Well, that is the gist of the story over at BBC News:

Bombs and beatings: Life among the Taliban

In Pakistan an account of life with the Taliban has emerged from a 13-year-old girl called Meena, who says her own family tried to turn her into a suicide bomber.

There is no independent confirmation of her account but police say they believe she is telling the truth, and her information could be valuable.

Meena told her story to our Pakistan correspondent Orla Guerin.

My brother used to tell me that the place for a woman is either at home or in the grave. I was always restricted to home.

He said: "If you leave the house I'll cut off your head and put it on your chest."

My brother had been to the local school and beaten the girls and the teachers.

He said anyone who wanted to study was a friend of America.

Read more @ BBC News

Scientists have been able to reach into the mind of a brain-damaged man and communicate with his thoughts.

The research, carried out at in the UK and in Belgium, involved a new brain scanning method.

Awareness was detected in three other patients previously diagnosed as being in a vegetative state.

The study in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that scans can detect signs of awareness in patients thought to be closed off from the world.

Patients in a vegetative state are awake, not in a coma, but have no awareness because of severe brain damage.

Read more @ BBC News

A US court has found a Pakistani female scientist guilty of attempting to murder US agents while she was detained for questioning in Afghanistan.

The prosecution said Aafia Siddiqui, a US-trained neuroscientist, picked up an army rifle and shot at the US agents.

None of the Americans was injured but Siddiqui, 37, was shot.

She was arrested by Afghan police in July 2008 on suspicion of carrying chemicals and notes referring to "mass-casualty attacks" in New York.

She has been accused of having links to the al-Qaeda leadership and rights groups say she has spent five years in secret US jails.

Read more @ BBC News

There are fresh claims that the Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud is dead, after state TV reported that he had been buried.

But within hours of the report the Taliban again denied Mehsud had been killed and challenged reporters to provide proof of it.

Pakistan's army said it could not confirm the death and said its agents were seeking clarification.

Reports of Mehsud's death first began after a drone strike on 14 January.

US drones have mounted numerous missile strikes in recent years, and killed the Taliban's former leader, Baitullah Mehsud, last August.

North and South Waziristan - where the Mehsud tribe comes from - are major sanctuaries for militants.

The army launched an offensive against the militants in South Waziristan in October and is under US pressure to do the same in North Waziristan.

Read more @ BBC News

The world's SECOND pregnant man is 'blissfully happy' as he prepares to give birth to baby boy next month

A transgender couple have revealed they are expecting their first baby in a month’s time.

Scott Moore - thought to be only the second ‘pregnant man’ to go public - is due to give birth to a boy in February, with husband Thomas by his side.

The couple were both born girls and have undergone surgery to transform their sex.

Scott, 30, who is legally married to Thomas because he still has a female birth certificate, says he is eagerly looking forward to giving birth.

They have decided to call the child ‘Miles’.

‘We know some people will criticise us but we are blissfully happy and not ashamed,’ Scott said.

The couple, from California, already have two children - Gregg, 12, and Logan, 10 - who Thomas had with a previous female partner.

Read more: Daily Mail

Football star Abel Xavier embraced Islam on a trip to the United Arab Emirates last week and said he will now quit football at the age of 38 to pursue a career in humanitarian work, press reports revealed.

Former Portuguese international, Abel, who will now go by the name of Faisal Xavier, said he regretted leaving the sport but said he was happy to enter a new phase in his life.

"While it's an emotional farewell, I hope to participate in something very special as I enter a new stage of my life," press reports quoted Xavier, who also once played for Liverpool and Everton, as saying.

"In times of trouble, I have found comfort in Islam. Gradually I learned of a religion that professes peace, equality, freedom and hope. These are extremely important," Xavier said.

Read more @ Al Arabiya

Innocent until proven guilty' is not a presumption British Airlines is willing to make when it comes to sex offenders. The airline does not allow minors to be seated next to unfamiliar adult males, and now one man is accusing the airline of branding all men as sexual predators.

"I was made to feel like a criminal in front of other passengers. It was totally humiliating," said 33-year-old business man Mirko Fischer to the UK's Daily Mail on January 16th. Fischer says he was insulted when forced to separate from his 6-month-pregnant wife after being sandwiched between her and a 12-year-old boy.

The airline has a policy that children are not allowed to sit next to grown men who are strangers to them. British Airways cabin crew check the aisles before departure, ensuring unaccompanied children are not seated next to a man they do not know. Even if the child's parents are elsewhere on the plane, seats must be rearranged before takeoff.

...

"This policy is branding all men as perverts for no reason. The policy and the treatment of male passengers is absolutely outrageous," he said.

This is not the first time British Airway's policy has come under fire. In 2001, the airline apologized to a business executive who was humiliated after being asked to move when he sat next to two unaccompanied children. In the apology, the airline said the policy was introduced "in response to customers asking us to make sure their children are not seated next to men. We were responding to a fear of sexual assaults."

"It's done with the best of intentions," the airline added...

Read more @ AOL Travel

Muslim police officers have rebelled openly against the Government’s anti-terrorism strategy, warning that it is an “affront to British values” which threatens to trigger ethnic unrest.

The National Association of Muslim Police (NAMP) claimed that ministers were wrong to blame Islam for being the “driver” behind recent terrorist attacks.

Far-Right extremists were a more dangerous threat to national security, it said.

The officers told MPs that Muslims were being “stigmatised” by the Government’s attempts to tackle terrorism, which was adding to “hatred” against entire communities.

In the official intervention, the association said the Government’s anti-terrorism policies could not “continue unchecked”.

The comments, made in a seven-page memorandum to a parliamentary committee investigating extremism, are embarrassing for Gordon Brown. They indicated that Muslim officers may be reluctant to take part in “hearts and minds” anti-terrorism campaigns.

The organisation, which represents more than 2,000 officers, was previously publicly backed by Mr Brown. The Prime Minister said the association was crucial to bridge the historic divide between Muslims and the police.

Read more @ Telegraph

Iran has told the International Atomic Energy Agency it does not accept the terms of a deal to ease concerns about its nuclear programme, diplomats say.

For months, the Iranian government has criticised the offer to ship low-enriched uranium abroad in return for fuel, but never responded formally.

But diplomats say Tehran is now suggesting an alternative involving a simultaneous exchange on its territory.

Correspondents say the proposal is very unlikely to be acceptable to the West.

The US and its allies fear Iran is attempting to develop nuclear weapons. Iran insists its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful.

Read more @ BBC News