Secretary of State Hillary Clinton vowed the United States would remain active in the South Pacific for the "long haul" but said the region was big enough for a rising China. Clinton announced some $32 million in new aid projects as she became the first US secretary of state to take part in an annual South Pacific summit, in a sign of renewed interest in the vast but often overlooked region. Clinton's visit comes as many islands forge closer ties with China, which according to Australia's Lowy Institute has pledged more than $600 million in low-interest and mostly strings-free loans to the South Pacific since 2005. Clinton, who will visit Beijing next week for talks on the often fractious relationship between the world's two largest economies, played down rivalries in the South Pacific. "We welcome the opportunity to work with your development partners -- Japan, the European Union, China," she told leaders from the 15-nation Pacific Islands Forum. "...

KATE CHAPMAN IN RAROTONGA KATE CHAPMAN/Fairfax NZ HILLARY CLINTON :The United States Secretary of State greets American nuns from Daughters of Charity outside Trader Jacks restaurant, Rarotonga,Cook Islands. It seems like God really does bless America, in the Cook Islands at least. United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton touched down in Rarotonga last night to a full Pacific welcome. This morning she had her first official appearance - breakfast with Pacific leaders at popular watering hole Trader Jacks. As she descended from her white SUV, Mrs Clinton told waiting media that she was so pleased to be here and talking about the issues that mattered for the Pacific. She said she thoroughly enjoyed the performance of the dancers and drummers who welcomed her at the airport last night. "I'm afraid half of my team will not want to go on to the next stop," she said. Mrs Clinton was halfway up the stairs into the restaurant when a group of visiting American nuns called...

Hillary Clinton flew Thursday to the remote Cook Islands to become the first US secretary of state at a South Pacific summit, hoping to renew influence in a region of growing Chinese clout. Dozens of women sporting bikini tops and pink and blue headdresses joined bare-chested men in a rousing airport welcome, dancing energetically to drums and chanting songs as a beaming Clinton walked down to the asphalt. Clinton will hold talks Friday as the most senior US official ever to take part in the 15-nation Pacific Island Forum, in a pointed sign of Washington's desire to re-engage in a region it has often overlooked in recent decades. President Barack Obama 's administration has vowed to put a top priority on Asia, hoping to shape the future of a fast-growing continent marked by China 's rise, and officials said that the Pacific was a vital element. "Sometimes when we talk about the Asia Pacific, the 'A' is capital and 'P' is small. And our attempt here is...

August 30, 2012 2:57 PM In 1996, First Lady Hillary Clinton honored the charitable contributions of Princess Diana during a breakfast at the White House. Other honorees included Margaret Thatcher, Ralph Lauren and Anna Wintour.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sets off Thursday on a sweeping Asia tour from a rising China to tiny island states as her outspoken role on the region's hotspots raises hackles in Beijing. In the midst of a US presidential campaign, the former candidate is expected to steer clear of politics at home and portray Washington as an anchor of stability in a region where China has increasingly butted heads with neighbors. Clinton will head first to the Cook Islands, an archipelago of just 11,000 people, to become the first US secretary of state to take part in an annual summit of South Pacific islands -- where China's clout is growing. Clinton will go Tuesday to China, where aides said she will meet President Hu Jintao and other top officials and take up the full gamut of issues between the world's two largest economies, including heated maritime disputes. In unusually robust statements, the United States has recently accused China of escalating tensions and warned against...

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sets off Thursday on a sweeping Asia tour from a rising China to tiny island states as her outspoken role on the region's hotspots raises hackles in Beijing. In the midst of a US presidential campaign, the former candidate is expected to steer clear of politics at home and portray Washington as an anchor of stability in a region where China has increasingly butted heads with neighbors. Clinton will head first to the Cook Islands, an archipelago of just 11,000 people, to become the first US secretary of state to take part in an annual summit of South Pacific islands -- where China's clout is growing. Clinton will go Tuesday to China, where aides said she will meet President Hu Jintao and other top officials and take up the full gamut of issues between the world's two largest economies, including heated maritime disputes. In unusually robust statements, the United States has recently accused China of escalating tensions and warned against...

By NBC's Andrew Rafferty TAMPA, Fla -- Former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice said her successor, Hillary Clinton, has done a "fine" job. It's the overall strategy of the Obama administration, Rice said, that has led the U.S. astray. "I think she's done a fine job. The problem isn't Hilary Clinton, who's great," Rice told members of Ohio's delegation to the Republican National Convention. "The problem is that we've chosen to speak with a muted voice about America's role in the world. We've chosen to try to lead from behind. That's an oxymoron in my mind." Clinton had long been a lightning rod for conservatives, but has won plaudits for her work as the nation's top diplomat. But Rice, who some Republicans had hoped would be Mitt Romney's running mate, was more unsparing toward President Barack Obama, a likely target during her speech tonight before the convention. Rice told delegates here that America has b...

The announcement that one of the world's most powerful women will drop in to the Pacific Islands Forum is being welcomed by Pacific leaders, who say US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has an important role to play in talks about the region. Mrs Clinton will fly to the Cook Islands to attend the post-forum dialogue on Friday, 'as part of our intensive engagement and ongoing collaboration with the Pacific Islands', her spokeswoman Victoria Nuland confirmed. 'Her visit will emphasise the depth and breadth of American engagement across economic, people to people, strategic, environmental, and security interests. 'The visit also represents a concerted effort to strengthen regional multilateral institutions, develop bilateral partnerships, and build on alliances - three core elements of US strategy toward the Asia-Pacific.' Mrs Clinton will lead the highest-level US delegation in the forum's history, accompanied by senior officials from the Departments of State...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will venture to the South Pacific this week as she takes Washington 's bid to reassert itself against China to a remote corner of the world where the power rivalry is increasingly apparent. Clinton will lead a U.S. government team to the Cook Islands for the August 31 meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum , a group of 16 independent and self-governing territories scattered across a huge expanse of ocean east of New Zealand, the State Department said on Tuesday. Clinton's trip will also include stops in Indonesia, Brunei, East Timor and China, all of which are expected to include discussions on the South China Sea , where competing territorial claims by Beijing and its neighbors have created Asia's biggest potential military flashpoint. "We don't want to see the disputes in the South China Sea or anywhere else settled by intimidation, by force. We want to see them settled at the negotiating table,...

opinion By Barbara Dreaver ONE News Pacific Correspondent Published: 9:38AM Wednesday August 29, 2012 Source: ONE News There's a special charm about Raro. I make no secret that the Cook Islands is one of my most favourite places in the world. Having lived and worked there for eight years while co-owning a small weekly paper it's a place close to my heart. Related 09:13 Clinton confirmed to attend Pacific Islands Forum I know each and every corner, when I close my eyes I can see the swept yards, the mountains and the coastline. Everywhere I turn there is a memory - driving around the seawall on my bike at twilight keeping my mouth shut so the bugs don't fly in, drinks at Trader Jacks, that idyllic day at the motu where a group of us all sat in the crystal clear sea with a chilly bin of beers, cheese and pate floating alongside, the beat of island drums, the heartaches, the laughter. So many stories to tell. When we land it's like coming home all over again. So I wond...

8/28/2012 4:10 PM ET (RTTNews) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be in the midst of a massive trip to Asia just as the Democratic convention gets underway in Charlotte next week. Once a presidential candidate herself, the top diplomat will meet with leaders from six countries, even acting as a stand-in for President Obama in Russia. Maritime security in the South and East China Seas as well as regional cooperation and defense will likely be key issues discussed during her trip. "[Clinton's] visit will emphasize the depth and breadth of American engagement across economic, people to people, strategic, environmental, and security interests," State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland said in a statement Tuesday. She added, "The visit also represents a concerted effort to strengthen regional multilateral institutions, develop bilateral partnerships, and build on alliances - three core elements of U.S. strategy toward the Asia-Pacific." Clinton will dep...

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will visit Beijing next week, China's official Xinhua news agency reported Tuesday, amid growing tensions over regional territorial disputes. Clinton will hold talks with her counterpart Yang Jiechi and other Chinese leaders during the September 4-5 visit, Xinhua said, citing a foreign ministry spokesman. Her visit comes as tensions rise between China and other Asian countries over territory in the resource-rich South China Sea, much of which China claims as its own. Beijing is also locked in a dispute with Tokyo, a key US ally, over a disputed East China Sea island chain known in China as Diaoyu and in Japan as Senkaku. The United States is eager to boost diplomatic and military resources in the Asia-Pacific, which it recognises as a key driver in the global economy, as its engagement in Iraq and Afghanistan winds down. However, some aspects -- such as US plans to deploy 2,500 Marines to northern Australia and boost its naval presence in...

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is set to make a rare foray to the South Pacific this week, in a move analysts say is aimed at curbing China 's growing influence among the region's small island nations. While Clinton 's previous trips to the area have focused on Canberra and Wellington, this time she is expected to visit the Cook Islands, a nation of just 11,000 people whose 15 islands cover an area barely larger than Washington DC. The reason is to attend a regional summit hosted by the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), a group consisting mainly of small island states, along with resource-rich Papua New Guinea and the dominant regional powers Australia and New Zealand, both US allies. The impoverished, strategically unimportant island states dropped off Washington 's radar many years ago, former New Zealand diplomat Michael Powles said, as China cultivated diplomatic ties through aid and bilateral agreements. Powles, a senior fellow at the Centre for Strategic Stu...

AVARUA, Cook Islands, (AFP) US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is set to make a rare foray to the South Pacific this week, in a move analysts say is aimed at curbing China's growing influence among the region's small island nations. While Clinton's previous trips to the area have focused on Canberra and Wellington, this time she is expected to visit the Cook Islands, a nation of just 11,000 people whose 15 islands cover an area barely larger than Washington DC. The reason is to attend a regional summit hosted by the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), a group consisting mainly of small island states, along with resource-rich Papua New Guinea and the dominant regional powers Australia and New Zealand, both US allies. The impoverished, strategically unimportant island states dropped off Washington's radar many years ago, former New Zealand diplomat Michael Powles said, as China cultivated diplomatic ties through aid and bilateral agreements. Powles, a senior fellow at the Ce...

Can Hillary Clinton do anything without looking ridiculously cool? Were she to find herself, like BoJo, dangling midway along a zip line, shed text Barack a photo captioned lol WTF?!, then unclip the harness, hoist herself up on to the wire and tightrope-walk to safety. This is the woman who as First Lady stood by her adulterous husband... and then ran for the presidential nomination; who conceded her campaign... and then became Secretary of State. She helped to mastermind the Bin Laden takedown, and made scrunchies cool again (well before Beth Tweddle). She became a social media meme when the Tumblr Texts From Hillary went viral and then actually joined in, texting the blogs authors ROFL @ ur tumblr! But what we love most about the 64-year-old feminist icon is that girlfriend knows how to move. First she was spotted boogieing in a Colombian nightclub, then earlier this month she was at it again in South Africa, shoulder-shimmying at a gala dinner. She may dance like our mum after on...

WASHINGTON - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Egypt's foreign minister to keep lines of communication open with Israel amid tensions over an Egyptian push against militants in the neighboring Sinai desert, the State Department said on Thursday. Clinton spoke with Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr on Wednesday and stressed the importance of acting transparently as Cairo deploys aircraft and tanks in Sinai, for the first time since a 1973 war with Israel, to pursue Islamist militants blamed for killing 16 border guards in an August 5 attack. "This call was in keeping with a series of contacts we've had in recent days with both Egyptians and Israelis encouraging both sides to keep the lines of communication open," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said. Israeli officials have expressed concern over the Egyptian deployment, saying the vehicles' entry into the Sinai was not coordinated and was in violation of a 1979 peace treaty. But Prime Minist...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (L) address the media prior to a meeting at the Chancellery in Berlin April 14, 2011. (REUTERS/Saul Loeb/Pool) Forbes magazine ranked German Chancellor Angela Merkel the most powerful woman in the world for the second year in a row in the annual list dominated by politicians, businesswomen and media figures. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton placed second, followed by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, making the top three spots unchanged from last year. The list named women involved in policymaking, entertainment, technology and nonprofit organizations, among other fields. They were ranked according to influence, the amount of money they control or earn, and media presence. "These power women exert influence in very different ways and to very different ends, and all with very different impacts on the global community," said Moira Forbes, president and publisher of ForbesWoman. The magazine not...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are the world's most powerful women, according to Forbes magazine's annual survey. Following the two stateswomen in the 2012 rankings was Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff. The list covers women in fields as diverse as politics, business, media, entertainment and non-profits, their rankings determined by calculating wealth, media presence and overall impact. The 100-strong list at www.forbes.com/power-women includes 25 CEOs overseeing $US984 billion ($A942.4 billion) in revenues. The women come from a total of 28 countries, with an average age of 55. Sixteen women enter the list for the first time, including singer Jennifer Lopez, former US Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann, Meg Whitman of HP and Marissa Mayer of Yahoo. Lady Gaga, the pop singer, makes it to 14 and at 26 years old is the youngest. The oldest, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, who is 86, ranks only at number 26. Others...

Matt Agudo / Splash News Bill and Hillary Clinton were spotted walking their dogs Tuesday in East Hampton, N.Y. Laura T. Coffey writes Wow. Bill and Hillary look so happy walking along together with their dogs in East Hampton, N.Y. It kind of makes you think: Remember when the Clintons were cat people? Socks, a former stray, reigned as First Cat in the White House for eight years. He captivated the nation with his loveable demeanor; sometimes the press described him as doglike. Was that a sign of things to come? Perhaps. In 1997, President Bill Clinton took in a playful chocolate Labrador retriever puppy named Buddy. Buddy was frisky and exuberant and a bit too much for then-8-year-old Socks to handle. The Clintons had to keep the two pets apart while residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Fast forward a few years: Buddy died young in 2002 after he dashed into traffic and got hit by a car. Socks died in 2009 at the old age of 20 after a brush with throat cancer. Bill Clinton eventually ...

NEW YORK Forbes magazine ranked German Chancellor Angela Merkel the most powerful woman in the world for the second year in a row in the annual list dominated by politicians, businesswomen and media figures. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton placed second, followed by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, making the top three spots unchanged from last year. The list named women involved in policymaking, entertainment, technology and nonprofit organizations, among other fields. They were ranked according to influence, the amount of money they control or earn, and media presence. More TODAY News 16-year-old with cancer completes bucket list of dreams Hillary Clinton, J.Lo make most powerful women list Diana Nyad on Cuba-Florida swim: Maybe it cant be done Family of man who willed $500 tips: 'He wanted to bring joy to people' Diana Nyad moving in the right direction on Cuba-Fla. swim "These power women exert influence in very different ways and to very different ends, an...

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano are mum on why the legal requirements that immigrants and visa applicants not be reliant on government assistance have been watered down, according to some lawmakers. The deadline for Clinton and Napolitano to respond to a letter regarding admission of immigrants on or likely to be on assistance programs from senior Republicans on the Budget, Judiciary, Finance, and Agriculture Committees came and passed Monday. On Tuesday Alabama Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions , the ranking member on the Senate Budget Committee , blasted the pair for their failure to comply. It is unacceptable that Secretary Napolitano and Secretary Clinton have not seen fit to respond our oversight letter, Sessions said in a statement. It is a sound principle of immigration law that those who come to our country should be able to take care of themselves financially, yet this legal requirement has effectively been waived. Under t...

U.S. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, along with with members of the national security team, receive an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden in the Situation Room of the White House, May 1, 2011. Please note: a classified document seen in this photograph has been obscured. UPI/Pete Souza/White House License photo Published: Aug. 21, 2012 at 3:06 PM WASHINGTON, Aug. 21 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was the driving force behind the decision to kill Osama bin Laden , pushing President Obama to act, a new book says. "Leading From Behind: The Reluctant President and the Advisors Who Decide For Him" by Richard Miniter says Obama was afraid of the consequences of a bungled effort to kill bin Laden, the New York Daily News reported. The book also depicts the president as a man surrounded by strong women, including Clinton, his wife, Michelle, and longtime friend and adviser Valerie Jarrett . Miniter, who wrote a book published in 2003...

The White House on Tuesday rejected a reporter's claim that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton prodded a reluctant President Obama to approve the raid on Usama bin Laden's compound last year. The claim was made in journalist Richard Miniter's new book, "Leading From Behind: The Reluctant President and the Advisors Who Decide for Him." Miniter alleges that Obama repeatedly nixed the mission until Clinton finally made the case to green-light it. National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor called the claim "completely made up and wrong." "The decision to take out Osama bin Laden was made by the president, as many of those involved have said on the record," he said, citing accounts to that effect from former Defense Secretary Robert Gates and sitting Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. Vice President Biden has also touted the president's decision-making in approving the raid that killed bin Laden. Miniter, though, reportedly claimed adviser Va...

Washington, Aug. 21 ( ANI ): US President Barack Obama cancelled three operations to kill Osama bin Laden before finally going ahead with the mission at the insistence of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton , a new book has claimed. The damning allegations are mentioned in a new book: 'Leading from Behind: The Reluctant President and the Advisors Who Decide for Him', written by journalist Rich Miniter . Miniter has cited an unnamed source within the Joint Special Operations Command who revealed that three 'kill' missions were cancelled by Obama in January, February and March 2011. According to the Daily Mail, Bin Laden was eventually killed by US Navy SEALs inside his compound in Abbotobad, Pakistan in May 2011. According to the report, Obama has already come under fire from former SEALs for boasting of his role in the raid. In his book, Miniter has portrayed Clinton as the main force behind killing bin Laden. Miniter has claimed that it was top adviser Valerie Jarr...

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton (Photo credit: SONNY TUMBELAKA/AFP/Getty Images) With President Barack Obamas Vice President Joe Biden messing up more and more on the campaign trail as time passes, rumors of Biden being sent home to Delaware for good have abounded since last Friday. Alleged by an online reproduction of a White House meeting schedule, Biden was summoned to the White House to meet with President Obama and Hillary Clinton. Of course, the speculation of Hillary Clinton replacing Biden as Obamas vice presidential running mate increased when it was rumored that she was to be at one of several of the meetings with the President and Vice President. Yet, there was no announcement by the end of the day as some had predicted. There are so many stories about whats going on behind the scenes at the White House right now, its mind-boggling to say the least. According to the press and political talk show hosts who are usually in the know, it appears that the major players in the vi...

Top US diplomat Hillary Clinton wished Muslims well for the feast of Eid al-Fitr marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan on Sunday in many countries. "As we mark the end of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting and prayer for Muslims around the world, I am delighted to wish all Muslims a peaceful and joyous Eid al-Fitr," Clinton said in a statement. "To honor this special time, Muslims in the United States and throughout the world will gather for Eid celebrations according to their rich and diverse traditions, celebrating the shared values of family, charity and community." Clinton, who hosts an iftar dinner marking the end of Ramadan's daily fast each year, said that "in times of change and uncertainty, the celebration of these common values brings us together and emphasizes the importance of greater cooperation and cross-cultural understanding." "As we celebrate this year's event, we will honor the contributions of individuals who wor...

Published: Aug. 19, 2012 at 12:42 PM WASHINGTON, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- The international community, on International Humanitarian Day, honors those who died for humanitarian service, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said. "The United States is proud to be a leading donor to humanitarian efforts around the world, working with other governments, aid groups and international organizations to save lives and reunite people with their loved ones," Clinton said Sunday in a statement. "But this work does come at a significant cost." Citing the violence in Syria, Clinton praised those for helping "innocent civilians in the middle of a conflict they did not provoke." "Whether operating under the red of the Turkish flag, the blue of a U.N. vest or a local community member pointing the way to safety, every single person who helped them is a humanitarian," Clinton said. "The men and women of humanitarian organizations put their lives on the line ever...

August 18, 2012 6:56 AM Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is, by far, the most-traveled Secretary of State in U.S. history. Kevin Doyle, deputy editor for Conde Nast Traveler, spent nine days with Clinton, and told Rebecca Jarvis and Ben Tracy what it was like.

Tiny Rarotonga is set to host great power politics and diplomatic posturing this week with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, reputedly accompanied by her husband Bill, arriving on the island to challenge growing Chinese influence in the South Pacific. For the islands 14,000 people, famous for their relaxed ways and dancing girls, it will be a much bigger show than when All Black Zac Guildford ran naked from waterfront Trader Jacks. US diplomats and security advisers have been on Rarotonga and Aitutaki to the north checking venues. The 16-nation Pacific Forum, and the dialogue that follows, will take place at the budget travellers favourite Edgewater Resort. The off-limits-to-all-but leaders retreat will be on Aitutaki with military aircraft from Australia and New Zealand used to fly them north. With only loading space at Rarotongas small airport, most of the big planes will have to park in Tahiti an hour's flying to the east. Diplomatic sources say the US Navy has moved sever...

New York , Aug 18 ( ANI ): US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton possesses one unusual personal trait - she never shows any sign of perspiration, according to close observers. According to one reporter, no matter the heat, Clinton never wilts, not "so much as the faintest glisten can be detected anywhere about her person." Even as she sprints through India in the scorching summertime, the wife of former US president Bill Clinton doesn't break a sweat - she doesn't even glisten. "There's one very intimate detail that most people still don't know about Hillary Clinton, and which I shall divulge," the New York Daily quoted the reporter as telling Conde Nast Traveler magazine. "She does not sweat. Literally. She does not even glow. No matter how high the heat, not a drop nor a drip nor a bead nor so much as the faintest glisten can be detected anywhere about her person," the reporter said. A Clinton associate said that the former First Lad...

The possibility of VP Joe Biden being dumped by the Obama reelection team in favor of Hillary Clinton was apparently more than just a rumor put out by bored or cynical Beltway journalists, according to author Ed Klein. She actually turned down the job a few weeks ago because it was a lose lose proposition. Klein made this claim on CNBC (see clip below via The Daily Caller ). Ed Klein, who wrote the best seller about Barack Obama called The Amateur, said on CNBC that, according to his sources on the Clinton team, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Obama senor adviser Valerie Jarretta few weeks ago after the White House put out feelers to see if she was willing to replace Biden. At that time, Klein maintains, Clinton told Jarrett that she wasnt interested in the number two slot. This is how Ed Klein described Hillary Clintons reasoning about the vice presidency: She felt that if she were on the ticket with Obama and he lost, she would be tarred as a loser when she tried to ru...