*** "ALL THE OFFICERS and men of the KPA (Korean People's Army) should prepare themselves to be human bombs and fighters ready to blow up themselves in order to defend the headquarters of the revolution."

(Chilling response by North Korean Defence Minister Kim Il-Chol if a war breaks out amid an escalating crisis on the peninsula)

*** "ALL NATIONS must reject such use of animals, whether for warfare or for chemical and biological tests."

(Spokesman of animal rights group, People for Ethical Treatment of Animals, condemning the Indian Navy's proposal to use dolphins to plant mines on enemy ships and submarines)

*** "GET Rid Of Them All."

(Massive banner hung outside presidential palace in Buenos Aires, Argentina blaming the politicians for economic downturn)

*** "MEN WHO CONSUMED fish two times a month or more had almost half the risk of stroke as compared with men who never ate fish."

(Dr. Alberto Ascherio, the author of a study conducted by Harvard School of Public Health, which shows that eating fish as infrequently as once or twice a month reduces stroke risk)

*** "IN A SITUATION where there is no longer justification for the inspectors to stay in our country, our government has decided to send them out."

(North Korean state news agency quoting a letter from the government to the UN nuclear inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency expelling them out from the country)

*** "IF THE UNITED STATES actually attacks Iraq, prices could almost shoot up to $ 100 a barrel."

(Analysts warning of dramatic upheaval in oil markets if the US attacks Iraq)

*** "2,661.38 Points"

(Record 100-Index logged by Karachi Stock Exchange on Friday 27. The all-time-high broke the previous record of 2,661.31 points on March 22, 1994)

*** "BULGARIANS REMEMBER a time not so long ago when they could rely on their health and education systems, and when their holidays were guaranteed. Thirteen years after the fall of communism this is no longer the case, and Bulgarians have become angry, radical and unhappy with their lot."

(Political analyst Kolio Kolev at Sofia's Mediana Institute saying that Bulgarians regrets giving up communism and feel swindled by capitalism remaining one of the poorest EU candidate countries)

*** "I DON'T HAVE any anti-American sentiment, but I won't kowtow to the Americans, either."

(Roh Moo-Hyun, the victorious North Korean presidential candidate of the ruling party, denouncing Washington's postions as 'hardline' during his election campaign)

*** "THE PICTURE THAT EMERGES is of a brass-knuckled quest for information, often in concert with allies of dubious human rights reputation, in which the traditional lines between right and wrong, legal and inhumane, are evolving and blurred."

(US influential newspaper The Washinton Post criticizing the CIA interrogations of terror suspects as inhumane)

*** "WE ARE ALLIES in the war against terrorism. We do not belong to this list... They may not understand."

(Pakistan's Ambassador to the US Ashraf Jehangir Qazi asking Washington to remove its name from the lit of nations whose citizens are being considered a security risk requiring visitors to register with the Immigration and Naturalization Service. He said that it would be difficult for his government to explain to its people why an ally should be placed on the list)

*** "$ 3,000"

(Christmas gift given by homeless people in New York to a police officer who refused to obey his sergeant to arrest a homeless man found sleeping in parking garage in sub-zero temperature. The homeless raised the money from recycling cans and bottle as well as panhandling change and welfare cheques)

*** "BECAUSE I WAS AN IDIOT."

(Mario Vargas Llosa, regarded as one the greatest living Latin American novelist, half-joking explanation for running for the presidency in his native Peru in 1990)

*** "I'M NOT SATISFIED with the direction we are being led today and I'm considering what I think could be my contribution toward a new direction for America."

(Democratic Senator and former Governor of Florida, Bob Graham, voicing concerns at the Bush administration's handling of national economy saying that he is seriously considering running for the presidency in 2004)