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Severe disruption caused by the UK’s freezing weather is to continue into next week, as anger grows over a virtual shutdown at Heathrow airport.
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Political journalist and commentator Anthony Howard has died after a short illness, his family says.
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More than 50 people have been killed in post-election violence in Ivory Coast amid growing reports of abductions, the UN has said.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, said the deaths occurred in the past three days. More than 200 people were also injured.
Incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo says he has won the 28 November poll.
The UN and major powers have recognised Mr Gbagbo’s rival, Alassane Ouattara, as the winner.
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Many people slept on the floor at Heathrow Airport overnight. Pic by Gareth Jones Heavy snow has caused misery for Christmas travellers across England, with passengers stranded at airports and drivers stuck on roads.
No flights are arriving at Heathrow Airport and only seven were due to leave, while 50 flights have been cancelled at Gatwick.
There are delays and cancellations at many other airports.
Many drivers on the A34 in Oxfordshire were stuck in cars overnight and faced queues of up to eight hours on Sunday.
More than 80 cars were abandoned and several jack-knifed lorries blocked the road.
A tanker carrying liquid petroleum gas has overturned on the M25 in Kent, causing police to close the motorway in both directions between junctions five and six.
Cherwell Valley service station on the M40 in Oxfordshire is reported to have run out of fuel.
The Met Office is warning of icy roads across most of England on Sunday.
Heavy snow is predicted for Yorkshire and Humber, the North East and London and the South East.
Many sporting fixtures have been called off, including three Premier League games at Blackpool, Chelsea and West Bromwich.
Temperatures in Shawbury, Shropshire, hit -20C overnight and were set to range between -1C and -15C across England on Sunday.
In Birmingham, the council said roads had been gritted but temperatures as low as -9C were “hampering the effectiveness” of the salt.
A city council spokesman said: “We would ask businesses and other partners to do what they safely can to help clear the snow.”
Drivers faced huge delays because of snow and ice. Pic by Lloyd Sturdy There are delays and cancellations at Stansted, Luton, Exeter, London City, Birmingham, Bristol and Southampton airports.
Bournemouth Airport closed on Saturday but has since reopened.
Ryanair has cancelled more than 80 flights to or from UK airports, mainly in the London area.
Hundreds of thousands of Britons were due to fly this weekend, according to travel association Abta, but many had their plans disrupted.
Thousands were stranded at Heathrow Airport overnight and hundreds more at Gatwick.
Many were forced to sleep on the floor of the terminals.
Sharon Bell, who is trying to fly from Gatwick to India, said: “We’ve had a 25-hour delay.
“We did have to stay in the airport last night. We were sleeping in check-in. They offered to provide blankets and mattresses but those never materialised.
“So we’ve literally sat and laid on the check-in floor all night. I have my parents with me who are in their 60s and they’ve been expected to do the same thing.”
WEATHER AND TRAVEL INFO
Get the latest on travel problems BBC Weather BBC Travel News Highways Agency website Met Office website NHS Winter Health website
On the trains, First Great Western , First Capital Connect and South West Trains have some changes to schedules due to the weather.
Southern and Southeastern are running normal Sunday services, although there may be some cancellations.
There are also delays of up to an hour on the Eurostar.
The heavy snow has also affected Christmas shopping. Brent Cross shopping centre in north London was closed on Saturday but reopened on Sunday.
Tom Nathan, the centre’s general manager, said staff had been working through the night to clear the snow.
“It’s obviously going to be slippy and we ask customers to be terribly careful,” he said.
“We’ll direct people to the sheltered areas first of all for parking. But we’re determined to get open and we’ve had people working really hard for it.”
In Devon, Dartmoor Zoo has closed its doors to visitors. Staff are trying to get to the attraction to ensure the animals are looked after.
In Somerset, the number of people admitted to Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton with broken bones doubled because of the icy weather.
There were 45-50 weather-related fractures in two days compared to the usual figure of about 20, the hospital said.
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Passengers have been affected by airport closures in the UK and across Europe Snow and ice are continuing to cause disruption to flights in Scotland and on the roads across the country.
Edinburgh and Aberdeen runways have been closed and hundreds of diverted passengers spent the night in Glasgow and Edinburgh airports.
There will be no flights to Heathrow on Sunday, with limits on Gatwick flights.
The Met Office issued a warning of very heavy snows in Edinburgh and the Lothians and heavy snow in the north, east coast, central belt and Borders.
Edinburgh Airport closed at 1030 GMT to clear snow and hopes to reopen at 1430 GMT.
Several hundred passengers had been stranded at the airport overnight after a flight was diverted from Heathrow.
A spokesman said passengers sould check with their airline before travelling to the airport as only they could confirm whether flights would be operating.
Glasgow said most flights were operating, however some airlines were experiencing cancellations or delays due to snow elsewhere.
About 300 people stayed at the airport on Saturday night after being diverted from other airports. A spokesman said beds and blankets were provided by airport staff and the Red Cross.
Planes diverted to Glasgow included flights from Dubai, Tel Aviv, Los Angeles and Chicago.
The runway at Aberdeen Airport had to be cleared following early morning snowfalls and has closed again for de-icing. It will not reopen until at least 1200 GMT.
Passengers were also warned of knock-on problems from weather problems at Heathrow and Gatwick.
An airport spokesman said: “We appreciate that it is incredibly frustrating times for passengers but due to local snow and the Heathrow closure our operation is being considerably impacted.”
Highlands and islands airports are all open but snow and ice continues to cause delays and cancellations to some flights.
Heathrow Airport told the BBC that “a few thousand spent the night in the terminals” but said just four short-haul and three long-haul flights would leave on Sunday morning. It hoped to be operational on Monday.
Dozens of flights into and out of Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen were cancelled on Saturday, affecting more than 16,000 passengers.
Snow, ice and freezing fog are all causing problems on the roads, with the worst conditions in the east. Police are again advising drivers to take care if they need to travel.
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The freezing conditions across Britain once again lead to the postponement of a host of sporting fixtures.
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Motorists in Wales are urged to take extra care after plummeting temperatures left many roads treacherous as the freeze continues.
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An elderly woman dies in hospital after she was rescued from a fire at her home in Southampton.
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Many people were forced to sleep at Heathrow overnight (photo: Sue Kerslake) Thousands of travellers have been stranded at Heathrow airport overnight, and hundreds more at Gatwick, as snow continues to disrupt much of the UK.
There will be no flight arrivals at Heathrow on Sunday and only a handful of departures, while many Gatwick flights are affected.
Problems persist at airports UK-wide, while the Met Office is warning of icy roads across much of England and Wales.
More heavy snow is expected in eastern Scotland and north-east England.
Up to 10cm of snow are expected in these areas, and up to 20cm in hilly areas.
Forecasters said the UK was hit by extremely low temperatures overnight, with most parts of the country struggling to get above minus 5C, while fresh snow fell in eastern Scotland and north-east England.
Hundreds of thousands of Britons had been due to fly this weekend, according to travel association Abta, which estimated that four million people expected to go abroad.
Heathrow airport told the BBC’s Helen Fawkes that “a few thousand spent the night in the terminals” but said just four short-haul and three long-haul flights would leave on Sunday morning.
A statement issued by the airport, which saw temperatures fall to minus 5.2C overnight, said it “will be not be accepting arrivals on Sunday, and will only manage a handful of departures as our airfield team continues to deal with the impacts of yesterday’s bad weather and prepares the airport for a full re-opening on Monday”.
The statement went on: “We are extremely sorry for the disruption this will cause to passengers and airlines and we stress that passengers must check with their airlines before travelling to the airport. We will provide regular updates.”
And a Gatwick spokeswoman said it was doing everything it could to “get passengers on their way and aircraft in the air”.
Winter weather has disrupted travel
“Passengers must check with their airline before setting out for the airport to reduce congestion and avoid disappointment,” she said.
Airports in Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands are also suffering cancellations and delays.
Stansted, Luton, Exeter, London City, Aberdeen, Birmingham, Bristol, Southampton, Cardiff and Birmingham airports also said flights would be subject to delays and cancellations throughout Sunday.
In Northern Ireland freezing conditions continue to make travel difficult following some of the heaviest snowfall for 25 years – with more forecast.
Belfast International Airport has reopened, although knock-on effects have caused delays.
On what is one of the busiest weekends of the year for travel and shopping, other problems caused by the weather include:
WEATHER AND TRAVEL INFO
Get the latest on travel problems and school closures via your local website Check if snow is forecast in your area at BBC Weather Details of motorway and local road closures and public transport disruption are available at BBC Travel News For advice on handling difficult driving conditions, see the Highways Agency website For information about severe weather warnings, see the Met Office website For information about staying healthy in the cold weather, see the NHS Winter Health website
The AA said it dealt with 16,000 calls on Saturday, compared with 9,000 on an average pre-Christmas SaturdayThere was some disruption to South West Trains and First Capital Connect services, although most other routes were now operating normally, according to National Rail Enquiries, which has provided a new passenger phone number – 08453 017 641Sunday’s sporting schedule was again badly affected, after wide postponements of football, rugby union and horse racing fixtures on SaturdayAn urgent appeal is being made for blood donors, particularly those who are O negative, as stocks are running lowCompanies have warned of a backlog of deliveries which may not reach customers before Christmas
On Saturday, Jon Caudwell, from the Highways Agency, said they were doing their best to keep major roads in England clear but needed help from motorists who should “really seriously consider” whether they needed to go out.
He said he was surprised at the level of traffic on the roads, given the advice not to travel. He said in some areas abandoned vehicles and jack-knifed lorries had blocked access for gritters.
A Department for Transport spokesman said: “The weather over the last 24 hours has been exceptionally severe. Government continues to monitor all aspects of the situation.”
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The opposition has been given some leeway in campaigning, albeit limited Belarus is due to vote in presidential elections, with the incumbent Alexander Lukashenko is widely expected to win.
Under the authoritarian leader aiming to secure his fourth term, the former Soviet republic has never held a poll seen as fair by international monitors.
However, these elections so far have been much freer than in the past, correspondents say.
But the opposition still plans to hold protests against what they say will be a rigged vote.
Security forces have warned they would crack down on any attempts to stir tension during or after the voting.
Window-dressing?
“There will definitely be political changes… but no change of power in Belarus”
Alexander Lukashenko President of Belarus
Polling stations across Belarus will open at 0600 GMT and will close at 1800 GMT.
Nine challengers are competing with Mr Lukashenko for the presidency.
For the first time, state television aired a debate among the contenders opposing the president, who has governed since 1994.
Mr Lukashenko – who remains popular among large portions of the population – did not take part in the discussion.
The authorities also allowed activists to collect signatures during the election campaign, perform protest songs and read anti-government poetry.
Despite this, many in Belarus believe that the election day result has already been pre-ordained and the political thaw is merely window-dressing, the BBC’s David Stern in Minsk reports.
“Lukashenko needs this to show to the Europeans because he needs money from Europe,” said Andrei Sannikov, one of the three main opposition candidates.
“The economy is in very bad shape and he needs additional credits,” he said.
Mr Lukashenko, who denies the opposition’s claim, has said he is not planning to leave, whether by the ballot box or other means.
Asked by reporters last week if the vote would bring any political changes, he said: “There will definitely be political changes. I am sure you meant political changes in general, but no change of power in Belarus.”
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Four suicide bombers kill four members of the Afghan security forces in Kunduz province, and Afghan soldiers are targeted in a Kabul attack.
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Venezuela reiterates its opposition to the man likely to become the next US ambassador and vows to send him home.
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UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon rejects a call from incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo for UN troops to leave Ivory Coast as tensions escalate after the disputed presidential poll.
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The United States Senate has voted to scrap the ban on gay men and women openly serving in the military.
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Australia take just 50 minutes on the fourth morning to wrap up a 267-run victory over England in the Perth Ashes Test, to tie the series at 1-1.
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