Snowstorm strikes north-eastern United States

America : The north-eastern US states of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia have declared states of emergency as a huge winter storm sweeps in, bringing heavy snow.

The US National Weather Service issued blizzard warnings from eastern Pennsylvania to south-west Maine.

Schools are closed and thousands of flights have been cancelled.

The conditions caused German Chancellor Angela Merkel to postpone a trip to Washington to meet President Trump.

It has now been rescheduled for Friday.

Authorities in the state of New Hampshire say a 16-year-old girl died after losing control of her car and crashing into a tree around 07:00 local time on Tuesday morning.

The girl, whose name is being withheld, was transported to hospital where she was pronounced dead.

With winds of up to 60mph (100km/h), the storm is causing severe disruption for commuters across many parts of the north-east, and authorities in several states are advising residents to stay off the roads.

In all, about 50 million people across the country have been warned about the severe weather.