Sunday's news in less than 5 minutes.

Here is what’s making headlines here and around the world today…

1. Andrew Chan offers his liver to his friend.

Bali Nine death row inmate Andrew Chan once made a selfless offer to a friend in need. He offered him his liver.

Sydney Pastor Mal Feebrey told his friend he was dying from liver failure on a visit to Kerobokan prison in 2010. Chan looked him in the eyes and said simply, “have mine.”

Feebrey told the Sydney Morning Herald , “it really touched me. Here I am waiting for a donor, I’m dying in front of my wife and kids and here he is going ‘my liver’s ok, you can have mine’.” He had been a supporter of Chan and other members of the Bali Nine since 2005, making regular visits to Bali and keeping in touch via phone.

According to Feebrey, Chan followed up by getting his blood tested and asking doctors whether a donation of his liver would be possible.

Since Chan’s offer in 2010, Feebrey received a donor organ from an alternative source, but says he will never forget the kindness his friend showed him.

Feebrey was with Chan when he found out that his plea for clemency had been rejected by Joko Widodo. According to Feebrey, Chan took the information on the chin, embraced his fiancée and then went to visit a friend who had recently had a stroke.

2. Cyclone Pam: Relief teams are heading to remote Vanuatu islands, where the death toll appears set to climb.

Disaster management teams are preparing to make their way to many of Vanuatu’s remote communities which took a direct hit from Tropical Cyclone Pam.

Eight people are confirmed to have died across the country’s 65 inhabited islands after Cyclone Pam tore through the South Pacific archipelago packing winds of up to 270 kilometres per hour.

With communications down and many areas still inaccessible, relief workers fear the death toll will be much higher.

“It is heartbreaking to see just villages literally picked up and blown away. Power lines are hanging, buildings are flattened so it is just a devastating sight,” World Vision spokeswoman Chloe Morrison said from Port Vila.

“Aid is on the way, but these critical hours immediately after the emergency when people may have survived, but may not have anything to survive on, that’s [when] we really need to get out there,” United Nations relief agency head Sune Gudnitz said.

Islands in the north and south took a direct hit from the storm and it is in these areas where it is feared the death toll will be much higher.

“We haven’t really got out more than a few kilometres from Port Vila to some of the rural, semi-rural areas,” Care International’s Vanuatu program director Inga Mephum told the ABC from Port Vila.

“There’s not a lot of information [about] the islands in the north and the south, particularly in the south, the southern islands of Vanuatu where we have grave concerns for people’s welfare.”

The outer islands which generally do not have good healthcare facilities will be in particular need of assistance, Care International’s Vanuatu program manager Charlie Damon said.

“Over the coming days we will get an idea around the injuries and we can gauge what the issues will be on the outer islands,” Ms Damon said.

Port Vila resident Ben Bohane said it was likely that those in the outer islands would have felt the worst of the storm.

“Many of the outer islands are a lot more exposed than we are here in Port Vila. That means we have a lot more concrete houses and that sort of thing,” he said.

“So people here in Vila were probably in a better position to weather the storm.”

Aid teams from around the world will continue arriving in Vanuatu today as the devastation from Cyclone Pam becomes clearer.

This story was originally published on the ABC website. It has been republished here with full permission.

3. Kids in park pelted with eggs from a highrise after being “too noisy”

There is nothing sweeter than the sound of children’s laughter. At least for some.

Police were called to King’s Cross last monday after a resident of a nearby high-rise began pelting playing children with eggs at Fitzroy Gardens park.

Hugh McCullum was at the park with his seven-year-old daughter, along with several other parents, toddlers and primary school children. He told the Daily Telegraph, “the kids were being a bit noisy… Next thing I see this egg out of the corner of my eye come down and land at the top of the slide, so I looked up to see where it had come from.” The assault continued, frightening the children.

Superintendent Michael Fitzgerald of the Kings Cross police is reported to be extremely concerned about the incident and the potential injuries that could result, particularly as it is not the first of its kind. “If a child was hit they would be up for a serious assault charge or grievous bodily harm,” he told the Daily Telegraph.

Police have spoken to a person of interest and are conducting door-knocks and letter-drops in the area to pin-point the perpetrator.

4. Jacqui Lambie offers support to her colleague Glenn Lazarus from her hospital bed.

Tasmanian independent senator Jacqui Lambie says she is looking forward to working with former party colleague Glenn Lazarus, who has also left the Palmer United Party (PUP).

Senator Lazarus quit the PUP on Friday, accusing leader Clive Palmer of being a bully.

The Queensland senator said he had been contemplating quitting for some time and the party’s decision to sack his wife Tess this week was “the straw that broke the camel’s back”.

He said he witnessed Mr Palmer launch tirades and swear at people while he was a member of the party.

Mr Palmer rejected the claims and said it was Senator Lazarus’s behaviour that was questionable.

Senator Lambie also cited differences with the leader when she quit the party in November.

The Tasmanian is out of action for a week after minor back surgery and in a video message advised she would be submitting her votes from her hospital bed.

She also said she was looking forward to working with Senator Lazarus.

“To Glenn, my heart goes out to you, I know that things are going to be a little bit rough over the next few weeks but mate, take if from somebody who knows, it will only get bigger from here on in,” she said.

“And you know what, you’ll do really, really well.

“So I look forward to working along side you independently and I know that we’ve put things behind us over the last five or six weeks, and I’m grateful for that.

“I’m quite sure that between the two of us and the other crossbenchers up there we will be able to achieve a great deal in the future.”

This story was originally published on the ABC website. It has been republished here with full permission.

5. Indian bride ditches groom for failing simple maths equation

An Indian bride has walked out of her wedding. Not for reasons of cold-feet or infidelity, but because her husband-to-be couldn’t solve a simple maths equation.

She asked her groom what was the answer for 15 plus six. He answered 17.

Many marriages in India are arranged, and the couples are to marry without getting to know each other very well. This bride’s quiz gave her some necessary information.

The wedding was to take place in the Northern state of Uttar Pradesh, and local police have said it was the bride’s parent who suggested the test, as they had reason to be concerned about his level of education.

Despite attempts at reconciliation by the groom’s family, the wedding was called off.

Police were called to intervene, but the families reached an agreement themselves and all gifts, jewellery and money given to the couple were returned.