'Anti-IS group' claims BBC website attack

All the BBC's websites were unavailable for several hours on New Year's Eve after what a BBC source described as a "distributed denial of service" attack.

The group, calling itself New World Hacking, said it had carried out the attack as a "test of its capabilities".

The BBC has not confirmed or denied such an attack caused the problems.

The corporation's press office said on Saturday that the BBC would not be commenting on the group's claim.

A "distributed denial of service" attack, which the group claims it carried out, aims to knock a site offline by swamping it with more traffic than it can handle.

In a tweet to BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones, the group said: "We are based in the US, but we strive to take down Isis [IS] affiliated websites, also Isis members. 

"We realise sometimes what we do is not always the right choice, but without cyber hackers... who is there to fight off online terrorists?

"The reason we really targeted [the] BBC is because we wanted to see our actual server power."

Earlier, New World Hacking had said: "It was only a test, we didn't exactly plan to take it down for multiple hours. Our servers are quite strong."

 on the BBC sites began at about 07:00 GMT on Thursday, and meant visitors saw an error message instead of the intended content.

The attack hit the main BBC website as well as associated services including the iPlayer catch-up service and iPlayer Radio app.

An initial statement tweeted by the BBCblamed the problems on a "technical issue". The corporation said it was working to make sites, services and pages reachable again.

By 10:30 GMT the site was largely working again although some pages and indexes took longer than normal to load.

At midday on Thursday, the BBC said its websites were now "operating normally", and apologised for any inconvenience caused.

Boy, 16, Critical After Moped Stabbing Attack

Both boys were taken to hospital with stab wounds to their torsos after the attack, which happened in Mountearl Gardens in Streatham, south London.

The second victim, 17, was treated for his injuries and later discharged.

Police believe the boys were approached by two mopeds, each with a rider and passenger on board.

"The pillion passengers then attacked the victims before fleeing on the waiting mopeds, heading in the direction of Mount Nod Road," Scotland Yard said.

"Neither of the pillion passengers is believed to have worn a helmet."

Both police and the London Ambulance Service were called at around 5.30pm on Wednesday, 30 December following the attack.

:: Officers are appealing for witnesses or anyone with information to come forward and contact Lambeth CID on 101.

UK Iraq veterans 'may face prosecution'

Mark Warwick said there were "lots of significant cases" and that discussions would be held over whether they met a war crimes threshold.

Lawyers are continuing to refer alleged abuse cases by soldiers to the Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT).

The Ministry of Defence said it took such allegations "extremely seriously".

Two public inquiries have already looked at claims against UK troops in Iraq.

Mr Warwick, the former police detective in charge of IHAT, told the Independent the allegations being investigated included ones of murder. 

He added: "Over the next 12 to 18 months, we will review all the caseload to better understand the picture and then I think we can say whether 2019 seems realistic."

The inquiry has considered at least 1,515 possible victims, of whom 280 are alleged to have been unlawfully killed.

'Wholly unacceptable'

He said: "We would look at the credibility of the allegation in the first instance and, when we've looked at a lot of these extra cases coming to us, some of them are duplicates of cases, some of them we've already identified as part of our own investigation process, and some are multiple allegations, where we would investigate as a single allegation."

IHAT's budget of £57.2m runs until the end of 2019 - 16 years after the invasion of Iraq began in 2003.

BBC political correspondent Chris Mason said Mr Warwick's comments may have been a response to an interview by Michael Fallon in the Telegraph.

In it, the defence secretary said soldiers were inhibited on the battlefield because they feared "ambulance-chasing British law firms" would haul them in front of the courts on their return.

Carla Ferstman, director of the human rights charity Redress, also told the newspaper that the "incredibly slow pace" of IHAT's investigations was "wholly unacceptable".

He added: "Things seem to still be moving at a snail's pace. We call upon the government to ensure IHAT can, and does, do what it was set up to do, and to do it now. This cannot be a whitewash."

Colonel Richard Kemp, a former army commander in Afghanistan, agreed that the investigation needed to be completed urgently, but said it was "inconceivable" that that number of allegations against British troops could be legitimate.

"Of course one has to be concerned about these allegations, but the number, the sheer number, thousands of allegations made against British soldiers in Iraq, I just cannot believe that any significant number of them can be valid," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

'Corporate failure'

A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defence said most members of the armed forces behaved correctly. 

She added: "The vast majority of UK service personnel deployed on military operations conduct themselves professionally and in accordance with the law.

"Where there is sufficient evidence, members of HM Forces can be prosecuted. It is estimated that the Ihat's work will take until the end of 2019."

An inquiry into claims of abuse by UK troops in Iraq highlighted the death of 26-year-old hotel worker Baha Mousa, who died in UK military custody in September 2003. 

It concluded in September 2011, with inquiry chairman Sir William Gage blaming "corporate failure" at the Ministry of Defence for the use of banned interrogation methods in Iraq.

The Al-Sweady Inquiry, set up in 2009, followed allegations made in judicial review proceedings at the High Court that the human rights of several Iraqis were abused by British troops in the aftermath of a firefight with insurgents near the town of Majar al Kabir.

Inquiry chairman Sir Thayne Forbes said allegations that troops murdered and mutilated Iraqis in custody were "wholly without foundation". But he did conclude that some of the detention techniques had amounted to mistreatment.

Gunmen Attack Air Force Base In India

At least one helicopter could be seen firing at an area inside the Pathankot air force base and shots rang out from inside.

Earlier, four gunmen and two Indian soldiers were killed when unknown attackers invaded the base, about 267 miles north of New Delhi.

The gunmen entered the living quarters but failed to penetrate an area housing helicopters and other equipment, an air force spokeswoman said.

Police were investigating whether the attackers came from the Indian part of Kashmir or from Pakistan.

The whole of India's Punjab state has been put on alert following the incident.

Attacks are common in Kashmir where rebels have been fighting for independence or a merger with Pakistan since 1989.

The latest incident comes just a week after India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an unannounced visit to Pakistan to meet his opposite number Nawaz Sharif.

The visit was seen as a potential sign of thawing relations between the two neighbours, which both have nuclear weapons.

The two leaders also had an unscheduled meeting at the Paris climate change talks.

India accuses Pakistan of arming and training Kashmir's insurgents, a charged denied by Islamabad.

More than 68,000 people have been killed in the violence in the Indian part of Kashmir.

India's Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Saturday the country wanted peace with Pakistan, but warned: "If there is any kind of terror attack on India, we will give it a fitting reply."

In July, gunmen attacked a police station and a bus near Gurdaspur, a border town in Punjab, killing four officers and three civilians.

Oyster card glitch means free travel in London

Passengers in London have been travelling for free after a technical glitch left people unable to use their Oyster cards.

A system fault with the card readers has affected buses and Tube stations, with passengers being waved through by Transport for London (TfL) staff.

A TfL spokesperson said it was working to resolve the issue "as quickly as possible".

People could still travel across the Tube, bus and rail networks, it added.

'Selfish' Litterbugs To Face New £150 Penalty

Ministers are hoping to "create a lasting cluster-free legacy for England" - and believe current penalties set by councils, which fluctuate between £50 and £80, are not enough of a deterrent.

As part of proposals by the Department for Communities and Local Government, the minimum fine for littering will be doubled from £50 to £100, according to The Daily Telegraph.

Usually, councils offer those caught dropping cigarette butts, wrappers and gum a discount for early payment - but offenders who settle the bill late could pay a fixed penalty of £150.

Communities minister Marcus Jones told the newspaper: "Dropping litter is the kind of anti-social behaviour that really gets people's backs up, and rightly so.

"It's thoughtless, selfish and ruins shared spaces for everyone. Not only that, litter clearance and disposal costs hundreds of millions of pounds for councils every year - money that could be going on vital services."

The potential law change comes as campaigners urge Britons to challenge litterbugs who think it is their "human right" to dispose of rubbish in the street.

Adrian Evans, who is leading a nationwide clean-up operation ahead of the Queen's 90th birthday in March, told The Telegraph: "It can be quite a scary thing because you are pointing a finger of blame, you are casting aspersion on the character of the person who has chucked the litter.

"But the way I have done it in the past is to treat it as though they have made a mistake and something has inadvertently fallen out of their bag or pocket - sort of … 'Oh no, did you mean to drop that?'"

French soldiers shoot car attacker outside mosque

According to the police, the driver injured one of the four soldiers, who were guarding the mosque in Valence.

The driver has been hospitalised after being shot in the arm and leg but his injuries are not life-threatening, the government said.

French security forces remain on high alert following the 13 November attacks in Paris.

The motive for the attack, which occurred between prayer sessions when many people were outside, is not known.

Stray bullet

Police say the man drove twice at the soldiers. They shot him when he reversed his car and came at them again after the first attempt, AFP reports.

The driver is said to be 29 years old and from Lyon, an hour away from Valence.

A stray bullet hit an elderly bystander in the calf.

Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said in a statement that the soldiers had used defensive fire.

The local mayor, Nicolas Daragon, has praised their "remarkable" self-control.

He also told local media that the mosque is "moderate". 

Some 10,000 security personnel remain deployed around France to protect sensitive sites.