*** "THE REAL AXIS OF EVIL is the axis of Washington-Tel Aviv. This is the real axis of evil."

(Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri talking to reporters during his visit to Iran)

*** "OF COURSE I'M UPSET — I'm not a thief, I'm not a terrorist... I stressed in my meeting with Cheney that we don't like this profiling."

(Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad accusing the US of 'anti-Muslim hysteria' after it was revealed that the deputy prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had to remove his shoes for a security check on arrival in Los Angeles. He also expressed anger at the US decision to put Malaysia on a list of 15 states regarded as 'terrorist-risk' countries)

*** "REGIME CHANGE is welcome in whatever form it takes."

(White House spokesman Ari Fleischer 'welcoming' all moves that could overthrow Iraqi President Saddam Hussain including 'assassination')

* "14 million"

(Number of people facing starvation in Africa according to a study conducted by the United Nations)

*** "$ 9 billion a month"

(Estimated cost of the military operation to topple the Iraqi government as calculated by the Congressional Budget Office)

*** "BUT SCORPIONS are not ugly animals, they are so cute, just like baby crabs."

(Thirty-year-old Thai woman, Kanchana Ketkaew, dubbed the "Scorpion Queen", hoping to set a world record to stay in a glass case filled with thousands of deadly scorpions for 32 days in Bangkok)

*** "THIS IS A CRUCIAL test for the survival of the world body. The American determination to go it alone challenges the very foundation on which the world body was built."

(Unnamed Asian diplomat warning that the unilateral attack on Iraq by the US, with or without the authorization of the Security Council, would seriously undermine the credibility of the United Nations)

*** "WE DO BELIEVE in the long run that (Musharraf's decision) is good for him and his country as well as for us and our country."

(US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz praising President Pervez Musharraf for helping US forces kill and capture an extraordinary number of terrorists)

*** "THIS WILL PROVIDE a cost-effective programme for the humane treatment of chimpanzees that have been used by our government for beneficial research."

(US law-maker Jim McCrery welcoming the decision by the federal government to pay $ 8 million to help build a rest home in Louisiana for aging chimpanzees once used for scientific and medical research)

*** "OIL is the only thing Muslim nations have which is needed by the rest of the world... When we are weak, we will be exploited... worldwide Muslims are being exploited. To avoid exploitation, we must be strong. If we have oil, it can be used as a weapon."

(Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad asking the Muslims to use oil as a weapon to protect their interests)

*** "4,500"

(Job applications invited by an independent candidate for provincial assembly in Vehari "for a sugar mill he will set up after winning the elections" despite an official ban on new sugar mills)

*** "THIS IS A BLATANT insult to Muslim countries and shows the U.S. is profiteering from the current situation."

(Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazzi condemning a US Congress bill demanding the US embassy in Israel be moved from Tel Aviv to Occupied Jerusalem)

*** "LET'S NOT kid ourselves that Prince Charles is a representative of ordinary people. This is someone who was born with a mouthful of silver spoons, a mega-wealthy farmer who's looking for things to do, so he fires off letters."

(Member of Parliament belonging to ruling Labour Party, Ian Davidson, criticizing Crown Prince Charles' habit of writing letters to ministers defending it 'as part of his role')