Obama's letter to Khamenei is in keeping with his publicly stated aim of engagement with Iran and his New Year's message in which he described a new way forward.

CNN: Obama sent letter to Iran leader before election, sources say

Unilever designed a Lipton Tea-branded new year's message to send to friends that was used by 130m Chinese, for example.

ECONOMIST: Consumer goods

Meanwhile Ulster Unionist dissident MP Jeffrey Donaldson said the people of Northern Ireland desired a real and lasting peace in his New Year message.

BBC: Millennium heralds NI's bright future

With bargaining on a new national contract set to begin later this year, Zetsche's message to the UAW was clear: Accept new terms, or Chrysler could be sold.

FORBES: Chrysler For Sale?

The opening of Bryant's account came days after he posted a message on a Weibo account run by Nike Basketball that wished followers a "Happy New Year".

BBC: US basketball star Kobe Bryant joins China's Sina Weibo

The message claims that along with fare rises in the new year, commuters will have a 2013 "packed full of cancelled trains, staff cuts and ticket office closures" while the train companies are "making huge profits".

BBC: Rail ticket and cash

Republicans who are looking for a new populist message have one waiting here, and they could start by repudiating the corporate welfare in this New Year disgrace.

WSJ: Review & Outlook: Crony Capitalist Blowout

The letter clearly caused consternation in Downing Street, which sent an urgent message to Benn saying his statement broke a Cabinet agreement to discuss the European question in the New Year.

BBC: NEWS | UK | UK Politics | How Wilson handled his Euro split

But my hope heading into the New Year is that we can continue to heed the message of the American people and hold to a spirit of common purpose in 2011 and beyond.

WHITEHOUSE: Presidential Press Conference on a Historic Congressional Session | The White House