US to make profit from bailouts, Treasury says

US to make profit from bailouts, Treasury says Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner (right) believes that the US taxpayer will make a profit The US will make a profit from bailing out the nation's banks and carmakers at the height of the financial crisis, the Treasury Department has said. The bank bailouts may result in a return of $2bn (£1.3bn), the Treasury said in its latest projections for the government's response to the crisis.And the recovering auto industry has added 230,000 jobs as a result.The recession was the worst since the Great Depression and $19.2tn of wealth was wiped out, it said."Although the economy is getting stronger, we have a long way to go to fully repair the damage the crisis has left behind," the Treasury said. "We...

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Taliban launch raids on Kabul and other Afghan targets

 Taliban launch raids on Kabul and other Afghan targets The BBC's Bilal Sawary says he can hear gunfire from his location in Kabul Militants are carrying out what they say are co-ordinated attacks on Kabul and other targets in Afghanistan. A Taliban spokesman said fighters were attacking embassies in the diplomatic enclave, Nato's HQ and the parliament building in the west of the capital.Multiple blasts and gunfire have been heard across Kabul.The Taliban spokesman said there were also attacks in Logar and Paktia provinces. There are also reports of suicide attacks in Jalalabad.Nato said it had reports of attacks in seven locations in Kabul.The British embassy was one of the targets, with two rockets hitting a guard tower.  A...

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China loosens currency controls on the yuan

China loosens currency controls on the yuan China has loosened its currency controls in a move that may spur gains in the value of the yuan. From Monday, the yuan can fluctuate up to 1% in trading against the US dollar, up from the previous limit of 0.5%, the People's Bank of China said. The increase of the trading band was announced in English, a rare statement that suggests it was targeted at foreign audiences.China has been under pressure to let the yuan appreciate. Nations like the US believe that China keeps the yuan artificially low to boost its exports, giving it an unfair trading edge.The PBOC said on Saturday that the band was increased to "meet market demands, promote price discovery, enhance the flexibility of RMB (yuan)...

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An Iranian mystery: Just who are the MEK?

An Iranian mystery: Just who are the MEK? By Owen Bennett Jones BBC News  How do you get a group described by the US government as a cult and an officially designated foreign terrorist organisation to be viewed by many congressmen and parliamentarians as champions of human rights and secular democracy?It would challenge even the most talented PR executive. The starkly differing perceptions of the MEK or People's Mujahideen of Iran could be a case study in the power of image management - of what can be achieved not with guns but by the way information is disseminated. The organisation has a history of ideological and tactical flexibility. Since the 1970s, its rhetoric has changed from Islamist to secular; from socialist to...

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Iran nuclear talks 'positive' after 15-month break

Iran nuclear talks 'positive' after 15-month break Key talks on Iran's controversial nuclear programme, which have resumed after a 15-month impasse, have been described as "positive".  Six world powers - the US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany - and Iran are meeting in Istanbul in Turkey. Iran says its nuclear programme is peaceful, but critics suspect it of seeking to develop nuclear weapons. Israel has hinted in recent months that it could carry out a pre-emptive strike on Iran to prevent that happening. Michael Mann, a spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, said the talks were "totally different" from the last session 15 months ago. "There is a positive atmosphere... contrasting...

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