Afghanistan hit back at pressure from Western powers for it to crackdown on corruption on Saturday and accused the United Nations envoy to Kabul of seeking to interfere in the formation of the next government.

Washington, Europe and the United Nations have increasingly been putting public pressure on Hamid Karzai, the newly re-elected president, to tackle widespread graft since he emerged as the winner of the country's disputed elections on Monday.

In a sharply worded response, Afghanistan's foreign ministry accused Kai Eide, the UN envoy, of breaching international norms after he called a news conference this week to urge Mr Karzai to appoint reform-minded ministers.

"Over the last few days some political and diplomatic circles and propaganda agencies of certain foreign countries have intervened in Afghanistan's internal affairs by issuing instructions concerning the composition of Afghan government organs and political policy," it said. "Such instructions have violated respect for Afghanistan's national sovereignty."

The statement also appeared to be directed at Gordon Brown, the British prime minister, who gave a speech on Friday describing Afghanistan as a "byword for corruption" and warning Mr Karzai he risked losing international support. "Cronies and warlords should have no place in the future of a democratic Afghanistan," Mr Brown said.

The Dalai Lama has angered the Chinese government with a visit to a Tibetan Buddhist monastery town in the remote northeast Indian region of Arunachal Pradesh.

The Tibetan spiritual leader said his visit on Sunday was only a lecture tour, but China, which claims the region as its own, has described the event as a provocation aimed at harming China-India ties.

"It is quite usual for China to step up campaigning against me wherever I go," the Dalai Lama said after opening a museum at the Tawang monastery.

"It is totally baseless on the part of the Chinese communist government to say that I am encouraging a separatist movement.

"My visit to Tawang is non-political and aimed at promoting universal brotherhood and nothing else."

Saudi Arabia has regained control of an area of territory seized by Yemeni rebels in an incursion last week, a senior defence official in the kingdom has said.

Saudi Arabia began air raids and artillery bombardments against the Houthi group after its fighters crossed from northern Yemen and reportedly took control of the area called Jebel al-Dukhan.

"The situation is calm ... especially in Jebel al-Dukhan, of which full control has been regained," Prince Khaled bin Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz, the assistant minister for defence and aviation, said on Saturday, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

However, there were reports that air raids along the border were continuing on Sunday.

Theodore Karasik, an analyst at the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis, said that it was likely that the apparent success of the Saudi action was only a "temporary reprieve".

"The Saudis have been able to push back the rebels but they are going to continue to have problems with the rebels if the Yemeni army is indeed using the southern part of Saudi Arabia for operations and for supply lines," he told Al Jazeera from Dubai.

General George Casey Jr., the Army chief of staff, said on Sunday that he was concerned that speculation about the religious beliefs of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, accused of killing 12 fellow soldiers and one civilian and wounding 30 0thers in a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, could "cause a backlash against some of our Muslim soldiers."

"I've asked our Army leaders to be on the lookout for that," General Casey said in an interview on CNN's "State of the Union. "It would be a shame -- as great a tragedy as this was -- it would be a shame if our diversity became a casualty as well."

General Casey used almost the same language in an appearance on ABC's "This Week With George Stephanopoulos," an indication of the Army's effort to ward off bias against the more than 3,000 Muslims in its ranks.

"A diverse Army gives us strength," General Casey, who visited Fort Hood Friday, said on "This Week."

Investigators have tentatively concluded that Major Hasan, a 39-year-old psychiatrist, acted alone and was not part of a terrorist plot. But Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, told "Fox News Sunday" that he would begin a congressional investigation to determine whether the shootings can be termed a terrorist attack.

WASHINGTON -- Advisers to President Obama are preparing three options for escalating the war effort in Afghanistan, all of them calling for more American troops, as he moves closer to a decision on the way forward in the eight-year-old war, officials said Saturday.

The options include Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal's request for roughly another 40,000 troops; a middle scenario sending about 30,000 more troops; and a lower alternative involving 20,000 to 25,000 reinforcements, according to the officials, who insisted on anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. Officials hope to present the options to Mr. Obama this week before he leaves on a trip to Asia.

While some civilian and military officials believe Mr. Obama is seeking a middle ground in the debate over Afghanistan, aides denied he has made any decision or is leaning toward any of the options. Still, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates appears to be supportive of the middle option, some officials said, and his view is thought to be pivotal because of Mr. Obama's respect for him and his status as a holdover from a Republican administration.

Concerns are growing in Israel's government over the possibility of a unilateral Palestinian declaration of independence within the 1967 borders, a move which could potentially be recognized by the United Nations Security Council.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently asked the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama to veto any such proposal, after reports reached Jerusalem of support for such a declaration from major European Union countries, and apparently also certain U.S. officials.

The reports indicated that Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has reached a secret understanding with the Obama administration over U.S. recognition of an independent Palestinian state. Such recognition would likely transform any Israeli presence across the Green Line, even in Jerusalem, into an illegal incursion to which the Palestinians would be entitled to engage in measures of self-defense.

At least 60 people are reported missing after three days of rain. Meteorologists say the downpour is unrelated to Hurricane Ida, now swirling off Mexico's Yucatan peninsula.

Reporting from Mexico City and San Salvador - Torrential rains in El Salvador triggered flooding and mudslides that left at least 91 people dead across the Central American nation, officials said today.

At least 60 people were reported missing, and authorities warned that the toll could rise as rescuers reached hard-hit zones that remained cut off by floodwaters and landslides. About 7,000 people were evacuated and scores were plucked from flood zones by helicopter, Interior Minister Humberto Centeno said.

The impoverished nation of 7 million was pelted by three days of rain attributed to "a disturbed weather area" off the Pacific coast of El Salvador, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center. Meteorologist Dennis Feltgen said the heavy rains were unrelated to Hurricane Ida, which earlier sideswiped the region as a tropical storm over the western Caribbean.

Salvadoran authorities reported flooding in the capital, San Salvador, and rural areas to the east. Some of the worst damage was reported in the eastern province of San Vicente, a farming region where authorities said many residents remained cut off from communication.