wet wipes containing plastic will soon be banned from sale in the uk. the government is expected to announce today that it wants to introduce the legislation in england before thejuly summer recess, which would make it illegal to sell or supply them. it follows overwhelming support from a public consultation. the rest of the uk is set to join the ban by the autumn. crucial safety equipment used on smart motorways has been hit by hundreds of power outages during the past two years, according to a new bbc investigation. it's meant there were times when signals, cameras and radar detection systems weren't working for days at a time. national highways says smart motorways are the safest of britain's roads. the us journalist terry anderson, who was held by kidnappers for nearly seven years during lebanon's civil war, has died at the age of 76.