A global online outage at major banks and airlines on Thursday was caused by a problem with tech provider Akamai, one of the firms affected has confirmed.

Virgin Australia said it "was one of many organisations to experience an outage with the Akamai content delivery system", adding that work was underway to prevent the roughly one-hour blackout from happening again.

"We are aware of the issue and actively working to restore services as soon as possible", a spokesperson for Akamai said in an emailed statement.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/many-us-airlines-and-australian-banks-hit-by-online-outage-392084">Many US airlines and Australian banks hit by online outage</a>

Many other websites in Australia, including those belonging to the central bank, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Westpac Banking Corp, and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, had also started to come back online late afternoon on Thursday.

The Reserve Bank of Australia cancelled an operation to buy long-dated government bonds because of technical difficulties.

Websites of major US&nbsp;airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta Air Lines, also experienced disruptions early on Thursday, according to&nbsp;outage&nbsp;monitoring website Downdetector.

More than a thousand user reports indicated problems at Southwest Airlines, with over 400 user reports indicating the same for Delta Air Lines, according to Downdetector. That number was around 300 for the other two airline companies.

Southwest canceled nearly 300 flights on Wednesday and delayed more than 500 a day after it was forced to temporarily halt operations over a computer glitch.

The websites were back up in about an hour.

The&nbsp;outages predominantly in Australia on Thursday come a little over a week after thousands of government, news, and social media websites around the world were hit by a technical issue linked to US-based cloud company Fastly Inc.

(With inputs from agencies)

A global online outage at major banks and airlines on Thursday was caused by a problem with tech provider Akamai, one of the firms affected has confirmed. Virgin Australia said it "was one of many organisations to experience an outage with the Akamai content delivery system", adding that work was underway to prevent the roughly one-hour blackout from happening again.

A global online outage at major banks and airlines on Thursday was caused by a problem with tech provider Akamai, one of the firms affected has confirmed. Virgin Australia said it "was one of many organisations to experience an outage with the Akamai content delivery system", adding that work was underway to prevent the roughly one-hour blackout from happening again. "We are aware of the issue and actively working to restore services as soon as possible", a spokesperson for Akamai said in an emailed statement. Also read| Many US airlines and Australian banks hit by online outage Many other websites in Australia, including those belonging to the central bank, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Westpac Banking Corp, and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, had also started to come back online late afternoon on Thursday. The Reserve Bank of Australia cancelled an operation to buy long-dated government bonds because of technical difficulties. Websites of major US airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta Air Lines, also experienced disruptions early on Thursday, according to outage monitoring website Downdetector. More than a thousand user reports indicated problems at Southwest Airlines, with over 400 user reports indicating the same for Delta Air Lines, according to Downdetector. That number was around 300 for the other two airline companies. Southwest canceled nearly 300 flights on Wednesday and delayed more than 500 a day after it was forced to temporarily halt operations over a computer glitch. The websites were back up in about an hour. The outages predominantly in Australia on Thursday come a little over a week after thousands of government, news, and social media websites around the world were hit by a technical issue linked to US-based cloud company Fastly Inc. (With inputs from agencies)

Tech provider Akamai blamed for latest global online outages

The Commonwealth Bank&nbsp;Monday&nbsp;agreed to the largest civil penalty in Australian corporate history to settle claims it breached anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws.

The Aus$700 million (US$530 million) fine -- which is subject to court approval -- comes after mediation between the nation's biggest lender and the country's financial intelligence agency AUSTRAC.

It follows the bank being taken to court last August for "serious and systemic non-compliance" of anti-money laundering laws more than 53,000 times, with AUSTRAC filing 100 further claims in December.

CBA was also accused of failing to adequately monitor suspected terrorist financiers.

"While not deliberate, we fully appreciate the seriousness of the mistakes we made," said CBA chief executive Matt Comyn in a statement.

"Our agreement today is a clear acknowledgement of our failures and is an important step towards moving the bank forward. On behalf of Commonwealth Bank, I apologise to the community for letting them down."

The bank, which in the fall-out has replaced senior leadership overseeing financial crimes and pumped millions of dollars into improving its systems, also agreed to pay AUSTRAC's Aus$2.5 million legal fees.

The scandal is only the latest issue to damage the reputation of Australian banks, which have been under intense scrutiny amid allegations of dodgy financial advice, life insurance and mortgage fraud and rigging benchmark interest rates.

Last week, ANZ Bank was accused of "cartel arrangements" over a multi-billion-dollar capital raising, along with its advisers Deutsche Bank and Citigroup, with potential criminal charges pending.

The scandals led the government early this year to launch a royal commission into misconduct in the finance industry.

The fine for CBA appears to be far larger than expected by the bank, which in reporting its half-year cash profit in February said it had put aside Aus$375 million to pay potential penalties.

CBA, Australia's largest company, last year admitted to the late submission of 53,506 reports to AUSTRAC for cash transactions of Aus$10,000 or more at ATMs, blaming a "systems-related error".

It also failed to report 149 suspicious transactions on time, or at all, and breached its obligations to perform checks on 80 suspicious customers.

According to AUSTRAC's 583-page statement of claim, some of the allegations included suspected members of a crime syndicate using fake names and IDs to make separate cash deposits to CBA accounts.

"CBA's disregard of its... obligations allowed criminals to exploit its systems and put the Australian community at risk," said Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton.

"This very large number of breaches over several years is unacceptable and should never have been allowed to happen."

He said some of the suspicious financial transactions not reported were linked to "the international drug trade" and "may have been associated with terrorism financing".

AUSTRAC chief Nicole Rose said the outcome was a strong message to the financial industry that non-compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws would not be tolerated.

"As we have seen in this case, criminals will exploit poor business practices to launder the proceeds of their crimes," she said.

"This has real impacts on the everyday lives of Australians and puts the community at risk by increasing opportunities for terrorists to support attacks here and overseas and enabling organised crime groups to peddle drugs to our families and friends.

"I hope this result alerts the financial sector to the consequences of poor compliance and reinforces that businesses need to take their obligations seriously."

AUSTRAC said it would be the largest civil penalty in Australian corporate history if approved by the Federal Court.

The Aus $700 million (US$530 million) fine -- which is subject to court approval -- comes after mediation between the nation's biggest lender and the country's financial intelligence agency AUSTRAC

The Commonwealth Bank Monday agreed to the largest civil penalty in Australian corporate history to settle claims it breached anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws. The Aus$700 million (US$530 million) fine -- which is subject to court approval -- comes after mediation between the nation's biggest lender and the country's financial intelligence agency AUSTRAC. It follows the bank being taken to court last August for "serious and systemic non-compliance" of anti-money laundering laws more than 53,000 times, with AUSTRAC filing 100 further claims in December. CBA was also accused of failing to adequately monitor suspected terrorist financiers. "While not deliberate, we fully appreciate the seriousness of the mistakes we made," said CBA chief executive Matt Comyn in a statement. "Our agreement today is a clear acknowledgement of our failures and is an important step towards moving the bank forward. On behalf of Commonwealth Bank, I apologise to the community for letting them down." The bank, which in the fall-out has replaced senior leadership overseeing financial crimes and pumped millions of dollars into improving its systems, also agreed to pay AUSTRAC's Aus$2.5 million legal fees. The scandal is only the latest issue to damage the reputation of Australian banks, which have been under intense scrutiny amid allegations of dodgy financial advice, life insurance and mortgage fraud and rigging benchmark interest rates. Last week, ANZ Bank was accused of "cartel arrangements" over a multi-billion-dollar capital raising, along with its advisers Deutsche Bank and Citigroup, with potential criminal charges pending. The scandals led the government early this year to launch a royal commission into misconduct in the finance industry. The fine for CBA appears to be far larger than expected by the bank, which in reporting its half-year cash profit in February said it had put aside Aus$375 million to pay potential penalties. CBA, Australia's largest company, last year admitted to the late submission of 53,506 reports to AUSTRAC for cash transactions of Aus$10,000 or more at ATMs, blaming a "systems-related error". It also failed to report 149 suspicious transactions on time, or at all, and breached its obligations to perform checks on 80 suspicious customers. According to AUSTRAC's 583-page statement of claim, some of the allegations included suspected members of a crime syndicate using fake names and IDs to make separate cash deposits to CBA accounts. "CBA's disregard of its... obligations allowed criminals to exploit its systems and put the Australian community at risk," said Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton. "This very large number of breaches over several years is unacceptable and should never have been allowed to happen." He said some of the suspicious financial transactions not reported were linked to "the international drug trade" and "may have been associated with terrorism financing". AUSTRAC chief Nicole Rose said the outcome was a strong message to the financial industry that non-compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws would not be tolerated. "As we have seen in this case, criminals will exploit poor business practices to launder the proceeds of their crimes," she said. "This has real impacts on the everyday lives of Australians and puts the community at risk by increasing opportunities for terrorists to support attacks here and overseas and enabling organised crime groups to peddle drugs to our families and friends. "I hope this result alerts the financial sector to the consequences of poor compliance and reinforces that businesses need to take their obligations seriously." AUSTRAC said it would be the largest civil penalty in Australian corporate history if approved by the Federal Court.

Australia's Commonwealth Bank agrees to US$530 mln fine over money-laundering breaches

Most Asian currencies drifted on Thursday, with investors shying away from risk ahead of key central bank meetings next week and due to political uncertainty in the Middle East.&nbsp;Market players expect the mood to be cautious in the run-up to next Thursday when both the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank are expected to hold policy meetings.&nbsp;

A Reuters poll showed a rate rise was almost certain at the Fed&#39;s Dec. 14 meeting, with three or more rate hikes expected next year. Expectations for a more vigorous rate cycle in 2018 got wind from progress in President Donald Trump`s tax cut plans.&nbsp;On the other hand, the ECB is expected to stand pat on policy at its meeting next week in Frankfurt.

Elsewhere, Trump on Wednesday reversed decades of U.S. policy and recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, imperilling Middle East peace efforts and upsetting the Arab world and Western allies alike.&nbsp;The dollar on Thursday shook off losses against the yen, buoyed by optimism on U.S. tax reform and ahead of payrolls data on Friday.&nbsp;Meanwhile, a potential U.S. government shutdown looms if Congress fails to agree on a spending package.

&quot;The debt ceiling limit is another source of worry as emergency measures are only likely to last for 2/3 months before the Treasury runs out of funds,&quot; DBS Group strategists Eugene Leow and Philip Wee said in a note.&nbsp;&quot;Politics is likely to dominate macro cues at a time when valuations for risky assets appear lofty. Brace for volatility ahead.&quot;&nbsp;All local currencies in Asia were subdued, with the Malaysian ringgit the weakest among its peers against the dollar, easing 0.2 percent.

&quot;There&#39;s still quite a lot of equity outflow happening,&quot; said Andy Ji, a strategist for Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Singapore.&nbsp;&quot;The ringgit is still outperforming though&quot;. The Malaysian currency has been on an uptrend since early November, helped by a strong economy and rate rise expectations.

The South Korean won, the region`s biggest decliner in the previous session, was 0.16 percent firmer against the dollar, despite a 0.8-percent fall in the Kospi index.&nbsp;Ji said the won could be trading on the notion of &quot;a very hawkish central bank at this point in time despite a dovish rate rise&quot;.

Last month, the Bank of Korea raised its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 1.5 percent from a record low level.

Indian Rupee

The rupee firmed marginally on Thursday after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept rates unchanged in its policy meeting the day before, as expected, and left its policy stance &quot;neutral&quot;.&nbsp;The central bank was also seen as slightly softening its language on inflation by saying risks were &quot;evenly balanced&quot;.&nbsp;

The RBI raised its headline inflation projection in the range of 4.3 to 4.7 percent for the second half of 2018, compared with 4.2 to 4.6 percent earlier.&nbsp;&quot;Further upside to inflation and growth will nudge the RBI to turn hawkish, the likelihood of which is steadily rising,&quot; said DBS Group economist Radhika Rao.&nbsp;

With investors shying away from the risks due to anticipated central bank meetings next week, most of the Asian currencies drifted on Thursday.

Most Asian currencies drifted on Thursday, with investors shying away from risk ahead of key central bank meetings next week and due to political uncertainty in the Middle East. Market players expect the mood to be cautious in the run-up to next Thursday when both the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank are expected to hold policy meetings. A Reuters poll showed a rate rise was almost certain at the Fed's Dec. 14 meeting, with three or more rate hikes expected next year. Expectations for a more vigorous rate cycle in 2018 got wind from progress in President Donald Trump`s tax cut plans. On the other hand, the ECB is expected to stand pat on policy at its meeting next week in Frankfurt. Elsewhere, Trump on Wednesday reversed decades of U.S. policy and recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, imperilling Middle East peace efforts and upsetting the Arab world and Western allies alike. The dollar on Thursday shook off losses against the yen, buoyed by optimism on U.S. tax reform and ahead of payrolls data on Friday. Meanwhile, a potential U.S. government shutdown looms if Congress fails to agree on a spending package. "The debt ceiling limit is another source of worry as emergency measures are only likely to last for 2/3 months before the Treasury runs out of funds," DBS Group strategists Eugene Leow and Philip Wee said in a note. "Politics is likely to dominate macro cues at a time when valuations for risky assets appear lofty. Brace for volatility ahead." All local currencies in Asia were subdued, with the Malaysian ringgit the weakest among its peers against the dollar, easing 0.2 percent. "There's still quite a lot of equity outflow happening," said Andy Ji, a strategist for Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Singapore. "The ringgit is still outperforming though". The Malaysian currency has been on an uptrend since early November, helped by a strong economy and rate rise expectations. The South Korean won, the region`s biggest decliner in the previous session, was 0.16 percent firmer against the dollar, despite a 0.8-percent fall in the Kospi index. Ji said the won could be trading on the notion of "a very hawkish central bank at this point in time despite a dovish rate rise". Last month, the Bank of Korea raised its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 1.5 percent from a record low level. Indian Rupee The rupee firmed marginally on Thursday after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept rates unchanged in its policy meeting the day before, as expected, and left its policy stance "neutral". The central bank was also seen as slightly softening its language on inflation by saying risks were "evenly balanced". The RBI raised its headline inflation projection in the range of 4.3 to 4.7 percent for the second half of 2018, compared with 4.2 to 4.6 percent earlier. "Further upside to inflation and growth will nudge the RBI to turn hawkish, the likelihood of which is steadily rising," said DBS Group economist Radhika Rao.

Asian currencies drift as investors shy away from risk