London:
Severe winter weather continued to cause havoc across large parts of Europe on Friday. Heavy snow and freezing temperatures led to authorities warning people to stock food and drinking water. Germans were urged to buy enough food and medicines to last for up to four days.
The European cold snap saw snow clog roads and airports on Friday, knock out electricity and close schools. In France, snow piled up from Normandy to Marseille on the Mediterranean shore.
Hundreds of flights were scrapped leaving more passengers stranded and the beleaguered Eurostar link between Britain, France and Belgium axed half its services on Friday and said the disruption would continue into the weekend.
Eurostar cancelled half of its trains between London and Paris Friday, and said only about two-thirds of services between London and the continent would operate over the weekend.
Britain, suffering its worst winter for three decades, was forced to curb industrial gas usage to save dwindling supplies.
The country prepared for further freezing conditions as forecasters warned that temperatures would drop below minus 20 degrees Celsius (minus four degrees Fahrenheit) overnight. Two men died after falling into a frozen lake in Leicester, central England.
In France, significant snowfalls caused major delays to train services and southern areas experienced electricity cuts.
With more snow forecast, authorities asked airlines to cut a quarter of flights on Saturday at Paris's main Charles de Gaulle airport.
In Norway, temperatures hit minus 42 degrees Celsius in the central village of Folldal.
In Poland, nine people died in a 48-hour period, bringing the total weather-related deaths to 139 since the start of November, a police spokesman said. Most of the victims were homeless people.