Footage of Palin 'witchcraft' blessing emerges

Sarah Brown stole the limelight for the second time in a week last night when she came face to face with Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate who has electrified the race for the White House.

The last minute encounter came at an all-women dinner hosted by the Prime Minister’s wife to raise awareness for mothers who die in childbirth attended by 350 high profile businesswomen and leaders wives.

Ms Palin attended the meeting as John McCain, the Republican Presidential candidate, announced he was suspending campaigning because of the international economic situation.

Mrs Brown flew out with her husband from Manchester, fresh from glowing reviews for her speaking debut at Labour conference on Tuesday.

She was accompanied by a number of celebrities including Australian model Elle MacPherson and Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York as well as Labour MP Barbara Follet.

The dinner was organised on behalf of the White Ribbon Alliance, a charity which campaigns to prevent death in childbirth, the fifth Millennium Development Goal.

The UN estimates that in 2005, a woman died every minute of complications related to pregnancy and childbirth - more than 500,000 women a year.

Almost all of these women, 99 per cent, live and die in developing countries, the UN says.

Mrs Brown was due to give a picture presentation alongside Queen Rania of Jordan.

The event was held in Tao, an Asian theme restaurant near Madison Avenue with a 16-foot-tall Buddha, fountains, and a koi pond.

Amid fierce debate in the US about the wisdom of Mr Paulson's $700bn dollar rescue package, Mr Brown also held formal talks last night with Mr Zapatero, Mr Rudd and Mr da Silva, as well as European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso and Danish prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

Mr Brown set out his demands, such as transparency and bonuses which incentivise longer-term decision making, as well as the immediate implementation of a new global institution bringing together regulators from countries all over the world.

A senior British government official said the Prime Minister "strongly welcomed" what the US Treasury was trying to do.

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