Tuesday's news in under 5 minutes.

We’ve rounded up all the latest stories from Australia and around the world – so you don’t have to go searching

1. Cyclone Pam plea: “Help us rebuild”

The President of Vanuatu has made an emotional plea to the world for help after Cyclone Pam “completely destroyed” infrastructure. The UN have now put the official death toll at 24, though this is expected to rise.

“The humanitarian need is immediate, we need it right now,”

“After all the development we have done for the last couple of years and this big cyclone came and just destroyed… all the infrastructure the government has… built. Completely destroyed.

“We need international funding to (re)build all the infrastructure.”

Aid agencies have said that conditions in Vanuatu were among the most challenging they have faced with Oxfam country director in Port Vila Colin Collett van Rooyen saying it was dire.

“There are more than 100,000 people likely homeless, every school destroyed, full evacuation centres, damage to health facilities and the morgue.”

Australia’s High Commissioner to Vanuatu Jeremy Bruer has said that there are more than 1000 Australians unaccounted for in Vanuatu.

You can help:

You can support Oxfam’s response to humanitarian crises by donating to the Cyclone Pam Appeal or by calling 1800 034 034

You can donate to Save the Children here. 

To donate to the Unicef Cyclone Pam Appeal appeal go here.

 2. Man has faced court over murder of young mother.

A South Australian man has faced court charged with the murder of his partner 27-year old Jackie Ohide.

The mother-of-two was found dead in her car by her two sons, aged seven and two-and-a-half.

The Advertiser reports that 34-year old Toby Awatere was arrested and charged with her murder.

Police allege he killed Ms Ohide on Sunday morning. On social media friends described her as a “beautiful angel”.

Awatere will appear in court again in May. He was remanded in custody.

3. Russian President Vladimir Putin. He’s baaackk.

For 10-days the Russian and European media have been speculating whether he was visiting a “love child” his alleged girlfriend gave birth to, or whether he actually just had a cold.

AAP reports that he is looking healthy after a 10-day absence from public view.

He dismissed the “rumours” over his whereabouts. “We would be bored if there were no rumours,” Putin said.

For more on where he has been read this post here. 

 4. Was Abbott’s leadership saved by spam emails?

An ABC investigation has uncovered evidence that Tony Abbott survived the leadership spill by an email campaign from a conservative group that slammed Malcolm Turnbull and Julie Bishop.

5. Morgan Huxley trial: Kelsall says sexual encounter was consensual, intruder attacked him.

By Karl Hoerr

The man accused of murdering Sydney man Morgan Huxley at his north shore home says someone else is responsible for the stabbing.

Daniel Jack Kelsall took to the stand of his murder trial to deny stalking and fatally stabbing Mr Huxley inside his Sydney home.

The prosecution said Kelsall followed Mr Huxley home where he indecently assaulted him and stabbed him 20 times while he was on his bed.

The 22-year-old told the Supreme Court while he did not follow Mr Huxley home from the Oaks Hotel at Neutral Bay on the night of the murder in September 2013, he did strike up a conversation with him while waiting to cross the road at a set of lights.

Kelsall said: “I then asked him how his week had been. He’d been smiling … and then he lost his smile a bit and he said he’d had a stressful week”.

The court heard Mr Huxley took up an offer from Kelsall to talk about it and invited him back to his place.

The accused said Mr Huxley told him he was having problems at work and that his father was unwell.

He said they talked about what he did to relieve stress.

“I said, ‘do you want to do things with me?’ He seemed very hesitant at first. He checked his phone and said ‘yeah’,” Kelsall said.

Kelsall said during a consensual sexual encounter in Mr Huxley’s bedroom, “something” struck him.

“Something hit me at the side of my head,” he said.

“I kind of looked up and there was another person in the room.”

The accused said he realised there was at least one other person in the room who started fighting with Mr Huxley, but there could have been more.

“It looked like this other person and Mr Huxley were fighting,” Kelsall said.

Kelsall said he ran out of the apartment and back to his home, which was also in Neutral Bay.

He said he only later found out that Mr Huxley had been murdered.

“I didn’t know he was being terribly hurt,” Kelsall said.

Asked why he did not tell his parents what had happened, Kelsall said: “I was scared to have anything to do with a murder”.

“I was very, very scared about what might happen to me,” he said.

The accused admitted lying when questioned by police but said he was trying to distance himself from what happened and the situation got out of control.

Kelsall denied taking a knife to Mr Huxley’s home or ever being in possession of a knife while he was there.

Crown prosecutor Peter McGrath SC suggested Kelsall did not tell anyone this version at the time because he made the story up at a later date.

Kelsall said he could not tell if the other person in the room was a man or a woman.

“You’re there between Mr Huxley’s legs … and suddenly, you’re struck to the side of the head?” Mr McGrath asked.

“Yes,” Kelsall answered.

“Did that scare you?” Mr McGrath asked.

“Yes, it did,” Kelsall replied.

The trial previously heard Kelsall told a GP and a psychiatrist that he was having “intrusive thoughts” about killing someone on his way home from work, about 16 months before the murder.

The trial continues.

A version of this story was originally published on ABC and has been republished with full permission.

6. Seven dogs that attacked and killed a teenager destroyed.

The West Australian reports that the 18-year-old woman was found dead in the backyard of her house in Fitzroy Crossing on Saturday afternoon.

Senior Sergeant Andrew Stephens told the ABC that while the woman had been mauled by dogs, it was unclear whether that had caused her death.

“Unfortunately this young girl was found deceased, and she’d received injuries which were consistent with dog bite wounds, ” he said.

Her body has been sent to the Coroner in Perth. The pack of dogs have been destroyed.

7. Single sex schools allow children to keep their innocence”

The head of one of the most well known single-sex schools in the world has said that single-sex education allows students to “be themselves” until later in life. The Telegraph reports that  Tony Little, the headmaster of Eton an elite boys only school in the UK, has told a conference single sex education alleviates the need for sex education until a little later.

“What does strike me is that in a single-sex environment, particularly at the age of 13,14,15, there is an opportunity for both boys and girls to be themselves for longer. To be ‘boyish’ for longer, to be young girls.

“One of the real challenges we face as parents and particularly in schools, and this has accelerated in the last few years, is the growing apparent sophistication of children at a younger age. The need even at the age of nine now, pretty graphic sex education because of the pressures that are being put on girls particularly, from the age 11 and upwards.”

He said that children today need “pretty graphic” sex education from the age of nine as a result of growing social pressures they encounter.

8. University deregulation: Senator Ricky Muir to vote against Federal Government’s education reform bill.

By Anna Henderson

Motoring Enthusiast Party senator Ricky Muir is the latest crossbencher to confirm he will vote against the Federal Government’s bill to deregulate university fees.

Yesterday the Education Minister Christopher Pyne backed down on his threat withdraw $150 million for 1,700 science and research jobs unless the Senate passed the higher education package. Mr Pyne also divided up the elements of the bill to split the deregulation proposal from an unpopular $1.9 billion cut to higher education courses.

The Education Minister wanted to push ahead with the specific deregulation measure in the Senate this week, but the bill appears set for certain defeat.

The Government needs six of the eight crossbench votes and Ricky Muir, Nick Xenophon, Glenn Lazarus, Dio Wang, Jacqui Lambie and David Leyonhjelm all remain opposed to the changes. Senator Muir argued the Coalition does not have a mandate for the dramatic overhaul of tertiary education.

“I would like to reiterate my position that the Government should take the higher education reforms to an election,” he said in a statement overnight.

Senator Muir also argued Labor needs to put forward its policy for changes in the university sector as soon as possible “so that the people of Australia can compare a real alternative to deregulation”.

“Both of the major parties have contributed to the issues currently facing Australian universities,” the Motoring Enthusiast Party senator said.

“I think it is important that both proposals to reform Australia’s higher education system are compared to see which reform will mean Australian universities and students are better off.”

Senator Muir said he “rejects” any suggestion that the crossbench should shoulder the blame for any consequences of voting down the bill.

A version of this story was originally published on ABC and has been republished with full permission.

 9. Cereals packing more sugar than we think.

Cereal companies have been accused of deceiving the public with some brands containing more than one-third sugar.

News Limited reports that research from the Obesity Coalition’s has shown that three of the top 20 cereals had between 36 and 41 grams of sugar per 100g – Kellogg’s Frosties, Froot Loops and Coco Pops.

The coalition is calling for more brands to take up the Federal Government’s five-star rating system.

10. Facebook new rules.

Facebook has attempted to clear up some of the confusion of what is and isn’t acceptable on the social media giant releasing a 2,500-word online guidebook. Its clarifications include:

Nudity:

Banned: Explicit images of sexual intercourse, images of genitals, “fully exposed buttocks”, digitally created nudity, and descriptions of sexual acts “that go into vivid detail”.

Allowed: Photos of women “actively engaged” in breastfeeding, images of post-mastectomy scarring, photographs of art which depicts nude figures.

Hate Speech:

Banned: Direct attacks on people based on their race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability.

Allowed: The sharing of someone else’s hate speech “for the purpose of raising awareness or educating others about that hate speech”. Also allowed is “humour, satire or social commentary” related to hate speech topics if the user is posting under their real identity.

For more read these guidelines here. 

 11. One way to guarantee success for your kids, but do you do it?

Researchers have found that one aspect of parenting which seems to be falling out of favour is one that can actually help your child the most – giving them chores.

A US survey found that while 82 per cent of people reported having regular chores growing up, only 28 per cent said that they give them to their own kids.

The Wall Street Journal reports that numerous experts have cited that children who were given chores built a lasting sense of mastery, responsibility and self-reliance as opposed to those who aren’t.

“Parents today want their kids spending time on things that can bring them success, but ironically, we’ve stopped doing one thing that’s actually been a proven predictor of success — and that’s household chores,” Richard Rende, a developmental psychologist in Paradise Valley, Arizona, and co-author of the forthcoming book “Raising Can-Do Kids” said.

Another study found that kids, even as young as three who were given chores were more likely to have good relationships with family and friends and achieved greater career success.

 What news are you talking about today?