Verbatim

"The end of the road map is a cliff that both sides will fall off of." COLIN POWELL, Secretary of State, on the precariousness of the Bush Administration's road map for peace after a cease-fire between Arabs and Israelis ended with deadly fighting

"Sharing the burden and responsibility in a world of equal and sovereign nations also means sharing information and authority." MICHEL DUCLOS, France's deputy ambassador to the U.N., rebuking Colin Powell's lobbying of the Security Council to pass a resolution urging major countries to send troops to help establish order in Iraq and operate under U.S. control

"I think we needed a neutralist ... The warring parties are too inflamed." GYUDE BRYANT, who is known better for his business dealings than for politics, named last week to lead an interim government in Liberia

"We're so happy to be back in civilization ... We ate dates, no vegetables, and there were no vitamins." SILJA STAEHLI, a Swiss woman who was released last week, along with 14 other hostages, after being held in the Sahara desert for five months by a group of Islamic fundamentalists

"That's a lot of folks around here." RUSSELL WOODS, a West Virginia resident, on the description of a suspected sniper who killed three people in the Charleston area. Police said they were looking for a man who drives a Ford F-150 pickup truck

"Many fragile people died alone in their homes. These dramas again shed light on the solitude of many of our aged or handicapped citizens." JACQUES CHIRAC, French President, on as many as 10,000 deaths caused by a summer heat wave. Most of the victims were older than 75

"The strangest thing is that he asked no questions when the doctor started preparations in the area." VANESSA GUIMARAES, a manager at a clinic in Brazil, on a patient who entered the clinic to be treated for an earache but ended up having a vasectomy performed on him in error

Sources: New York Times (3); London Daily Telegraph; USA Today; AP; Reuters