The World Welcomes 2012 – An astounding one million revelers erupted in cheers amid a confetti-filled celebration in New York’s Times Square to welcome in the new year, part of star-studded celebrations and glittering fireworks displays around the world to usher in 2012. From New Zealand to New York, the world eagerly welcomed a new year Sunday and hoped for a better future, saying goodbye to a year of hurricanes, tsunamis and economic turmoil that many would rather forget. Check out the pics from around the world. [dailymail]

Facebook Blamed For One-Third Of All Divorces Around The World – Social networking website Facebook has been blamed for one-third of divorces across the world, according to a law firm. The social network is increasingly being used as a source of evidence in divorce cases, the Daily Mail reported citing law firm Divorce-Online. [ibnlive]

KZN Businessman Pays R1m To Kill A Rhino – A Kwazulu-Natal businessman has paid over R960,000 for the right to hunt a white rhino in the Hluhluwe Game Reserve. “The animal sold for R960 150. The hunt date has not yet been booked,” Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife spokesperson Waheeda Peters told the news service. [news24]

South Korea Open To Nuclear Talks With North Korea – South Korea’s president opened the door Monday to possible nuclear talks with North Korea and warned the neighboring country to avoid any provocations, saying the Korean peninsula is at a crucial turning point. Lee Myung-bak’s comments in a nationally televised speech come as the young son of the late Kim Jong Il takes power in North Korea as Supreme Commander of the military and ruling party leader after Kim’s death last month. [washpo]

Rupert Murdoch Joins Twitter – A new year, a new you: even if you’re an 80-year-old media magnate, it appears the transformative allure of 1 January can prove irresistible. Rupert Murdoch, the chairman and CEO of News Corporation – who may have more reason than usual to want to make a break with 2011 – has apparently joined Twitter. [guardian]

Mission Impossible 4 Is Cleaning Up – Paramount’s Tom Cruise-starrer Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol continued to tower over the competition as moviegoers rang in 2012, grossing $31.3 million for the three-day New Year’s weekend for a domestic total of $134.2 million. [hollywoodreporter]

Siri Tells Kid To “Shut The Fuck Up” – A lad of 12 who tried out the new iPhone 4S in Tesco was stunned when it told him: “Shut the f*** up, you ugly t***.” The phone’s Siri system, which answers spoken questions, came back with the foul-mouthed insult when Charlie Le Quesne asked: “How many people are there in the world?” [thesun]

Car Fire Arson Attacks Continue In Los Angeles – A rash of arson fires in the dark of night set Los Angeles on edge over New Year’s Eve, and authorities deployed hundreds of extra firefighters, patrol cars, undercover officers and helicopters to stop the attacks. Those blazes followed at least 38 other suspicious fires between Thursday night and Saturday morning, making it the worst wave of arson since the 1992 riots. [latimes]

Top 10 Of Everything – Time Magazine has done what we all have been longing for – consolidating all the Top 10 of 2011 lists into one. From pop culture and news to sport, business and tech, it’s all there. Check it out. If you’re bored. [time]

Russell Brand And Katy Perry Are Officially Overs – Russell Brand has filed for divorce from Katy Perry. In the docs, filed in L.A., Brand cites “irreconcilable differences.” The two were married Oct. 23, 2010 in India. They have no kids. The divorce docs say there are “community property assets” — it’s a sign there might not be a prenup, or if there is one it doesn’t cover all of the earnings and other assets they accumulated. [tmz]

iPad 3 Rumour Roundup – This year, Apple will unveil its iPad 3. Only an event of apocalyptic proportions would prevent the tablet’s release. History tells us we can expect iPad 3 sometime in the first quarter — but exactly when? And will it include a retina display? And will there be two different models? [wired]

Facebook IPO Looms – Facebook co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has deflected talk of going public for years but it looks like it is finally going to happen in 2012. “The Facebook IPO will be the biggest financial event in the tech industry for 2012,” Forrester Research analyst Josh Bernoff said, and one of the biggest initial public offerings ever in the United States. [afp]

ANC Appeals To Mandelas To Reign In Mandla – The ANC has asked the Madiba clan to stop Nelson Mandela’s grandson tarnishing the family legacy. This week’s unprecedented call by the Eastern Cape leadership follows embarrassing legal action – including criminal complaints of bigamy – against Mandla Mandela. [timeslive]

Fans Not Happy Cee Lo Changed Lennon’s Lyrics – The lyrics of John Lennon’s “Imagine” are well-known to generations of fans, and when Cee Lo Green changed them while performing in New York’s Times Square on New Year’s Eve, not everyone took it well. Instead of singing “Nothing to kill or die for, and no religion too,” Green instead sang, “Nothing to kill or die for, and all religion’s true.” [msnbc]