Volcanic ash grounds Heathrow, Gatwick flights in Britain

More than 250 flights to and from London’s Heathrow and Gatwick airports were grounded on Thursday by volcanic ash drifting from a volcanic eruption in Iceland, airport operators said. Read more

Former British spy arrested for selling secrets

A former MI6 spy stole top secret files on intelligence gathering techniques and offered to sell them for 2 million pounds (USD 2.9 million) to an unspecified foreign government, a prosecutor said today.

Prosecutor Piers Arnold told a London court that Daniel Houghton, 25, is alleged to have attempted to sell the highly classified documents, but was arrested Monday after British intelligence posed as the potential buyer.

Houghton was not asked to enter a plea during a brief hearing.

Arnold said Houghton, who is a dual Dutch and British national, is accused of copying top secret files from the domestic agency MI5 to CD and DVDs while working for the MI6 overseas intelligence service between September 2007 and May 2009.

He did not specify what job Houghton had with MI6, but said the alleged attempted sale came after he left the agency.

UK’s hero a Sikh

A Sikh man of Indian origin who was killed while confronting two muggers who were running away after snatching a woman’s handbag has been described as a hero by the British police. Read more

DJ sacked for pulling plug on ‘boring’ Queen’s talk

A British radio presenter has been sacked after he pulled the plug on Queen Elizabeth II’s traditional Christmas Day speech, telling listeners it was “boring.” Read more