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Anni Dewani honeymoon murder pair to go on trial in South Africa next year

Men accused of plotting with Shrien Dewani to kill his wife on their honeymoon will face murder trial in Cape Town Two men accused of plotting with a British businessman to kill his wife during their honeymoon will go on trial in South Africa next year. Xolile Mngeni and Mziwamadoda Qwabe were allegedly hired by Shrien Dewani to murder his wife, Anni , in a fake carjacking in Cape Town. A British judge ruled last month that Dewani, 31, should be extradited to South Africa to face trial. He strongly denies any involvement in his wife’s murder and is fighting against the decision to send him to South Africa. Mngeni, 23, and Qwabe, 25, appeared at Wynberg regional court in Cape Town accused of murder, kidnapping and aggravated robbery. The two men, who are also accused of illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition, were told they would face trial at Western Cape high court. Mngeni, who has a malignant brain tumour, was helped into the dock by his co-accused before they were committed for trial. During their last hearing, the court undertook to decide whether to abandon the charges against Mngeni because of his condition, meaning they would only proceed with the case against Qwabe. But there was no mention of his tumour at the committal hearing. Previously the men’s lawyers have alleged to the Guardian that both were tortured by the police. Anni Dewani, 28, was shot dead in an apparent carjacking in the impoverished Gugulethu township on the outskirts of Cape Town last November. Her husband and Zola Tongo, the taxi driver, were ejected from the vehicle. Dewani was implicated in his wife’s murder by Tongo, 31, who claimed in a plea bargain that Dewani had offered him 15,000 rand (£1,400) to arrange the killing. Tongo has been sentenced to 18 years in jail for murder, kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances and perverting the course of justice. A pre-trial hearing has been scheduled in the high court for 10 February for Mngeni and Qwabe. This is to ensure there are no unforeseen hitches that could delay the legal process. A date for the trial has yet to be set. During the extradition hearing in London over the summer, Dewani’s legal team argued he was too ill to return and claimed his human rights would be infringed if he was ordered to go to South Africa because of the conditions he would face in prison. Dewani has been diagnosed with severe post-traumatic stress disorder and severe depression. Psychiatrists who have treated Dewani at a medium-secure psychiatric hospital in Bristol warned there was a “high risk” he would commit suicide if he was returned to South Africa. Experts in the South African penal system called by Dewani’s lawyers during the hearing said some prisons were overcrowded, understaffed and rife with diseases, including TB and HIV/Aids. There was a shortage of medical staff and sick prisoners sometimes struggled to get access to the care and medicine they needed. Members of Anni Dewani’s family are keen for Shrien Dewani to return to South Africa to face trial. Dewani murder case South Africa Africa Steven Morris guardian.co.uk

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A Georgia parole board has denied clemency to Troy Davis, the death-row inmate whose case attracted international attention amid what supporters say are significant doubts over his guilt. With the failure of Davis’ last-ditch appeal, announced Tuesday morning, he appears all but certain to be executed by lethal injection Wednesday at 7 p.m. “He’s guilty,”

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Twenty current and former employees at an Amazon warehouse in Pennsylvania say they were forced to work in brutal heat at a breakneck pace while hired paramedics waited outside in case anyone became dangerously dehydrated. Spencer Soper of the Lehigh Valley has published an exhaustive investigation into the massive online retailer’s Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania operation.

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Brad Pitt Rolls With the ‘Moneyball’

Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill and Philip Seymour Hoffman talk about success and baseball at the Oakland premiere of their new sports drama ‘Moneyball.’ (Sept. 20)

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Who’s crazy now? Charlie Sheen is hammering out a settlement with Warner Bros. for his firing from Two and a Half Men amounting to $25 million, TMZ and the Los Angeles Times are reporting. The wacked out actor filed a $100 million lawsuit for wrongful termination against Warner Bros. when…

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Move over, Greens. Make way for the Pirates. For the first time in German history the upstart Pirate Party has won representation in regional elections to grab 15 of 130 seats in the German parliament. Members support a host of civil rights, including Internet freedoms some might consider … piracy. “I…

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Raw Video: Explosion Rocks Turkish Capital

An explosion across a secondary school in the Turkish capital on Tuesday, wounded 15 people, authorities with a deputy prime minister suggesting it may have been caused by a bomb. (Sept. 20)

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Yemen Street Battles Run for a 3rd Day

Escalating battles between opponents of Yemen’s regime and forces loyal to its embattled president were spreading Tuesday, the 3rd day of street clashes. A wounded TV cameraman remained hospitalized in a coma in the capital. (Sept. 20)

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AP Debunks Obama’s Claim Millionaires Don’t Pay Their Fair Share of Taxes

On Monday, NewsBusters debunked the media myth that millionaires pay less in taxes as a percent of income than lower earners. Rather surprisingly, the Associated Press followed suit Tuesday with a stunning piece that began, “President Barack Obama makes it sound as if there are millionaires all over America paying taxes at lower rates than their secretaries”: The data tell a different story. On average, the wealthiest people in America pay a lot more taxes than the middle class or the poor, according to private and government data. They pay at a higher rate, and as a group, they contribute a much larger share of the overall taxes collected by the federal government. The AP shared actual data to support its totally correct conclusion: This year, households making more than $1 million will pay an average of 29.1 percent of their income in federal taxes, including income taxes and payroll taxes, according to the Tax Policy Center, a Washington think tank. Households making between $50,000 and $75,000 will pay 15 percent of their income in federal taxes. Lower-income households will pay less. For example, households making between $40,000 and $50,000 will pay an average of 12.5 percent of their income in federal taxes. Households making between $20,000 and $30,000 will pay 5.7 percent. Indeed. The AP also confirmed the data NewsBusters reported the previous evening: The latest IRS figures are a few years older _ and limited to federal income taxes _ but show much the same thing. In 2009, taxpayers who made $1 million or more paid on average 24.4 percent of their income in federal income taxes, according to the IRS. Those making $100,000 to $125,000 paid on average 9.9 percent in federal income taxes. Those making $50,000 to $60,000 paid an average of 6.3 percent. Bravo! So the cat is now officially out of the bag with the largest wire service telling America the truth. There is therefore no reason every other news outlet in this nation doesn't follow suit by properly informing the public of what millionaires really pay in taxes compared to lower earners. Not doing so would be yet another example of media malpractice. Stay tuned.

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Researchers convert soundwaves into electromagnetic energy, silence no longer golden

Researchers in Japan and Germany have converted energy from soundwaves into electromagnetic energy, trapping a magnetic “spin current” between metal layers. In the experiment, when sound waves are directed at an interface between the thin metal layer and magnetic material, electrical signals are generated at a pair of electrodes attached above. When the soundwaves reach the magnetic material, this creates a spin current that gets picked up by three layers of metal. This is where the exercise class-sounding reverse spin Hall effect kicks in, transforming it into an electrical voltage. Not to be confused with Orange’s Sound Charge T-Shirt , scientists believe that it should be possible to generate that mystical electromagnetic energy from any material in the future. At the moment, the project is looking into materials that are able to eke out more voltage from the process — perhaps a few years later screaming at our phones will give their batteries a boost? Watch the video after the break for more technical details and close-ups of the equipment. Continue reading Researchers convert soundwaves into electromagnetic energy, silence no longer golden Researchers convert soundwaves into electromagnetic energy, silence no longer golden originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Sep 2011 08:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

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