An Australian mother with her baby. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Monday that Australia will introduce paid maternity leave, noting it was time the country adopted a system to reward women for caring for their infants.[AFP]

Kevin Rudd, the Australian PM, said, "This has been a tough exercise in the United States. But beyond that, we now face a challenge of bringing about globally consistent financial regulations on transparency, on prudential standards and on corporate governance in the financial sector. This is very important in restoring stability to the global banking system and financial system long term. Also important in restoring confidence in the banking system as well."

Shoichi Nakagawa, the Japanese Finance Minister, said, "Under such a financial situation as we have in the US and the world, passing the bill will have a positive effect, and I would like to hail that."

(CCTV October 6, 2008)