Xbox And PlayStation Services Hit By Hackers

By Charlotte Lomas, Sky News Reporter

Hackers have claimed responsibility for a cyber attack on Sony's PlayStation and Microsoft's Xbox game consoles.

The attack hit gamers on Christmas Day, and some users continued to report problems today.

The hack was claimed by a group called Lizard Squad, while another group, calling itself Finest Squad, said it was trying to get the games back online.

"I have the nation on strings," Lizard Squad wrote on its Twitter site. The group flooded Xbox and PlayStation servers with sustained Denial of Service requests.

"Xbox and PSN have been restored. Give it about 30min to an hour for full service", Finest Squad responded.

The group calling itself Finest Squad claims to try to restore service

But frustrated users took to Twitter to vent their disappointment and anger at Lizard Squad, which also claimed responsibility for attacks on the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live earlier this month.

"Is Microsoft going to reimburse us for the live time that we're missing out on that most of us paid for .. #xboxlivedown #Microsoft," wrote one user.

"PSN has been down for the past 48 Hours, my kids can't enjoy their Christmas present.#ChristmasRuined," wrote another.

Neither Sony nor Microsoft have confirmed the hack. But PlayStation and Xbox confirmed the outages of their networks, adding that they were working to restore the service.

"We're aware that some users are having issues logging into PSN - engineers are investigating," PlayStation said via its Twitter account.

A message on the Xbox Support Twitter account said: "We're aware users are having issues logging into XBL & are actively working to resolve."

Sony suffered a devastating hack over its controversial film The Interview

The hack meant gamers were unable to play online and also impacted online components of hugely popular games such as Call of Duty, Madden, FIFA and The Sims 4. 

Three Xbox platforms were affected by the service problem: Xbox One, Xbox 360 and Xbox on other devices, Microsoft's status website said.

Lizard Squad had issued a threat at the start of December and describes itself as the "Grinch of Christmas".

It is not clear what Lizard Squad wants or who they are, but some reports suggest the hacking group could be Russian, though this has not been proven.

A link on their Twitter site was originally a Russian-based domain.

The latest trouble for Sony comes after hackers calling themselves the Guardians of Peace broke into the company's internal systems and stole large amounts of data last month.

The hack was reported to be in retaliation for the planned release of The Interview, a film about a fictional plot to kill North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.

The Sony leak resulted in the release of details about some 40,000 employees, full versions of movies yet to be screened, and highly embarrassing private email exchanges.

18.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Boxing Day Bargain Hunters Hit High Street

Thousands of people have braved the cold to hit the high street early as stores kick off their Boxing Day sales.

Retailers say big discounts are available - even as a record eight million people shopped online on Christmas Day as some shops started their sales on the internet a day early.

Sky News' Katie Spencer at Selfridges in London said it was "incredibly busy" but noted that a lot of the shopping would likely be done online. 

Snapping up deals at Selfridges in London

Shoppers searching for discounts online are expected to spend £748m today, or £519,000 every minute, according to data firm Experian and online retailing trade association IMRG.

An estimated 142 million visits were made to retail websites on Christmas Day and an online survey found that more than a third of Britons buy Christmas presents in the post-Christmas sales.

Experian's Giles Longhurst, said: "This year has seen record breaking online shopping rates, particularly on Black Friday, which saw an astronomical £810m in estimated spend due to the massive resources put behind promotions by a wide range of retailers.

Today's sales are not expected to be as busy as Black Friday

"Traditionally, the Boxing Day sales have been the busiest day for retailers in the UK, but this year we expect them to come second to Black Friday."

Myf Ryan, director of the Westfield shopping centres, said Boxing Day remained a "huge attraction" for shoppers.

"Last year we had queues out of the door on Boxing Day by 5am," he said.

"This year we expect an exceptionally busy day yet again, fuelled by excellent retail offers and special deals with over 50% off by many of our 600 retailers."

But retail staff will also spend much of their time sorting out disputes with consumers returning Christmas presents.

The new retail ombudsman, Dean Dunham, who takes up his new role on 2 January, said he expected thousands of complaints from shoppers who have been refused refunds.

Lining up outside Harrods department store in London

He said: "If the goods are not faulty, the law places no obligations on the retailer so you have to examine their terms and conditions.

"If their terms say the retailer will not accept returns where packaging is damaged or missing, and most terms do, the retailer will be perfectly within their rights to enforce this."

18.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Queen Uses Speech To Hail UK Ebola Medics

By Enda Brady, Sky News Correspondent

The Queen will use her Christmas message to pay tribute to medical staff who have volunteered to fight Ebola in west Africa, saying she has been "deeply touched" by their "selflessness".

Before the speech was broadcast, the Queen attended the traditional church service at Sandringham.

The Duchess of Cornwall did not attend the service on advice from doctors after she "put her back out", Clarence House said.

In her Christmas message, which will be broadcast at 3pm, the Queen will say: "I have been deeply touched this year by the selflessness of aid workers and medical volunteers who have gone abroad to help victims of conflict or of diseases like Ebola, often at great personal risk."

Dozens of British doctors and nurses have travelled to countries like Sierra Leone to help combat the deadly epidemic.

The theme of this year's message is reconciliation and on the 100th anniversary of the Christmas Day truce in the World War One trenches, the Queen also touches on how she felt visiting the ceramic poppies at the Tower of London.

The monarch and the Duke of Edinburgh visited the installation by artist Paul Cummins in October.

She said: "The ceramic poppies at the Tower of London drew millions and the only possible reaction to walking among them was silence.

The Queen visited the Tower of London in October

"For every poppy, a life - and a reminder of the grief of loved ones left behind."

A total of 888,246 ceramic poppies were planted in the moat at the Tower, one for each British and Commonwealth death.

The Queen recorded her message sitting next to a table featuring separate photographs of her grandparents, King George V and Queen Mary.

Prince Harry arriving at the church service earlier today

Also present is an embossed box similar to those sent to soldiers on the frontline in 1914.

The Queen made her first Christmas broadcast in 1952, live on the radio from her study at Sandringham.

Her first televised message came five years later and she has only missed one year, 1969, when she decided the royals had featured enough on TV after an unprecedented documentary.

18.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Archbishop Calls In Sick For Christmas Sermon

The Archbishop of Canterbury has been forced to cancel his annual Christmas Day sermon after coming down with a heavy cold.

Lambeth Palace said the Most Rev Justin Welby has been suffering from a "severe cold" for several days and decided this morning that he was too unwell to speak at the annual Canterbury Cathedral service.

A Lambeth Palace spokesman said the Archbishop "is suffering from a severe cold and will, with great regret, no longer be preaching the sermon at Canterbury Cathedral this morning.

"The Dean of Canterbury, the Very Rev Robert Willis, will deliver a homily."

The Archbishop had been due to talk about how the true spirit of Christmas cannot be captured in fairytale endings, using the example of the First World War Christmas truce in 1914.

The Archbishop had been due to say: "The truce illustrates something of the heart of Christmas, whereby God sends his Son, that vulnerable sign of peace, to a weary war-torn world.

"The problem is that the way it is told now it seems to end with a 'happy ever after'.

"Of course we like Christmas stories with happy endings: singing carols, swapping photos, shaking hands, sharing chocolate, but the following day the war continued with the same severity.

"Nothing had changed; it was a one-day wonder.

"That is not the world in which we live, truces are rare."

18.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Black Teen Shot Dead By Police In St Louis

A black teenager has been shot dead by a police officer in the same city where the killing of Michael Brown sparked global protests.

The 18-year-old was killed at a Mobil petrol station in the suburb of Berkeley in St Louis, Missouri, on Tuesday night.

Sergeant Brian Schellman, from St Louis County Police, said a police officer was conducting a routine business check at around 11.15pm when he saw two men and approached them.

He said one of the men pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the officer.

Sgt Schellman said: "Fearing for his life, the Berkeley Officer fired several shots, striking the subject, fatally wounding him."

Police have formed a wall on the forecourt

He added that the second suspect fled.

Detectives said they recovered the dead man's weapon at the scene.

Video: Mother Says Dead Son 'Was Good'

A crowd of around 60 people gathered at the scene, where a police cordon was set up around the forecourt.

Video, which is being live-streamed online, showed a wall of police officers, some wearing riot helmets, guarding the scene with bystanders shouting at them in a tense standoff.

Footage showed fireworks or smoke bombs being let off.

A number of people were arrested and there were also reports of people trying to break into local businesses.

1/8

1. Gallery: Shooting Is Close To Where The Michael Brown Killing Sparked Protests

   Black teenager Antonio Martin is shot by a police officer at a petrol station in Berkeley, St Louis

St Louis Police say during a routine check two males approached officers, one of the men pulled a gun

]]>

18.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

High Street Sales To Reach £342bn In 2014

By Sean Dilley, Sky News Reporter

Britain's retail sector is celebrating a record-breaking year as official figures are projecting an all-time high for sales in 2014.

The forecast from the Office of National Statistics shows that sales for the year are expected to reach £342bn - a £48bn increase since 2010.

Pre-Christmas sales are up by 5.2% compared with last year.

The Government says the High Street is fighting back with successes not limited to online retailers and big hitters.

Estimates from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills indicate a record-breaking year for independent and small businesses with £72bn in turnover.

The Government says the High Street is fighting back

Britain's retail successes have been credited in part to national promotional days like Black Friday and Panic Saturday.

But small businesses have benefited too, with more than £500m being taken across the UK on 6 December, which was dubbed Small Business Saturday.

Video: The Year In Retail

Sky News spoke with Aylesbury residents Helen and Hannah Meade, a mother and daughter who have been taking advantage of Christmas bargains.

They explained how a modern Christmas is about putting money aside, about spending cleverly and shopping around for the best deal.

"We make a budget for each child," Hannah Meade said.

"And we save for four months ahead of Christmas. This year it's not too bad because I've put money aside to do some shopping for next year in the January sales."

Commenting on the retail figures, Business Minister Matthew Hancock said: "The return of the high street is fantastic news and goes to show that we are on course for prosperity."

Labour however has warned against complacency based on projections.

Video: Swipe - Technology In Retail

In a statement, the party said: "Britain's retail sector leads the world in innovation, supports thousands of jobs and we want to see it go from strength to strength.

"But sadly under the Tory-led government, across the board growth has been patchy, unbalanced and unsustainable, benefiting only those at the top."

Christmas debt is certainly a real issue for many. The latest figures from the Bank of England show that unsecured consumer loans, excluding student loans currently stand at £167.9bn.

Of that, credit card debt accounts for £60.83bn in October alone.

Mike O'Connor, chief executive of the debt charity StepChange, told Sky News: "Draw up a budget. How much money have you got coming in, how much can you afford to spend.

"And if you have still got a problem after your budget, you are in debt, go and talk to the people you owe money to, go and talk to the banks, the energy companies because they should help you."

18.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

IS Captures Coalition Pilot Downed By Missile

Islamic State supporters claim the militants have shot down a coalition warplane in Syria and taken the Jordanian pilot captive.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said the activists say the plane was brought down near Raqqa city, a stronghold of Islamic State fighters in northern Syria.

"We have confirmed reports that IS members took a (non-Syrian) Arab pilot prisoner after shooting his plane down with an anti-aircraft missile near Raqqa city," the monitors said.

The IS in Raqqa published photographs on jihadist websites purporting to show its fighters holding the captured pilot, with a caption identifying him as Jordanian and giving his name.

IS militants with the pilot

Several photographs were released, including one showing the pilot, wearing only a white shirt, being carried from water by four men.

Another showed him on land, surrounded by about a dozen armed men.

1/3

1. Gallery: Militants Claim To Have Captured Jordanian Pilot In Syria

   The plane was said to have been brought down near Raqqa city, a stronghold of Islamic State fighters in northern Syria

Several photographs were released, including one showing the pilot, wearing only a white shirt, being carried from water by four men

]]>

18.25 | 0 komentar | Read More