Thursday, Feb. 07, 2008

Verbatim

'Either give them the basic tools for protecting the population and themselves or have the decency to just bring them all home.'

GEORGE CLOONEY, newly appointed U.N. Messenger of Peace, on the world's failure to supply peacekeepers in Darfur

'We witness today that Iran has taken its first step in space very firmly, precisely and with awareness.'

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, Iranian President, on the launch of a rocket that likely cracked the 60-mile (96.5 km) mark, the technical threshold of space. An orbital mission is promised for the future

'My heart is broken.'

MICHELLE WILLIAMS, former companion of Heath Ledger and mother of their 2-year-old daughter, in her first public statement since Ledger's death on Jan. 22

'It's up to Mr. Deby to choose between peace and war.'

TIMANE ERDIMI, Chadian rebel leader, whose forces have advanced to within 60 miles of Chad's capital city, N'Djamena, in a bid to force a power-sharing deal with President Idriss Deby

'The nightmare is not knowing.'

BETH TWITTY, mother of Natalee Holloway, on new video footage, taped shortly after Holloway's 2005 disappearance in Aruba, showing a Dutch student admitting he was with Holloway when she died. The student later said he was lying

'Serbia has shown its great democratic potential.'

BORIS TADIC, President of Serbia, after a tight election victory over nationalist rival Tomislav Nikolic. The E.U. now says it wants to speed up Serbia's progress toward membership

Sources: Los Angeles Times; New York Times; Reuters (2); CNN; BBC