Gunmen killed two American soldiers today while they were driving through the northern Iraqi city of Mosul and a crowd swarmed over the scene, looting the vehicle and pummelling the bodies, witnesses said.

The Zimbabwe currency went into free fall today when a shortage of hard currency forced the desperate state-owned power and oil companies to buy US dollars on the black market.

The Zimbabwe government has increased the price of petrol by a massive 72% overnight, raising the spectre of civil unrest.