REVIEW 2012
Year in review 2012 (1)
December 31, 2012 - End of year package.
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January, 1. The conflict in Syria escalates throughout the year into a full-scale civil war that has claimed over 30,000 lives
January, 13. The Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia capsizes off the coast of Tuscany, with the loss of 32 lives
January, 31. Japan imposes a 40-year cap on the life of nuclear reactors following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
February, 12. Demonstrations in Athens turn violent as Greece’s parliament approves harsh new austerity measures
February, 21. Russian punk band Pussy Riot performs anti-Putin songs on the altar of Moscow’s main cathedral. Jail sentences later attract international criticism
February, 26. Silent movie The Artist triumphs at the Oscars, winning five awards including best picture, best director and best actor
March, 4. Vladimir Putin regains the presidency in Russia, after four years as prime minister
March, 10. A U.S. soldier kills 17 Afghan civilians, including nine children, after going on a door-to-door rampage
March, 22. A gunman who killed seven people, including four at a Jewish school in Toulouse, dies in a shootout with French police after a 32-hour siege
April, 1. Aung San Suu Kyi's party wins a landslide victory in by-elections, filling 43 of 45 vacant parliamentary seats in Burma
April, 10. Former high-flyer Bo Xilai is ousted from China’s ruling Politburo, engulfed by scandal involving his wife, Gu Kailai, a police chief, and the murder of a British businessman
April, 15. Commemorations worldwide mark the centenary of the sinking of the Titanic, lost on her maiden voyage after hitting an iceberg with the loss of over 1,500 lives
May, 6. François Hollande defeats Nicolas Sarkozy to become President of France, the first Socialist president since 1995
May, 15. Former News International CEO Rebekah Brooks is charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice over Britain's tabloid phone-hacking scandal
May, 17. Facebook becomes a public company, valued at $104 billion, but share prices soon fall away
June, 3. Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her Diamond Jubilee, marking 60 years on the throne
June, 5. Astronomers view the Transit of Venus across the sun, an event that will not happen again until 2117
June, 24. Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi wins Egypt’s first democratic presidential election, the first Islamist elected leader of an Arab state
July, 4. Scientists announce the discovery of a new subatomic particle that appears to be the Higgs boson, the elusive last key to understanding why we have life and diversity in the universe
July, 27. The London 2012 Olympic Games opens with a spectacular ceremony seen by 80,000 people in the Olympic Stadium and one billion worldwide
August, 5. A rover spacecraft, Curiosity, lands on Mars to search for evidence that conditions were once fit for life
August, 16. Ecuador says it will grant political asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, holed up in its London embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden on sex charges
August, 24. Cyclist Lance Armstrong is stripped of his seven Tour de France titles after he was found guilty of masterminding sport’s most elaborate doping conspiracy
September, 11. America's ambassador to Libya and three other officials die in an attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. The killings coincide with the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the United States
September, 25. China’s first aircraft carrier officially enters service
October, 9. Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, 15, is shot by the Taliban for campaigning for girls' rights to education
October, 14. Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner makes the highest ever freefall, travelling faster than the speed of sound, after jumping from a balloon 39km high
October, 29. Superstorm Sandy smashes into the northeastern U.S., claiming over 120 lives and causing damage estimated at up to $50bn
November, 6. President Barack Obama is re-elected for a second term, defeating Republican challenger Mitt Romney
November, 14. Israel launches airstrikes on Gaza in response to increased rocket attacks on Israeli targets
November, 15. Xi Jinping is named as China’s new leader
December, 12. North Korea successfully launches a rocket, putting a satellite in orbit
December, 14. U.S. gun laws are back in the spotlight after 20 children and six adults are shot dead at a primary school in Connecticut
December, 31. The U.S. faces a "fiscal cliff" that could tip the country back into recession, with worldwide repercussions