SYN Media

SAM: Coming up in the next fifteen minutes:

• The Australian Defence Force embroiled in another scandal,
• The safety of Victorian ambulances in question,
• CEOs across the nation camp out for charity, and
• the controversial sportsbet Ad causing a stir

 Good afternoon, I’m SAM CUCCHIARA, welcome to SYN News at 4. The top story on SYN today, Seven Australian Defence Force cadets were suspended this morning in the latest misdemeanour scandal. Vice Chief of the Defence Force Air Marshal MARK BINSKIN wouldn’t say why the cadets were suspended, but did confirm that it was an off-campus incident involving alcohol.  Whether it was a sexual incident is yet to be determined.In 2011 a female cadets’ sexual relations with another cadet were recorded and distributed via Skype to other cadets.More recently, cadets stationed in Townsville were caught using derogatory slurs against women on Facebook.  All the cadets involved have had more than three years of training. A giant advertisement painted on the ground near Tullamarine airport without permission has sparked public outcry.  The ad, from betting agency Sportsbet, shows a wallaby mounting a lion and has the slogan, “ROOTING FOR THE WALLABIES”.  Victorian Planning Minister MATTHEW GUY says no permission was sought to place the ad on Parks Victoria land.  Mr GUY has urged Sportsbet remove the image by the end of the day.  Sportsbet spokeman MATTHEW CAMPBELLl told radio station 3AW the ad was “cheeky” but that’s what sportsbet has always been about.   More than one million people would be expected to fly over the image over the next month. One hundred and eighty of Victoria’s senior business leaders swapped their beds for a sleeping bag and spent a chilly night camping out at Docklands stadium, as part of the annual CEO Sleep-out. The sleepout is in its eighth year and raises much needed funds for the St Vincent De Paul’s homeless service.  Greens housing spokesperson Senator SCOTT LUDLAM was among those brave enough to take part in the sleep out in Canberra..  Senator LUDLAM this morning announced his national action plan to eliminate homelessness by 2020.  The plan includes increased funding for homelessness services and access to more affordable housing. Concerns have been raised about the safety of ambulances driven by Victorian paramedics.  The ABC reports the minutes of an AMBULANCE VICTORIA meeting last year reveals five engine failures occurred in the ambulances, with one deemed catastrophic.  General Secretary of AMBULANCE EMPLOYEES AUSTRALIA STEVE MCGHIE says he was not aware of any safety concerns but will now request a briefing on whether the problems have been addressed.  Ambulance Victoria spokesperson ELIZABETH PUNTON says the fleet of ambulances are safe. A Melbourne schoolgirl who went missing more than THIRTY FIVE years ago could be well and living in Melbourne.  LAMBRI ANDREOPOULOS was thirteen when she was last seen walking to FITZROY GIRLS’ SCHOOL in 1978.  Police say they have received information that the women may have since changed her name.  Police have urged the woman to come forward.  Information on her whereabouts will be treated confidentially, if she doesn’t want to get in touch with her family. A seven year old boy was caught driving through Surfers Paradise in the early hours of this morning.  Police discovered a FORTY ONE YEAR OLD man in the passenger seat, reportedly the boy’s father.   The man has been charged with the dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and being under the influence of alcohol.  Royal Automobile Club of Queensland spokesman Paul Turner says he’s never heard of a child as young as seven being caught behind the wheel in Queensland before. You are listening to SYN News. Heading overseas now:An inquest into a British’s woman’s death earlier this year has shown she tried to make contact with family and friends 27 times.25 year old BERNADETTE LEE died from Hypothermia after walking home from a club.The woman was found in front of her sisters house in January, when it was minus two degrees.The family has expressed regret when Ms LEE’s death was avoidable. And haze in singapore has raised the pollution levels to the Asian city-state to record levels.Illegal slash-and-burning in Indonesian forests have sent smoke haze over Singapore and parts of Malaysia.  Schools in Malaysia are closing due to the smog.Diplomatic relations between Singapore and Indonesia are strained due to the fires’ smoke.Dogs across the globe have taken over the workforce today, as pet owners celebrate TAKE YOUR DOG TO WORK DAY.  In its FIFTEENTH year, the annual celebration was started in 1999 to celebrate the great companions the four-legged creatures make and to encourage more people to adopt from humane shelters. You can now capture video with the popular Instagram filters. The photo sharing app has released it’ new video service today. Facebook-owned Instagram is now in competition with Twitter’s ‘Vine’ video program, which the micro-blogging site launched earlier this year. _________________________________________________________________And if you’re having a bad day, it will be over soon, because it’s the shortest one of the year.Today marks the Winter Solstice where the sun shines for the shortest amount of time for the year.Currently for residents in the southern hemisphere, we are angled the furthest away from the sun.   And now here’s OLIVIA CLARKE with sport. OLIVIA: Thanks SAMSt Kilda coach SCOTT WATTERS believe player STEPHEN MILNE will be back playing in the AFL within a month.MILNE has taken a break from AFL after he was charged this week with FOUR counts of rape from an incident in 2004.St Kilda teammates NICK DAL SANTO and NICK RIEWOLDT wanted MILNE to join them with the 250th game this weekend. And Australian Cricket player Ricky Ponting’s management have said he will be retiring from playing professional cricket.Ponting played 168 Tests for Australia making over THIRTEEN-THOUSAND runs including FORTY-ONE centuries.With cricketing commentating spots opening up on Channel 9, he could step into a position there.The last game for Ponting will be the the October Champion’s League Twenty20 Game in Mumbai.******************************And Miami Heat have won the National Basketball Association final against the San Antonio Spurs in the US earlier today.The Heat won 95-88 with player LeBron James gaining 37 points and 12 rebounds.This is the Heat’s second straight NBA championship.To the weather now, today has been mostly sunny with a top of 15 degrees. On Saturday you can expect sunny conditions with a top of 15. And for Sunday, sunny and 14. Right now, it’s 13 degrees. The Sunbury line is currently experiencing delays of up to 10 minutes due to a track fault at Keilor Plains after an earlier track fault at Watergardens.Drivers are warned to plan for detours on the M80 ring road from tonight until early Sunday morning.  The M80 will be closed GREENSBOROUGH bound between DALTON and PLENTY road for bridge widening at TASMAN DRIVE.  Vicroads Director Trevor Boyd urges drivers to plan ahead or avoid the area. To recap our top stories this afternoon:

• New scandal at the Australian Defence Force
• CEO’s roughing it for charity
• Today’s the shortest day in the year
• and the Heat’s win over the spurs

That’s all for our bulletin this afternoon. But when we’re off air, you can keep up with the news by following us on twitter at News SYN.Panorama’s coming up at 4.30 and we’ll be back with an update at 5pm.