Wednesday's news in under 5 minutes.

1. South Korea introduces “women’s-only” parking spaces

Thousands of parking spaces in Seoul, South Korea are being marked off as female-only parking spots, The Huffington Post reports.

The spaces, outlined in pink, are slightly wider and longer than the standard parking space, and are also better lit and closer to elevators and escalators.

The spaces will cost about $100 million for the city to make, according to Monitoring.com.au.

The initiative is also part of a bigger push to make Seoul more female friendly: there are also 7000 new women-only toilets being installed, while walkways are being resurfaced with a spongy material to to accommodate high heels, Monitoring.com.au reports.

2. Rolf Harris takes the stand

Australian entertainer Rolf Harris has taken the stand at his indecent assault trial, admitting to having a sexual affair with one of the women who has accused him of indecent assault.

Harris, 84, is charged with indecently assaulting four girls between 1968 and 1986. He has denied all charges.

In a bizarre testimony Harris spent an hour giving evidence about his career and at one stage broke into a rendition of the song “Jake the Peg”, explained how he created the wobble board and gave a verbal demonstration of a didgeridoo.

He then told the UK Court he was a “touchy-feely sort of person” but said a claim he performed a sex act on his daughter’s friend when she was 13 was “ludicrous”.

He claimed it was she who started the affair when she was 18, and that her approach to him embarrassed him at the time. He said he brought her a cup of tea once when she was still in bed, and she kicked of her blankets showing him her bare legs.

Harris told the jury he touched the outside of her leg.”I can remember my heart was thumping away like mad. I didn’t know what to do, I left the room,” he said of the incident.

He said that on a subsequent visit to her home he had performed a sex act on her, but said it was consensual.

He went on to deny ever being in a community centre that a subsequent witness claimed he had been in and indecently assaulted her, and denied having visited Cambridge – where he is accused of attacking a 14-year old-girl in 1975 – until three years ago.

Harris will next be cross-examined by prosecutor Sasha Wass QC.

3. Nigerian schoolgirls video

A new video of the Nigerian schoolgirls has been reportedly handed to the Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan.

The video was said to have been obtained by a Nigerian journalist acting as an intermediary with the militant group Boko Haram.

The UK Telegraph reports that a deal was struck to release the girls, but was scrapped after Western governments placed pressure on Mr Jonathan not to negotiate for any prisoner swap. The deal would have seen around 50 of the girls released in exchange for an equivalent number of Boko Haram fighters currently in Nigerian jails, the UK Telegraph reports.

4. Schoolgirl blamed for gunman’s hatred of women doesn’t remember him

A schoolgirl-turned-model whom the California gunman Elliott Rogers named as his “first crush” in a 140-page manifesto has said she cannot remember ever meeting him.

In his manifesto, entitled My Twisted World, he wrote that Monette Moio had teased him when they were children and “wounded me deeply”.

“She must have thought I was an ultimate loser. I hated her so much, and I will never forget her,” he wrote.

“I started to hate all girls because of this. I saw them as mean, cruel, and heartless creatures that took pleasure from my suffering.”

“The world that I grew up thinking was bright and blissful was all over. That is why I immersed myself entirely into my online games like World of Warcraft. I felt safe there.”

Her father told the New York Daily News: “The whole thing is so creepy. It’s scary even though he’s gone. She doesn’t even remember this guy. She’s always been the most delicate kid you’d ever want to meet. For him to call her a bully, this kid was really disillusioned.”

“She was 10 years old. It was just an illusion this kid built in his own mind. She hadn’t seen him since seventh grade.”

5. Pakistani woman stoned to death

A pregnant 25-year old woman has been stoned to death in Pakistan by members of her own family, including her father – for choosing to marry the man she loved.

Her family had wanted her to marry her cousin.

Farzana Iqbal had been waiting for the High Court in the eastern city of Lahore to open when a group of around dozen men began attacking her with bricks, Reuters reports.

Senior police officer Umer Cheema said that her father, two brothers and former fiancé were among her killers. Her father admitted to killing her, saying it was a matter of honour.

Reuters reports more than 1000 women are killed by honour killing each year in Pakistan – though this is an unofficial figure and the real number is probably much higher. Cases are infrequently prosecuted as under Pakistan law, the family are allowed to forgive their killer, so many walk free.

6. Jamie Gao murder case

Disgraced Detectives Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara, both charged with murdering 20-year-old student Jamie Gao, were allegedly caught on CCTV camera at a rented storage unit in the Sydney suburb of Padstow.

Police allege three people were captured walking into the unit on camera, and only two – along with a surfboard bag wrapped in a blue tarpaulin – were captured leaving.

They say the former detectives then dumped the body of Jamie Gao off the coast of Cronulla in McNamara’s boat.

Rogerson did not apply for bail in court yesterday.

7. Victorian abortion laws

Victorian MP Geoff Shaw has called his fellow MPs “moral cowards” for their refusal to debate abortion laws.

Shaw is planning a private member’s bill to introduce radical changes to state abortion laws, including outlawing gender-selection and late-term abortions.

He called Premier Denis Napthine and Labor leader Daniel Andrews gutless for “shutting down debate” on the issue.

“I think they should be taking the lead on the debate and not being moral cowards,” Mr Shaw told reporters yesterday.

8. Attack on primary school girl false

Police have said that a reported attack on an eight-year old girl at her Hawthorn primary school was false.

Last week police said the young girl claimed she was assaulted and dragged 150 metres in the school premises. They released a sketch of the wanted man.

Yesterday Police announced that the case had been closed after discovering “the information that was reported to police was false and that the incident did not occur”.

9. Sinkhole threatens to swallow house

A 15-metre sinkhole has threatened to swallow a house at Lake Macquarie in NSW.

A disused mineshaft underneath the home is thought to be the reason for the ground opening up.

The house was evacuated and no one was injured.

10. Inactivity a health risk for women over 30

Research to be released today by the University of Queensland shows the biggest health risk for women over the age of 30 is inactivity.

The research, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, showed that inactivity was the greatest risk to women’s health over the age of 30, far outweighing smoking or obesity.

University of Queensland research professor Wendy Brown said: “If all over-30s followed recommended daily exercise guidelines – 150 minutes of at least moderate intensity physical activity – the lives of more than 2600 middle-aged and older women could be saved each year in Australia alone.”

11. Mum forced to build a fence to keep bullies away from her daughter

A Sydney mother is trying to raise funds to build a fence around her home to keep a pack of children and adults away from her 15-year-old daughter who has Down Syndrome.

The bullies tease Faith Mason daily, by throwing faeces and calling names.

For more of this story, see this post.

12. Woman survives shark attack

A woman on the Gold Coast has survived an attack by a bull shark after accidentally falling in the Nerang River.

Bianca Freeman fell into the water at Budds Beach, Surfers Paradise on Saturday evening when the bull shark attacked.

“I started screaming to my friend and she pulled me out and I looked down and there was blood everywhere,” 29-year-old Bianca Freeman, told Nine News.

“Ever survived a shark attack? I have but my phone didn’t!” she wrote on Instagram alongside photos of her injuries.

13. Why women cheat

A survey conducted by a dating site for married people looking for an affair has revealed the number one reason women cheat.

Of the women surveyed, 73 per cent said the main reason they cheated was because they were annoyed by their partner.

The traits found most annoying were no sense of humour (19 per cent) and not understanding enough (16 per cent).

But 7 per cent of women said it was because their current partner was not successful and 5 per cent said it was because he was ‘a mama’s boy’.

What news are you talking about today?