Noam Chomsky on the war against ISIL

In this episode of UpFront, Mehdi Hasan speaks to the renowned American academic Noam Chomsky about his public spat with the Turkish president, the war against ISIL and Russia's annexation of Crimea.

We also look at the ramifications of the Saudi Arabia-Iran feud, and debate the state of Egypt five years after the Arab Spring.

Headliner: Noam Chomsky on ISIL, Turkey and Ukraine

Noam Chomsky has been described as "arguably the most important intellectual alive". And as one of the world's most celebrated academics, he has published more than 100 books and is a leading critic on United States foreign policy. 

In the first of a special two-part interview, Chomsky sits down with Mehdi Hasan to discuss the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group, Ukraine and Turkey. 

Chomsky and other "so-called intellectuals" were recently criticised by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for supporting Kurdish separatists. The author and activist, who has accused the Turkish government of waging a "terrorist war" against the Kurds, tells UpFront that President Erdogan is "undoubtedly carrying out vicious repressive actions attacking the Kurdish population", adding that he would call him a "murderer". 

Will Smith’s Ex Wife On Rumors Will Is Gay: ‘He Was Straight In 1992, And He’s Straight In 2016

CREDIT: Getty Images

Will Smith’s ex-wife and mother to his oldest son Trey, Sheree Fletcher, took to her Facebook page Thursday (January 21) to slam Alexis Arquette for alleging the reason their marriage came to a end was because Fletcher found Smith in bed with another man.

Fletcher, who has never publicly spoken on her marriage to the Concussion actor, said the only reason why she acknowledged Arquette is because she had to have a conversation with her son Trey about the matter.

FAMOUS PEOPLE WHO USED TO DEAL DRUGS

 Getty Images
Stars, just like anyone else, have skeletons in their closets. And when you’re young and struggling, it can be hard to make ends meet unless you pursue some…extra-legal means. Here’s a list of some celebs who’ve sold drugs. But don’t judge too harshly.


IDRIS ELBA
Before becoming an actor, Idris Elba worked a number of odd jobs: DJ, doorman, and drug dealer. In 2013, Elba told GQ Magazine that he used to push bags of weed while working as a doorman at Caroline’s in New York City. Don’t get him wrong though, it’s not like he’s proud of what he did. He said he sold drugs because he had to, adding, “I know that sounds corny, but this is the truth.” Of course, once acting began to pan out for him, he gave up dealing, but he was able to draw from his experience while portraying the drug dealer Stringer Bell on HBO’s The Wire. Now that’s method acting.

Kenyans honour 'hero' Muslim who saved Christians

After Farah's death, an online campaign was started to raise funds for the teacher’s family [Jill Craig/VOA]

A social media campaign to raise funds for the family of a Muslim teacher who died protecting Christians during an attack in Kenya is gaining traction, with people hailing him as a "genuine hero" and a symbol of the country.

Salah Farah was shot after refusing to be separated from Christian passengers during an al-Shabab attack on a bus travelling from Mandera to Nairobi last month.

He succumbed to his wounds on Sunday, leaving behind four young children aged between two and 10, and a pregnant wife who is expected to give birth as soon as next week.

How Jared Leto became the 12th man to play The Joker

Jared Leto steps into the shoes of the Clown Prince of Crime in this summer's "Suicide Squad," which dropped a new trailer on Tuesday.

Expectations run high, as the last actor to play The Joker, Heath Ledger, won an Oscar for his performance in 2008's "The Dark Knight."

Leto will be the 12th actor to take on the role after three live appearances on television and film and multiple game and animated film adaptations featuring the talents of eight voice actors ranging from Troy Baker to "Star Wars" actor Mark Hamill.

In gearing up for "Suicide Squad," we're taking a look back at Leto's rise to fame.

Born on December 26, 1971, Jared Leto grew up a nomad. His family lived in Haiti, a Colorado commune, his grandmother's house, and places in between.

5 rules to follow if you have to drive in the snow

The East Coast of the US is bracing for a massive snowstorm this weekend. It may be necessary for you to get behind the wheel in you live in this region.

If it comes to that, here are five basic rules to follow to avoid trouble.

1. Don't drive

Yep, leave the car in the garage or the driveway. The best way to deal with the hazards of driving in snow is to completely avoid it.

2. Go slow

Anytime you're up against conditions that destroy traction, you want to drop the speedometer. It might feel silly to be poking along at 30 mph in a 65 mph zone, but speed truly is the enemy in snowbound weather. You'll get there.

Storm Jonas: Deadly snow blizzard heading for UK after devastating America

Chaos: Storm Jonas is on its way to Britain

The deadly 'snowmageddon' causing chaos in the United States is on its way to Britain.

Storm Jonas, which has buried the eastern seaboard with more than 2ft of snow, is expected to hit the UK next week.

Luckily the devastating weather system will have lost much of its fury by the time it reaches our shores.

But it will still bring the risk of flooding and the Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for the whole of Wales, North West England and Scotland.

The US National Weather Service said the winter storm could rank near the top 10 to hit the region.

Meteorologist Paul Kocin compared it to “Snowmageddon,” the first of two storms that “wiped out” Washington in 2010, but he said the weekend timing could help limit deaths and damage.

A potentially record-breaking blizzard has paralyzed the East Coast

A winter storm on Saturday whipped up record-setting tides higher than during Superstorm Sandy, causing major flooding in New Jersey and Delaware after dumping nearly two feet (60 cm) of snow on the suburbs of Washington, D.C.

The heaviest snow engulfed New York on Saturday and was not expected to stop until Sunday, when up to 30 inches may have piled up in the nation's largest city, said New York Mayor Bill de Blasio.

More than 85 million people in at least 20 states were covered by a winter-weather warning, watch, or advisory, the Weather Channel said, and many stores were left with bare shelves as residents stocked up on food, water, and wine, preparing to spend the weekend indoors.

Meek Mill Has Enrolled In College

Meek Mill showed up to Overbrook high school in Philly today and announced he's now enrolled in college. 🎓🎓 pic.twitter.com/qkptl6BXZn

— DJ Akademiks (@IamAkademiks) January 22, 2016

Yesterday Meek Mill was one of the rappers who pledged to provide bottled water to Flint, Michigan, the city suffering from a lead-poisoned water supply. He even urged 50 Cent, who he's Instagram beefing with, to do the same. Today, he told students at Overbrook High School in Philadelphia that he's heading to college. No, he didn't announce a place of study or major and yes, this does feel like the beginnings of a mildly successful basic cable sitcom. Listen to Meek's latest song “Problem”

Afro candy uses nude pics to promote her site

See the photos 

Celine Dion & her kids at late husband René Angélil's funeral

The heart broken singer led her three children, Rene Charles, 14, twin boys Nelson and Eddy, 5, to the funeral of her late husband. A huge number of well-wishers also gathered for the funeral service, filling the aisles of the church and the area outside. The funeral service was broadcast live yesterday

Angélil died of throat cancer at the age of 73 on January 14. More photos after the cut...

Chelsea FC sack steward for calling Cesc Fabregas a 'snake' for leaving Arsenal

A steward has been sacked by Chelsea for calling midfielder Cesc Fabregas  a 'snake' for leaving Arsenal. In a video shared online by ArsenalfanTV host Moh Haider yesterday, the steward can be heard saying "You're a snake, you're Arsenal, what happened to you?" before the eight-second clip is cut short.


Haider, who claimed he was given permission by the steward in question to share the incident, tweeted a preview of the video before promising to share the full incident if it reached 1,000 re-tweets. The tweet reached the mark within some hours and has since spread all over social media.

The video footage of the incident, which took place at Stamford Bridge earlier this season, emerged online yesterday and Chelsea have reportedly confirmed action has been taken against the steward in question.

20-Year-Old Lottery Winner Gunned Down In Georgia, Police Say

GEORGIA LOTTERY

Craigory Burch Jr. after he won the lottery in Georgia.

A Georgia man who recently won nearly half-a-million dollars in the lottery was gunned down Thursday night in a home invasion robbery, police say.

Craigory Burch, Jr., 20, was found dead at a residence in Fitzgerald, WALB reports.

Burch won $434,272 playing the Georgia Fantasy 5 jackpot in November, 2015, according to 13WMAZ.

"My right eye and hand had jumped for the past two weeks," Burch told the news outlet after he won. "I knew that I would come into money."

Authorities said that Burch's girlfriend was in the home during the incident and ran for help, according to WALB.

Officials could not immediately be reached for comment. They did not reveal any suspects in the case.

Anyone with information about the murder is asked to contact the Ben Hill County Sheriff's Office at 229-426-5161.

The Full Story Behind Michael Caine's Controversial Oscar Comments

To paraphrase Alfred in "The Dark Knight," some men just want to watch the Internet burn. That must be the case with the recent comments from Michael Caine on the Oscars.

In a recent interview about his movie "Youth" the "Dark Knight" actor said, "You can't vote for an actor because he's black." He goes on to say, "You can’t just say, 'I’m going to vote for him. He’s not very good, but he’s black. I’ll vote for him.'"

Now those comments are causing more chaos online than The Joker, Bane or Ra's al Ghul did in Gotham combined. But that's not the full quote. Caine says actors should be selected based on their performances and points out a black actor he thought should've been in the running for an Academy Award.

Mariah Carey's gets $7.5million engagement ring

Mariah Carey who got engaged to beau, billionaire businessman James Packer, got this amazing 35-carat rock which experts have estimated is in excess of $5million and could even be up to $7.5million based on the quality of the cut. More photos after the cut...

First-ever surrogate baby in Vietnam born today...

A 46-year-old woman, whose identity has not been released, today Friday, January 22, gave birth to the first-ever Vietnamese surrogate baby at a hospital in Hanoi.

The baby girl, weighing 3.6kg, was born by C-section, performed by Deputy Minister of Health, Professor and Doctor Nguyen Viet Tien (pictured carrying the newborn baby today) when the surrogate mother was 38 weeks pregnant.

"We had been waiting for this moment for ages and this made us burst with happiness," Nguyen Thi Ha, the real mother of the newborn, was quoted by newswire VnExpress as saying.

The US military wants to spend $60 million to make cyborgs

The scientists at the military's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) are planning an ambitious project that could one day yield technologically-enhanced super soldiers.

The project, called Neural Engineering System Design, involves a tiny, human-implantable device that can send and receive data quickly between the brain and electronics.

"The interface would serve as a translator, converting between the electrochemical language used by neurons in the brain and the ones and zeros that constitute the language of information technology," the agency wrote in a release.

One potential application the agency floated was a device that could compensate for deficits in sight or hearing.

Firearms gang's glamorous assistant facing jail after taking provocative naked selfie with powerful AK-47 between her legs

Selfie: Caitlin Adams posing with an AK-47 rifle

A firearms gang's glamorous assistant was convicted after posing for a provocative selfie with an AK-47 rifle between her legs.

Caitlin Adams, 25, will be sentenced along with five men after a series of weapons were re-activated and sold on to the criminal underworld from a workshop in east London.

Adams was found guilty of conspiracy to transfer prohibited weapons following a trial and will be sentenced at Harrow Crown Court this afternoon.

Adams was responsible for collecting weapons and delivering them to the workshop in Newham, east London, to be converted.

Former soldier Bart Pawlowski, 42, then used his skills as a metalworker and experience in the Polish army to reactivate the weapons.

Big, beautiful photos of the new Hermés Apple Watches that cost thousands of dollars

If you’ve been craving a high-end Apple Watch experience, it doesn’t get much better than this.

Apple teamed up with French luxury goods maker Hermés to build a line of Apple Watches with gorgeous, handmade leather bands.

The results are beautiful — but like most Apple and Hermés products, they’ll cost a pretty penny. All of these Apple Watches cost over $1,000.

Take a look

Hermes designed three different leather band styles for the Apple Watch: a single tour, a double tour, and a cuff design.

The boss of Saudi Arabia's $95 billion King Abdullah Economic City has 50 meetings in 4 days to attract investors

Saudi Arabia unveiled plans in 2005 to construct a supercity to establish a thriving metropolis that could take on some of the world's biggest industrial, manufacturing, and tech centres in the world.

More than a decade later, Fahd Al-Rasheed, group CEO and managing director of King Abdullah Economic City, talked to Business Insider this week at theWorld Economic Forum about the $95 billion (£67 billion) supercity, which the Saudis hope will draw from both Chinese manufacturing and Western tech innovation.

This is how the police can BAN you from having sex without their permission

Policing powers: Officers and the National Crime Agency only need to get the permission from a magistrate before being able to make a Sexual Risk order

Police officers have told a man in York that he must inform them 24 hours before he has sex - else he could end up behind bars.

The order was made earlier this week, with a court approving the request from North Yorkshire Police to prevent the man from having sex until May 19 unless he informs them beforehand.

But how are police forces across the country able to do this?

Let's take a look.

New Music: #Loud Beef Mixtape #nonstop @djled_abuja

download link dj led beef mixtape

GAY MEN TOUCH A VAGINA FOR THE FIRST TIME IN NEW VIRAL VIDEO

Viral content seems pointless on the surface sometimes, but they can often be as much a teaching moment as a 2000-word article, or an interview. YouTube duo sensation Bria Kamand Chrissy Chambers have struck gold using that concept once before, and it appears that they’ve struck again.

The minds behind the ubiquitous Lesbians “Touch Penis for the First Time” video flip the script, and have delivered another clip sure to go viral, “Gay Men Touch Vagina for the First Time,” which isn’t a metaphor in any sense of the word. Several gay men quite literally reach between a woman’s legs and touch vagina for the first time in their lives, causing them to jump, cringe, curl into an upright fetal position, amongst other things. Well…except that.

ISIS tells fighters told that raping women prisoners TEN TIMES will turn them Muslim

ZUMA/REX/Shutterstock

Prisoners: Many Yazidi women have been taken captive by ISIS (file picture)

ISIS fighters are being told by their commanders to rape captive women TEN TIMES to turn them into Muslims.

A victim claims the horrifying order was written in a letter that she saw before she was passed around a group of jihadis.

The woman, who has not been identified, told the Sun: "Anyone who doesn't convert to Islam, we will kill the males and marry the girls."

The UN estimates that around 3,500 people – mostly women and children , many of them members of the minority Yazidi community - are being kept as sex slaves.

Mum threatening suicide from bridge tells police body of baby is in her freezer

Suicide attempt: Police tracked Paola Vargas-Ortiz down to the Seven Mile Bridge

A distressed mother who called police while threatening to commit suicide from a bridge told cops her baby son was dead in her freezer, authorities said.

Paola Vargas-Ortiz was found on the Seven Mile Bridge in Florida after raising the alarm at around 3pm on Sunday claiming to have ingested rat poison.

Officers grew concerned when they discovered baby-related items in her car nearby, Monroe County sheriff's spokeswoman Becky Herrin said.

Vargas-Ortiz initially told officers a number of different stories, including that she had throw her son into the water below the bridge and that the tot was safe with relatives.