They Said It

“We will need to rebuild the entirety of Lahaina.”
– Hawaii Governor Josh Green, speaking as the death toll from wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui rose to 53 (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“Standing in searing heat in that scarred landscape, breathing air polluted by the many gas flares dotting the region, it was clear to me that the era of global boiling has indeed begun.”
– UN human rights chief Volker Turk, speaking at the end of a four day visit to Iraq (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“The planet is melting, we are breaking temperature records every day. It is not possible that, in a scenario like this, eight Amazonian countries are unable to put in a statement – in large letters – that deforestation needs to be zero.”
– Marcio Astrini, of Climate Observatory, speaking after eight Amazon nations failed to agree a common goal for ending deforestation (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“These conversations were extremely frank and at times quite difficult, because, again, we’re pushing for a negotiated solution. It was not easy to get traction there.”
– US Acting Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, speaking after holding talks with senior military junta officials on Monday (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“Dear friends, allow me, this old man, to share with you young people a dream that I carry within me: it is the dream of peace, the dream of young people praying for peace, living in peace and building a peaceful future.”
– Pope Francis speaking after the final Mass at World Youth Day in Portugal (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“Not guilty,”
– Former US President Donald Trump entering his plea a Washington DC court in response to charges he orchestrated a plot to try to overturn his 2020 election loss (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“Moscow is waging a battle for a global catastrophe. In their madness, they need world food markets to collapse, they need a price crisis, they need disruptions in supplies.”
– President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address after Russia attacked Ukraine’s main inland port across the Danube River from Romania on Wednesday (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“The attack on our nation’s Capitol on 6th January, 2021, was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy…[I]t was fuelled by lies – lies by the defendant, targeted at obstructing the bedrock function of the US Government.”
– Special Counsel Jack Smith in a statement made after former US President Donald Trump was indicted for his attempts to overturn the 2020 election (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“Mali and Burkina Faso warn that any military intervention in Niger will be considered as a declaration of war against Burkina Faso and Mali.”
– A joint statement issued by Mali and Burkina Faso, who along with Guinea, have voiced their support for the leaders of Niger’s coup on Monday (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“Imagine if the…[Ukrainian counter-] offensive, which is backed by NATO, was a success and they tore off a part of our land then we would be forced to use a nuclear weapon…
– Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, in a message shared on social media on 30th July, 2023 (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“The consequences are clear and they are tragic: children swept away by monsoon rains; families running from the flames; workers collapsing in scorching heat.”
– UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in comments made after data confirmed July, 2023, is set to be the hottest month ever recorded.

 

“What Ireland has lost at such a relatively young age is one of our greatest and most gifted composers, songwriters and performers of recent decades, one who had a unique talent and extraordinary connection with her audience, all of whom held such love and warmth for her.”
– Irish President Michael D Higgins, speaking after Irish singer Sinead O’Connor died at the age of 56 (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“No-one will forgive members of parliament, judges, military officials or any other officials for placing themselves in opposition to the state.”
– Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in comments in which he said he would tolerate no corruption or treachery in affairs of state (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“It’s like a Biblical catastrophe.”
– Kyriakos Sarikas, marketing manager for H Hotels collection which has six properties on Rhodes, Greece, where wildfires have forced thousands to evacuate (as quoted on the BBC).

 

“It is an urgent challenge, it cannot be postponed, it concerns everyone. Let us protect our common home.”
– Pope Francis in a plea for world leaders to address climate change at the Vatican on Sunday, 24th July, 2023  (as quoted on Reuters)

 

“We are already seeing the negative effect on global wheat and corn prices which hurts everyone, but especially vulnerable people in the Global South.”
– UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, speaking in reference to ongoing Russian attacks on Ukrainian Black Sea ports (as quoted on Reuters)

 

“[M]any endured the most horrific sexual abuse and violence, homophobic bullying and harassment while bravely serving this country. On behalf of the British state, I apologise.”
– UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delivering an apology to LGBT military veterans after an independent review into their treatment before 2000 (as quoted on Reuters)

 

“We must remember that behind every number lies a mother, a father, a child, a grandparent. To turn a blind eye would be an affront to the memory of those who have already perished.”
– Csaba Kőrösi, president of the 77th session of the General Assembly, speaking to a meeting of member states in reference to the growing death toll in Ukraine.

 

“Today’s decision by the Russian Federation will strike a blow to people in need everywhere.”
– UN Secretary-General António Guterres, speaking after Russia said it would not continue the Black Sea grain initiative.

 

“I want to note that in the Russian Federation there is a sufficient stockpile of different kinds of cluster bombs. We have not used them yet. But of course if they are used against us, we reserve the right to take reciprocal action.”
– Russian President Vladimir Putin speaking to state TV in Moscow (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“We should celebrate the girl who goes to university, takes a job, chooses when and if she marries. But we should not deceive ourselves into thinking that we have made enough progress.”
– UN Messenger of Peace Malala Yousafzai in comments made during a visit to Nigeria.

 

“[The world’s financial] system has not fulfilled its mandate as a safety net to help all countries manage today’s cascade of unforeseen shocks – the pandemic; the devastating impact of the climate crisis; and the Russian invasion of Ukraine”.
– UN Secretary-General António Guterres, speaking as a new report shows almost 40 per cent of the developing world are in “serious debt trouble”.

 

“NATO will make Ukraine safer, Ukraine will make NATO stronger.”
– Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, speaking as he attended a NATO summit in Lithuania (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“On peace and security, the threat has reached an alarming level and needs urgent actions in addressing the challenges.”
– A statement from Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, newly appointed as chairman of West African regional bloc ECOWAS in which he called for swift action against insecurity including terrorism and coups in West Africa (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“I don’t think there is unanimity in NATO about whether or not to bring Ukraine into the NATO family now, at this moment, in the middle of a war.”
– US President Joe Biden, in comments made to CNN (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“The attack against Ms Milashina is tragically the latest in a pattern of violence against prominent investigative journalists in Russia that has met little resistance from the authorities.”
– A statement from the US State Department, referring to an attack on journalist Yelena Milashina in Chechnya (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“I’m grateful to the US as the leaders of our support but I told them as well as the European leaders that we would like to start our counter-offensive earlier, and we need all the weapons and materiel for that.”
– Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in comments made to CNN (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“It’s just unacceptable. We will continue to cooperate with China where we can, but we will disagree where we must. And we do disagree over human rights issues.”
– Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, speaking after Hong Kong put bounties on two Australian residents, among eight wanted overseas democracy activists (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“Everyone should acknowledge that they cannot form a friendship with Turkey by allowing terrorists to demonstrate in the most central squares of their cities.”
– Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan in comments in which he said Turkey will not lift its opposition to Sweden joining NATO unless it stops harbouring groups Ankara considers to be terrorists (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“I’m telling them to stop.”
– The grandmother of Nahel M – the teenager shot dead by police during a traffic stop in a Paris suburb, in comments to French media concerning ongoing riots (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“It’s a Malian decision and we need to find the least horrible way to implement it.”
– A UN Security Council diplomat, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity ahead of an council vote expected to end a decade-long peacekeeping mission in Mali.

 

“My hope in traveling to China is to reestablish contact. There are a new group of leaders, we need to get to know one another.”
– US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaking to MSNBC about her hopes to visit China (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“Unfortunately, looking at the trends, looking at the situation in Darfur, we’re likely to go beyond one million.”
– Raouf Mazou, UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, speaking response to a question about refugees leaving Sudan because of fighting (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“From the very beginning of the events, steps were taken on my direct instruction to avoid serious bloodshed.”
– Russian President Vladimir Putin speaking in a televised address on Monday in which he said explained why he let Saturday’s aborted mutiny go on as long as it did (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“I don’t think we’ve seen the final act.”
– US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking on US TV after an aborted mutiny by forces led by Yevgeny Prigozhin in Russia on the weekend (as quoted by Reuters).

 

“I thought it was a horrible idea. I wish I’d spoken up, but I assumed somebody was smarter than me, you know, because I never experimented with that technology, but it just sounded bad on its face.”
– Movie director and submersible maker James Cameron in comments in which he said he was sceptical when he heard OceanGate Inc was making a deep-sea submersible of composite carbon fiber and titanium hull (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“I thought it was a horrible idea. I wish I’d spoken up, but I assumed somebody was smarter than me, you know, because I never experimented with that technology, but it just sounded bad on its face.”
– Movie director and submersible maker James Cameron in comments in which he said he was sceptical when he heard OceanGate Inc was making a deep-sea submersible of composite carbon fiber and titanium hull (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“Unfortunately, we could see anti-personnel pressure mines washing up on beaches around the Black Sea.”
– Paul Heslop, head of UN Mine Action at the United Nations Development Programme in Ukraine, in comments to reporters referring tomines dislodged by the flood waters from Kakhovka dam in Ukraine (as quoted on Reuters)

 

“It’s really a bit like being an astronaut going into space. I think if it’s on the seabed, there are so few submarines that are capable of going that deep. And so, therefore, I think it was going to be almost impossible to effect a sub-to-sub rescue.”
– Tim Matlin, a Titanic expert, speaking as efforts to rescue five people in a submersible which was to visit the Titanic wreck continue (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“He was in great spirits and great form…I was really amazed. He embraced a lot of our conversation. It was a nice meeting.”
– US climate envoy John Kerry, speaking after a meeting with Pope Francis (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“Social housing. You’ll see that when it’s ready. I’m no policy expert, but I push it where I can.”
– The UK’s Prince William, quoted in The Sunday Times in an interview in which he said he wants to help end homelessness across the country and is planning to launch “a really big project” later this month (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“We came to the view that some of Mr Johnson’s denials and explanations were so disingenuous that they were by their very nature deliberate attempts to mislead the Committee and the House, while others demonstrated deliberation because of the frequency with which he closed his mind to the truth.”
– From a US House of Commons privileges committee report which concluded former Prime Minister Boris Johnson deliberately misled parliament about illegal parties held at his Downing Street office during COVID-19 lockdowns; Johnson has accused the committee of of mounting a “witch-hunt” and behaving like a “kangaroo court” (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“I’m devastated with the result, it’s a terrible outcome and it’s the incorrect outcome…We haven’t done anything wrong so we won’t be making any apologies.”
–  Australia’s most decorated war veteran, Ben Roberts-Smith, speaking to Australia television network Nine Entertainment in his first public comments since an Australian federal court judge dismissed his defamation case against three newspapers for articles accusing him of violating the rules of engagement and killing unarmed Afghans (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“It manifested in ways such as: ‘We will shut Twitter down in India’, which is a very large market for us; ‘we will raid the homes of your employees’, which they did…And this is India, a democratic country.”
– Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, speaking in an interview with YouTube news show Breaking Points in which he said India threatened to shut down Twitter in the country unless it complied with orders to restrict accounts critical of the handling of farmer protests; Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government called the claim a “lie” {as quoted on Reuters).

 

“Given the formidable nature of the threat from Chinese state actors, given the size of their capability, given how much resources and effort they’re putting into it, it’s going to be very, very difficult for us to prevent disruptions from happening.”
– US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly in comments made during an appearance at the Aspen Institute in Washington, DC, in which she said Chinese hackers are all but certain to disrupt American critical infrastructure, such as pipelines and railways, in the event of a conflict with the United States (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everybody.”
– US Special Counsel Jack Smith, speaking in his first public appearance since Attorney General Merrick Garland assigned him to investigate former US President Donald Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents; his comments came as US prosecutors unsealed a 37-count indictment against Donald Trump on Friday (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“It should be understood that the size of the problem is much bigger.”
– Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky in comments in which he said the Nova Kakhovka dam breech has inflicted “years” of damage to irrigation in the region and could turn at least 500,000 hectares of land left without irrigation into “deserts” (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“I believe that anyone who puts themselves over the constitution should never be president of the United States, and anyone who asked someone else to put them over the constitution should never be president of the United States again.”
– Former Vice President Mike Pence, speaking as he launched his campaign to become president in Iowa in his most forceful condemnation to date of his former boss Donald Trump’s role in the attack of 6th January, 2021, when the then-president’s supporters stormed the US Congress to try to stop lawmakers from certifying Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“Some of the editors and journalists that are responsible for causing a lot of pain, upset and in some cases – perhaps inadvertently – death.”
– Prince Harry, speaking during an appearance at the High Court in London on Tuesday where he and 100 others are suing Mirror Group Newspapers; his comment was made in a response to a question asking to whom he was referring when he wrote in a witness statement “How much more blood will stain their typing fingers before someone can put a stop to this madness?” (as quoted by Reuters)

 

“Vision Pro is a new kind of computer that augments reality by seamlessly blending the real world with the digital world. This is the first Apple product that you look through and not at.”
–  Apple CEO Tim Cook announcing the release of the company’s new mixed reality headset as its annual developer conference on Monday (as quoted on ABC News)

 

“It is completely the establishment. Establishment obviously means the military establishment, because they are really now openly – I mean, it’s not even hidden now – they’re just out in the open.”
–  Pakistan’s embattled former Prime Minister Imran Khan in comments to Reuters in which he accused the powerful military and its intelligence agency of openly trying to destroy his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf political party, saying he had “no doubt” he would be tried in a military court and thrown in jail.

 

“You have become a blogger who screams and shouts off to the whole world about all the problems. Stop shouting, yelling and screaming.”
– Adam Delimkhanov, a close ally of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, in public comments criticising Russia’s most prominent mercenary Yevgeny Prigozhin; his comments drew a stern rebuke from a top Wagner fighter (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“The eleventh package of sanctions we are working on includes the option to go after those responsible for child abductions.”
– Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, speaking at a joint news conference with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in The Hague, in comments referrring to EU sanctions on Russia in connection with the Ukraine conflict (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“We are fortunate that a nuclear accident has not yet happened.”
– Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in comments urging the UN Security Council to support five principles aimed at preventing a nuclear accident amid the war in Ukraine.

 

“Yes, it’s obviously been a problem my entire career. It has never stopped. If anything, it’s only gotten worse.”
– World number 30 women’s tennis player, American Sloane Stephens, who is Black, speaking about the problem of racism directed at athletes following her straight-sets victory over Karolina Pliskova in the French Open first round (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“There was a time in America that we were this way, fighting to the last person, we were going to be free or die.”
– US Republican Senator Lindsay Graham, speaking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy during a visit to Kyiv on Friday; Zelenskiy responded by saying “Now you are free. And we will be” (as quoted on Reuters).

 

 “Thanks and goodbye Tina. You were simply the best.”
– From a note left at the gates of Tina Turner’s home in Kuesnacht, Switzerland, where the music legend died on Wednesday at the age of 83 (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“General [Abdel Fattah] al-Burhan, General [Mohamed Hamdan] Dagalo, you must issue clear instructions, in no uncertain terms to all those under your command, that there is zero tolerance for sexual violence…civilians must be spared and you must stop this senseless violence now.”
– Volker Turk, UN human rights chief in direct call to the two warring generals to stop sexual violence and spare the lives of civilians in Sudan, made in comments to reporters in Geneva, Switzerland (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“General [Abdel Fattah] al-Burhan, General [Mohamed Hamdan] Dagalo, you must issue clear instructions, in no uncertain terms to all those under your command, that there is zero tolerance for sexual violence…civilians must be spared and you must stop this senseless violence now.”
– Volker Turk, UN human rights chief in direct call to the two warring generals to stop sexual violence and spare the lives of civilians in Sudan, made in comments to reporters in Geneva, Switzerland (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“If someone thinks I am going to die, calm down…I’m not going to die, guys. You’ll have to struggle with me for a very long time to come.”
– Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, appearing in public on Tuesday and dismissing talk he was seriously ill, telling a meeting on health issues that he had been suffering from an adenovirus, which is a common cold virus (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“We cannot kick this can down the road.”
– Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu, head of the World Health Organization, in comments urging countries on Monday to carry out reforms needed to prepare for the next pandemic (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“It has been a tragedy but we can always recover strongly from crises.”
– Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in comments in which she pledged to support the recovery of flood-hit areas of northern Italy on Sunday after returning early from the G7 summit in Japan to see the damage first-hand (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“Our commitment to continue tightening the screws on Russia remains as strong as it was last year.”
– An unnamed US official who has told Reuters the G7 will unveil new sanctions and export controls targeting Russia over its war against Ukraine; the new moves are aimed at disrupting Russia’s ability to get materials it needs for the battlefield, close loopholes used to evade sanctions, further reduce international reliance on Russian energy, and narrow Moscow’s access to the international financial system, the official said (as reported on Reuters).

 

“After arduous searching by our military, we have found alive the four children who went missing after a plane crash in Guaviare. A joy for the country.”
– Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro, speaking after four children – aged 13, nine, four, and 11-months who came from an Indigenous community, were found alive in the south of the country more than two weeks after the plane they were traveling in crashed in thick jungle in Caqueta province (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“My discussions with the two leaders demonstrated that they are both ready to receive the African leaders and to have discussion on how this conflict can be brought to an end. Whether that will succeed or not is going to depend on the discussions that will be held.”
– South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announcing on Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy had agreed to meet a group of African leaders to discuss a potential peace plan for the conflict in Ukraine; details of the plan have not been publicly divulged (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“My discussions with the two leaders demonstrated that they are both ready to receive the African leaders and to have discussion on how this conflict can be brought to an end. Whether that will succeed or not is going to depend on the discussions that will be held.”
– South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announcing on Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy had agreed to meet a group of African leaders to discuss a potential peace plan for the conflict in Ukraine; details of the plan have not been publicly divulged (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“Persecutions, wars, atmospheric phenomena and dire poverty are among the most visible causes of forced migrations today. Migrants flee because of poverty, fear or desperation.”
– Pope Francis, in an appeal to countries on Thursday to manage waves of migrants as best they can and to expand channels for their safe and regular movement, to mark the Catholic Church’s annual World Day of Migrants and Refugee (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“Today, the world finally knows the truth. This victory is not just for me but for every woman who has suffered because she was not believed.”
– Magazine writer E Jean Carroll who was awarded $US5 million after a New York jury on Tuesday found former US President Donald Trump had sexually abused her in the 1990s and later defamed her; Trump called the verdict “a disgrace” and said he had “no idea who this woman is” (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“It’s Congress’s job to do this. If they fail to do it, we will have an economic and financial catastrophe that will be of our own making.”
– US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, in comments warning of the failure to raise the US debt ceiling (as quoted on the BBC).

 

“As my grandmother said when she was crowned, coronations are a declaration of our hopes for the future. And I know she’s up there, fondly keeping an eye on us, and she’d be a very proud mother.”
– Prince Wlliam, speaking at the “Coronation Concert” held at Windsor Castle on Sunday night following the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla on Saturday (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“It’s very unlikely, is our current assessment.”
– US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines speaking to the the Senate Armed Services Committee about the likelihood of Russia using nuclear weapons (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“[I]t’s easy to forget that there are these protracted crises in Yemen, in many parts of Africa and, as I was so painfully reminded, in Syria. Of course, the ultimate goal is peace but while we wait for that to be brokered, humanitarian aid is absolutely vital and for governments to find cohesive bilateral solutions to these things and safe pathways for people.”
– Actor Cate Blanchett, a goodwill ambassador for the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, speaking after a trip to Jordan last week in which she called for more support for countries hosting people forcibly displaced from their homes to prevent “a forgotten crisis.” (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“We will never be silent in the face of unprecedented systemic attacks on women’s and girls’ rights.”
– UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaking to reporters on Tuesday with regard to the ban on women working in Afghanistan, saying the ban imposed by the Taliban was a violation of human rights (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“I felt horror as if it was doomsday…When you see bodies scattered right and left, dismembered people, torched banks, you feel it is totally unsafe.”
– Palestinian medical student Nour Kullab, speaking about her flight from Sudan’s capital Khartoum at her family house in Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip, four days after returning (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“How sad and painful it is to see closed doors. The closed doors of our selfishness with regard to others; the closed doors of our individualism amid a society of growing isolation; the closed doors of our indifference towards the underprivileged and those who suffer; the doors we close towards those who are foreign or unlike us, towards migrants or the poor. Please, let us open those doors!”
– Pope Francis, speaking in a homily as he celebrated Mass on Budapest’s Kossuth Lajos Square during his visit to Hungary (as quoted on AP).

 

“Along with close Korea-US coordination, we need to speed up Korea-US-Japan trilateral security cooperation to counter increasing North Korean nuclear threats.”
– South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in an address to US lawmakers on the fourth day of a state visit to mark the 70th anniversary of the US-South Korean alliance (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“We didn’t believe that could happen. We were all caught by surprise and we paid a heavy price for it.”
– Brazil’s Defence Minister Jose Mucio, speaking about the 8th January riots in Brasilia, in which supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed government buildings, in an interview with Reuters in Portugal’s capital Lisbon; the comments come as the Brazilian Congress opens an inquiry into the events of 8th January.

 

“Apologising is sometimes the easiest thing to do: you apologise, turn your back, and the job is done.”
– Portugal’s President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa  in comments on Tuesday in which he said his country should apologise and take responsibility for its role in the transatlantic slave trade in what would be the first time a leader of the southern European nation has suggested such a national apology (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“We face unprecedented and interlocking crises. Tensions between major powers are at an historic high, so are the risks of conflict, through misadventure or miscalculation. It is time to deepen cooperation and to strengthen multilateral institutions, to find common solutions to common challenges.”
– UN Secretary General António Guterres addressing the UN Security Council on Monday.

 

“All of this suffering compounds an already dire situation – one-third of Sudan’s population, nearly 16 million people, already needed humanitarian assistance to meet basic human needs before this outbreak of violence.”
– Samantha Power, head of the US Agency for International Development, speaking as she announced the deployment of a team of disaster response experts for Sudan in the region to coordinate the humanitarian response as fighting rocks the country (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“The impacts of climate change will be felt the most by those who have contributed the least to the problem, including developing nations. As large economies and large emitters, we must step up and support these economies.”
– US President Joe Biden, speaking during a virtual meeting of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate on Thursday with leaders from the world’s largest economies (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“There is another new front opening, as we see more and more adversaries able to buy and sell sophisticated cyber tools and spyware like Pegasus…These are the types of tools that we used to only see in a handful of powerful state actors, and which can cause serious damage.”
– Senior British minister Oliver Dowden told a National Cybersecurity Centre conference in Belfast on Wednesday, in comments referring to spyware made by Israel’s NSO Group (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“He’s in a combative mood. He is ready to defend himself and to show that he is innocent.”
– Tatiana Nozhkina, lawyer to US journalist Evan Gershkovich, speaking outside a Moscow court after it rejected an appeal for Gershkovich to be freed from pre-trial detention (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“We urge Russian Federation authorities to release those they hold on political grounds, and to end the draconian crackdown on freedom of expression, including against members of the media.”
– A joint statement issued by the United States and more than 40 other countries in which they said were deeply concerned over Russia’s detainment of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and protested Moscow’s “efforts to limit and intimidate the media” (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“Deeply alarmed by armed clashes in Sudan. Fullest solidarity with people of Sudan who deserve better. Voice of reason urgently needed to stop violence & revert to earlier promising path towards peace & civilian transition.”
– Volker Türk, the UN human rights chief, in a tweet made after fighting broke out between the army and paramilitary RSF in Sudan on the weekend.

 

“His health is not a good condition. We can’t rule out the idea that he is being poisoned, not in a huge dosage as before, but in small ones so that he doesn’t die immediately but for him to suffer and to ruin his health.”
– Kira Yarmysh, spokeswoman for Alexei Navalny, Russia’s most prominent opposition politician, in comments in which she stated Navalny was suffering from severe stomach pain; the  Kremlin said it was not following the state of his health and that it was a matter for the federal penitentiary service (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“With more than 20,000 deaths recorded on this route since 2014, I fear that these deaths have been normalised. States must respond. Delays and gaps in State-led [search and rescue] are costing human lives.”
– International Organization for Migration Director General, António Vitorino, speaking as the organisation said more than 400 migrants died while attempting to cross the central Mediterranean between January and March of this year, making it the deadliest first quarter on record since 2017.

 

“Although Somalis make virtually no contribution to climate change, the Somalis are among the greatest victims. Nearly five million people are experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity.  And of course, rising prices make matters worse.  So, I call on donors and I call on the international community to step up their support.”
– UN Secretary-General António Guterres, speaking in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, during a visit to the country.

 

“Journalism is not a crime. We condemn the Kremlin’s continued repression of independent voices in Russia, and its ongoing war against the truth.”
– US State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel in a statement made as the US on Monday determined that Russia has “wrongfully detained” American Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“You can be anxious, sensitive, kind, and wear your heart on your sleeve. You can be a mother or not, an ex-Mormon or not. A nerd, a crier, a hugger, you can be all of these things and not only can you be here, you can lead just like me.”
– Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, in a final address to parliament after she stepped down having led the nation through the COVID-19 pandemic and a terror attack in Christchurch (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“I congratulate all the people of Finland. Russian aggression clearly proves that only collective guarantees, only preventive guarantees, can be reliable.”
– Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, speaking evening address after Finland formally joined NATO (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“There can be no justification…for arbitrarily detaining civilians and persons out of combat and subjecting them to abuse, torture, and murder…That is why the prosecution brought this case, to vindicate the rule of law and the principle that nobody is above the law, even during wartime.”
– Prosecutor Alex Whiting, speaking as the trial of former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci began in The Hague at which Thaci pleaded innocent to charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“The risk of a nuclear weapon being used is currently higher than at any time since the depths of the cold war. The war in Ukraine represents the most acute example of that risk.”
– Izumi Nakamitsu, UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, speaking to the UN Security Council on Friday.

 

“In particular, the relationship between Taiwan and the United States is closer than ever.”
–  Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen, speaking to supporters during a stopover in New York on her way to Central America which, according to Taipei and Washington, has not triggered unusual military actions by China (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“Today, exactly six years after Britain started its exit from the European Union, we are opening a new chapter in our relations.”
–  German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in a speech made as King Charles III visits Germany in his first state visit abroad since ascending the throne last year; in his speech, the King spoke of the “enduring value” of the relationship between the UK and Germany and said he would do all he could to strengthen connections (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“We must invest in the African ingenuity and creativity, which will unlock incredible economic growth and opportunities, not only for the people of the 54 countries that make up this diverse continent, but for the American people and people around the world.”
– US Vice President Kamala Harris in a speech to thousands of young Ghanaians on Tuesday in Accra on women’s empowerment; she also toured a coastal building that was the last stop for Africans sold into the transatlantic slave trade (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“It is incumbent on us to fight slavery’s legacy of racism. The most powerful weapon in our arsenal is education…”
–  UN Secretary-General António Guterres, speaking as the UN General Assembly met to mark the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

 

“The war has taken a heavy toll on civilians, with acts of hostilities killing groups of individuals and in some cases multiple members of the same families at once.”
– From the summary of a new report from the UN human rights office, speaking in reference to the conflict in Ukraine.

 

“If Europe waits, the evil may have time to regroup and prepare for years of war. It is in your power to prevent this.”
– Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, speaking in a video address to EU leaders on Thursday in which he urged Europe to increase and speed up supplies of modern weaponry and impose tougher sanctions on Russia, saying otherwise the war could drag on for years (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“Water is in deep trouble. We are draining humanity’s lifeblood through vampiric overconsumption and unsustainable use, and evaporating it through global heating. We’ve broken the water cycle, destroyed ecosystems and contaminated groundwater.” 
– UN General Secretary Antonio Guterres, speaking at the opening of the three day UN Water Conference at UN headquarters in New York City.

 

“Like a virus, racism mutates and adapts itself to different times and contexts. It is said that ‘racism is like a Cadillac, there is a new model every year’. In fact, its manifestations and symptoms may change, but the breadth of its harm remains intact.”
– UN General Assembly President Csaba Kőrösi, speaking at the annual ceremony to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, held on 21st March to remember the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre in apartheid South Africa. 

 

“[Myanmar’s military junta] have less control of the country than they did at the beginning of this coup. We could make a very significant difference if we increased our support and we coordinated that support…I think it would make a world of difference.”
– Thomas Andrews, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, in comments on Monday in which he called on the international community to coordinate sanctions to counter the abuses perpetrated by the South-East Asian country’s military (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“We have no contract with a dictator. We would be happy to volunteer when the democracy is safeguarded.” 
– From a letter circulated to the Israeli media in which 450 protesters describing themselves as volunteer reservists from military special forces and another 200 as volunteer reservist offensive cyber operators, including from the Mossad and Shin Bet intelligence agencies, said they were now refusing call-ups in protest at the Israeli Government’s planned judicial overhaul (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“Switzerland’s adoption of crime of aggression in its legislation would allow it to step up the fight against impunity for the gravest crimes under international law.”
– A statement from the Swiss Parliament after a bill allowing for the prosecution of the perpetrators of crimes of aggressionwas passed with 127 votes in favour and 53 against (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“I dedicate all my contribution to honest and courageous people, wherever they live, who find the strength day after day to resist the monster of dictatorship and its constant companion – war.”
– Jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny on Wednesday in comments made as director Daniel Roher’s film Navalny – about the poisoning that nearly killed Russia’s most prominent opposition figure and his detention upon returning to Moscow in 2021 – won the Oscar for best feature documentary on Sunday (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“The national duty to investigate torture is alarmingly, universally, under-implemented.”
– Alice Edwards, UN special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, in comments in which she urged states to act as “primary responders” to incidents of torture to ensure justice on behalf of victims; the comments were made as she presented a report to the UN Human Rights Council in which she pointed at a “glaring gap” between the promise and reality of the international prohibition of torture.

 

“For the first time ever it will mean three fleets of submarines working together across the Atlantic and Pacific keeping our oceans free…for decades to come.”
– UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, speaking as the leaders of the US, Australia and Britain on Monday unveiled details of a plan to provide Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines at a US naval base in San Diego; the move is part of an effort to counter China’s ambitions in the Indo-Pacific (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“These 48 million people do include as many as 129,000 who are facing catastrophe; and catastrophe, that means they are facing starvation and literally looking death in the eyes.”
– Veteran WHO worker Liesbeth Aelbrecht, speaking about the situation in the Horn of Africa.

 

“It is wrong, it is harsh, it undermines our democratic foundations. And therefore it must be replaced with another, agreed upon outline immediately.”
– Israel’s President Isaac Herzog in comments referring to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu government’s plans to overhaul the judiciary in Israel; a move which has sparked weeks of mass protests in the nation (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“Status quo cannot be acceptable. We need to move forward.”
– Geir Otto Pedersen, United Nations special envoy for Syria, in comments to reporters in Geneva, Switzerland, in which he urged warring sides in Syria and the international community to revive efforts to find a political solution to a conflict that has devastated the country over more than a decade (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“Contempt for the human being reaches agonizing levels when war breaks out, and violence becomes a daily occurrence. One quarter of humanity is living today in places affected by conflict, and it is civilians who suffer the most. Peace is precious and it is fragile – and we must nurture it.”
–  Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in an annual report to the 52nd session of the Human Rights Council on the activities of his office and and recent human rights developments.

 

“Removing one’s hijab is equivalent to showing enmity to the Islamic Republic and its values. People who engage in such an abnormal act will be punished.”
–  Iran’s Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei in comments Monday reported by the official IRNA news agency; the comments come after months of unrest triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini that brought a deadly security crackdown (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“Systems are stretched or non-existent – from health and education to social protection, infrastructure, and job creation. And it is only getting worse.”
– UN Secretary-General António Guterres speaking to the Fifth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries in Doha, Qatar, in comments in which he also said the global financial system is extremely unfair to LDCs.

 

“Gathering covert intelligence is difficult – but had we managed to seize the slim chance we had, those impacted might not have experienced such appalling loss and trauma.”
– Ken McCallum, MI5’s director general, in a statement in which he also said he was “profoundly sorry” that his service had not prevented a deadly 2017 suicide bombing at the end of an Ariana Grande pop concert in Manchester in which 22 people died and more than 200 were injured (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“We need to get Ukraine compensated from Russian Federation as much as possible…It should be decent compensation for everything, for energy, for energy infrastructure, for every single human being, for environment, for whatever what was destroyed and affected.”
– Polish Climate Minister Anna Moskwa, speaking at an energy conference in Croatia’s capital of Zagreb (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“[I]ran’s nuclear progress since we left the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] has been remarkable. Back in 2018, when the previous administration decided to leave the JCPOA it would have taken Iran about 12 months to produce one bomb’s worth of fissile material. Now it would take about 12 days.”
– Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl speaking to a House of Representatives hearing on Tuesday, 28th February, 2023 (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“I’m pleased to report that we have now made a decisive breakthrough. This is the beginning of a new chapter in our relationship.”
– British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, speaking after the UK struck a new deal with the European Union on post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland on Monday (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and stressed that it is causing immense human suffering and exacerbating existing fragilities in the global economy.”
– A statement from issued by G20 finance ministers following a meeting chaired by India which Russia and China declined to sign (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“Today we are not commemorating a year of war, but we are celebrating a year of resistance to aggression, a year of courage, a year of mutual assistance and rescue of each other, a year of humanity, and a year of friendship.”
– Olena Zelenska, the wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, remotely addressing an anniversary event in Vilnius, Lithuania, to mark the first anniversary of the war in Ukraine (as quoted on Reuters)

 

“Repositories of Ukrainian literature, museums, and historical archives – are being destroyed, and there is a widespread narrative of demonisation and denigration of Ukrainian culture and identity promoted by Russian officials…Let us be clear: the Ukrainian people have a right to their identity. Nobody can violate this right.” 
– UN-appointed independent rights experts in a statement in which they said the targeted destruction of Ukraine’s culture must stop.

 

“One year ago, the world was bracing for the fall of Kyiv. I can report: Kyiv stands strong, Kyiv stands proud, it stands tall and, most important, it stands free.”
– US President Joe Biden, speaking in Warsaw, Poland, following a surprise visit to Kyiv (as quoted on Reuters)

 

“This visit of the US President to Ukraine, the first for 15 years, is the most important visit in the entire history of Ukraine-US relations.” 
– President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, speaking at US President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to Kyiv (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“The United States strongly opposes these unilateral measures which exacerbate tensions, harm trust between the parties and undermine the geographic viability of the two-state solution.”
–  White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, referrring to Israel’s decision to expand Jewish settlements in occupied Palestinian territory; the US also described as “unhelpful” a push for the UN Security Council to denounce the move (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“[A]fter a good deal of thought, I’ve decided to pursue new challenges”.
– World Bank president David Malpass announcing in a statement on Wednesday his decision to step down from the post before the expiry of his five year term (as quoted on The Guardian).

 

“It’s already a miracle. After seven days, they are there with no water, no food and in good condition.”
– Burcu Baldauf, head of a Turkish voluntary healthcare team in the city of Kahramanmaras where rescuers were digging a tunnel to reach a grandmother, mother and baby trapped in a room in the remains of a three-storey building (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“I think it is difficult to estimate precisely as we need to get under the rubble but I’m sure it will double or more.”
– UN emergency relief coordinator Martin Griffiths, speaking to Sky News on Saturday, 11th February, as the death toll from the Turkey-Syria earthquake topped 28,000 (as quoted on France24).

 

“We are in the grip of a profound energy crisis. The crisis has progressively evolved to affect every part of society. We must act to lessen the impact of the crisis on farmers, on small businesses, on our water infrastructure and our transport network.”
– South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in his annual State of the Nation Address to parliament on Thursday in which he declared a national “state of disaster” over his country’s crippling power shortages, saying they posed an existential threat to the economy and social fabric (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“The world should completely calm down from the fear that there are new variants or special variants circulating [in China].”
 – Leading Chinese scientist George Gao, speaking after a paper by Gao and colleagues published in the Lancet medical journal on Wednesday showed that no new variants had emerged in the initial weeks of China’s recent outbreak (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“Attempts by the International Olympic Committee to bring Russian athletes back into the Olympic Games are attempts to tell the whole world that terror is somehow acceptable.”
 – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in comments in which he said Russian athletes should not be allowed to compete in the 2024 Olympics (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“Combatting terror must never be used as an excuse for trampling on people’s human rights. We need to firmly ground all counter-terrorism policies and initiatives within human rights.”
 – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in comments made to the Ninth Meeting of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact in New York on 25th January, 2023.

 

“We started to see coups d’etat, which we thought was something in the past. We started to see this phenomenon of the strongman…It’s something we need to fight back against.”
– Sudanese-British billionaire Mo Ibrahim in comments made as his foundation launched its Index of African Governance on Wednesday, warning that advances in human development and economic opportunities were undermined by worsening security and widespread democratic backsliding (as quoted on Reuters)

 

“We are sickened by today’s tragedy in Half Moon Bay. There are simply too many guns in this country and there has to be a change.”
– Dave Pine, president of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, in a statement made after a man shot dead seven former co-workers in the coastal city of Half Moon Bay south of San Francisco – the third mass shooting in eight days in the California (as quoted on the BBC).

 

“Our nation is on the cusp of whether it can maintain its societal functions…It is now or never when it comes to policies regarding births and child-rearing – it is an issue that simply cannot wait any longer.”
– Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in comments on 23rd January, 2023, in which he pledged to take urgent steps to tackle the country’s declining birth rate (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“I want this to be clear: there will be no return to what used to be in the past, to the way various people close to state institutions or those who spent their entire lives chasing a chair used to live.”
– Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaking in his nightly address on Sunday in comments in which he said that corruption, a chronic problem in the country which has been cast into the background by the war against Russia, would not be tolerated and promised forthcoming key decisions on uprooting it this week (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“Politicians are human. We give all that we can, for as long as we can, and then it’s time. And for me, it’s time.”
– New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announcing her resignation on 19th January, 2023 (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“We made an elementary mistake, my intelligence did not exist [that day]. We have Army intelligence, Air Force intelligence, ABIN [Brazil’s Intelligence Agency]; none of them warned me.”
– Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaking to TV channel GloboNews on 18th January, 2023, in comments in which he said his intelligence services failed on 8th January, when Brasilia buildings were stormed by supporters of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“The reaction of Iran regime is atrocious and horrible and they are trampling over fundamental human rights…We are looking indeed at a new round of sanctions and I would support also listing the Revolutionary Guards. I have heard several ministers asking for that and I think they are right.”
– European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“We have not won the war, we have not defeated the mafia but this battle was a key battle to win, and it is a heavy blow to organised crime.”
– Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who travelled to Sicily to congratulate police chiefs after the arrest of Italy’s most wanted mafia boss, Matteo Messina Denaro, in Palermo, Sicily on Monday (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“May God help us find several of them. I think the number of dead will be in the dozens.”
– Borys Filatov, mayor of the city of Dnipro, speaking as rescuers worked to pull survivors from the wreckage of an apartment building in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro that was hit by a Russian missile strike on Saturday (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“Our male staff cannot go to widows, single mothers and their children, to all of the vulnerable female groups here and thereby were prevented from doing all work.”
– Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, speaking with regard to a letter he intends writing to the Taliban in Kandahar, Afghanistan, asking them to overturn a policy banning female NGO workers; the NGO has suspended all work in Afghanistan as a result of the ban (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“It’s just lie after lie after lie. It became a pattern.”
–  Joseph Cairo Jr, Republican Party chairman in Nassau County, among a group of Republicans who publicly called for embattled US Representative George Santos to step down on Wednesday over claims he’s made about his career and history; Santos said he has no plans to do so (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“It is very clear that the present system is biased…The system was conceived by a group of rich countries and naturally it basically benefits rich countries.”
– UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in comments on Monday in which he called for sweeping reform of the international financial system to allow for low-income countries vulnerable to climate calamities to receive adequate funding from richer nations (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“We urge all CEOs and leaders of social media to fully assume their responsibility to respect human rights and address racial hatred.”
– More than two dozen UN-appointed independent human rights experts in a statement in which they said Twitter’s Elon Musk, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Alphabet head Sundar Pichai, Apple’s Tim Cook, “and CEOs of other social media platforms” should “centre human rights, racial justice, accountability, transparency, corporate social responsibility and ethics, in their business model”.

 

“These vandals, who we could call fanatical Nazis, fanatical Stalinists…fanatical fascists, did what has never been done in the history of this country. All these people who did this will be found and they will be punished.”
– Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in comments responding to an invasion of the country’s Congress, presidential palace and Supreme Court on Sunday by supporters of ousted President Jair Bolsonaro (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“They now want to use Christmas as a cover, albeit briefly, to stop the advances of our boys in Donbas and bring equipment, ammunitions and mobilised troops closer to our positions.”
– Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in comments responding tp Vladimir Putin’s call for a “Christmas truce” in Ukraine (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“We continue to ask China for more rapid, regular, reliable data on hospitalisations and deaths, as well as more comprehensive, real-time viral sequencing…With circulation in China so high and comprehensive data not forthcoming…it is understandable that some countries are taking steps they believe will protect their own citizens.”
– World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaking in a virtual briefing on Wednesday in comments address the COVID-19 outbreak in  China.

 

“We all mourn with the entire Roman Catholic Church. At the heart of his spiritual leadership was the promotion of a culture of peace and global solidarity.”
– From a letter of condolence sent by World Council of Churches General Secretary Rev Prof Dr Jerry Pillay to Cardinal Kurt Koch upon the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.

 

“With deep feeling, we recall his person, so noble, so gentle. And we feel in the heart so much gratitude: gratitude to God for having given him to the church and to the world. Gratitude to him, for all the good he did, and above all for his witness of faith and of prayer, especially in these last years of withdrawn life.”
– Pope Francis, speaking of the passing of Pope Benedict XVI during his homily at a New Year’s Eve Vespers service in St Peter’s Basilica (as quoted by AP)

 

“An inspiration for so many millions, a reference from yesterday, today, forever. The affection he always showed for me was reciprocal in every moment we shared, even from a distance. He will never be forgotten and his memory will live on forever in each of us football lovers. Rest in peace, King Pele.”
– Portugal football star Cristiano Ronaldo in a tribute posted to Brazilian football legend Pele, who has died at the age of 82, posted on Instagram (as quoted on BBC)

 

“We call on everyone to exercise maximum restraint, to take immediate action to unconditionally de-escalate the situation, and to refrain from provocations, threats or intimidation.”
– EU and United States said in a joint statement issued amid escalating tensions in Kosovo’s north with local Serbs over its 2008 independence; at least three crossings on the Kosovo-Serbia border have been closed (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“We’re doing everything possible to stop them from taking the dangerous voyages.”
– Bangladesh’s Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, speaking to Reuters on Monday; at least 20 Rohingya Muslims died at sea this week and hundreds more have landed in Indonesia (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“Naturally, shortages persist. Blackouts are continuing. The situation as of this evening in different regions of Ukraine is that nearly nine million people are without electricity. But the numbers and the length of the blackouts are gradually decreasing.”
– Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaking on Monday, 26th December, with regard to the ongoing Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure (as quoted on Reuters)

 

“To understand what the Ukrainians are going through, I ask all Italians to switch off all energy sources for one hour a day.”
– Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in comments on Thursday calling for Italians to switch off gas and electricity for an hour a day in solidarity with Ukraine, which has been under Russian attack for 10 months (as quoted on Reuters)

 

“We estimate that probably as many as 20 have died…some from hunger and thirst, and others jumped overboard in desperation. This is absolutely awful and outrageous.”
–  Chris Lewa, director of the Arakan Project, which works to support Myanmar’s Rohingyas, speaking in reference to a boat carrying at least 100 ethnic Rohingya that has been stranded at sea for two weeks off India’s coast (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“I assume all responsibility for what took place on June 30. I’ve been following the prosecution’s attempts to confirm this charge by presenting videos and witnesses, and I listen and enjoy it.”
– Former Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir in a statement to a court in Khartoum, Sudan, in which he said he took full responsibility for the events in 1989 that brought him to power, speaking at a trial in which he stands charged with leading a military coup.

 

“The invitation is open. But there is a price of entry and the price of entry is non-negotiable – credible, serious and new climate action and nature-based solutions that will move the needle forward and respond to the urgency of the climate crisis.”
– United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in comments referring to  a “no-nonsense” climate ambition summit he intends convening next September, warning that there will be “no room for back-sliders, greenwashers, blame-shifters” or a repackaging of old pledges (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“The invitation is open. But there is a price of entry and the price of entry is non-negotiable – credible, serious and new climate action and nature-based solutions that will move the needle forward and respond to the urgency of the climate crisis.”
– United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in comments referring to  a “no-nonsense” climate ambition summit he intends convening next September, warning that there will be “no room for back-sliders, greenwashers, blame-shifters” or a repackaging of old pledges (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“We’ll never see anything like this again.”
– Former England defender Rio Ferdinand summing up what many believe was one of the greatest finals in World Cup history as Argentina won their third FIFA World Cup, scoring four to two over France in a penalty shootout after the scores were tied at 3-3 (as quoted on the BBC).

 

“Additional strikes could lead to a further serious deterioration in the humanitarian situation and spark more displacement.”
– UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk in a speech to the Human Rights Council following a trip to Ukraine last week in which he said Russian strikes were exposing millions of people to “extreme hardship”, calling the war an “unmitigated tragedy and disaster” (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“On an all-for-all exchange, it has happened in the past, it is a known practice, and it can happen in the Russia-Ukraine international conflict as well.”
– Mirjana Spoljaric, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, in comments in which she said a major prisoner of war swap deal was a “possibility” in the Ukraine-Russia conflict (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“This is a historic achievement…over the past 60 years thousands of people have contributed to this endeavour and it took real vision to get us here.”
– Dr Kim Budil, director of the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, US, speaking in reference to news researchers have been able to produce more energy from a fusion experiment than was put in, promising a potential source of near-limitless clean energy in what is being seen as a major breakthrough (as quoted on the BBC).

 

“Nobody knows how many, but there will be hundreds of thousands more [leaving Ukraine] as the horrific and unlawful bombing of civilian infrastructure makes life unliveable in too many places. So I fear that the crisis in Europe will deepen and that will overshadow equally crises in other places of the world.”
– Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, speaking to Reuters about an expected increase in refugees from Ukraine.

 

“I know exactly what kind of Ukraine would suit Russia and Putin – a dependent dictatorship. The same as today’s Belarus, where the voice of the oppressed people is ignored and disregarded.”
– Natallia Pinchuk, the wife of jailed Belarusian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Byalyatski – who won the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize in October with Russian rights group Memorial and Ukraine’s Center for Civil Liberties – speaking as she received the prize on her husband’s behalf on Saturday (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“Truth be told, no matter how I tried, no matter how good I was, no matter what I did, they were still going to find a way to destroy me.”
– Meghan, wife of Prince Harry, speaking in a new Netflix documentary series, in which Harry also said the British royal family had dismissed race-related hounding of his wife and drew comparisons between how papers had treated Meghan and the intense media intrusion that his mother Princess Diana had suffered (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“There is an epidemic of hate facing our country. We’re seeing a rapid rise in anti-Semitic rhetoric and acts. Let me be clear: Words matter. People are no longer saying the quiet parts out loud. They are literally screaming them.”
– Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, speaking as the Second Gentleman, who is Jewish, hosted a White House discussion anti-Semitism and combating hate with Jewish leaders representing the Reform, Conservative and Orthodox denominations of the faith (as quoted on AP).

 

“Profound knowledge of the past is essential to understand historical facts and developments and to see their impact on human beings and communities as clearly and honestly as possible.”
– Dutch King Willem-Alexander in a statement announcing he has commissioned an independent research into the role of the royal family in the colonial past of the Netherlands (as quoted in Reuters).

 

“Now is not the time to be lifting sanctions on the Russians or the Belarusians. The sanctions remain very much in place.”
– International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams, speaking as the qualifying process for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics go full swing over the next 18 months (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“Diplomacy is obviously everyone’s objective but you have to have a willing partner. And it’s very clear, whether it’s the energy attacks, whether it’s the rhetoric out of the Kremlin and the general attitude, that Putin is not sincere or ready for that.”
– US Under Secretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland, speaking after meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other senior Ukrainian officials in Kyiv (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“The US asked us to re-evaluate. We conveyed to them our sensitivities and thoughts, and asked them to keep their promises. We emphasised that they should understand us.”
– Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar in comments calling on the United States on Thursday to show understanding over a possible new Turkish military operation in Syria, after Washington voiced its “strong opposition” to such a move (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“Comrade Jiang Zemin’s death is an incalculable loss to our Party and our military and our people of all ethnic groups.”
– A letter to the Chinese people by the ruling Communist Party, parliament, Cabinet and the military in reference to former Chinese President Jiang Zemin, who led the country for a decade of rapid economic growth after the Tiananmen crackdown in 1989, after he died on Wednesday at the age of 96 (as quoted on Reuters)

 

“Judicial examination of the atrocities committed in Ukraine will take years, perhaps even decades. But we will be well prepared – and we will persist for as long as it takes.”
– German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann in a statement as G7 nations agreed on Tuesday to set up a network to coordinate investigations into war crimes, as part of a push to prosecute suspected atrocities in Ukraine (as quoted on Reuters)

 

“Doing that when we enter winter demonstrates that President [Vladimir] Putin is now trying to use…the winter as a weapon of war against Ukraine.”
– NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in comments to reporters in whiuch he said Russia will likely continue attacking Ukraine’s power grid, its gas infrastructure and basic services for the people” (as quoted on Reuters)

 

“We will never compromise on good governance, the anti-corruption drive, judicial independence and the welfare of ordinary Malaysians.”
– Incoming Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in a late evening address hours after he was sworn in by the King who appointed him following an inconclusive election (as quoted on Reuters)

 

“Russia must be isolated at all levels and held accountable in order to end its long-standing policy of terrorism in Ukraine and across the globe.”
– Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a post on Twitter in which he welcomed the European Parliament’s decision to designate Russia a state sponsor of terrorism arguing that its military strikes on Ukrainian civilian targets such as energy infrastructure, hospitals, schools and shelters violated international law (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“The promotion of revisionism ideas in Hungary does not contribute to the development of Ukrainian-Hungarian relations and does not comply with the principles of European policy.”
– Ukrainian ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko in a post on Facebook in reference to an incident in which Prime Minister Viktor Orban went to a football match wearing a scarf depicting some Ukrainian territory as part of Hungary (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“[North Korea’s] actions demand a united and robust response by the international community.”
– Foreign ministers of the United States, Japan, Canada, Germany, Britain, France and Italy in a statement in response to the latest intercontinental ballistic missile launch by North Korea (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“The most effective way to rebuild trust is by finding an ambitious and credible agreement on loss and damage and financial support to developing countries. The time for talking on loss and damage finance is over. We need action.”
– UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, speaking as COP27 in Egypt is scheduled to wrap-up on Friday with countries still divided on numerous significant issues including that of ‘loss and damage’.

 

“This is not Ukraine’s fault. Russia bears ultimate responsibility as it continues its illegal war against Ukraine.”
– NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg speaking at a press conference in Brussels in reference to a missile that killed two in Poland (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“It is not lost on us that, as world leaders meet at the G20 in Bali to discuss the issues of significant importance to the lives and livelihoods of people around the world, Russia again threatens those lives and destroys Ukraine’s critical infrastructure. These Russian strikes will serve to only deepen the concerns among the G20 about the destabilising impact of Putin’s war.”
– White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan in a statement condemning Russia’s missile attacks on Ukraine on Tuesday (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“Action – or inaction – by the G20 will determine whether every member of our human family has a chance to live sustainably and peacefully, on a healthy planet.”
– UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, speaking on the Indonesian island of Bali ahead of the annual Group of 20 summit, a week after he warned a UN climate conference in Egypt that the world was “on a highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator” (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“Investigators have already documented more than 400 Russian war crimes. Bodies of dead civilians and servicemen have been found.”
– Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in his nightly address on Sunday, 13th November, in which he accused Russia of war crimes in Kherson (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“I believe that ending Russia’s war is a moral imperative. It is also the single best thing we can do to help the global economy. This is a view that is broadly shared among policymakers of the world’s major economies.”
– US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in comments she’s expected to make on Friday at a Microsoft India research facility near New Delhi in India (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“The American people have made clear, I think, that they expect Republicans to be prepared to work with me as well.”
– US President Joe Biden in comments in which he vowed to work with Republicans after results for the US midterms show the Democrats outperformed expectations but that the Republicans are expected to win control of the House of Representatives (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“[Alaa Abd el-Fattah] is in great danger. His dry hunger strike puts his life at acute risk.”
–  UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk in a statement about Abd el-Fattah, a prominent Egyptian-British activist and blogger, who was sentenced in December, 2021, to five years in jail in Egypt on charges of spreading false news and has been on a hunger strike for 220 days against his detention and prison conditions. (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“We have a credibility problem all of us: We’re talking and we’re starting to act, but we’re not doing enough…We have to move beyond the era of fossil fuel colonialism.”
– Former US Vice President Al Gore in a speech at the COP27 climate conference on Monday in which he criticised developed nations’ pursuit of gas resources in Africa (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“Like all companies, Twitter needs to understand the harms associated with its platform and take steps to address them. Respect for our shared human rights should set the guardrails for the platform’s use and evolution.”
– UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, in an open letter to Elon Musk, the new owner of Twitter Inc, urging him to “ensure human rights are central to the management of Twitter” (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“Based on the evaluation of the results available to date and the information provided by Ukraine, the agency did not find any indications of undeclared nuclear activities and materials at the locations.”
– Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement made after it’s inspectors examined three sites in Ukraine following a request from Kyiv’s in response to Russian allegations that work was being done on a “dirty bomb” (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“Targeting Albanians (as some shamefully did when fighting for Brexit) as the cause of Britain’s crime and border problems makes for easy rhetoric but ignores hard fact. Repeating the same things and expecting different results is insane (ask Einstein!)”
– Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama in a tweet made after British ministers said that Albanians were behind a surge in arrivals by small boats across the English Channel and that many of them were involved in organised crime and seeking to abuse Britain’s modern slavery laws.

 

“[A] reliable and long-term defence is needed for the grain corridor. Russia must clearly be made aware that it will receive a tough response from the world to any steps to disrupt our food exports. At issue here clearly are the lives of tens of millions of people.”
– Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in comments made during his nightly address; they come after Russia suspended its involvement in a US-brokered deal on the export of grain from Ukraine (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“I will govern for 215 million Brazilians, and not just for those who voted for me. We are one country, one people, one great nation.”
– Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, speaking after winning Brazil’s presidential election over incumbent Jair Bolsonaro on Monday (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“Did the bird really get its freedom, or has it just moved to a new cage?”
– Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak in tweet on Saturday after the takeover of Twitter by Elon Musk, whose relations with Kyiv have been precarious since the billionaire suggested in early October Ukraine should give up occupied land for peace (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“The historical period of the West’s undivided dominance over world affairs is coming to an end. We are standing at a historical frontier: Ahead is probably the most dangerous, unpredictable and, at the same time, important decade since the end of World War II.”
– Russian President Vladimir Putin in a three-and-a-half hour question-and-answer session at an annual foreign policy conference in Moscow in which he said he had no regrets about the past year (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“The historical period of the West’s undivided dominance over world affairs is coming to an end. We are standing at a historical frontier: Ahead is probably the most dangerous, unpredictable and, at the same time, important decade since the end of World War II.”
– Russian President Vladimir Putin in a three-and-a-half hour question-and-answer session at an annual foreign policy conference in Moscow in which he said he had no regrets about the past year (as quoted on Reuters).

 

“This is the defining issue of our time, nobody has the right to sacrifice international action on climate change for any reason…We need to tell the truth. The truth is that the impact of climate change on a number of countries in the world, especially hotspots, is already devastating.”
– UN Secretary General António Guterres in comments made to the BBC ahead of the COP27 conference in Egypt in which he said climate change needed to be put at the “centre of the international debate”.