New York, NY, United States (AHN) – The U.S. Treasury Department sold $13 billion in 30-year bonds Wednesday at a record low yield of 2.925 percent.

Despite the debt security having the lowest yield on record, investors in the U.S. and around the world still have a hearty appetite for the long bond.

Bidders offered to buy 3.05 times the amount of debt sold, compared to an average of 2.81 times at the last four comparable auctions.

Indirect bidders, those that include global central banks, bought 32.5 percent of the sale, compared to 36.1 percent on average.

Direct bidders–domestic money managers–purchased another 21.2 percent, versus an average of 19.5 percent.

Following the oversubscribed and highly successful auction, the broader bond market continued the rally.

Yields on 10-year notes, which move in the opposite direction to prices, fell 5 basis points to 1.92 percent.

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Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – The United States diplomat responsible for cyber issues this week denied that WikiLeaks had a role in opening American commitment to cooperate with other nations in strengthening cyber security after President Barack Obama earlier launched an “International Strategy for Cyberspace.”

Addressing journalists at the Foreign Press Center, Christopher Painter, the State Department’s coordinator for cyber Issues, said the initiative is independent of leaks of documents from WikiLeaks.

Asked to comment on what role WikiLeaks played in hastening the focus on cyber security, Painter replied, “That’s not what driving this. What’s driving this strategy is the recognition that cyber issues writ large, including cyber security, are a national priority and an international priority.”

Painter stressed the importance of the strategy. “It tries for the first time, and it does for the first time, pull together all the different strands of our policies in cyberspace from internet freedom issues to internet governance issues, to security issues, to military issues, to cyber crime issues, to economic issues, and puts them really all in one framework for the first time.”

Refuting suggestions that over the years the U.S. has been sluggish in reaching out to even close allies in Europe, Painter said, “There’s been very much increased cooperation on this issue.” He noted that at the EU-U.S. summit a year ago, “There was a commitment to have a working group dealing with cyber security issues, and that work has been continuing apace.”

Citing his personal experience, Painter called for efforts to highlight this ongoing cooperation. “There’s been intense cooperation with Europe. So if that’s not apparent, if that’s not being seen, then we need to reverse that, because that’s certainly happening.”

Painter defined the U.S. vision of the goal of the cyber secure world: “A future for cyberspace that is open, interoperable, secure, and reliable, that is something that can undergird and promote economic growth and innovation, free expression, the free flow of information.”

Painter told journalists, “We want to sustain an environment where norms of responsible behavior guide states’ actions, sustain partnerships, and support the rule of law in cyberspace.”

Moreover, he said, the issue of cyber security has shifted from being “a technical issue or a security issue or a speech issue,” to a widely defined “new foreign policy area and a priority, not just for the United States but around the world.” Painter cited Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s efforts in particular with the creation of a separate office in the State Department to deal with cyber matters.

Painter reiterated the diplomatic push given to cyber security. “What the Secretary said in her speech was that this is – one of the core ways we achieve this vision is through diplomacy, through patient, persistent, and creative diplomacy.”

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Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – The United States in a report on Friday cautioned that although Chinese companies are investing in Afghanistan, security and other allied concerns have stalled the progress.

In a report to Congress as mandated under the National Defense Authorization Act 2008, the Pentagon said, “China is concerned about the security situation in Afghanistan, narcotics trafficking, and the safety of Chinese workers in the country.”

“Although China has helped train Afghan security personnel, there is no indication that it is willing to increase the level of assistance provided to Afghanistan,” the report from the U.S. Department of Defense said.

On the other hand, the Pentagon report appreciated India’s broad-based developmental work in Afghanistan citing India as largely responsible for bringing more consistent electricity to Kabul.

“India remains committed to diplomatic and development efforts in Afghanistan,” the Pentagon said, adding that the Indian efforts are being “viewed favorably” by Afghans.

Work on the Salma hydroelectric dam in Herat Province continues with funding from India, with a planned completion date of September 2011, the report noted, adding that India provides a variety of smaller-scale projects and initiatives, like the Indian Medical Missions in Afghanistan’s major cities that serve tens of thousands of Afghans yearly.

“Such projects provide critical social services and build goodwill among the Afghan people. India also focuses its assistance on building Afghan human capital through scholarship programs in India (more than 1000 per year), agriculture training programs, and other vocational training activities,” the report said.

Public opinion surveys show that Afghans view India’s involvement in their country favorably, the report said.

India continues to be one of Afghanistan’s largest assistance donors, providing USD 1.3 billion for major infrastructure projects such as electricity generation and transmission, road construction, and the construction of the Afghan parliament building in Kabul.

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Mogadishu, Somalia (AHN) – Somali police have warned of planned suicide and other terrorist attacks in the capital intended to damage the developing security situation in the government-controlled side of the capital city.

Somali police chief Gen. Sharif Sheikhuna Maye, who talked to reporters, said that police intelligence has gathered reliable information indicating that terrorists have prepared more suicide attacks and bomb explosions in the government-held districts in Mogadishu.

“We have got the information that terrorists want to carry out such attacks and police forces have been put on a high alert to prevent the planned terrorist attacks against our people,” the chief said Thursday night.

Meanwhile, the police chief said that some agitators linked to Al-Shabaab terrorists are planning demonstrations that he said are intended to disrupt ongoing security operations by Somali government forces.

“We are telling with a loud voice that demonstrations without governmental acceptance are prohibited and police will go against every attempt which is seen to be obstacle to the efforts that Somali government wants to reintroduce peace and stability into the country,” Maye emphasized.

He said the government has finalized preparations for major combat operations to oust the terrorists from the capital within weeks and then the whole country.

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Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – Members of Congress tried to assess Thursday what will happen if they carry out deep cuts to the State Department’s budget they are considering to reduce the nation’s deficit.

In two separate hearings, they were warned by diplomats and advocacy group leaders that reducing funding for humanitarian programs is likely to lead to animosity and violence toward the United States.

“We believe that the International Affairs Budget requires strong funding because it is an essential part of our national security,” said Dan Glickman, chairman of the Center for U.S. Global Leadership. “First, in the immediate sense, we must have adequate diplomacy and development resources to hasten the day when our military men and women return home from conflict zones where they are serving.”

In the long run, a strong foreign assistance program helps protect America economically and reduces the risks of war, he said.

“America’s national security today is dependent not only on the deterrence of a strong military force but on increased investments in the full range of diplomatic, development and humanitarian tools,”

Glickman told the House Appropriations subcommittee on state-foreign operations.

Congress and the Obama administration reached an agreement that was announced Thursday for $38 billion in spending reductions in the current year.

The State Department would take one of the biggest hits, losing about $8 billion. Most of it would come from its foreign aid programs.

The money normally would be used to support fragile governments in South Asia and Africa and for charitable ventures such as the Peace Corps and USAID.

Other budget-cutting would drastically reduce funding for a program to reduce risks from weapons of mass destruction.

Last month, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told Congress that cutting foreign aid too much threatens national security by impairing the ability of the U.S. government to counter Islamic extremists in Afghanistan, Iraq and other parts of the Middle East.

Ambassador-at-Large Daniel Benjamin testified about the impact of the cuts Thursday before the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on emergency preparedness, response, and communications. Benjamin coordinates counterterrorism for the State Department.

Another recent warning came from Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen. He sent a letter to Congress asking for continued support of State Department humanitarian aid programs, saying, “the more significant the cuts, the longer military operations will take, and the more and more lives are at risk.”

Nevertheless, some members of Congress said they had no other choice than to deeply cut the nation’s budget as the federal deficit spirals out of control.

After the budget deal was announced Thursday, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky) said, “With this legislation we have ended the stimulus spending spree, and have taken the next step to cutting trillions of dollars in the years to come. We stood by our commitment to eliminate earmarks, terminated unnecessary and ineffective programs and made real spending cuts that will help right our fiscal ship.”

Although some State Department’s counterterrorism ventures remain secret, they are known to have included training Pakistani intelligence officers and flying drones over Colombia to search for drug traffickers.

State Department officials have been negotiating recently with the Pakistani government about reducing the 300-person contingent of U.S. intelligence operatives. Negotiations focus on what level of intelligence support would be acceptable to both the U.S. and Pakistani governments, according to a State Department spokesman.

Information about the drones flown over Colombia came as an embarrassment to the State Department after the investigative news Web site Wikileaks published secret communications from an American diplomat.

They said the Colombian military has been flying the U.S. drones since 2006.

A classified message to the State Department from William B. Wood, former U.S. Ambassador to Colombia, said the drones were intended “to support U.S. hostage rescue efforts and assist” the Colombian military against guerrillas. “But it promises to be equally useful for combat against terrorists and in … drug interdiction,” Wood wrote.

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