City news in 250 words

MEN MEDIA, the publisher of the Manchester Evening News and 22 weeklies is closing all editorial offices of its weekly newspapers and axing 150 jobs. The cuts will see the production of the group's weekly newspapers moved to the MEN offices in Manchester city centre. 39 editorial jobs will go at the Manchester Evening News.

PLANS FOR A 'CROSSRAIL OF THE NORTH' are being backed by ministers. The new 200mph trains will cut rail journey times between Manchester and Leeds to just 25 minutes. A company has been asked to draw up proposals for extending high-speed services into Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, the North East, and Scotland.

MORE THAN TWO PEOPLE DIE accidentally every week whilst in the care of Greater Manchester's NHS. Reports say that between April and September of last year, 63 people died in the region's NHS hospitals and clinics. The National Patient Safety Agency, which published the figures, encourages staff to report to the database to help the NHS understand why things go wrong, and how to prevent them happening in the future.

CASES OF MUMPS in Greater Manchester are eight times higher than this time last year, according to the Health Protection Agency (HPA). 34 cases have been confirmed since the start of 2009 and the HPA is now urging parents to ensure children are vaccinated. Dr Rosemary McCann said: “Most of the cases are young people aged over 15. Our message to these older unprotected children is that it is not too late.”