WASHINGTON - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday hailed the success of China and other rising Asian powers but insisted the United States was 'not ceding the Pacific to anyone.'

'We don't think it's a zero-sum game,' Mrs Clinton told an Australian journalist in Washington who asked if Canberra would have to deal more with China as the relative power of the United States declines.

BEIJING- BEIJING said it was eager on Tuesday to take part in a meeting next month of foreign ministers of the four so-called emerging BRIC nations, Brazil, Russia, India and China.

TOKYO - IT WAS everywhere in western Japan on Tuesday and showing signs of spreading to heavily populated Tokyo - not the new H1N1 flu virus, but rather the face masks people are wearing to prevent catching it.

Disposable masks are recommended by the government for those who suspect they have been infected with the new strain of flu, but many members of the public are wearing them in an effort to avoid getting infected themselves - although experts say cheap masks offer little protection.