What happened
Severe winter weather has brought transport networks across Europe to a standstill, with at least six deaths linked to snow and ice. Fatal incidents were reported in France and Bosnia as roads became hazardous and heavy snowfall damaged infrastructure. Air travel has also been heavily affected, with large-scale cancellations leaving travellers stranded at major hubs including Paris and Amsterdam. 

Who said what
French officials confirmed five deaths connected to road accidents, while Bosnian police said a woman in Sarajevo was killed when a snow-laden tree collapsed on her. The frigid temperatures have “crippled European air, road and rail travel”, leaving tourists “frustrated by delays”, said Matthew Mannion in DW. Yet in cities like Paris, some have still “found joy and beauty in the wintry scenes”.

What next?
Weather agencies have issued further warnings, with alerts for ice and snow across parts of France. The UK is also preparing for more disruption as Storm Goretti brings heavy snow and strong winds to parts of England and Wales tomorrow.

What happened
The UK government has called on Elon Musk’s X to urgently deal with its Grok AI chatbot after Ofcom raised “serious concerns” about the tool, which is being used to generate deepfake nudes of people without their consent, as well as sexualised images of children.

Who said what
“What we have been seeing online in recent days has been absolutely appalling, and unacceptable in decent society,” said Technology Minister Liz Kendall. “We cannot and will not allow the proliferation of these demeaning and degrading images, which are disproportionately aimed at women and girls.”

Having previously admitted to “isolated cases” of users prompting the generative AI assistant for images “depicting minors in minimal clothing”, X’s Safety account has now said it would “take action against illegal content” on the platform by “removing it, permanently suspending accounts, and working with local governments and law enforcement as necessary”.

What next?
Ofcom has made “urgent contact” with xAI, Musk’s artificial intelligence company, to assess what steps it has taken to protect users in the UK.

The main concern for Zimbabwe’s driving instructors is not teaching the highway code to their students but making sure they “survive some of the world’s deadliest roads”, said The Associated Press.

In 2024, the country recorded more than 2,000 deaths from road traffic accidents and more than 10,000 injuries, according to the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe. Africa as a whole has the “world’s highest fatality rate at 26.6 deaths per 100,000 people, compared with a global average of about 18”, said AP. And Zimbabwe has one of the highest rates – nearly 30 deaths per 100,000 people – within Africa.

Zimbabwe was once known for “orderly traffic and well kept roads” but its network has “deteriorated since the 2000s”. A series of economic crises has taken its toll on road infrastructure, while “weakened” enforcement of maintenance has led to “traffic chaos”. 

Despite attempts to bolster police presence on the roads, “dangerous driving remains deeply entrenched”. Transport minister Felix Mhona told the country’s Senate that over 90% of road accidents are attributable to human error, said The Herald. 

To promote road safety, Zimbabwean police have begun using body cameras and breathalysers, and want a “review of the driver licensing system”, said AP. This would include improvements to training programmes, public information campaigns to raise awareness of reckless driving, and tougher enforcement, including deducting points for more driving offences.

New road safety policies have also been introduced but their enforcement is “strikingly inadequate”. Inconsistent action by the authorities has led to drivers and passengers feeling “empowered to flout safety rules without fear of consequence”.