Briefing

'I do not believe for one second the accusations brought against my husband.'

1. ANNE SINCLAIR, French journalist and wife of IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who was arrested in New York City and charged with attempted rape of a hotel maid

'Gaddafi ruled Libya through fear, and Libyans are losing that fear now.'

2. LUIS MORENO-OCAMPO, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, after requesting arrest warrants for Muammar Gaddafi, his son and his brother-in-law for attacks against civilians

'Why you are here is something you never even think about. You are this place.'

3. RUSSELL MELANCON, of Butte La Rose, La., a small Cajun community, on why he chose to live in a swamp likely to flood one day; residents of the town fled in anticipation of high water as portions of a Louisiana spillway were opened to relieve pressure from the swollen Mississippi River

'I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken-down computers. That is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.'

4. STEPHEN HAWKING, British physicist and author, dismissing the notion of life after death

'This is the start of an entirely new beginning for Ireland and Britain.'

5. ENDA KENNY, Irish Prime Minister, on Queen Elizabeth II's four-day trip to the Republic of Ireland; she is the first British monarch to visit the nation in 100 years

115

Approximate number of acres (45 hectares) of watermelon fields that farmers in eastern China have lost because of melons that exploded, apparently as a result of a growth chemical, according to state media

513

Number of illegal immigrants Mexican police found crowded into two tractor trailers on May 17; the migrants were from Central and South America as well as China, Japan, Nepal and India

1/3

Proportion of food in the world intended for human consumption that is lost or wasted--some 1.3 billion metric tons--as estimated by a report commissioned by the U.N.

1,151

Number of criminals that America's Most Wanted has helped catch; though Fox canceled the show after 23 years, the network plans to air several specials next year

Sources: AFP; Reuters; New York Times; Guardian; AP