Icelandic volcanic ash alert grounds UK flights

All flights in and out of the UK have been suspended as ash from a volcanic eruption in Iceland moves south. Safety body Eurocontrol said up to 4,000 flights across northern Europe had so far been affected by the cloud. The Air Traffic Control Service (Nats) said no flights would be allowed in or out of UK airspace until 1800BST amid fears of engine damage. The airspace restriction was the most significant in living memory, a spokesman said. Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark were among the European countries hit. The restrictions were imposed after the Met Office warned the ash was sufficient to clog engines. Passengers were advised to contact their carriers prior to travel. Experts have warned that the tiny particles of rock, glass and sand contained in the ash cloud would be sufficient to jam aircraft engines. But the Health Protection Agency said the ash did not pose a significant risk to public health because of its high altitude.

These are some of the main knock-on effects:

Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow airports shut Disruptions to and from Liverpool's John Lennon, Manchester and Newcastle airports Severe delays at Birmingham airport with problems reported at East Midlands, Leeds Bradford, Cardiff International and Bristol airports London's Gatwick, Heathrow and City airports hit British Airways cancels all domestic flights on Thursday and offers refunds or an option to rebook Flights suspended at Belfast International Airport and George Best Belfast City Airport RAF Sea King helicopter flies a critically ill patient from Scotland to London Ash threat forces Great North Air Ambulance to be grounded

One passenger at Glasgow told the BBC: "I'm meant to be going to Lanzarote. We've travelled from Oban, leaving at 3am. Now we've decided we might as well just go home and do a bit of gardening."

Others switched form plane to train, with the East Coast line extending its 1830BST London to Newcastle service through to Edinburgh. Budget airline Ryanair said no flights were operating to or from the UK on Thursday and it expected cancellations and delays on Friday. A Nats spokesman said: "The Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre has issued a forecast that the ash cloud from the volcanic eruption in Iceland will track over Europe tonight. "Nats is working with Eurocontrol and our colleagues in Europe's other air navigation service providers to take the appropriate action to ensure safety in accordance with international aviation policy." The European air safety body, Eurocontrol, said the cloud of ash had reached 55,000ft and was expected to move through northern UK and Scotland. Brian Flynn, assistant head of operations of its central flow management unit, told the BBC: "As it moves toward the Netherlands and Belgium it will dissipate and lose intensity, like any weather phenomenon. But we don't know what the extent of it will be." Met Office forecaster Philip Avery said the ash could take several days to clear. He said: "It is showing up on imagery at the moment, extending down as far as the Faroes but it looks as though the wind will drag it a good deal further south. "Nats has good cause to be very cautious about this because in about 1982 a British Airways jumbo had the unnerving experience of having all four engines shut down as it flew through a plume of volcanic ash." There was a nearly identical incident on 15 December 1989 when KLM Flight 867, a B747-400 from Amsterdam to Anchorage, Alaska, flew into the plume of the erupting Mount Redoubt, causing all four engines to fail. Once the flight cleared the ash cloud, the crew was able to restart each engine and then make a safe landing at Anchorage, but the aircraft was substantially damaged. A BAA spokesman said: "Passengers intending to fly today are asked to contact their airline for further information." The eruption under a glacier in the Eyjafjallajoekull area of Iceland is the second in the country in less than a month.

Primark drops padded child's bikini

Primark has stopped selling padded bikini tops for children after criticism that they sexualised young girls, a spokesman for the chain said. The company apologised for any offence caused by the product and said profits from any bikinis already sold would be given to a children's charity. A spokesman said: "Primark has taken note of the concern this morning regarding the sale of certain bikini tops for girls, a product line that sells in relatively small quantities. "The company has stopped the sale of this product line with immediate effect. "Primark will donate all the profits made from this product line to a children's charity, and apologises to customers for any offence caused." Child protection consultant Shy Keenan, of The Phoenix Chief Advocates which helps victims of paedophiles, earlier called for a boycott of Primark until the bikini top was withdrawn.

"As victims' advocates, we know why you should never sexualise children or help to normalise the sexualisation of children," she said. "They may be learning how to look sexy in an adult way, but no- one is teaching them what to do if they receive robust unwelcome adult attention.

"We say boycott Primark until they agree to withdraw this line."

Father held after baby left in car

Police arrested a man for leaving his 1-year-old baby in a car unattended during the early hours while he watched strippers at a nightclub in New Zealand's capital, and have placed the boy in welfare agency care. A passer-by called police after seeing the sleeping baby in a car parked near the Mermaid Strip Club in Wellington about 3 am on Tuesday. Police took the baby to hospital and arrested the father, 42, after he was located in the club, Inspector Simon Perry said.

Two convicts dress up as sheep to evade capture

Two convicts who escaped from a high security prison in Argentina have managed to evade arrest by disguising themselves up as sheep by wearing full sheepskins including the sheep's head. Maximiliano Pereyra and Ariel Diaz stole the sheep hides from a ranch after fleeing from an Argentinian maximum security prison a week ago, The Sun has reported. The duo managed to evade 300 policemen on their trail by disguising themselves as sheep. Locals have seen them running through farmland at night. "They were wearing grey clothes but had full sheepskins, including the sheep's heads, over their heads and back," a farmworker was quoted as saying. Spotting the two men among thousands of sheep is "almost impossible", the police said.

Pope 'has no UK arrest immunity'

Plans to have the Pope arrested when he visits the UK will succeed because he is not a head of state, a solicitor has said. Atheist authors Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens proposed the action against the Pontiff for his handling of child abuse scandals in the Catholic church. The writers' solicitor Mark Stephens said applications will be made to courts in the UK and the International Criminal Court for a warrant for Pope Benedict XVI's arrest. His likely defence would be be that he is immune from prosecution during his visit to Britain in September, according to the lawyer. Mr Stephens said: "The courts will examine the claim of immunity. I believe that an English court would reject it. If the Pope was here on a state visit, ordinarily a head of state would have sovereign immunity. What I believe is that because he's not a sovereign, not a head of state, he's not entitled to the defence." He said that the Vatican was declared to be a state by Benito Mussolini, but this had no standing in international law. The Pope faced criticism after it emerged that he signed a letter which delayed the punishment of a paedophile priest in the US for the "good of the universal church". Writing in 1985, the future Pontiff said that he needed more time to consider the case. Mr Stephens, who has represented abuse victims in the past said: "This will require the Pope to deal with the way in which he appears to have prioritised the reputation of the Catholic church over the welfare of children." Potential charges against the Pope would be crimes against humanity.