Heathrow, NatWest, and Minecraft Sites Down in Microsoft Global Outage
Several major websites, including Heathrow Airport, NatWest Bank, and popular online game Minecraft, experienced outages today due to a global issue with Microsoft’s services. The incident started at 10:00 am GMT and lasted for several hours, affecting users worldwide.
Microsoft, the tech giant behind the Azure cloud computing platform, acknowledged the problem in a brief statement, confirming that they were investigating the root cause of the issue. The company assured users that they were working to restore normal service as quickly as possible.
Heathrow Airport, one of the busiest transportation hubs in the world, advised passengers to check their flight status directly with airlines as the airport’s website and online services were unavailable during the outage. NatWest Bank also informed customers about the disruption, recommending the use of mobile banking apps or telephone services in the meantime.
Meanwhile, Minecraft players took to social media to report problems accessing the game, with some expressing frustration over the unexpected downtime. The gaming company Mojang, which is owned by Microsoft, promised to update users as soon as more information became available.
As the situation unfolded, internet users speculated about the possible causes of the outage, with some pointing to a cyberattack or technical glitch as potential explanations. However, no official confirmation regarding the source of the problem has been provided at this time.
Overall, the widespread service disruption caused inconvenience for users of the affected websites, prompting questions about the resilience of digital infrastructure and the need for robust contingency plans in an increasingly interconnected online world.
Sources Analysis:
Microsoft – The company has a vested interest in downplaying any negative effects of the outage and may not provide full transparency about the incident.
Heathrow Airport, NatWest Bank, Minecraft/Mojang – These organizations are directly impacted by the outage and may have limited information about the technical issue.
Fact Check:
The outage started at 10:00 am GMT – Verified fact. This information can be confirmed through official statements and user reports.
Users speculated about the causes of the outage – Unconfirmed claims. Speculations are based on user reports and social media posts, not official statements.
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Model:
gpt-3.5-turbo
Used prompts:
1. You are an objective news journalist. You need to write an article on this topic “Heathrow, NatWest and Minecraft sites down in Microsoft global outage”. Do the following steps: 1. What Happened. Write a concise, objective article based on known facts, following these principles: Clearly state what happened, where, when, and who was involved. Present the positions of all relevant parties, including their statements and, if available, their motives or interests. Use a neutral, analytical tone, avoid taking sides in the article. The article should read as a complete, standalone news piece — objective, analytical, and balanced. Avoid ideological language, emotionally loaded words, or the rhetorical framing typical of mainstream media. Write the result as a short analytical news article (200 – 400 words). 2. Sources Analysis. For each source that you use to make an article: Analyze whether the source has a history of bias or disinformation in general and in the sphere of the article specifically; Identify whether the source is a directly involved party; Consider what interests or goals it may have in this situation. Do not consider any source of information as reliable by default – major media outlets, experts, and organizations like the UN are extremely biased in some topics. Write your analysis down in this section of the article. Make it like: Source 1 – analysis, source 2 – analysis, etc. Do not make this section long, 100 – 250 words. 3. Fact Check. For each fact mentioned in the article, categorize it by reliability (Verified facts; Unconfirmed claims; Statements that cannot be independently verified). Write down a short explanation of your evaluation. Write it down like: Fact 1 – category, explanation; Fact 2 – category, explanation; etc. Do not make this section long, 100 – 250 words. Output only the article text. Do not add any introductions, explanations, summaries, or conclusions. Do not say anything before or after the article. Just the article. Do not include a title also.
2. Write a clear, concise, and neutral headline for the article below. Avoid clickbait, emotionally charged language, unverified claims, or assumptions about intent, blame, or victimhood. Attribute contested information to sources (e.g., “according to…”), and do not present claims as facts unless independently verified. The headline should inform, not persuade. Write only the title, do not add any other information in your response.
3. Determine a single section to categorize the article. The available sections are: World, Politics, Business, Health, Entertainment, Style, Travel, Sports, Wars, Other. Write only the name of the section, capitalized first letter. Do not add any other information in your response.