A child born a boy but who identifies as a girl gets important validation from a civil rights panel; Pakistan plans to put its former dictator in trial for treason; German cops capture a man they say was terrorizing autobahn drivers for years.

A civil rights panel in the American state of Colorado has ruled that a 6-year old transgendered girl can use the girls’ washroom at school.  Coy Mathis’ parents say the child has identified as a girl since the age of 18 months, and gets withdrawn and depressed if forced to wear boys’ clothing or referred to as a boy in school.  The school at first allowed Coy to use the girls’ washroom, but after a while officials changed their minds, leading to the complaint before the civil rights board.  The school district has not commented.

The United States Supreme Court punted.  Instead of ruling on the case of a white college student who claims she was rejected from the University of Texas at Austin because of her race (and not because of her lousy grades, as the school claims), justices kicked the case back to a lower court.  No change in American society.

Former South African President Nelson Mandela remains in critical condition in hospital in Pretoria.  South African officials a family members including ex-wife Winnie Mandela have been traveling to the facility to see him.  President Jacob Zuma says Mandela was asleep during his visit.

West African leaders are asking for the deployment of an international naval force to fight piracy.  There are now more pirate attacks off West Africa than off Somalia, where most of the world’s anti-piracy resources were dedicated.  And unlike in the Indian Ocean attacks, pirates striking off of West Africa are quicker to kill hostages.  The leaders say their economies are threatened by increasing piracy.

The Taliban faction that claimed responsibility for murdering ten mountaineering tourists in northern Pakistan had been formed specifically for killing foreigners.  Referred to locally as “Junoodul Hifsa”, the group claims its actions are revenge for US drone strikes.  The victims – now identified as American, Chinese, Ukrainian, Slovakian, Lithuanian, and Nepali – were all forced to kneel before each was shot in the head.

Pakistan’s newly elected government says it plans to put former military ruler Pervez Musharraf on trial for treason.  He’s currently under house arrest after returning from self-imposed exile earlier this year, held on a number of charges related to overthrowing the government in 1999, and also for sacking and jailing judges.

Prince Charles is claiming Britain is suffering from an “apparent rise in anti-Semitism, along with other poisonous and debilitating forms of intolerance”, after a series of attacks on mosques.  The Prince was speaking at a London event celebrating Jonathan Sacks, Britain's outgoing Chief Rabbi.

Police in Germany have arrested a suspect in the Autobahn shootings.  Cops say the 57-year old lorry driver has admitted to more than 7 hundred shootings since 2008, mostly shooting into the windshields of oncoming traffic.  One woman was hit in the throat, another was hurt when her car crashed.