US congressional panel’s resolution describing ‘genocide’ of Armenians could damage relations, warns Turkish PM Turkey’s prime minister warned of serious damage to US-Turkish relations today after a congressional committee approved a resolution describing the massacre of more than 1 million Armenians by the Ottoman empire during the first world war as genocide. Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country had been accused of a crime it did not commit, adding that the resolution would hamper efforts by Turkey and Armenia to end a century of hostility . Turkey last night recalled its ambassador after the house foreign affairs committee approved 23-22 the non-binding measure despite objections from the Obama administration , which had warned that such a move would harm relations with Turkey – a Nato ally with about 1,700 troops in Afghanistan – and could imperil fragile reconciliation talks between Turkey and Armenia. The Turkish president, Abdullah Gul, called the resolution “an injustice to history and to the science of history”. Armenia applauded the passage of the measure, which its foreign minister, Edward Nalbandian, described as “an important step towards the prevention of crimes against humanity”. He added: “This is further proof of the devotion of the American people to universal human values and is an important step towards the prevention of crimes against humanity.” It remained unclear whether the resolution would come to a vote in the full house

Officials say more than 400 killed in 8.8-magnitiude quake, with tens of thousands more made homeless Rescue workers were today continuing to search for survivors after one of the biggest earthquakes ever recorded killed more than 400 people in Chile and left tens of thousands homeless. Fears that a number of Pacific nations would be hit by a tsunami generated by the magnitude 8.8 quake were allayed, however, when the waves turned out to be smaller than expected, prompting the lifting of a Pacific-wide alert. Carmen Fernandez, the head of the National Emergency Agency, said 1.5 million Chileans had been affected by the disaster, with 500,000 homes severely damaged. The country’s president, Michelle Bachelet, declared a “state of catastrophe” in central Chile . “It was a catastrophe of devastating consequences,” she said. International leaders were quick to offer their assistance to the Chilean authorities. Gordon Brown said Britain “stands ready to help”, while Barack Obama promised that the US “will be there” if Chile asks for aid. The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton – due to start a five-nation tour of Latin America tomorrow – said: “Our hemisphere comes together in times of crisis, and we will stand side by side with the people of Chile in this emergency.” The full extent of the quake damage remained unclear as dozens of aftershocks continued to ripple across the nation. In Concepción – Chile’s second largest city, 70 miles from the epicentre – nurses and residents pushed the injured through the streets on stretchers. Survivors wrapped in blankets walked around in a daze, some carrying children in their arms

Britain sends investigators to emirate as local police chief points finger at Mossad over killing of Hamas official Britain today declared its “outrage” at the use of forged British passports by a hit squad that killed a Hamas official in Dubai, and dispatched police investigators to the Gulf emirate to collect evidence. The officers from the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) arrived in the United Arab Emirates as the investigation focused increasingly on Israel

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Pentagon says Patriot shield will deter strike on American allies in the Gulf Tension between the US and Iran heightened dramatically today with the disclosure that Barack Obama is deploying a missile shield to protect American allies in the Gulf from attack by Tehran.

• Nato representative says Karzai must widen scope • ‘Unsavoury characters’ need to be involved Nato’s new top civilian representative in Afghanistan has warned that a lasting peace will require talking to some “pretty unsavoury characters” with appalling human rights records, and bringing them within the Afghan political system. Mark Sedwill, who was – until yesterday – Britain’s ambassador to Kabul, was speaking before tomorrow’s London conference, at which much of the focus will be on the signals President Hamid Karzai sends to the Taliban in his opening remarks. The Afghan leader is expected to deal principally with a plan to reintegrate Taliban footsoldiers through internationally funded development projects, but Karzai’s speech will also be keenly watched for any peace overtures towards the leadership of the insurgency. British and US officials say any serious talk of reconciliation with Taliban leaders is premature but Sedwill said that ultimately such “hard choices” have to be made. “If we are going to bring conflicts like Afghanistan to an end … that means some pretty unsavoury characters are going to have to be brought within the system,” Sedwill said, at London’s Frontline Club. “Because if you don’t bring them within the system in some way … you risk whatever fragile peace you build falling apart.” Sedwill, named yesterday as Nato’s special civilian representative in Kabul, said refusing to deal with Taliban leaders because of their past would be hypocritical when there were warlords responsible for “appalling abuses” in the government camp. It is just worth remembering that when we talk about reconciliation with the Taliban. We have got to be careful not to be making hypocritical moral judgements and saying one group are absolutely beyond the pale because of the way they conducted themselves while another group of people are in the tent despite the way they conducted themselves.” Speaking to the Guardian on the eve of the conference, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Pakistan’s foreign minister, said Pakistan was uniquely placed to help talks between the western alliance and the Taliban.

Incumbent wins first election since Tamil Tigers’ defeat as rival Sarath Fonseka disputes result and says he fears arrest The Sri Lankan president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, today called for national unity after winning a controversial election, a result immediately contested by his rival creating a tense political standoff in the capital. Even as Rajapaksa was declared the victor with 57.8% of the vote, General Sarath Fonseka, the former head of the army, who received 40%, said he would begin legal proceedings to have the result annulled. Fonseka also accused the government of wanting to kill him by removing his personal security detail.

West wants president to tackle fraud, UK ambassador takes larger role and former Taliban are given rehabilitation chance Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, is under intense western pressure to take more serious action against corruption at the start of a critical conference in London about his country’s future. Donor nations rejected an anti-­corruption plan presented by Karzai’s government last week as half-hearted, and asked him to come up with more ambitious measures for the Lancaster House conference, where his leadership will be seen as central in determining whether the war with the Taliban is winnable. The extent of doubts over his qualities became clear with the publication of classified memos sent by the US ambassador in Kabul, Karl Eikenberry, to Washington in November. In the diplomatic cables, published by the New York Times, he said Karzai “is not an adequate strategic partner” and “continues to shun responsibility for any sovereign burden”. “Sending additional forces will delay the day when Afghans will take over, and make it difficult, if not impossible, to bring our people home on a reasonable time­table,” Eikenberry wrote on 6 November. “An increased US and foreign role in security and governance will increase Afghan dependence, at least in the short term.” The depth of these reservations will inevitably damage attempts by more than 70 state delegations to demonstrate international resolve and unity

Lebanese minister says plane that went down in storm, killing 90, suddenly turned in opposite direction from suggested path The pilot of an Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed into the sea flew in the opposite direction from the path recommended by the control tower after taking off from Beirut in a storm, Lebanon’s transport minister said today. All 90 people on board were killed when the plane went down in flames minutes after takeoff at around 2:30am yesterday, during a night of lightning and thunderstorms. The minister, Ghazi Aridi, said the pilot initially followed the tower’s guidance, but then abruptly changed course and went in the opposite direction. “They asked him to correct his path but he did a very fast and strange turn before disappearing completely from the radar,” Aridi said. It was not immediately clear why the pilot veered off the recommended path.

At least 18 killed and more than 80 injured in attack one day after multiple bombings in Iraqi capital A suicide car bomber killed at least 18 people and injured dozens more today in a strike on a police crime laboratory in central Baghdad, a day after several hotels were hit by suicide attacks , officials said. Officials confirmed that 12 police officers and six visiting civilians were killed at the forensic investigation office at Tahariyat Square in the Karradah neighbourhood. At least 82 people, more than half of them police, were reported injured and rescue crews were searching through the rubble for more casualties. This week’s bombings – all against prominent and heavily fortified targets – dealt yet another blow to the an Iraqi government, which is already struggling to answer for security lapses that have resulted in a number of major attacks in the heart of the capital since August. Police and hospital officials said today’s bomber tried to drive a pickup truck through a checkpoint and blast walls protecting the office. Shortly afterwards, rescue teams began sorting through the debris of the partially damaged three-storey building as a crane removed some of the 3-metre, 7-tonne concrete walls toppled by the blast. The office mainly deals with data collected during criminal investigations, including fingerprints and other evidence.