What the papers say – July 20

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

One story dominates Saturday’s newspapers as the global IT outage appears across the front pages.

The Independent says the issue with Windows systems caused “worldwide havoc” at airports, banks, train networks, TV stations, shops and GP surgeries, while the Daily Mirror labels it the “day the world stood still”.

Both the iweekend and FT Weekend concentrate on the problems caused to travel, payments and health.

The impact on travellers is the focus of The Daily Telegraph and The Times, which said the IT failure “could be terminal for getaways”.

The Guardian calls the problem the “largest outage in history” and warns that it could take weeks for a full recovery.

Both the Daily Mail and Daily Express label the outage a “digital pandemic” with the Mail saying it exposes the dangers of a cashless society, while the Express asks how it was able to “paralyse the world”.

The Daily Star recycles a headline from Little Britain, saying simply: “Computer says no.”