"As the single multilateral disarmament negotiating body, the Conference on Disarmament should bear the main responsibility for reviving the process of multilateral disarmament."

Wang Qun, Chinese Ambassador for Disarmament Affairs, addressing the first 2008 session of the UN-sponsored Conference on Disarmament in Geneva on January 25 and calling on all parties at the event to come up soon with a widely acceptable plan that seeks overall balance and implements pragmatic work

"There's no power to split us two."

Chen Yunlin, Minister of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, reiterating the mainland's proposal that the two sides across the Taiwan Straits, based on the one-China principle, hold negotiations on officially ceasing the hostility across the straits, agree on peace and map out a framework for peaceful development of the cross-straits relations, in an article in Cross-Straits Relations magazine

"He wanted to be seen as an exceptional trader, an astute market player."

Prosecutor Jean-Claude Marin, who participated in the investigation of the Societe Generale case, talking about the disgraced trader Jerome Kerviel. Kerviel was accused by the French banking giant of losing 4.9 billion euros ($7.15 billion) through unauthorized deals

"We ask that if he had any faults, please forgive them...may he be absolved of all his mistakes."

Siti Hariyanti "Tutut" Rukmana, eldest daughter of late Indonesian President Suharto who died of multiple organ failure on January 27, asking the nation to pardon her father

"Afghanistan stands at a crossroads."

The Associated Press quoting an independent study that says Afghanistan risks sliding into a failed state and becoming the "forgotten war" because of deteriorating international support and a growing violent insurgency. The assessment was co-chaired by retired U.S. Marine Corps General James Jones and former U.S. Ambassador to the UN Thomas Pickering

"Are we creating a straw man before we destroy it? We have to be careful about that."

Mohamed Al-Jasser, Vice Governor of Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, accusing some Western countries of being biased toward Sovereign Wealth Funds, which are pouring huge capital in some U.S. banks to help them write off losses incurred from the subprime mortgage crisis, at this year's annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos