Pope Francis yesterday honoured the 100th anniversary of the slaughter of Armenians by calling it “the first genocide of the 20th century” and urging the international community to recognise it as such, a politically explosive declaration that angered Turkey.

The Pope travelled to the far eastern Philippines to comfort survivors of the devastating Typhoon Haiyan, then cut his own trip short because of another approaching storm.

The Pope has called for Europe to craft a unified and fair immigration policy, saying that thousands of refugees coming ashore need acceptance and assistance, not self-interested policies that risk lives and fuel social conflict.