鈥淚鈥檒l be a president who harnesses the ingenuity of farmers and scientists and entrepreneurs to free this nation from the tyranny of oil once and for all.鈥�
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama vows to pursue alternatives to oil in his victory speech after winning the Iowa caucuses (Associated Press, 4 January)
鈥淲e expect to be branded as being cruel to animals. The fact is in nature, if something goes wrong, it goes wrong.鈥�
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Helmut Maegdefrau, deputy director of Nuremberg zoo in Germany, defends the keepers鈥� decision not to intervene as a polar bear neglects her three starving cubs (The Observer, London, 6 January)
鈥淚t is un-tasteworthy in the extreme, that鈥檚 the kindest thing I can think to say about it.鈥�
Australia鈥檚 foreign minister Stephen Smith condemns an anonymous video posted on YouTube which uses graphic images of animal cruelty by Australians to argue that the country is hypocritical to criticise Japan鈥檚 whaling (AFP, 7 January)
鈥淸Smoking] may provide time for reflection on losing.鈥�
Anita Lal of the VicHealth Centre for Tobacco Control in Carlton, Victoria, Australia, on the finding that spending on gaming machines dropped 14 per cent following the introduction of a smoking ban in local gambling venues in 2002 (The Australian, 7 January)
鈥淲e have found dozens on the bike path after a major cold snap.鈥�
When temperatures drop too low in south Florida, comatose iguanas fall out of the trees and don鈥檛 wake up for hours, according to Robert Yero of the Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park (Miami Herald, 8 January)