Deadly cold snap cripples Europe  Updated February 06, 2012
03:27:13  The Arctic cold snap that has hit Europe for over a
week has claimed nearly 300 lives, bringing air travel chaos to
London and dumping snow as far south as Rome and even North
Africa.  The grim winter toll rose in Ukraine, Poland, Italy and
France, where two homeless people found frozen to death were the
latest victims, with authorities across the continent on Sunday
reporting at least 297 fatalities.  London's Heathrow Airport,
the world's busiest air hub by passenger traffic, cancelled a
third of the day's flights, while much of Britain was blanketed
in snow, leaving drivers stranded on roads overnight.  In Italy,
which reported a seventh victim, snow-covered Rome was virtually
paralysed, thousands of people were trapped on trains, and the
weather emergency sparked runs on supermarkets.  "I couldn't get
hold of any food at the supermarket, people are stocking up like
they did with bread in 1943," Rome resident Salvatore Merlo said
on Twit