Guardian

The most memorable moments this outgoing year will be remembered for

As the year 2012 draws to a close, we bring you a list of the major events that marked 2012 in the history books. With wars in the Middle East, new presidents across the world, and the breaking of the sound barrier, it was a year that reframed world politics and economics.

WHILE 2012 may not have had such defining moments internationally, as the Arab Spring of the previous year, it was however punctuated by significant events around the world from crises to scandals to celebrations.

Luxury cruise ship runs aground in Italy, many dead

The cruise ship MV Costa Concordia partially sank on the night of January 13, 2012 after hitting a reef off the Italian coast and running aground at Isola del Giglio, Tuscany, requiring the evacuation of the 4,252 people on board. Thirty people are known to have died; two others were still missing as of October 2012, and presumed dead; and 64 others were injured. Two passengers and a crewmember trapped inside were rescued in the days after the incident.

Captain Francesco Schettino had deviated from the ship’s computer-programmed route to treat people on Isola del Giglio to the spectacle of a close sail-past or near-shore salute. The ship was on the first leg of a planned six-port cruise from Civitavecchia when she hit a reef off Isola del Giglio and started to take in water, flooding the engine room and generators, causing the ship to drift for more than an hour off the eastern shore of Isola del Giglio before running aground and being evacuated.

Iran under international oil embargo

The European Union (EU) imposed restrictions on cooperation with Iran in foreign trade, financial services, energy sectors and technologies, and banned the provision of insurance and reinsurance by insurers in member states to Iran and Iranian-owned companies.

On January 23, 2012, the EU agreed to an oil embargo on Iran, effective from July, and to freeze the assets of Iran’s central bank. The next month, Iran symbolically pre-empted the embargo by ceasing sales to Britain and France (both countries had already almost eliminated their reliance on Iranian oil, and Europe as a whole had nearly halved its Iranian imports), though some Iranian politicians called for an immediate sales halt to all EU states, so as to hurt countries like Greece, Spain and Italy who were yet to find alternative sources.

Middle East tensions escalate

Close to 38,000 people have been killed so far in the violence that has raged in Syria between the supporters of President Bashar al-Assad and his opposition.

Israel–Palestine

The conflict between Israel and Palestine also escalated in November this year, with the latest war killing over 100 people.

Facebook goes IPO

The social networking company Facebook, Inc. held its initial public offering (IPO) on May 18, 2012. The IPO was one of the biggest in technology, and the biggest in Internet history, with a peak market capitalisation of over $104 billion. Media pundits called it a “cultural touchstone.”

Facebook‘s founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg had for years been unwilling to take the company public, and he resisted a number of buyout offers after Facebook‘s founding. The company did, however, accept private investments from companies - often technology firms. When the number of shareholders crossed the 500 threshold, Facebook had to take the company public. Zuckerberg retains control over the company, despite its being a public entity.

Whitney Houston passed on at 48

Legendary pop singer, Whitney Houston, was found dead Saturday, February 11, 2012 at a Beverly Hills, California hotel. She was 48. The entertainer, whose incredible talent was discovered at an early age, was pronounced dead at 3.55 p.m. at the Beverly Hilton hotel despite resuscitation efforts, a police spokesman said.

Houston’s bodyguard found her body, said Courtney Barnes, publicist for hip-hop artist Ray J, who was dating the pop diva. According to her official website, Houston sold more than 170 million albums, singles and videos. But she also struggled with addiction problems over the years.

Houston, whose hits included “The Greatest Love of All,” died on the eve of the 54th yearly Grammy Awards at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles. She had performed as late as Thursday night at a pre-Grammy event in the area. A pre-Grammy party was scheduled Saturday night at the Beverly Hilton.

Quran burning incites deadly riots in Afghanistan

The 2012 Afghanistan Quran burning protests was a series of protests of varying levels of violence, which took place early in 2012 in response to the burning of Islamic religious material by soldiers from the United States Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.

The protests included domestic riots, which caused at least 41 deaths and at least 270 injuries.

Vladimir Putin elected Russia President

The 2012 Russian presidential election was held on March 4, 2012. There were five officially registered candidates: Four representatives of registered parties and one independent. The election was for a new, extended term of six years.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin received 63.64 per cent of the vote with almost 100 per cent of the votes counted. With this election, Putin secured a record third term in the Kremlin.

Former President Charles Taylor sentenced to 50 years imprisonment

Former president of Liberia and a once-powerful warlord, Charles G. Taylor, was sentenced on May 30, 2012 to 50 years in prison for his role in atrocities committed in Sierra Leone during its civil war in the 1990s.

In what was viewed as a watershed case for modern human rights law, Taylor was the first former head of state convicted by an international tribunal since the Nuremberg trials in Germany after World War II.

Taylor was found guilty of “aiding and abetting, as well as planning, some of the most heinous and brutal crimes recorded in human history,” said Richard Lussick, the judge who presided over the sentencing in an international criminal court near The Hague. He said the lengthy prison term underscored Taylor’s position as government’s leader during the time the crimes were committed.

Syria shot down Turkey warplane

Syria shot down a Turkish warplane over the Mediterranean on June 23, 2012 and Ankara warned it would respond decisively to the incident that threatened to open a new international dimension in the 16-month revolt against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Syria said the Turkish plane was flying low, well inside Syrian territorial waters when it was shot down.

But Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s initial comments and subsequent statement on the downing of the F-4 jet were measured in tone. He said Turkish and Syrian forces were working together to search for the two missing crew of the plane.

Gunman kills 14 at Batman premiere in Denver

A gunman in a gas mask and body armour killed 12 people at a midnight premiere of the new “Batman” movie in a suburb of Denver early on July 19, 2012 opening fire on moviegoers after hurling a gas canister into the theatre.

Armed with an assault rifle, a shotgun and a pistol, he wounded 59 others with gunfire during a screening of “The Dark Knight Rises” at a mall in Aurora, which turned into a chaotic scene of bleeding victims, horrified screams and pleas for help.

The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II

February 6, 2012 marked the 60th anniversary of the Queen’s accession to the thrones of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand (as well as the 60th anniversary of her becoming Head of the Commonwealth). Celebrations were held in these countries to mark the occasion.

In June, there was an extra public holiday in the UK. An event was staged in London, which includes a concert produced by singer-songwriter Gary Barlow, formerly of Take That. A maritime parade of boats and events took place along the River Thames, in which up to 1,000 boats took part (the largest flotilla to be seen on the river in 350 years) and a million people watched from the riverside. Street parties took place around the country.

Queen Victoria, in 1897, is thus far the only other monarch in the histories of Britain, Canada and a few other Commonwealth realms to have celebrated a Diamond Jubilee.

Mars science laboratory explores the Red Planet

Mars Science Laboratory - nicknamed Curiosity - is by far the largest and most powerful rover ever sent to Mars. Among its many instruments is the first video camera taken to another planet. As well as filming the surface, it also records the descent through the atmosphere, in HD quality. The rover also features the first 3D camera on Mars.

The mission has four goals: To determine if life ever arose on Mars; to characterize the climate of Mars; to characterize the geology of Mars and to prepare for human exploration.

London Olympic Games, 2012

The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and commonly known as London 2012, was a major international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Olympic Games, as governed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It took place in London, United Kingdom, from July 27 to August 12, 2012. More than 10,000 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated.

The Games received widespread acclaim for their organisation, with the volunteers, the British military and public enthusiasm praised particularly highly. The opening ceremony, directed by Danny Boyle, received widespread acclaim. During the Games, Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympic athlete of all time, winning his 22nd medal.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Brunei entered female athletes for the first time, so that every currently eligible country has sent a female competitor to at least one Olympic Games. Women’s boxing was included for the first time; thus, the Games became the first at which every sport had female competitors.

Pakistani textile factory caught fire, killing 315

Garment factories in the Pakistani cities of Karachi and Lahore caught fire on September 11, 2012. The fires occurred in a textile factory in the western part of Karachi and in a shoemaking factory in Lahore. The fires are considered to be the most deadly and worst industrial factory fires in Pakistan’s history, killing 315 people and seriously injuring more than 250.

U.S. ambassador killed in Libya

The American diplomatic mission at Benghazi, Libya, was attacked on September 11, 2012 by an armed group. The attack began during the night at a compound that is meant to protect the consulate building. A second assault in the early morning the next day targeted a nearby CIA annex in a different diplomatic compound.

Four people were killed, including U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens. Ten others were injured. The attack was strongly condemned by the governments of Libya, the United States, and many other countries worldwide. An investigation into who the attackers were is ongoing, and is the subject of much controversy within the American political sphere.

Superstorm Sandy hits U.S., Caribbean Coast

Dubbed a “superstorm”, hurricane Sandy killed at least 125 people in the U.S. and 71 people in the Caribbean when it hit the region in October this year. The massive storm flooded buildings, toppled structures, cut-off electricity and also forced the New York Stock Exchange to close for two days – the first time it has been shut for weather reasons since 1888. Sandy reportedly caused about $62 billion in damage in the U.S., and $315 million in damage in the Caribbean.

Obama reelected second term as U.S. President

In less than a month, President Barack Obama will be sworn in for a second term. It comes after a long and expensive race in a year when the GOP was confident the president would be limited to just four years in office.

Obama won a historic second term, defying predictions that a sluggish economy and an energized Republican Party might overwhelm the supporters who propelled him to the presidency four years ago.

His victory came at an unexpectedly early hour, as Mitt Romney lost a series of states he had hoped to peel away from the president.

From Michigan, where Romney was born, to New Hampshire, where the Republican nominee owns a vacation home, the Obama campaign scored decisive victories. Wisconsin, the home state of the GOP’s vice-presidential nominee Paul Ryan, was out of Republican reach well before midnight.

According to exit polls, women handed President Obama and Democrats in general a wide margin of victory. They also voted in large numbers, outweighing Romney’s advantage among men.

Gunman assaults Connecticut elementary school, 27 dead

This month, a mass murderer executed his mother with her own gun and then slaughtered 20 helpless kids and an half-dozen staffers in a ghastly killing spree at a Connecticut elementary school.

The unthinkable Friday morning carnage inflicted by a well-armed gunman Adam Lanza in suburban Newtown, staggered the nation and reduced a shaken President Obama to tears.

The savage shooter never spoke as he sprayed the Sandy Hook Elementary School with dozens of bullets just 25 minutes after the morning bell started classes inside the typically quiet one-story school.

Hours later, as the investigation continued, the children’s bodies and the killer’s corpse remained inside the school where Lanza’s mother, Nancy, reportedly had taught. By that weekend, parents were being called one at a time to make identifications, according to one report.

Lanza, 20, did all his damage with two 9-mm. handguns after driving to the school in his dead mother’s car around 9.30 a.m., strolling inside and opening fire, authorities said. The guns, in a particularly cruel twist, were reportedly legally registered to his mother.

Mohammed Mursi elected Egyptian President

In June this year, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammed Mursi became the first freely elected president of Egypt, after securing 51.7 per cent of the people’s votes. He later took the most undemocratic step of granting himself sweeping powers.

North Korea launches long-range rocket

North Korea launched a multistage rocket on December 11, 2012 that appeared to travel the entire distance of a projected course and put an object into orbit, making it the most successful of the country’s five attempts at testing long-range missile technology.

The rocket took off shortly before 10.00 a.m. local time, flew south over the Yellow Sea, East China Sea and the Philippines, according to Japanese military authorities who tracked it closely because of the potential threat it posed to its Okinawa prefecture.

North Korea issued a brief statement saying the rocket successfully launched a satellite into space. Other countries saw the launch as a cover for a test of long-range missile technology.

The end of the world (December 21)

Many groups and cultures have prophesied the end of the world, but the Mayan prediction seems to hold the most popular interest. December 21, 2012, marks the conclusion of a significant period in the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, and is thus thought to herald the end of life, as we know it. Some observers told us to expect a spiritual transformation rather than Armageddon, while Mayan scholars told us to expect business as usual, saying the Mayans never made any claims about the apocalypse in their 5,250-year circle calendar.