Spectacular fireworks burst over Sydney Harbour to ring in the New Year at midnight, kicking off noisy celebrations for billions around the world to mark the end of 2011. Sydney's harbour erupted in a blaze of colour and light on the stroke of midnight with a 12-minute pyrotechnic display drawing more than 1.5 million people to crowded foreshores and city landmarks.

When Defence Secretary Leon Panetta opined earlier this month that an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear facilities could "consume the Middle East in a confrontation and a conflict that we would regret," the Israelis went ballistic behind the scenes.