"The United States and China each have a vision of how our relationship will evolve, and in many respects our visions are similar."

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, in an article published in The Washington Post

"No nation can make itself secure by seeking supremacy over all others."

Outgoing UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, urging the United States in his farewell speech to shun go-it-alone diplomacy and collaborate in dealing with the world's challenges

"In any society, in any country, when there are not norms or predetermined laws for a particular situation, it is up to the leaders, the government, to make decisions in the best interests of the people."

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, defending her decision not to allow state funeral rites for the late Augusto Pinochet, whose 1973-1990 rule is seen by his critics as a symbol of Latin American military repression

"By defining 'entrepreneur' in a broader way we can change the character of capitalism radically, and solve many of the unresolved social and economic problems within the scope of the free market."

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Muhammad Yunus

"Israel will not be the first country to introduce nuclear weapons to the region. That is our policy and it has not changed. There is no need to explain it any further."

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, denying that his remarks in a December 11 interview with a German TV station imply that Israel has a nuclear stockpile