US President George Bush, linking hurricane recovery and the aftermath of the September 11 attacks four years ago, declared today that the nation was ready to “overcome any challenge.”

Some of Pakistan’s most influential clerics swiftly denounced the US and British attacks, calling them an attack against Islam and grounds for holy war.

The bitter rivalry between two US TV news channels has spread to Afghanistan, where a veteran CNN correspondent stationed with forces fighting the Taliban abruptly switched networks.