ISIS hand out sweets to children in sickening celebration of Paris terror attacks

ISIS fighters in Libya have been handing out tins of sweets to children and adults to celebrate the Paris terror attacks last month.

The sickening celebrations have been revealed in a new propaganda video, where two jihadis urge terrorists to carry out attacks in Paris, New York and Moscow.

The armed fighter also shows off his suicide vest to the camera and proudly grasps his AK-47 during the hate-filled video. The video emerged just hours after Britain voted to bomb ISIS in Syria.

'Tomorrow will be Washington. It will be New York and it will be Moscow,' the aggressive fighter claims, brandishing his AK-47 at one point.

'There will be no safety in this world from our guns and bullets and explosives. We will come to you,' he says, making the point of grasping his bulky suicide belt strapped around his waist.

ISIS in Libya have continued to infect the region since the country descended into chaos after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi.

Since suffering the major blow of being driven out of eastern city of Dernah, ISIS militants in Libya have been strengthening their grip in the area surrounding their stronghold of Sirte.

Key oilfields near the town of Adjabiya appear to be the group's latest targets as they look to shore up their finicial and strategic position in Libya. 

Pregnant Woman Tried To Fight Off Stamp Attack

Malorie Bantala says she immediately recognised her attacker. Pic: Twitter

Malorie Bantala, 22, was eight months pregnant when she was stamped and kicked outside her home in Peckham, south London.

She told the Old Bailey how Kevin Wilson and an accomplice came out from behind bushes wearing crash helmets and scarves pulled up to their eyes.

She said she recognised her baby's father immediately from his posture and 6ft 4in height, as well as from his tracksuit and trainers.

"I remember looking at him and then something clicked in my mind and I said 'oh ****, it's Kevin'.

"He turned round and we made brief eye contact."

The attack "felt like ages" said Miss Bantala, whose baby boy was killed in the attack and had to be delivered stillborn by caesarean section.

"Kevin proceeded to kick my stomach, probably three or four times and then he stamped on my stomach twice," she said.

"By then I had screamed 'Kevin' for him to stop but he continued to kick my stomach. They were harsh kicks."

She told the jury: "My instincts were to put my right hand on my stomach.

"I broke two fingers because I was trying to protect my son."

Miss Bantala banged her foot in the witness box to demonstrate and said the other attacker came from behind her and also stamped on her belly.

The Bedfordshire University graduate said her attackers only ran away when her neighbour opened the window and screamed "what the f are you doing".

She was left with life-threatening internal bleeding and a fractured hand.

Miss Bantala also described how Wilson, 22, had tried many times to make her terminate her pregnancy and had become angry when she refused.

He allegedly abused her after she told a friend she was pregnant: "He said 'stop telling people I'm your baby father you Jezzy' - it means like a whore.

"He kept on saying it over and over and over again. He called me 'a ******* Jezzy'.

"I was livid because Kevin has never ever disrespected me until this day and never called me that name. I was angry.

"I threatened to punch him. I told him I would go to his mum's house and punch him in front of his mum.

"He accused me of sleeping with loads of boys from our school. He was like 'that's not my baby. Find your baby father'."

Wilson, a teaching assistant from Bermondsey, denies the charges, as does a 17-year-old who cannot be named.

The trial continues.

Peter Jackson Enters Turkish Debate Over Gollum

A doctor is facing up to two years in prison for allegedly insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan by sharing pictures of him next to JRR Tolkien's creature on social media.

But Jackson has given a statement  to The Wrap website saying that the images used are in fact of Smeagol, the good side of the character.

The director, along with screenwriters Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, stated: "If the images below are in fact the ones forming the basis of this Turkish lawsuit, we can state categorically: None of them feature the character known as Gollum.

"All of them are images of the character called Smeagol.”

Lawyer Hicran Danisman told the Associated Press she was forced to argue in court that "Gollum is not a bad character" because she got "nowhere" with a defence case based on freedom of expression.

Ms Danisman said that prompted the judge to rule that a committee, including psychologists and movie experts, should provide an assessment of Gollum's character.

But Jackson said: "Smeagol is a joyful, sweet character. Smeagol does not lie, deceive, or attempt to manipulate others.

"He is not evil, conniving, or malicious — these personality traits belong to Gollum, who should never be confused with Smeagol."

Smeagol/Gollum are played by Andy Serkis in the films but the British actor has not commented on the case.

The trial was adjourned until 23 February.

Migrant Dies Amid Macedonia Border Protests

Macedonia has erected a fence to keep migrants out

The man, believed to be Moroccan, died after climbing on to the carriage of a stationary train near the border and touching the overhead cable, according to local police.

A group of Moroccans then picked up his body and moved towards the crossing crying: "Allahu Akbar (God is great)".

Greek police then fired tear gas to move them back.

The incident happened as migrants from Pakistan, Iran and other countries who are being prevented from crossing into EU states through Macedonia set up roadblocks in protest.

Groups of migrants used empty barrels, pieces of wood and metal to make a barrier about 120 metres (394 feet) from the Greek-Macedonian border.

They are stopping all Syrians, Afghans and Iraqis from entering the area.

Macedonia is only allowing people from those three countries to cross as it considers everyone else to be economic migrants.

"If we don't cross, no one does!" the protesters chanted as police stood guard.

Scuffles broke out between migrants and refugees on the border, and a refugee camp set up in the area was looted of food and water during the melee.

"Why aren't they allowing us to cross?" said 30-year-old Pakistani Eli, who refused to give his surname in case of reprisals.

He said he had been living in Greece for six years and wanted to go to Germany.

"We're waiting until they open (the border). Why is there this discrimination going on?

"The border must either open for all or close for all."

Meanwhile, buses full of people who had arrived elsewhere in Greece kept coming.

So far, more than 886,000 people have arrived on Europe's shores this year - about four times more than last year, according to the UN.

Half of those are believed to be Syrians fleeing the war.

Separately, Pakistan has refused to accept the return of 30 of its people who were deported from Greece.

Its decision - for which it gave no reason - comes a week after talks with the EU to resolve a row over forced repatriations.

Some 50,000 Pakistanis are given legal permission to work in Europe each year.

EU figures show 21,000 who were working without permission were ordered to return home.

California Massacre Couple Named: 14 Dead

Triage units have been set up near the scene

Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and 27-year-old Tashfeen Malik were shot dead following a police chase, San Bernardino police said.

They wore "assault-style" clothing which held magazines and were armed with assault rifles and handguns during the attack at the Inland Regional Center, a facility for people with disabilities.

US-born Farook was an environmental specialist at the public health department, according to San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan, and had been at the centre for a Christmas party with colleagues.

Mr Burguan said: "He was at the party. He did leave the party under some circumstances that were described as angry or something of that nature.

"They came prepared to do what they did, as if they were on a mission."

Bomb squad officers were also sent to the building after three explosive devices all connected to each other were discovered and destroyed.

The suspects fled the scene in a black SUV, and police later stopped a vehicle matching that description in Redlands.

Shots were fired from the vehicle and a fake bomb was thrown from the SUV during the chase, according to authorities.

Police confirmed both suspects were killed in a shootout. One officer suffered non life-threatening injuries.

A third person seen running away from the vehicle was detained, but it was unclear if they were involved in the attack.

The attack - on an auditorium packed with around 100 people - is the deadliest shooting in the US since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Connecticut, in December 2012, when 27 people including the gunman were killed.

Brandon Hunt, who works at the centre, said a holiday party for health department workers was being held inside at the time.

The motive for the attack is unknown and an FBI spokesman told a news conference: "We do not know if this is a terrorist incident."

Terry Petit fought back tears as he said he had received texts from his daughter saying she was hiding from gunfire at the facility.

Mr Petit read a message to reporters outside the Inland Regional Center that said: "People shot.

"In the office waiting for cops. Pray for us. I am locked in an office."

Television images showed people being evacuated with their arms raised from the building, where hundreds of people work.

US President Barack Obama again called for strengthened gun control laws and stronger background checks.

He told CBS News: "The one thing we do know is that we have a pattern now of mass shootings in this country that has no parallel anywhere else in the world."

There have been more than 350 shootings this year, in which four or more people were wounded or killed in the US, according to shootingtracker.com.

California shooting, misinformation

Erdogan was in Qatar at the time of the shooting [Thibault Camus/AP

The killing of at least 14 people in a mass shooting in the US state of California has given way to speculation about the attackers' motives and false claims about their identities.

Police in San Bernardino said 28-year-old US citizen Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik, 27, opened fire on a social services centre while it was hosting a Christmas celebration.

They were shot dead by police hours later after an intense manhunt.

In the aftermath of the killings, the identity of the slain suspects became an issue of debate on Twitter, with users pointing fingers at either right-wing or Muslim groups.

When information leaked out seemingly confirming the Muslim identity of the suspects, focus immediately turned to their possible motives, with an ISIL link being drawn by many users.

An early misidentification of one of the attackers said a Qatari national by the name of Tayyeep Bin Ardogan had taken part in the attacks.

The shooting San Bernardino left at least 14 people dead and many others injured [Mike Blake/Reuters]

Los Angeles Times reporter Rick Serrano, in a tweet, since deleted, attributed the claim to the police, as did broadcaster Fox News.

Serrano has since clarified that the identification appears to be a hoax but thousands of Twitter users continue to repeat the claim, seemingly unaware that the name sounds very similar to that of the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, or that Arabic, which is spoken in Qatar, does not have a letter with a "p" sound.

Murtaza Hussain, a Canadian investigative journalist, told Al Jazeera that the rush for news outlets to get information out had given greater credence to unsubstantiated sources.

"Sometimes this rush to be 'first' can have almost comical implications, as news organisations fail to make even the most simple fact checks in a race to get their privileged information out there before anyone else," he said.

"Tayeep Ardogan is just the latest example of this phenomenon and the potential for profound disinformation and hysteria to spread through the news media, and particularly through the 24-hour news cycle."

The mistake has left some people bemused but also questioning how the US media found it acceptable to publish the name without first clarifying whether it was correct.

While US police have refused to comment on a motive, many anti-Islamic users have pointed the finger at the apparent religious affiliation.

There have been at least 353 mass shootings in the US so far this year, according to shootingtracker.com 

Google accused of collecting data on school kids

Google has been collecting information about schoolchildren's browsing habits despite signing a pledge saying it was committed to their privacy, the Electronic Frontier Foundation said in a complaint filed Tuesday.

The digital rights group said Google's use of the data, collected through its Google for Education program, puts the company in breach of Section 5 of the Federal Communications Act and asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate.“Despite publicly promising not to, Google mines students’ browsing data and other information, and uses it for the company’s own purposes," the EFF said.

Google and Microsoft both have extensive programs for educators. Google sells low-cost Chromebooks and tablets, and it offers free apps that teachers and students can use in the classroom.

The tools can be a boon to cash-strapped schools, which have signed up in big numbers. Last month, Google said more than 50 million students and teachers around the globe were using Google Apps for Education, along with 10 million Chromebooks. The Google-powered laptops are "the best-selling device in U.S. K-12 schools," according to Google.

But the EFF has some issues with the way Google delivers those services. It says the company records everything students do while they're logged into their Google accounts, regardless of the device or browser they're using, including their search history, the search results they click on and the videos they watch on YouTube.

Google aggregates and anonymizes the data collected through its education services, the EFF said, but not when the students are using other Google services. And it argues that truly anonymizing data is "difficult to the point of being impossible," especially when it's tied to identifiable accounts at the time of collection.

Google's practices "fly in the face of commitments made when it signed theStudent Privacy Pledge," the EFF said, referring to a document signed by 200 companies including Google, Microsoft and Apple.

In light of the pledge, the EFF says, Google's collection of student data amounts to an unfair or deceptive business practice. It wants the FTC to investigate, force Google to destroy the student data it's collected, and bar it from collecting any more.

Google declined to discuss the specifics of the EFF's allegations but provided a statement: “Our services enable students everywhere to learn and keep their information private and secure. While we appreciate EFF's focus on student privacy, we are confident that these tools comply with both the law and our promises, including the Student Privacy Pledge."

The EFF apparently won at least one concession from Google. It had an issue with the way the Chrome Sync feature in the Chrome browser is turned on by default in Chromebooks and shares student data across different Google services. Google told the EFF it would soon disable that setting in Chromebooks sold to schools.

"While that is a small step in the right direction, it doesn’t go nearly far enough to correct the violations of the Student Privacy Pledge currently inherent in Chromebooks being distributed to schools," the EFF said.