There are around 100,000 people in Britain who suffer from multiple sclerosis and Carly Houston is just one of them. On her 21st birthday she was diagnosed with the neurological condition, she talks to Neela Debnath about living with MS, working on the 'Harry Potter' films and her plans to pursue an acting career against the odds.

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The peace talks in Kampala kicked off on December 9th before adjourning for the holidays on December 21st. We will have to wait until January 4th for the resumption--time for reflection. Until now, the talks have been stuck in the preamble as the two sides haggle over procedure.

First, there was the issue of whether M23 military commanders could attend, then the Congolese government refused to sign a formal ceasefire. Most worryingly, the two sides come with radically different ideas of what needs is being negotiated: the Congolese government intends to listen to the M23's grievances and evaluate the March 23, 2009 agreement it signed with the CNDP and other armed groups; the M23 has voiced demands that range from electoral and security sector reform, to freeing Etienne Tshisekedi from ...

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Directed by Michael Kasino and Richard Morrison, Pay It No Mind - The Life and Times of Marsha P. Johnson is a feature-length documentary that focuses on revolutionary trans-activist, Marsha "Pay it No Mind" Johnson - a Stonewall instigator, Andy Warhol model, drag queen, sex worker, starving actress, and Saint. With her final interview from 1992, Pay It No Mind captures the legendary gay/human rights activist as she recounts her life at the forefront of The Stonewall Riots in the 1960s, the creation of S.T.A.R. (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries) with Sylvia Rivera in the '70s, and a New York City activist throughout the '80s and early...

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Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie (D) has selected Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz (D) as Hawaii's next senator following the death of Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI) earlier this month. Schatz, who had previously served in the Hawaii House of Representatives and as chair of the Hawaii Democratic Party, will be the youngest member of the Senate at [...]

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Ethiopia's Ambassador to China says Bamboo Offers Lucrative Opportunities for investment Ethiopia's Ambassador to China, Seyoum Mesfin, said Ethiopia has huge bamboo potential which can create significant opportunities of investment to interested fore...

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Foreign Based Ethiopian footballers who may play for Ethiopia in the African Cup of NationsAFCON 2013: Ethiopia's Foreign Based PlayersBy Samuel YeshiwasThe Walya Antelopes will be celebrating a return to the biggest continental showpiece aft...

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"Fareed Zakaria GPS," Sundays at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. ET. By Jason Miks In the latest GPS special, Tough Decisions, Fareed spoke with four leading figures in policy making and business about difficult calls they have had to make: National Security Advisor Tom Donilon on weighing up the options over whether to proceed with [...]

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Here's Episode 2 of the documentary web series P.O.P. by Atlanta based filmmaker Artemus Jenkins, which we first wrote about HERE, just a few weeks ago. As Jenkins says much better than I ever could, his multi-part series deals with "the most celebrated and vindicated individuals in our culture; strippers. These women are sometimes classified as lowlifes of society, many thought to be streetwalking drug fiends with no regard for others. Some are thought to be impressionable young women, taken advantage of by men overseeing a seedy underworld." He further goes on to say that: "These are assumptions often made without any context from the women who live this...

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Torrent Freak's annual roundup of the most pirated television shows of the year (full list below) has been making the rounds across the web today morning, and while non of the titles on the list are what we'd call *black shows*, a few feature black characters in significant roles. But regardless of that, I thought it's still a worthwhile list to share. First, a notable trend from Torrent Freak's report to highlight: - Just as it was last year, the majority of TV-show piracy, more than 80 percent, occurs outside the US. Why? Unavailability is the #1 reason why people turn to piracy. Also, worth noting, the existence of Hulu and Netlix appear to be...

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Tout le monde se représente aisément une spirale. Pour faire simple, prenez une perceuse et observez l'évolution d'une strie pour comprendre ce qu'est une spirale. Elle est avant le fruit combiné d'une rotation et d'une translation. Supposons que nous assimilions la variable temps à l'axe de rotation à partir duquel nous procédons à de multiples translations, et que différents points du cercle primordial soient des voix qui s'expriment, alors on peut commencer à imaginer cette fameuse spirale littéraire qu'ont créé plusieurs hommes de lettres haïtiens comme Frankétienne, René Philoctète ou Jean-Claude Fignolédont le roman, Les possédés de la pleine ...

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The peace talks in Kampala kicked off on December 9th before adjourning for the holidays on December 21st. We will have to wait until January 4th for the resumption--time for reflection. Until now, the talks have been stuck in the preamble as the two sides haggle over procedure.

First, there was the issue of whether M23 military commanders could attend, then the Congolese government refused to sign a formal ceasefire. Most worryingly, the two sides come with radically different ideas of what needs is being negotiated: the Congolese government intends to listen to the M23's grievances and evaluate the March 23, 2009 agreement it signed with the CNDP and other armed groups; the M23 has voiced demands that range from electoral and security sector reform, to freeing Etienne Tshisekedi from ...

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CFR.org published today an expert brief Asch Harwood and I co-authored on violence in Nigeria. It is based on the Nigeria Security Tracker (NST) that...

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AFP

Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi has urged all political parties to take part in a national dialogue to heal rifts in the country, hailing a controversial Islamist-backed constitution as a key step towards greater stability and prosperity.

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The African Cosmos was:

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Sylvester Odio Akhaine reviews Omoluwabi 2.0:

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2012 is rapidly coming to a close, which means it's time to assemble some of our favorite music videos from the past year. Indeed it's no easy task to construct a video in which the moving picture finds a harmonious companion in the sonic beat. Just as daunting can be choosing, among the hundreds of [...]

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IN THE WORLD PAPERS, 27/12/2012: The Independent is critical of the Church for being out of touch with the public on the issue of gay marriage. Asharq Alawsat explores the broader implications of Egypt's controversial adoption of a new constitution. And the International Herald Tribune says three years after a devastating earthquake, Haiti is still waiting for its new life.

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IN THE WORLD PAPERS, 27/12/2012: The Independent is critical of the Church for being out of touch with the public on the issue of gay marriage. Asharq Alawsat explores the broader implications of Egypt's controversial adoption of a new constitution. And the International Herald Tribune says three years after a devastating earthquake, Haiti is still waiting for its new life.

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IN THE WORLD PAPERS, 27/12/2012: The Independent is critical of the Church for being out of touch with the public on the issue of gay marriage. Asharq Alawsat explores the broader implications of Egypt's controversial adoption of a new constitution. And the International Herald Tribune says three years after a devastating earthquake, Haiti is still waiting for its new life.

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IN THE WORLD PAPERS, 27/12/2012: The Independent is critical of the Church for being out of touch with the public on the issue of gay marriage. Asharq Alawsat explores the broader implications of Egypt's controversial adoption of a new constitution. And the International Herald Tribune says three years after a devastating earthquake, Haiti is still waiting for its new life.

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