Verbatim

'I hope from the bottom of my heart that the people will, hand in hand, treat each other with compassion and overcome these difficult times.'

1. AKIHITO, Japanese Emperor, in a rare appearance on live television, urging his nation--wracked by an earthquake, a tsunami and an ongoing nuclear crisis--to join together in solidarity

'His Holiness's wish is supreme for any Tibetan, but we are the representatives of the people. We need to take care of their sentiments as well.'

2. PENPA TSERING, speaker of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile, saying an "overwhelming majority" of Tibetans do not want the Dalai Lama to retire from political life, a decision he announced on March 10

'In the 21st century, it's not enough to leave no child behind. We need to help every child get ahead.'

3. BARACK OBAMA, asking Congress to rewrite the decade-old No Child Left Behind law--which requires that public school students be measured by regular testing--by this fall; critics dismissed the deadline as arbitrary

'This was inhuman and immoral. We deplore this incident.'

4. MAHMOUD ABBAS, Palestinian Authority President, condemning the killing of a Jewish settler family in the West Bank, a tragedy that ruptured the relative quiet of the region and highlighted the stalemate between Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over prospects for peace

'When you see those athletes hang on one or two seasons too long, it's kind of sad.'

5. STEVEN SODERBERGH, Oscar-winning director, saying he will retire after filming two final movies

4 OUT OF 10

The proportion of American millionaires who say they do not feel rich, according to a survey by Fidelity Investments. Many said they would need to have at least $7.5 million in order to truly feel wealthy

85,000

The lowest estimate of the number of protesters on the streets of Madison, Wis., on March 12 and 13; as many as 100,000 showed up at the state's largest demonstration since the Vietnam War

10 BILLION

Rupees, nominally equivalent to $135 million, that have yet to be exchanged in Nepal, where new bills featuring Mount Everest will replace ones depicting the former King

$63 MILLION

The amount Russia will charge, beginning in 2014, for a round-trip flight on a Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station; the U.S. shuttle program ends this year

Sources: BBC; Indian Express; Whitehouse.gov Israel Radio; Studio 360