Saturday'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. The reason SBS paid for Guy Sebastian’s place in the Eurovision final.

This Sunday, Guy Sebastian will represent Australia in the finals of the Eurovision song contest, under a deal which was bought and paid for by national broadcaster, SBS.

SBS has paid Eurovision organisers to take part in the larger than life singing contest in a bid to lift ratings and attract advertising on the multicultural broadcaster.

SBS has paid a hefty participation fee, on top of its broadcasting fee to ensure the automatic inclusion of Guy Sebastian in the Eurovision finale.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Helen Kellie, SBS chief content officer, says they are expecting over 1 million viewers for the finale event, which will air live at 5am on Sunday.

This ratings increase will come just before controversial legislation is due to be introduced in Federal Parliament. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, if successful, the legislation will permit SBS to screen 10 minutes of advertising in prime time, instead of the current limitation of six minutes an hour.

Commercial television networks have warned that this move will strip $148 million from the advertising pool at a time when commercial TV is suffering.

Despite Renault, Harvey Norman, AHM health insurance and Bingle car insurance, sponsoring the Eurovision event, Ms Kellie said SBS did not expect to make a profit from the contest.

2. Gay marriage vote: polling stations have closed after high turnout of voters in Ireland.

After a total of 15 hours of voting, Irish polling stations have closed across the republic, reporting a higher than expected turnout.

The historic referendum on whether same-sex marriage should become legal has exposed deep divisions in the Catholic nation, where homosexuality was illegal until 1993.

The Catholic Church has campaigned consistently for a “No” vote.

According to the ABC, voting levels are expected to exceed 60 per cent – a level that is generally associated with general elections.

Results are expected on Saturday afternoon (local time).

3. Bill Shorten: George Pell must return to Australia to face child sex abuse inquiry.

Catholic-raised Labor leader, Bill Shorten has called on Cardinal George Pell to return to Australia to cooperate with the Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sexual Abuse.

The call to action follows allegations that the former Sydney archbishop attempted to bribe an abuse victim to remain silent about child sexual assaults committed against him by a church leader.

Cardinal Pell has denied the claims against him.

Shorten said, “I do believe that George Pell should co-operate and help the Royal Commission deal with these problems, which have been going on for far too long and if that means that he should come home to Australia to help the Royal Commission.”

He continued, “It is important everyone co-­operates. It is an issue of respect. It shouldn’t be about legal strategy.”

Prime Minister Tony Abbot has refused to issue the same demand.

4. The Eiffel Tower has been shut down after staff walk out in protest.

Paris’s iconic tourist destination was closed for several hours yesterday as staff protested against a surge of pickpocket gangs in the vicinity of the monument.

The strike and closure follows a similar move at the Lourve museum in 2013 where staff protested against the rise of often-violent pickpockets roaming the palace.

The busiest tourist attraction in Paris was reopened at around 4:00pm local time after hundreds of hopeful tourists were turned away.

The ABC reports that the workers said in a statement they had chosen to walk out due to an “increase in pickpockets around the Eiffel Tower and several threats and assaults”.

Another worker shared that he had been threatened while trying to control the pickpocket situation:”He said to me ‘why don’t you let us work … if this continues you will have problems’”.

The disgrubtled employees have asked for “formal guarantees from management that lasting and effective measures will be taken to end this scourge to which numerous tourists fall victim every day”.

It still remains unclear what agreement saw workers return to their posts later in the day.

5. The University of Sydney has launched a new work program to help returned soldiers find work.

According to experts, one of the biggest hurdles facing Australian soldiers returning from war is transitioning into a new career path.

In an effort to relieve some of this pressure, the University of Sydney has launched STRIVE (Skills Training and Reintegration Initiative for Veterans Education), a free service available to any active or ex-service defence workers.

After working as a physicist in the United States, the program’s co-founder, Professor Michael Biercuk, said he started to recognize the huge obstacle facing both active and ex-service members.

Speaking to 702 ABC Sydney, he said, “I got to know their stories and the ways they transitioned and the help they needed, so I’ve worked for the last five years to come up with a solution.”

“We have to pay attention to the men and women who are returning today and, unfortunately, it doesn’t always happen that way.”

The STRIVE program is currently being developed and hopes to be rolled out in the coming year.

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