Man Arrested After Gas Leak

A man has been arrested after homes were evacuated after a suspected gas leak. Twenty-seven homes in the Gainsborough estate area of north Ipswich, Suffolk were affected. The incident was reported to police just before midnight last night. A 35-year-old was arrested and questioned on suspicion of threatening to commit criminal damage, a Suffolk Police spokesman said.

Police Investigate 'Unexplained' Baby Death

Police in Perth are investigating the sudden and unexplained death of a nine-month-old baby. The girl's 20-year-old mother called for help after the child became unwell at their flat in Newhouse Road at around 7.30pm on Wednesday. The baby was taken by ambulance to Perth Royal Infirmary, but died at around 9.15pm. A post mortem is due to take place.

Defence Company Axes 200 Jobs

A defence company has announced it will be cutting 200 jobs in its UK army vehicle business. BAE Systems announced the job cuts which will affect factories in Leeds, Newcastle, Leicester and Barrow and Telford in Shropshire. The firm has blamed the cuts on a decline in workload on the Ministry of Defence's Armoured Fighting Vehicle programmes. Managing director David Allott said a voluntary redundancy programme was being set up.

UK 'Officially' free From Avian Influenza

The UK is officially free from Avian Influenza (AI) from today (20 November), according to the rules laid down by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). OIE rules require a three month interval between the final cleansing and disinfection of premises involved in the outbreak and official recognition of freedom from the disease. The UK has not been able to export poultry and poultry products to the majority of its traditional third country markets for the last 12 months because of three AI outbreaks during 2007 and 2008. Resumption of the UK's status as officially free from AI in line with OIE rules will greatly assist negotiations by Defra and industry partners to regain access to these markets.

(JM)