Verbatim

‘Free and fair elections do not seem possible.’
NAWAZ SHARIF, former Prime Minister of Pakistan, who joined with Benazir Bhutto, also a former Prime Minister, to call for a possible election boycott

‘It is becoming increasingly evident that the most severe impacts of climate change will be felt by poor nations.’
RACHMAT WITOELAR, Indonesian Environment Minister, addressing the opening session of the climate-change conference in Bali

‘The result of this election indicates that Hong Kong people are anxious to put forward democracy.’
ANSON CHAN, pro-democracy Hong Kong politician, on winning a legislative seat over her Beijing-backed opponent in a Dec. 2 by-election

‘I went out there to have a bit of an adventure and got more of an adventure than I bargained for.’
GILLIAN GIBBONS, the British teacher who spent more than a week in a Sudan jail for letting her students name a teddy bear Muhammad; she returned to Britain on Dec. 4

‘You would just need to tickle the carburetor, make sure the battery has a bit of life in it, remove the sleeve from the starter handle and give it a couple of turns.’
TIM SCHOFIELD, head of U.K. motor sales for auctioneers Bonhams, on how to start a working 1904 Rolls-Royce that sold for a record-breaking $7.3 million

‘I guess I was lucky.’
MUTTIAH MURALITHARAN, Sri Lankan spin bowler, on bowling out English batsman Paul Collingwood. The feat took place during a match in Muralitharan’s hometown of Kandy, making the bowler the greatest wicket taker in Test cricket, with Collingwood his 709th victim