A major IT outage has caused havoc on computer systems worldwide, affecting airports and airlines, banks, television channels and other businesses.

"We are currently experiencing a system outage that has affected our booking systems as a result of a global system outage," Kenya Airways said in a statement, without mentioning whether flights were also disrupted.

"Customers are advised to expect slower than usual service," it said, adding that it would share further updates once the issue was resolved.

Major Kenyan bank NCBA also informed customers that its card services were currently unavailable, but did not say if the issue was linked to the global outages.

"We are working to resolve the issue," it said, adding that all other services remained available.

US tech giant Microsoft said in a technical update on its website that the problems began at 1900 GMT on Thursday, affecting users of its Azure cloud platform running cybersecurity software CrowdStrike Falcon.

It said it was taking "mitigation actions" in response to service issues.

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MICROSOFT