up. So how do business leaders cut through the noise and focus on what really matters? PwC takes you further with tech, from optimising the systems that put your data to work, to scaling AI from proof of concept to competitive edge. PwC helps you meet tomorrow's tech demands so you can compete at a speed that rewrites the rules. Discover more at pwc.co.uk. This is your Times afternoon briefing for Monday the 20th of October. Halifax, Lloyds Bank and WhatsApp are among many companies which have been suffering internet outages this morning, though it seems the worst is over.

0:46However, the tech problems have caused queues at an airport in New York as staff and customers struggled to access tickets and bag drop-off information. Amazon, Zoom and Ring doorbells were also affected. The AI company Perplexity said it was a problem with Amazon Web Services, which offers companies access to servers, databases and storage, so when they're affected, it can have a huge impact. Virginia Giffray's memoir claims that Prince Andrew's team hired internet trolls to hassle her. Her book Nobody's Girl, which details her alleged three occasions with Andrew, is out tomorrow. He's always denied having sex with her after she was trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein.

1:24The Crown Estate is also under pressure to publish details about how the former Duke of York pays for Royal Lodge in Windsor. Sunday Times royal editor Roya Nicker says his finances aren't even clear to his own relatives. Even the royal family have found it difficult to understand that. When the King was trying to get Andrew out of Royal Lodge, as he has been for the last few years, a meeting was held between Prince Andrew and the purse keeper at Buckingham Palace, in which Prince Andrew, I think, just assured them that he had the means. What those means are and where they've come from, people at Buckingham Palace and the King, I think, are still unclear.

1:59The sexual offences trial of former DUP leader Sir Geoffrey Donaldson has been delayed for a second time because of his wife's health. He denies the 18 alleged historical offences, and his wife Eleanor also denies aiding and abetting. It's now expected to be next year, having already been delayed from March this year to November. Reform UK has suspended four of its councillors following evidence that they brought the party into disrepute. They're all from Kent County Council, where Reform has overall control. A video of their council meeting was leaked to the press, in which the council leader told colleagues they would have to suck it up if they did not agree with her decisions on balancing the budget.

2:38The Louvre has been closed today after a jewellery heist at the weekend in which eight pieces were taken. The robbery took between six and seven minutes and was carried out by four people using a crane to get in and motorbikes to get away. Justice Minister Gérard Darmanin said it gave a deplorable image of France. And in the cricket, England have beaten New Zealand by 65 runs to win the second T20 in Christchurch. For more stories like this, listen throughout the day to Times Radio.

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