'Al-Qaeda' woman appears in court

A Pakistani woman scientist accused of links to the al-Qaeda leadership has appeared in a New York court charged with attempting to kill US soldiers.

Aafia Siddiqui, 36, is accused of assaulting and attempting to kill the US personnel sent to take custody of her in Afghanistan last month.

She faces 20 years in prison on each charge if convicted, but her lawyer dismissed the charges as ridiculous.

Rights groups say she has spent the last five years in secret US jails.

Ms Siddiqui - who the US say was married to a nephew of the man accused of masterminding the 9/11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed - wore a purple headscarf and moved slowly into the Manhattan federal court for a short hearing.

-BBC