Outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Thursday that the United States remains very concerned about the future of women in Afghanistan as US troops prepare to leave the country. She pledged to keep the "issue front and center" revealing for the first time that she will stay on as co-chair for the US-Afghan Women's Council based at Georgetown University after she steps down Friday as America's top diplomat.

Outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Thursday that the United States remains very concerned about the future of women in Afghanistan as US troops prepare to leave the country. She pledged to keep the "issue front and center" revealing for the first time that she will stay on as co-chair for the US-Afghan Women's Council based at Georgetown University after she steps down Friday as America's top diplomat.

Iran is stepping up its support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad while Russia is continuing to send money and arms to the regime, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Thursday. "The Iranians have made it clear for some time that keeping Assad in power was one of their highest priorities. We believe they have acted on that by sending in more personnel, not only to help Assad, but to support and advise military security forces," Clinton said.

WASHINGTON, Jan 31 (Reuters) - The window for negotiations with Iran about its nuclear program cannot stay open for "too much longer," outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday but she declined to provide a deadline. "I don't think the window can remain open for too much longer (but) I am not going to put days, weeks or months on it," Clinton told a small group of reporters on her second-to-last day as the chief U.S. diplomat. (Reporting By Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Sandra Maler)