Friday's news in under 5 minutes.

More than 300 people have gathered in Sydney for a memorial to celebrate the life of former model Charlotte Dawson.

Among the attendees at the Beresford Hotel was Sarah and Lachlan Murdoch, Melissa Hoyer, Alex Perry, Richard Wilkins, John Ibrahim, Collette Dinnigan, Angela Bishop and Ben Fordham.

Charlotte Dawson, 47, was found dead in her Sydney home last Saturday. On Wednesday, her family held a private cremation for the former Australia’s Next Top Model host.

Addressing the crowd, close friend Richard Wilkins said: “I wish we weren’t here today … But here we all are on the last day of summer clinging together for support.”

Speaking at the event, Dawson’s sister Vicky reportedly told the crowd she had “brought Charlotte with (her)” before pulling out an urn and placing it on the lectern.

“I am just going to put her here so she can see everybody,” Vicky said.

Vicky also said that the family had chosen to dress Charlotte in a tangerine Alex Perry dress and Roberto Cavallo shoes before the cremation.

1. Teenage girls racially abuse man

Two teenage girls have been caught on camera racially abusing an indigenous man on a Gold Coast bus before attacking him in front of other scared passengers.

Nine News has broadcast the footage, which was filmed by a 13-year old girl. Passengers on the bus can be heard pleading for someone to do something. Finally a young man on the bus helps remove the violent young women.

UPDATE 6.30pm :

QLD Police have charged a 17-year old woman and a 21-year old woman with serious assault following the assault of an elderly indigenous man who was racially abused, kicked and spat on whilst travelling on a Gold Coast bus.

The 77-year old gentleman was interviewed by Officers earlier today. The women from Chinderah and Terranora in NSW were remanded in custody and are due to appear in the Southport Magistrates Court tomorrow.

2. Qantas cuts

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce will today meet with representatives from the ACTU and other major unions including the Australian and International Pilots Association and the Australian Services Union over the 5000 Qantas job cuts announced yesterday.

The Australian Services Union have vowed to ”fight for every job.”

The Prime Minister has indicated that Federal Cabinet will consider changes to Qantas’s foreign ownership limits on Monday.

3. Schapelle Corby

The first words Schapelle Corby said after her release from prison were “I feel like a crab.”

The Seven Network’s Sunday Night are preparing to show unseen footage of Corby’s release from prison, which includes her skyping with her Australian relatives, and her first taste of freedom staying in a luxury hotel.

4. Paid parental leave scheme

The Prime Minister’s paid parental leave scheme may be in danger with a Nationals MP saying that the scheme may be too expensive for the Government right now.

Senator John Williams told the ABC he has concerns whether the economy is strong enough to support the scheme.

The Australian Financial Review is reporting that the Commission of Audit says the scheme is too costly and cannot be afforded with the budget in deficit.

The Government have refused to confirm or deny this.

5. How did Iranian asylum seeker Reza Berati die?

There are conflicting reports over how Iranian asylum seeker Reza Berati died during the violent clashes on Manus Island.

News Limited reports that an Australian G4S guard who was in the compound said Mr Berati was stomped to death on the ground, a local doctor said G4S guards had told him they’d smashed his head with a riot shield – however PNG police told Fairfax Media yesterday he was killed with a length of timber.

Protests demanding Manus Island  be closed are planned for the Sydney CBD late this afternoon.

6. Grant Hackett’s addiction battle

The Herald Sun reports that Grant Hackett is about to enter the same rehab facility where AFL star Ben Cousins sought treatment.

The Summit Centre at Malibu is an exclusive treatment centre that costs $3000 a day.

7. He brought home the wrong kid. Oooppps!

A grandfather in the US has accidentally picked up the wrong five-year old from school.

His mistake was only realised when he pulled into his driveway and his wife saw the mix-up. The two boys had been wearing the same coat and hat. The parents of the boy accidently taken to the wrong house are angry over the way the school handled the incident saying that school should have called the police.

9. Geek to model. 

Louis Evans was bullied as a teenager for his acne and his red hair- so much so that he doubted he would ever amount to anything.

His transformation into an international model is amazing. For more read this post here. “Louis Evans was bullied, he is now an international model”

10. NSW Tree audit

The NSW Department of Education and Training has ordered all public schools bring in arborists to review the safety of the trees on their school grounds after an eight-year-old girl was killed by a falling branch last week.

11. Man avoids jail for hideous animal abuse

A man from Mt Druitt in Sydney has avoided jail after he slashed the throat of his Staffordshire terrier and left him for dead.

Jacob Vanderschoot was the first person jointly prosecuted by police and the Animal Welfare League under the Crimes Act, which provides a maximum sentence of five years in jail, however he was sentenced to a 12-month intensive corrections order.

12. Thousands queue for food in Damascus

An image released by the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) showing a tide of people waiting for UN food parcels in Yarmouk, Syria shows the absolute devastation that the three years of war has caused. UNRWA Commissioner-General Filippo Grandi who visited Yarmouk this week described the mass of people emerging from the rubble like the appearance of ghosts.

What news are you talking about today?