If a government led by Hamas or in which Hamas is a coalition partner is established, the Palestinian Authority will turn into an authority that supports terror. Israel and the world will ignore it and make it irrelevant.
- Ehud Olmert, acting Israeli prime minister, reacts to the electoral triumph of Hamas.
"Don't be afraid" is our message to the outside world. Hamas is an aware, mature and politically-open movement.
- Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas leader in the new Palestinian parliament.
Our doctors have told us to try and get on with our lives but how can we, knowing that there was semen found on my son's body?
- Majella Holohan, mother of Robert, as Wayne O'Donoghue is sentenced for his manslaughter.
The impact on society might be as profound as that which followed the Black Death in Europe in 1348.
- The World Economic Forum warns that, should avian flu develop into a global pandemic, it has the potential to devastate humanity.
I'm sure it's a scary idea for the studio.
- Steven Soderbergh, the movie director, who is to release the first ever film simultaneously in cinemas, on DVD and on cable television in the US.
However benign or placid things may appear, whilst that stalemate continues, actually underneath the surface there are all the currents of instability present when there is not a true forceful direction bringing the process forward.
- British prime minister Tony Blair says forward momentum is crucial in the Northern peace process.
Even with the so-called decommissioning which nobody in Northern Ireland really believes in, the IRA has continued to carry on.
- DUP leader, the Rev Ian Paisley.
The reality is that the traditional family based on marriage has presented great benefits to our society. It has given social stability and, in general, it has provided a most favourable context in which to rear children.
- Taoiseach Bertie Ahern supports the All Party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution, which recommended the constitutional definition of the family should not be broadened to include unmarried couples.
It has been 35 days. I was counting. It has been horrific for me but I am really happy now. It is like giving birth all over again.
- Pamela Izebekhai, from Nigeria, is reunited with her two young children. She was separated from them after going into hiding, fearing she would be deported.
This was never about trying to get people to stop chewing gum. It was about stopping people from spitting it on to the street.
- Dick Roche, Minister for the Environment, who has stopped short of a chewing gum "tax".
There is no doubt it is a positive in moral terms to adopt a generous approach to immigration, especially given that we have been the beneficiaries of the generosity of others over many decades.
- Peter Sutherland, former EU commissioner and newly-appointed UN special representative on migration, criticises "negative" attitudes towards migration in Ireland.
I clearly did apologise, and will again. I have no problem with it. It is not an issue.
- Former bishop of Galway Dr Eamonn Casey says he has no difficulty in apologising for past failings.