Athens hit by snowstorms

ATHENS, Greece -- Athens saw its heaviest snowfall in 10 years with forecasters predicting the cold weather front could reach as far south as Crete.

Some suburban areas around the capital were reporting 40 centimetres (16 inches) of snow on the ground on Friday while scores of minor accidents were reported on the city's roads.

The winter storm also fell on central and southern Greece, disrupting air flights and ferry trips as well as isolating about 40 villages.

Other regions affected on Friday were Turkey's Aegean and Mediterranean coastal provinces.

Snow storms paralysed traffic in the Turkish city of Istanbul, where hundreds of people were forced to abandon cars and buses and walk to work.

Schools and universities closed for the day and the Istanbul stock exchange cancelled trading while a crisis administration was set up in the city.

Among those stranded in Istanbul were Japan's Foreign Minister Makiko Takana, who was scheduled to fly to the capital Ankara for talks with Turkish leaders.

Elsewhere in Europe, 10 people had died in Moscow from freezing conditions as low as 24 Celsius earlier in the week, while Poland and the Czech Republic also suffered from the cold.

Scandinavia recorded its coldest temperatures in a decade, while temperatures sank to -22 Celsius in northern Italy's Dolomites region. Farmers said the cold had damaged fruit and flower plantings in northwestern Liguria region.

Temperatures in Greece are expected to rise early next week.