The Obama administration should rethink its commitment to the fight in Afghanistan, according to American politicians furious with Afghan president Hamid Karzai for saying his country would back Pakistan in a war with the United States.

The World Trade Organisation said Britain and other European countries gave billions to Airbus in illegal subsidies, in a trade dispute ruling that backed its rival, US aviation giant Boeing.

US President George W Bush has asked Congress for authority to use “all means he determines to be appropriate, including force” to disarm and overthrow Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, saying the US will take action on its own if the UN Security Council baulks.