ARIEL SHARON, Israeli Prime Minister, in his most optimistic comments since the election of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas
"In the political turbulence which took place in the late spring and early summer of 1989, Comrade Zhao committed serious mistakes."
OFFICIAL STATEMENT on the life of ousted Chinese Communist Party chief Zhao Ziyang, following his funeral last Saturday. The obituary, which appeared in Chinese state-run media, also recognized Zhao's contribution to economic reforms
"If the world had listened, we may have prevented Darfur, Cambodia, Bosnia and naturally Rwanda."
ELIE WIESEL, author and Holocaust survivor, speaking on the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz
"We can only hope the disaster has opened their eyes to how little this conflict means compared to the devastation and sorrow of the people."
FACHRY ALI, Jakarta-based political analyst, on the effect of the Dec. 26 tsunami on talks last week between the Indonesian government and Acehnese separatists
"I wouldn't begin to say that."
MAJOR GENERAL JOHN BATISTE, commander of U.S. forces in northern and central Iraq, when asked whether Iraqi voters would be able to cast ballots safely during the country's Jan. 30 election
"We've spent $200 billion destroying Iraq. Now we've got to spend $200 billion to rebuild it, if they'll let us, all to find a nut in a foxholeone guy."
TED TURNER, founder of CNN, in a speech to America's National Association of Television Program Executives
"My job as a rock star and activist is to loudly applaud when politicians get it right and to make their lives a misery when they do not."
BONO, lead singer of U2, urging political and business leaders to do more to fight poverty in Africa, during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland