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Europe’s frozen February may last until month’s end Europe’s big freeze may last until the end of February. That is the chilling warning from leading meteorologists.?�Italy is already mourning some 40 victims of the cold and heavy snowfall. Some villages in the north have been completely cut off.?�Nearly 500 people Europe-wide have lost their lives in the worst February cold spell the continent has seen in decades.?�Temperatures in some eastern countries have plummeted to nearly minus 40 degrees Celsius.?�At least 135 people have died in Ukraine. Dozens have died in Russia since the start of the month.?�A hurricane hit the

Complex path to Greek bailout agreement For Greece to avoid a so-called uncontrolled default on its debts a massively complicated web of agreements still has to come together. They involve the Greek government and opposition parties, the European Commission, the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the investors who have bought government bonds from Athens, eurozone finance ministers and parliamentary committees in Germany and Finland. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso warned: “The costs of a default by Greece and the costs of Greece possibly leaving the euro would be much greater than the costs of continuing to support

Angouleme: Strip show with a difference The Angouleme International Comics?�Festival?�put the spotlight on Spanish and?�Swedish works this year.?�Ever-popular, more than 200,000 fans visited the festival.?�?�Claude de Saint-Vincent, the president of?�Dargaud, a?�comic book publisher, said: “More than?�50 million comic books?�have been sold.?�The cartoon?�market in?�2011 was nearly?�700 million euros. And the comic strip market is growing again this year.”?�And stories in the news are also finding their way into cartoons.?�Christophe Blain and Guy Delisle are two of the authors leading the way.?�Guy Delisle is from Quebec but spends a lot of time abroad. His latest book,?�‘Chroniques de J?�rusalem’, won the main prize

The Artist director scoops top Hollywood award French director Michel Hazanavicius has won the top honour at the Directors Guild Awards for his silent movie ‘The Artist’. The 44-year-old was named as best director. His piece is tipped to win big at next month’s Oscars. The Directors Guild Awards often provide clues for future Oscar success. Only six times in their 63-year history has the winner failed to go on and be named best director at the Oscars of that year. The film stars Jean Dujardin as Hollywood silent actor George Valentin who sees his career crumble amid the growing

Egyptian parliament discusses football violence The Egyptian parliament has held an emergency session to discuss the deadly football riot. Following a minute’s silence to mourn those who died, angry politicians denounced the low level of security at the game given the tense build-up. Some accused the military council of allowing, or even causing the violence. Opponents of the army regularly accuse it of creating disorder to scupper transition to civilian rule. Osama Yassin of the Freedom and Justice party said: “This was not a clash between sports fans but a scene of organised chaos. This is based on provocation –

Roger Vadim’s Ferrari for sale at R?�tromobile For lovers of vintage cars and motorbikes the R?�tromobile event in Paris is nothing short of paradise.?�Now in its 37th year, this year’s event has attracted more than 350 exhibitors who have brought their lovingly-maintained and – in some cases – eyewateringly expensive vehicles.?�R?�tromobile director Fran?�ois Melcion told euronews: “This year the stars of R?�tromobile are, first of all, the Peter Mullin Collection, which comes from Los Angeles?�with 10 French cars with French bodywork. We wanted to give a ???triple A??? at R?�tromobile by presenting all French products. We also have automobile dealers,

Sauli Niinist?�: from tragedy to the presidency Over the course of Finland’s presidential election campaign, the turbulent personal life of 63-year-old conservative candidate Sauli Niinist?� may well have won him some sympathy votes. His financial expertise has reassured many Finns: he was appointed vice-chairman of the board of directors of the European Investment Bank in 2003 after introducing the euro to Finland as finance minister. But Niinist?� has largely been out of the political spotlight in recent years. His first wife, Marja-Lena, was killed in a car accident in 1995 after more than 20 years of marriage. Niinist?� found himself

UN remains split over Syria The UN?�is?�divided?�over how to end the violence in Syria. A special session of the?�15-nation?�Security Council had been asked to?�consider a resolution backing an?�Arab?�League?�plan, but Russia and China remain to be convinced.?�US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she?� believes?�Syrian leaders are pitting ethnic and religious groups against each other, which could spark a civil war.?�“To date the?�evidence is clear, that Assad’s forces are initiating all of the attacks that kill civilians. But as more citizens take up arms to resist the regime’s brutality, violence is increasingly likely to spiral out of control,” said Clinton.?�Russia, Syria’s

Two year doping ban for Contador Spanish cyclist Alberto Contador has been given a two-year ban for failing a doping test during the 2010 Tour de France, ruling him out of this year’s competition and the Olympic Games. The Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected his appeal that he ate a contaminated steak which led to him testing positive for the banned anabolic agent clenbuterol. A three-time winner of cycling’s biggest race, his future in the sport is now in doubt. Contador had threatened to quit if found guilty and now looks set to be stripped of his last title.

Romney?�trounces Gingrich in Florida?�?� Mitt Romney has taken the Florida Republican primary after a convincing win over?�Newt Gingrich.?�Putting last month’s loss in South Carolina far behind him, Romney surged in opinion polls, performed well in two debates and pounded his rival with negative advertising.?�In the end exit polls indicated the economy was the key issue for a majority of voters.?�“My leadership will end the Obama era and begin a new era of American prosperity,” Romney told supporters at his headquarters in?�Tampa Florida.?�Florida was a winner-takes-all state worth?�50 delegates towards the total of 1,144 a contender?� needs to win the nomination.?�Newt