"WTO membership also helps Viet Nam refine its reform process, creating opportunities for trade expansion, which is an important tool for economic growth."

Vietnamese Trade Minister Truong Dinh Tuyen, after the World Trade Organization formally approved his country's membership of the global free trade system after 12 years of negotiations

"We will fight poverty, encourage investment in Nicaragua and create a new political culture that would set aside our differences and put the Nicaraguan people, the poor, first."

President-elect Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua listed top priorities on his agenda on November 7

"They were unanimous in suggesting that the time is appropriate for India to undertake a manned mission."

Indian Space Research Organization, the state-run space agency, announced its first indigenous manned mission into space, aiming to put an astronaut outside the earth's atmosphere by 2014

"This will be a useful tool for European companies seeking practical advice and assistance on intellectual property theft. However, nothing will ultimately substitute for better enforcement of Chinese anti-counterfeiting laws on the ground."

EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson welcomed in a statement the establishment of a network of centers in 50 large Chinese cities charged with investigating reports of intellectual property infringements

"Clearly, I think in a number of difficult areas the differences cannot be bridged, so I believe there should be more reflections in the capitals and also I believe we need to talk to each other."

China's UN Ambassador Wang Guangya, after an international meeting on sanctions against nuclear-ambitious Iran