"When I did my competition, I was very happy because athletes running on concrete could compete in the Olympic Games."

Afghan runner Massoud Azizi, after finishing his men's 100-meter sprint in 11.45 seconds at the Beijing Olympics on August 15

"However ardent about the Games, they have demonstrated good manners, which made foreigners feel the Chinese people are filled with heartfelt, innocent joy rather than blind nationalism."

French daily Le Monde, hailing the good manners of Chinese Olympic audience in an August 16 report

"Terrorism is a criminal activity of very few people. It is not a problem related to ethnicity or religion."

Mao Gongning, Director of the Policy and Law Department at the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, saying that the Chinese Government's antiterror efforts will not affect inter-ethnic relations, at a press conference on August 16

"I leave my future in the hands of the people."

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, announcing his resignation in a televised address on August 18 in an attempt to avoid what he called a damaging battle with the ruling coalition that had threatened to impeach him

"The United States is engaged in an anti-missile defense for its own government, and not for Poland. And Poland, in deploying [elements of the system] opens itself to a military strike. That is 100 percent."

Col-General Anatoliy Nogovitsyn, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of Russian armed forces, quoted as saying on August 15 by Interfax news agency. Poland agreed on August 14 to host part of a U.S. global missile defense shield that Russia sees as a threat to its security