Dai Yanjun, deputy dean of study and research with the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, speaking about China's improved ability to respond to natural disasters, in this case of the devastating Zhouqu mudslide

"This one incident, which violates the rights of journalists by Burundian authorities, illustrates just how press freedom is in danger in the country."

The Federation of African Journalists, the International Federation of Journalists and the Eastern Africa Journalists Association, in a joint statement to protest the charges of treason brought against Jean Claude Kavumbagu, editor of Netpress news agency

 "We publish more than 300,000 books every year, but how many of them could be compared with the scriptures inherited from our ancestors?"

Culture Minister Cai Wu, criticizing what he describes as the new trend of "vulgar productions" and "kitsch" in Chinese print and electronic media

 "In the future, we will feed ourselves and we will be able to manage our own forms of social security. I don't think that is impossible. I think it's quite achievable over the next five years."

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, telling reporters about an ambitious new plan to end the country's reliance on food aid within five years

"The law is like a dead letter. There are big loopholes in the legal protection of workers, especially those who toil outdoors."

Yang Yansui, Professor at the School of Public Policy and Management at Tsinghua University, discussing current regulations for the protection of workers who operate in extreme heat. Critics say the Interim Heat Pretection Measures, created in 1960, are outdated