Normally bright city skylines, here in Toronto, were plunged into blackness

England have

Massive power failures have caused chaos across the eastern United States and Canada, hitting major cities such as New York and Ottawa.

It is thought to be the worst power cut in US history, and has affected more than 50 million people.

Traffic lights failed, underground railways were evacuated and people were trapped in lifts in offices and apartments. Flights into six airports in the affected areas were stopped for several hours.

There were extraordinary scenes in New York City as workers walked home, choking pavements and roads.

Civilians manned intersections directing gridlocked traffic after traffic signals failed.

Thousands of commuters were unable to get home and spent the night sleeping on the streets.

In many areas, the main difficulty was the soaring heat. The blackout happened on one of the hottest days of the year, with temperatures of up to 32C.

Manhattan worker Lucy was one of those who walked home, leaving her office at 1630 (1200 GMT) and arriving at her Jersey City home at midnight.

"I tried to get a ferry from NYC, but they soon stopped from the pier I walked to as they all ran out of fuel," she said.

"The queues were terrible - people fainting everywhere from the heat."

For many, the incident brought back memories of the terrorist attacks of 11 September.

Jessica Nottes was on top of the Empire State building when the power went out.

"We had to walk down 86 flights of stairs," she said. "I kept thinking about the Twin Towers and how I would get down. But everybody was calm."

President George W Bush was quick to give reassurances that terrorism was not to blame, and added, "We're slowly but surely coping with this massive national problem."

Canadian officials have pointed to a fire in a power plant near the upstate New York town of Niagara as the cause, although the United States disputes this.

A spokeswoman for New York Governor George Pataki said US officials were looking at a power transmission problem from Canada as the most likely source of the power cuts.

Work has been going on through the night to restore electricity to the worst-hit areas, and some power is returning although officials say restoring levels to normal could take much longer.

The meeting between Roosevelt and Churchill was shrouded in secrecy

Details of the meetings only emerged after the announcement of a joint declaration by Britain and America on the basic principles for a post-war world, sealing the alliance between the two countries for the downfall of Hitler.

The document, known as the Atlantic Charter, consists of a list of eight undertakings:

1.Britain and the United States seek no territorial gains from the war
2.any changes to a country's territory should only happen with the agreement of the people living there
3.it is the right of everyone to choose the government under which they will live
4.self-government should be restored to those who have lost it
5.there should be free trade between all nations
6.improvements in the economy and in living standards should be available to all
7.there should be peace following what the Charter calls "the end of Nazi tyranny" peace should enable freedom of movement around the world
8.a belief that aggressive nations must be disarmed if the world is to live at peace

Rumours of high-level talks have been rife for weeks in the American press following the sudden disappearance from Washington of Mr Roosevelt and several top US officials.

Mr Churchill's unexplained absence from the House of Commons during a statement on the war situation on 6 August had also attracted some attention.

It turned out both men were involved in at least three days of intensive talks on board the American cruiser, USS Augusta, and the British battleship, HMS Prince of Wales, anchored in Placentia Bay in Newfoundland, Canada.

It was the first time Mr Churchill had met Mr Roosevelt as heads of their respective governments, and their discussions were thought to have covered several other matters, such as the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June, the supply of weapons under the Lease-Lend Act, and the threat to Britain's lifeline in the Battle of the Atlantic.

Although the Charter is clearly an undertaking for the two countries to co-operate after the war, it stops short of anything which might bring forward America's participation in the war.

But as Japan continues to build up her fleet in the Pacific, speculation has been growing as to just how long the Americans can stay out.