HARARE: Zimbabweans will start exchanging 'quadrillions' of local dollars for a few US dollars next week, as President Robert Mugabe's government discards its virtually worthless national currency, the central bank said on Thursday. The southern African country started using foreign currencies li

WASHINGTON: The US has spent more than $2.7 billion on the war against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria since bombings began last August, and the average daily cost is now more than $9 million, the Pentagon said Thursday. Releasing a detailed breakdown of the costs for the first time, th

The United Nations on Monday released a "list of shame" of children's rights violators and did not include Israel, despite an outcry over the death of more than 500 children during the Gaza war last year. Rights groups had called on Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to add Israel to the list, and the

WASHINGTON: White House reporters were evacuated from the media briefing room in the middle of press conference by the presidential spokesperson Josh Earnest, after law enforcement agencies received a bomb threat call. The reporters who were escorted to the nearby Eisenhower Executive Building on

TOKYO: Distrust between South Korea and Japan is sky high, a new poll showed on Tuesday, as ties between two of Washington's key Asian allies continue to deteriorate over historical grievances. A record-high 73 per cent of Japanese say their neighbour is untrustworthy, while 85 per cent of South

NEW YORK: A frantic manhunt was on Sunday for two convicted murderers who busted out of New York State’s biggest maximum security prison by cutting through cell walls with power tools and escaping along tunnels. Killers Richard Matt, 48, and David Sweat, 34, sneaked out of the all-male Clinton Corr

SEOUL: South Korea on Sunday reported its fifth death from MERS as the government vowed "all-out" measures to ease growing public fear over the largest outbreak outside Saudi Arabia. The number of infections rose to 64 after 14 new cases, including one death, of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (

WASHINGTON: Data stolen from US government computers by suspected Chinese hackers included security clearance information and background checks dating back three decades, US officials said on Friday, underlining the scope of one of the largest known cyber attacks on federal networks. The brea

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has suffered at least USD 107 billion losses due to terrorism plaguing the country for well over a decade, according to official data. The data was part of the annual national Economic Survey issued by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday. During the last 14 years, the di

A BBC journalist is facing disciplinary action for killing off the Queen on Twitter after apparently mistaking a rehearsal of the announcement of her death for the real thing. The Corporation apologised after Ahmen Khawaja, a broadcast journalist, sent a tweet saying: "'Queen Elizabrth

LONDON: Even though Islam is fast becoming the preferred religion across Europe, vilification of Muslims has been found to be rampant across many of its countries. As many as 61% of Italians have been found to have strong anti-Muslim sentiments, while the number stands at 56% in Poland and 42% in

BEIJING: Seven people were confirmed dead and at least 430 remained missing today, following the capsizing of a cruise ship in Asia's longest river Yangtze in central China as more than 4,000 rescue workers race against time to find survivors amid rough weather conditions. So far 14 people have b

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama has urged Myanmar to end discrimination against its ethnic Rohingya minority if it wants to succeed in its democratic transition from decades of junta rule. The plight of the Muslim group, 1.3 million of whom live in western Myanmar but are mostly denied citizen

SAN DIEGO: A 92-year-old US grandmother has become the oldest woman to finish a marathon, when she crossed the finish line of a San Diego 26-miler on Sunday, race organizers said. A smiling Harriette Thompson, aged 92 years and 65 days, was cheered by dozens of onlookers and supporters as she com

London and Ascot racecourse in Berkshire. (TOI file photo) Text resize:AAA LONDON: The income of Queen Elizabeth II is set to be reviewed by Prime Minister David Cameron-led UK government after public funding of the royal household surged to 40 million pounds last year. Talks between Buckin

BAGHDAD: The death toll from car bombs that targeted two prominent hotels in Baghdad a day earlier rose to 15 people, with another 42 wounded, Iraqi officials said Friday, as the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. Two separate car bombs went off late Thursday in the parkin

The Dalai Lama has urged fellow Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, a main opposition leader in Myanmar, to do more to help protect the persecuted Muslim Rohingya minority in her country amid a worsening migration crisis. Despite thousands of Rohingya fleeing on harrowing boat journeys to Sout

ATHENS: Iran's foreign minister is holding out hope that a "sustainable, mutually respectful" deal can be struck with world powers in talks over his country's nuclear program before the current deadline of June 30. Mohammad Javad Zarif says an agreement with negotiators from the US, Russia, China