The son of a Siberian miner, Valery Brumel rose to become arguably the best high jumper in history, until his world-class career ended when he almost lost a leg in a motorcycle accident.

U.S. and Afghan forces are fighting a large band of rebels in the mountains of southern Afghanistan in the biggest battle in the country for nearly a year, officials said Tuesday.

Four Palestinians were shot dead in confrontations Tuesday with Israeli troops in the West Bank and three Palestinians died in a powerful explosion at a Gaza City house, though the cause of the blast was disputed.

The U.S. and Indian militaries are planning to conduct their first joint exercise with fighter aircraft, U.S. defense officials said, a move that has aroused concern among senior Pakistani officials because it is likely to teach India how to blunt the ability of Pakistan to use fighter jets to launch nuclear weapons.

The administration of U.S. President George W. Bush has assembled what it believes to be significant intelligence showing that Iraq has been actively moving and concealing banned weapons systems and related equipment from United Nations inspectors, according to informed sources.

Top investment bankers added to the sense of gloom that depressed markets Monday, with some saying a long war in Iraq would devastate the sector, leaving only a handful of global survivors.

Electronics and entertainment giant Sony Corp. said Tuesday it would abolish its Japanese audit system and set up a U.S.-style corporate governance model, with an in-house committee structure using independent directors.

Sergei Ivanenko announced last week that Yabloko would not unite with the Union of Right Forces.