PAJU - South Korean activists floated anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border with North Korea, a week after the North threatened military action over a similar propaganda exercise. Around a dozen activists released seven balloons carrying 50,000 leaflets from a park in the border town of Paju, north of Seoul, amid heavy security involving some 100 police. AFP
MANILA - Former Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo refused to enter a plea on a graft charge that could see her jailed for life, appearing in court in a wheelchair and wearing a neck brace. Arroyo is accused of plundering US$8.8 million in state lottery funds during her time as president from 2001 to 2010. One of her lawyers said her legal team had questioned the legality of the charge with the Supreme Court. AFP
SINGAPORE - A 32-year-old female teacher was sentenced to a year in jail for having sex with a 15-year-old boy at her school, local media reported. The teacher, who was married with two children, started a relationship with the boy last year while she was counselling him, The Straits Times reported. The relationship continued for more than a month during which they had consensual sex at the teacher's flat before the boy's parents found out about the affair and reported her. AFP