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On 1st January Last Christmas by Wham! finally tops the UK singles chart, 36 years after its release.
Gerry Marsden, the lead singer of Gerry and the Pacemakers, dies on 3rd January, aged 78.
On 4th January, in a bid to contain a new, faster-spreading strain of COVID-19, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson both announce new lockdowns, mandating people in Scotland and England to stay at home and to work from home where possible.
The Democrat candidates Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff win two run-off elections held in Georgia on 5th January. The result leaves the Democrats and the Republicans with 50 seats apiece in the US Senate, with the incoming Democratic Vice-President, Kamala Harris, holding a tie-breaking vote.
On 6th January, as Congress convenes a joint session to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election, a mob of pro-Trump protesters storms the Capitol building in Washington, having been encouraged to go there by Donald Trump "to try and give… our Republicans, the weak ones... the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country." The ensuing violence leads to the deaths of four civilians and a police officer.
On 7th January Donald Trump's Facebook account is indefinitely suspended; on 8th January his Twitter account is permanently suspended "due to the risk of further incitement of violence."
On 13th January the US House of Representatives adopts an article of impeachment against Donald Trump, charging him with "incitement of insurrection" and so making him the only US President to be impeached twice.
Phil Spector, the record producer famous for his "wall of sound", dies on Saturday, 16th January, aged 81.
The Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny flies back to Moscow from Germany on 17th January, five months after being poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok. He is arrested on his arrival at Sheremetyevo International Airport, prompting mass protests across Russia on 23rd January and again on 31st January.
Joe Biden is inaugurated as the 46th President of the USA on Wednesday, 20th January.
Larry King, host of the popular CNN talk show Larry King Live, dies on 23rd January, aged 87.
Cloris Leachman, who played the role of Phyllis in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, dies on 27th January, aged 94.
Cicely Tyson, who won two Emmys for her performance in the film The Autobiography Of Miss Jane Pittman, dies on 28th January, aged 96.
Hilton Valentine, guitarist with The Animals, dies on 29th January, aged 77.

The armed forces of Myanmar, the Tatmadaw, seize power on 1st February, proclaiming a year-long state of emergency and arresting President Win Myint, State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and other members of the National League for Democracy (NLD).
Captain Sir Tom Moore, who raised almost £33 million for NHS charities by walking laps of his garden, dies on 2nd February, aged 100, after testing positive for COVID-19.
On the same day a Moscow court rules that, while he was in Germany recovering from poisoning, Alexei Navalny had violated the conditions of his three-and-a-half year suspended sentence for embezzlement. He is ordered to spend the remaining part of his sentence in jail. The verdict sparks condemnation abroad and further mass protests in Russia.
Christopher Plummer, best known for his role as Captain Von Trapp in The Sound Of Music, dies on 5th February, aged 91.
On 7th February a piece of the Uttarakhand glacier falls into the Dhauliganga river, bursting open a hydroelectric dam and causing a huge flood.
Mary Wilson, one of the founding members of The Supremes, dies on 8th February, aged 76.
In a judgement on Thursday, 11th February Mr. Justice Warby rules that the publication by the Mail on Sunday of extracts from a letter from the Duchess of Sussex to her father was "manifestly excessive and hence unlawful".
On the same day a severe Winter storm hits Texas, blanketing the state in snow and causing widespread power cuts. Three days later the US President Joe Biden declares a state of emergency.
On Saturday, 13th February a majority of senators - 57 to 43, including seven Republicans - votes to convict former President Donald Trump on a charge of incitement to insurrection, 10 votes short of the two-thirds majority needed to convict him.
NASA's six-wheeled rover Perseverance successfully lands on Mars on Thursday, 18th February, beginning a two-year mission to look for signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock.
On 19th February the UK's Supreme Court rules that Uber drivers must be treated as workers rather than self-employed, bringing to an end a long-running legal battle between Uber and two former drivers, Yaseen Aslam and James Farrar, who took Uber to an employment tribunal in 2016.
On the same day a High Court judge, Mr. Justice Chamberlain, rules that Matt Hancock, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, had acted unlawfully by not publishing details of lucrative COVID-19 contracts within 30 days of the contracts being signed.
Golfer Tiger Woods is injured in a car crash in California on 23rd February, after driving his car at about 84-87mph on a road with a 45mph speed limit.
Actor Ronald Pickup, who played the role of Norman Cousins in the film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012).and the sequel, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015), dies on 24th February, aged 80.
On 26th February the UK's Supreme Court rules that Shamima Begum, who left the UK for Syria as a teenager to join the Islamic State group, may not return to the UK to fight her citizenship case.
Actor Johnny Briggs, who played Mike Baldwin in Coronation Street, dies on 28th February, aged 85.

On 1st March the former President of France Nicolas Sarközy is sentenced to three years in jail, two of them suspended, for corruption.
Nicola Pagett, known for her role as Elizabeth Bellamy in the ITV drama series Upstairs, Downstairs (1971–73). dies on 3rd March, aged 75.
On 4th March Amazon opens an Amazon Fresh mini-supermarket in Ealing - its first till-less grocery store outside the USA.
Pope Francis arrives in Baghdad on Friday, 5th March for the first-ever papal visit to Iraq. On the third day of his trip he visits parts of northern Iraq once held by Islamic State (IS) militants.
On Sunday, 7th March CBS broadcasts an interview by Oprah Winfrey with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Oprah with Meghan and Harry. It is the couple's first sit-down interview since quitting their roles as senior working royals in 2020. The following day TV presenter Piers Morgan says on ITV's Good Morning Britain that he "didn't believe a word" that Meghan Markle had said about her mental health in the interview with Oprah Winfrey. prompting more than 41,000 complaints to the UK telecoms regulator Ofcom. On 9th March Morgan quits as presenter of Good Morning Britain.
COVID-19 restrictions in England are eased on 8th March: face-to-face education resumes in schools and colleges and residents of care homes are allowed to have one regular visitor.
On Saturday, 13th March a crowd gathers on Clapham Common to pay tribute to Sarah Everard, a woman who had disappeared after leaving a friend's house nearby on 3rd March and whose remains had been discovered in woodland near Ashford, Kent on 10th March. The Metropolitan Police's decision to break up the crowd and arrest people for breaching the Coronavirus Act 2020 sparks widespread criticism.
Formula 1 commentator Murray Walker dies on 13th March, aged 97.
Violence breaks out at a protest against the Police and Crime Bill in Bristol on Sunday, 21st March. 21 police officers are injured, with one suffering a punctured lung and broken ribs, and another a fractured arm.
In an independent report published on 22nd March, Irish lawyer James Hamilton says that Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon. gave the Scottish Parliament an "incomplete narrative" of the events surrounding allegations of sexual harassment made against the former First Minister Alex Salmond, but he finds that there had been no breach of the Ministerial Code.
Actor George Segal, known for his roles in films such as Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? (1966), The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967) and For The Boys (1991), dies on 23rd March, aged 87.
On the same day the Suez Canal becomes blocked in both directions after the container ship Ever Given runs aground. The ship is re-floated six days later.
On 26th March Alex Salmond announces that he will stand as a candidate for the Alba Party, a new pro-independence party contesting the May elections for the Scottish Parliament.
On 29th March the COVID-19 ‘stay at home’ rule in England is replaced by the 'Rule of 6', allowing outdoor gatherings of six people or two households.
On the same day violence breaks out on the streets of Londonderry in Northern Ireland.

Patrick Juvet, best known for his 1978 hit single I Love America, dies on 1st April, aged 70.
A car rams into a security checkpoint at the US Capitol on 2nd April. The driver of the car, Noah Greene, is shot dead after attacking police officers with a knife. One of the officers, Billy Evans, dies from his injuries.
Faced by a new wave of COVID-19 infections, France enters a third national lockdown on Saturday, 3rd April. A nighttime curfew is imposed between 7 00pm and 6.00am and travel during the daytime is restricted to a six-mile radius of people's homes.
The Duke of Edinburgh dies on 9th April, aged 99.
The La Soufrière volcano on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent erupts on the same day.
On 12th April the COVID-19 restrictions in England are relaxed, allowing all shops and public buildings, including indoor gyms, libraries and community centres, to re-open. Restaurants and pubs are allowed to serve food and alcohol to customers sitting outdoors.
Shirley Williams, one of the "Gang of Four" who founded the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 1981, dies on 12th April, aged 90.
A wild fire breaks out in Table Mountain National Park on 18th April, destroying a restaurant at Rhodes Memorial and burning down Mostert's Mill, the oldest working windmill in South Africa, built in 1796.
On the same day the President of Real Madrid, Florentino Pérez, announces the formation of a European Super League. Two days later, following a hostile reaction to the proposal, five of the six English clubs that had agreed to participate - Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham - all withdraw from the League. Chelsea, Atlético Madrid, Inter Milan, and Milan confirm their exits on 21st April.
The songwriter and record producer Jim Steinman, who wrote and produced Bat Out Of Hell and Total Eclipse Of The Heart, dies on 19th April, aged 73.
On the same day Miguel Díaz-Canel succeeds Raúl Castro as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba.
Les McKeown, former lead singer with the Bay City Rollers, dies on 20th April, aged 65.
On the same day former police officer Derek Chauvin is convicted of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, having knelt on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes while Floyd was handcuffed.
The KRI Nanggala, an Indonesian navy submarine that sank off the coast of Bali on 21st April, is discovered split into three pieces on the sea bed four days later, with all 53 crew members declared dead.
On 24th April, as Armenians commemorated the 1915 massacre of 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks, US Prsident Joe Biden issues a statement formally describing the massacre as a genocide.
Arlene Foster announces her resignation as DUP leader and as Northern Ireland's First Minister on 28th April.
45 men and boys are killed in a crush at the crowded Lag B'Omer celebration in Meron, Israel on 30th April.

Olympia Dukakis, who played the role of Anna Madrigal in the televised version of Armistead Maupin's Tales Of The City, and who also starred in films such as Moonstruck (1987), Steel Magnolias (1989) and Mr. Holland's Opus (1995), dies on 1st May, aged 89.
A metro overpass in Mexico City collapses as a train is travelling over it on 3rd May, killing at least 26 people and injuring 79 others.
Model and singer Nick Kamen, who found fame in the UK in 1985 when he appeared in a Levi's television advert, stripping down to his underwear to wash his blue jeans in a launderette, dies on 4th May, aged 59.
A ransomware cyber-attack on Friday, 7th May forces the Colonial Pipeline Company to shut down its 5,500-mile pipeline network for five days, causing fuel shortages and a rise in fuel prices along the east coast of the United States.
China's six-wheeled Zhurong robot lands on Mars on 14th May, making China the second country after the United States to successfully soft land on Mars and establish communications from the Martian surface.
On Monday, 17th May restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are relaxed in England: people are once again allowed to eat and drink indoors at restaurants, pubs, bars and cafes; cinemas, theatres, concert halls and museums are permitted to re-open with COVID-secure measures in place; a traffic light system for international travel is introduced.
A report by former Supreme Court Justice Lord Dyson is published on 20th May. It concludes that the BBC journalist Martin Bashir, who had interviewed Diana, Princess of Wales on Panorama in 1995, had acted in a "deceitful" way and faked documents in order to obtain the interview. The report describes the BBC investigation into the interview as "flawed and woefully ineffective”.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas comes into effect at 2.00am on Friday, 21st May, bringing to an end 11 days of hostilities, during which at least 243 people had been killed.
On Sunday, 23rd May a Ryanair passenger plane (Flight FR4978 from Athens International Airport, Greece, to Vilnius Airport, Lithuania) is forced by a Belarusian fighter jet to land at Minsk National Airport, where two of its passengers, opposition activist and journalist Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega, are arrested.
On the same day a cable car crashes to the ground near to the summit of Mottarone, a mountain near Lake Maggiore in northern Italy. 14 of the passengers are killed.
On Thursday, 27th May it is announced that the remains of 215 children had been found at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia, set up to assimilate indigenous people. In the words of the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, "a painful reminder of that dark and shameful chapter of our country’s history."
B.J. Thomas, who had number 1 hits in the USA with Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head (1969) and (Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song (1975), dies on 29th May, aged 78.
Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds get married at Westminster Cathedral on the same day.

Lilibet "Lili" Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, the second child of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and The Queen's 11th great-grandchild, is born at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, California on Friday, 4th June.
Four members of a Muslim family are killed in a "premeditated" vehicle attack on Sunday, 6th June in the city of London, Ontario. Nathanial Veltman.
On 8th June PC Wayne Couzens pleads guilty at the Old Bailey to the kidnap and rape of Sarah Everard. He is sentenced to spend his whole life in prison on 30th September.
On 10th June an Employment Appeal Tribunal rules in favour of Maya Forstater, a woman whose employment contract with the Center for Global Development (CGD) had not been renewed after she had posted Tweets based upon her belief that people cannot change their biological sex.
The Queen's Birthday Honours List, published on 11th June, includes Damehoods for Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith and choreographer Arlene Phillips, and a Knighthood for actor Jonathan Pryce.
On 14th June Prime Minister Boris Johnson announces that the final stage of easing COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in England will not take place as planned on 21st June, but will be deferred by four weeks until 19th July.
On 17th June police raid the headquarters of Apple Daily, Hong Kong's largest pro-democracy newspaper. Hong Kong authorities freeze the assets of three companies, Apple Daily Limited, Apple Daily Printing Limited, and AD Internet Limited, as well as accounts belonging to the newspaper's founder, Jimmy Lai. The final print edition of the paper is published on 24th June.
On 17th June the US President Joe Biden signs the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, which establishes an annual holiday on 19th June commemorating the end of slavery in the USA.
The Liberal Democrat candidate Sarah Green wins the by-election held in Chesham and Amersham on 17th June, a seat that has always voted Conservative.
On 18th June adults aged 18 and over in England are invited to book their first COVID-19 vaccinations.
On 21st June the Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez. announces a pardon for nine Catalan separatists who were convicted over a failed independence bid in 2017.
The anti-virus software entrepreneur John McAfee is found dead in his prison cell in Barcelona on 23rd June, hours after a Spanish court had agreed to extradite him to the USA to face tax evasion charges.
A tornado strikes several villages in the South Moravia region of the Czech Republic on 24th June, killing six people and injuring at least 200 others.
On the same day, at about 1.00am, a large section of Champlain Towers, a 12-storey residential building in Surfside, north of Miami, collapses. At least 97 people are killed.
Matt Hancock resigns as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care for England and Wales on 26th June, after The Sun newspaper publishes CCTV images of him at work kissing Gina Coladangelo, a friend from University who he had appointed as a non-executive director at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
On Tuesday, 29th June, following his failure to attend a corruption inquiry, South Africa's former President Jacob Zuma is sentenced to 15 months in jail for contempt of court. He hands himself in to the police and is admitted to Estcourt Correctional Centre on 7th July.
Canada's highest ever temperature (49.6°C / 121.3°F) is recorded on 29th June in the village of Lytton, British Columbia. The next day the village is destroyed by fire.
The comedian Bill Cosby is released from prison on Wednesday, 30th June after his conviction for sexual assault is overturned by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
On the same day the Methodist Church in Britain votes to change the definition of marriage, permitting same-sex marriages to be conducted on Methodist premises or by Methodist office-holders.

On 2nd July ABBA's album Gold - Greatest Hits becomes the first record to spend 1,000 weeks in the UK's album chart.
Peter R. de Vries, a Dutch crime reporter well known for his coverage of the criminal underworld, is shot in the head at close range on Tuesday, 6th July after leaving a TV studio in Amsterdam. He dies in hospital on 15th July.
The President of Haiti, Jovenel Moïse, is shot and killed on Wednesday, 7th July when heavily armed assassins attack his home in the hills above Port-au-Prince.
The former Formula 1 racing driver Carlos Reutemann dies on the same day, aged 79.
Heavy rainfall, which had caused flash flooding in London on 12th July, moves to mainland Europe on 14th July, causing severe flooding in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland in a crush at an FA Cup semi-final
Comedian Tom O'Connor dies on 18th July, aged 81. Lyn Paul responds to the news on Twitter: "So sad to hear that Tom O’Connor has passed away. What a gentleman he was and a joy to work with! Sleep tight Tom! xxx" (Twitter, 18th July, 3:24pm)
COVID-19 restrictions in England are eased on 19th July: face coverings are recommended in some spaces, but no longer required by law; nightclubs are allowed to re-open and the limits on how many people can meet or attend events are removed.
On Tuesday, 20th July, following three days of record-breaking rainfall in the Henan province of China, underground railway tunnels in Zhengzhou are flooded, leaving passengers trapped in rising waters.
On the same day the New Shepherd rocket makes its first crewed flight into space, taking the Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and three others on a flight beyond the Karman Line.
Andrew Devine, the 97th victim of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, dies on Tuesday, 27th July, 32 years after suffering life-changing injuries in a crush at the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. The Coroner concludes he was unlawfully killed.
With temperatures soaring to 37°C (99°F), wildfires break out in Manavgat, Turkey on 28th July. Further wildfires break out on the Mediterranean coast of south-west Turkey - and in parts of Greece, Spain and Italy - during the first week of August, forcing the evacuation of coastal villages and tourist resorts.

Singer Tony Bennet appears live on stage for the last time on 4th and 5th August, co-starring with Lady Gaga in two 95th birthday concerts at New York's Radio City Music Hall.
Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, one of the founding members of Kool & The Gang, dies on Saturday, 7th August, aged 70.
The United Nations (UN) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) publishes a report, The Physical Science Basis of Climate Change, on 9th August. The report states: "it is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, oceans and land" and warns of a climate catastrophe if world governments do not act fast to combat global warming.
On 10th August Andrew Cuomo announces his resignation as Governor of New York, following the publication of an independent investigation by the New York Attorney General's office, which found that the Governor had sexually harassed 11 women. He is replaced by Kathy Hochul, who becomes the first female Governor of New York.
Flash floods, triggered by torrential rain, cause widespread damage in the the Black Sea region of Turkey on 11th August.
Una Stubbs, known for her roles on television in Till Death Us Do Part, Worzel Gummidge, Give Us A Clue, The Worst Witch and EastEnders, dies on Thursday, 12th August, aged 84. Lyn Paul, who had appeared in an episode of Give Us A Clue as a member of Un's team, Tweets: "So sad to hear that the wonderful Una Stubbs has left us. She was such a lovely, kind lady. RIP Una."
On the same day five people are killed and two others injured in the Keyham area of Plymouth when Jake Davison, a 22-year-old with a licenced firearm, goes on a six-minute shooting spree, before taking his own life.
A 7.2-magnitude earthquake hits the west of Haiti on Saturday, 14th August. Prime Minister Ariel Henry declares a month-long state of emergency.
On 15th August the President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani flees the country as Taliban forces capture the capital city of Kabul. In the following days there are chaotic scenes at Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport as crowds gather, seeking to escape on flights from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
On 20th August, at a meeting of the National People's Congress (NPC), a resolution is passed to allow couples in China to have up to three children.
Don Everly of The Everly Brothers dies at his home in Nashville on Saturday, 21st August, aged 84.
The Rolling Stones' drummer Charlie Watts dies on Tuesday, 24th August, aged 80.
On 26th August at least 170 people are killed in two bomb attacks on the perimeter of Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport. The last US troops leave Afghanistan just after midnight on 31st August.
Ed Asner, best-known for playing fictional TV newsman Lou Grant, dies on 29th August, aged 91.
Hurricane Ida hits the coast of Louisiana on the same day, bringing down power lines and cutting off the power supply to most of New Orleans. The remnants of the hurricane move north, taking heavy rainfall and tornadoes as far north as New Jersey and New York, where flash floods force the closure of almost all the subway lines.

On 3rd September a supporter of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group stabs and wounds at least six people in the Countdown supermarket in Auckland before being shot and killed by police.
Sarah Harding of Girls Aloud, who revealed in August 2020 that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer, dies on Sunday, 5th September, aged 39.
On 7th September the Prime Minister Boris Johnson announces in the House of Commons that a new 1.25% health and social care tax will be introduced across the UK to pay for reforms to the care sector and to boost NHS funding in England.
On the same day the cryptocurrency Bitcoin becomes legal tender in El Salvador.
María Mendiola, who was one half of the Spanish duo Baccara, dies on Saturday, 11th September, aged 69.
On 15th September the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US President Joe Biden announce a trilateral alliance, known as AUKUS, enabling Australia to develop and deploy nuclear-powered submarines. Australia cancels a pre-existing contract with the French firm Naval Group to design a new generation of up to 12 submarines, prompting France to recall its ambassadors in Australia and the USA.
Inventor Sir Clive Sinclair dies on Thursday, 16th September, aged 81.
The Cumbre Vieja volcano on the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands begins to erupt on Sunday, 19th September. Lava from the volcano destroys thousands of buildings in the towns and villages downslope and pours over the cliffs into the sea. The eruption is officially declared over on Christmas day.
Two new London Underground stations - Nine Elms and Battersea Power Station - open on Monday, 20th September, following the completion of the Northern line extension.
Actor John Challis, known for the roles of Boycie in the BBC sitcom Only Fools And Horses and Monty Staines in the ITV show Benidorm, dies on 19th September, aged 79.
Former England footballer Jimmy Greaves dies on the same day, aged 81.
The Liberal Party of Canada led by Justin Trudeau wins 159 seats in the general election held on 20th September, 11 seats short of the majority Trudeau had hoped for when he called the
snap election.
Germany's centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) win 121 seats in the Bundestag (a 25.7% share of the votes cast) in the federal election held on Sunday, 26th September.
In a referendum held in Switzerland on the same day 64.1% of voters support an amendment to the civil code which (from 1st July 2022) will allow same-sex marriages, adoption by same-sex couples and will also allow married lesbian couples to have children through sperm donation.
On 27th September singer R. Kelly is found guilty of eight charges of sex trafficking and one of racketeering. On 29th June 2022 he is sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Barry Ryan, best known for 1968 hit Eloise, dies on 28th September, aged 72.
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is sentenced on Thursday, 30th September to a year of house arrest for illegally financing his failed 2012 re-election campaign.

On Wednesday, 6th October, two days before the release of his final film as James Bond, No Time To Die, Daniel Craig becomes the fourth 007 actor to be honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
A 150-page report by two House of Commons Select Committees, Coronavirus: lessons learned to date is published on 12th October. Whilst noting the success of the UK government's vaccine programme, the report concludes that the UK's response to COVID-19 had for the most part been "too reactive as opposed to anticipatory" and notes that "in 2020 the UK did significantly worse in terms of COVID deaths than many countries - especially compared to those in East Asia."
On Wednesday, 13th October a man armed with a bow and arrow kills five people in the town of Kongsberg in southern Norway.
Sir David Amess, the Conservative MP for Southend West, is stabbed to death at a constituency surgery at Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea on Friday, 15th October.
On the same day the spending limit for payments made with a contactless credit or debit card in the UK rises from £45 to £100.
The former US Secretary of State Colin Powell dies of COVID-19 complications on Monday, 18th October, aged 84.
On Thursday, 21st October the Director of the film Rust, Joel Souza, is injured on set and the Cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, is killed when actor Alec Baldwin fires a prop gun during filming at the Bonanza Creek Ranch near Santa Fe.
On 26th October a report by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is published, which concludes that the Conservative MP Owen Paterson misused his position as a Member of Parliament to benefit two companies he worked for. The report recommends that he be suspended from the House of Commons for 30 days.
On 27th October the United States issues its first gender-neutral passport. Using X as a gender marker, the passport is issued to 66-year-old Dana Zzyym, a US Navy veteran and intersex activist who identifies as non-binary.

On 3rd November Conservative MPs vote to pause the 30-day suspension of MP Owen Paterson and to back a review of standards investigations. Two days later, following a backlash from opposition MPs and some Conservative MPs and a government U-turn on its proposals for a review of the standards watchdog, Paterson resigns as the MP for North Shropshire.
Dancer, entertainer and TV presenter Lionel Blair, who was a team captain opposite Una Stubbs on ITV's long-running Give Us A Clue, dies on Thursday, 4th November, aged 92.
On Friday, 5th November a fuel tanker and a lorry collide in Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, causing a massive explosion and fire which kills at least 144 people.
On the same day ten people lose their lives as a result of a crowd surge on the opening night of the Astroworld festival at the NRG Park in Houston, Texas.
Astro (real name: Terence Wilson), who had been a member of UB40 from 1979 until he left the group in November 2013, dies on Saturday, 6th November, aged 64.
On the same day the US Navy launches the USNS Harvey Milk, a ship named after the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California, who was assassinated on 27th November 1978, less than eleven months after he had been elected.
On 8th November the USA re-opens its borders to fully vaccinated travellers from 33 countries - 26 European nations as well as Brazil, China, India, Iran, Ireland, South Africa and the UK.
F.W. de Klerk, the former president of South Africa and the last white person to lead the country, dies on 11th November, aged 85.
On Friday, 12th November singer Britney Spears is freed from the 13-year conservatorship set up by her father, which gave him control over her finances, career decisions and her personal life. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny rules in favour of the singer's request to end it.
The Glasgow Climate Pact is signed on 13th November at the end of 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow. The signatories agree to "phase down" rather than "phase out" coal-fired power generation.
A bomb explodes shortly before 11.00am on Remembrance Sunday in a taxi outside the Liverpool Women's Hospital. The man carrying the bomb, Emad Al Swealmeen, dies from injuries caused by the explosion and subsequent fire.
A state of emergency is declared in the Canadian province of British Columbia on 17th November, following massive floods and landslides caused by record-breaking rainfall.
On 21st November a 39-year-old man, Darrell Brooks, drives his car into a crowd attending the annual Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Six people are killed and sixty-two others injured.
A new variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 is reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) from South Africa on 24th November. The danger of the new Omicron variant prompts the governments of the UK, the European Union, Canada and the USA to restrict travel from South Africa and neighbouring countries.
30 migrants drown in the sea off the coast of France on 24th November as they attempt to cross the English Channel in a small boat.
On 26th November the UK Met Office issues a red weather warning as Storm Arwen lashes the east coast of Scotland and north-east England with rain, snow and winds of up to 98mph. The power supply is cut to thousands of homes, many of which are not re-connected until 7th December.
Stephen Sondheim, who wrote the scores of some of Broadway's best known shows including Company, Follies and A Little Night Music, dies on Friday, 26th November at his home in Roxbury, Connecticut, aged 91. The lights in London's West End are dimmed in a two-minute tribute to him on Monday, 29th November.
Sir Frank Williams, founder and former team principal of the Williams Racing Formula 1 team, dies on 28th November, aged 79.
Following the discovery of Omicron cases in the UK, the Health Secretary Sajid Javid announces that from Tuesday, 30th November it will once again become compulsory to wear face masks in shops and on public transport in England. The mandate on wearing face masks is extended to "most public indoor venues", including theatres and cinemas, from 10th December, with exceptions only "where it's not practical, including while eating, drinking, exercising or singing".

Actor Sir Antony Sher dies of cancer on 2nd December, aged 72.
John Miles, best known for his 1976 hit single Music, dies on 5th December, aged 72.
Olaf Scholz succeeds Angela Merkel as Chancellor of Germany on 8th December.
On the same day Allegra Stratton resigns as an adviser to the UK government, following the airing of a video of her joking with other staff about holding a Christmas party. at 10 Downing Street on 18th December 2020, when the government's coronavirus guidance specifically stated that people should not have Christmas parties.
Steve Bronski, co-founder of Bronski Beat, dies on 9th December, aged 61.
On the same day the Electoral Commission publishes a report of its investigation into payments relating to the redecoration of Boris Johnson’s Downing Street flat. The Conservative Party is fined £17,800 for “failing to accurately report a donation and keep a proper accounting record.”
Tornadoes sweep through six States of the USA on Friday, 10th December, causing widespread damage and loss of life in Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois and Kentucky.
Michael Nesmith of The Monkees dies on 10th December, aged 78.
Tennis Grand Slam champion Manolo Santana, who won the French Open in 1961 and 1964, the US Open in 1965 and Wimbledon in 1966, dies on 11th December, aged 83.
On 12th December Austria ends its three-week lockdown for people vaccinated against COVID-19. The lockdown for unvaccinated people introduced on 15th November continues.
Following the rapid spread of Omicron in England, further restrictions come into effect as part of the government's 'Plan B': from 13th December office workers who can work from home are obliged to do so; from 15th December, nightclubs and concert venues are required by law to check that all visitors aged 18 years or over are fully vaccinated, have proof of a negative test in the last 48 hours, or have an exemption.
The Liberal Democrat candidate Helen Morgan wins the by-election held in North Shropshire on 16th December.
France introduces heavy restrictions on travel from the UK from 11.00pm on 17th December, insisting that visitors must give a "compelling reason" to enter the country. Germany follows the French example two days later, allowing only German nationals and residents to enter from the UK.
Richard Rogers, the architect who designed the Pompidou Centre in Paris, the Lloyd's of London building and the Millennium Dome. dies on 18th December, aged 88.
On Sunday, 19th December the Netherlands introduces a Christmas lockdown to combat the rapid spread of Omicron.
Gabriel Boric wins the presidential election held in Chile on the same day.
On Wednesday, 22nd December the UK government reports more than 100,000 daily cases of COVID-19 for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
The former England and Yorkshire cricket captain Ray Illingworth dies on Christams day, aged 89. DJ Janice Long also dies on Christmas day, aged 66.
Desmond Tutu, the former Archbishop of Cape Town (1986-1996), who was appointed by Nelson Mandela to head South Africa's Truth and Reconcilliation Commission, dies on 26th December, aged 90.
On 29th December a New York jury finds Ghislaine Maxwell guilty on five of the six counts she faced, including one of sex trafficking a minor.
The last of The Golden Girls, Betty White, dies on New Year's Eve, aged 99.
The New Year Honours, published on 31st December, include Damehoods for Joanna Lumley and Vanessa Redgrave and Knighthoods for England's Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty, and his deputy Professor Jonathan Van-Tam. Soap stars June Brown (Dot Cotton in Eastenders) and William Roache (Ken Barlow in Coronation Street), are appointed OBEs. Bond actor Daniel Craig is made a Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George; former Prime Minister Tony Blair is appointed to the Order of the Garter.

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Tony Award for Best Musical:
Moulin Rouge! The Musical

Olivier Award
for Best New Musical:
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BBC Sport

BBC
Sports Personality
of the Year:
Emma Raducanu

Darts: Gerwyn Price wins the PDC World Championship at Alexandra Palace with a 7-3 victory over two-time champion Gary Anderson.
Following the collapse of the British Darts Organisation, which went into liquidation in September 2020, the BDO World Championship does not take place for the first time since 1977.

Snooker: 20-year-old Yan Bingtao wins the Masters snooker tournament on his début appearance, beating John Higgins in the final, 10-8.
Mark Selby wins the World Snooker Championship for the fourth time with an 18-15 victory over Shaun Murphy.
Zhao Xintong beats Luca Brecel 10-5 in the final of the UK Championship.

Tennis: the Australian Open, scheduled to take place in Melbourne from 18th to 31st January, is pushed back three weeks because of the coronavirus pandemic. Naomi Osaka wins the women's singles title for the second time, beating Jennifer Brady in the final, 6-4 6-3. Novak Djokovic wins the men's singles title for the ninth time, beating Daniil Medvedev in the final, 7-5 6-2 6-2.
After winning her opening match at the French Open and then being fined $15,000 for not speaking to the media after the match, the second seed Naomi Osaka withdraws from the tournament, revealing that she had suffered long bouts of depression since winning the US Open in 2018.
Unseeded Barbora Krejcikova wins the women's singles title at the French Open, beating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the final, 6-1 2-6 6-4.
Novak Djokovic wins the men's singles title for the second time, defeating the 13-time champion Rafael Nadal in the semi-final and then beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final, 6-7 (6-8) 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-4.
Ashleigh Barty beats Karolina Pliskova to win the women's singles title at Wimbledon, 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 6-3.
Novak Djokovic wins the men's singles title for the sixth time, defeating Matteo Berrettini in the final, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-4, 6-3.
At the US Open 18-year-old Emma Raducanu beats 19-year-old Leylah Fernandez (6-4 6-3) to become the first qualifier, and first British woman for 44 years, to win a Grand Slam singles title.
In the men’s singles final Daniil Medvedev beats Novak Djokovic (6-4, 6-4, 6-4), thwarting Djokovic’s attempt to win all four of the Grand Slams in the same calendar year.
Team Europe wins the Laver Cup for the fourth consecutive time, beating Team World 14-1 in Boston.

Rugby Union: Wales win the Triple Crown and the Six Nations Championship.

Horse Racing: the Cheltenham Gold Cup is won by Minella Indo, ridden by Jack Kennedy and trained by Henry de Bromhead.
Rachael Blackmore riding Minella Times becomes the first female jockey to win the Grand National.
Derby

Rowing: the 166th Boat Race is moved from the Thames to the River Ouse for only the second time in its history. The University of Cambridge crews win both the men's and women's races.

Golf: Hideki Matsuyama wins the US Masters, becoming the first Japanese man to claim one of golf's major titles.
Phil Mickelson wins the US PGA Championship at Kiawah Island, becoming (at 50 years old) the oldest man to win a major title.
Jon Rahm finishes his final round with back-to-back birdies to win the US Open at Torrey Pines.
Collin Morikawa wins The Open 2021 at Royal St. George's.
The United States regains the Ryder Cup with a record 19-9 victory over Europe at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.

Football: Manchester City win the Premier League title for the third time in four years.
Leicester City win the FA Cup for the first time, beating Chelsea in the final at Wembley Stadium, 1-0. Youri Tielemans scores the winning goal.
Chelsea win the UEFA Champions League for the second time, beating Manchester City in the final in Porto, 1-0. Kai Havertz scores the winning goal three minutes before half-time.
Italy beat England in the final of the UEFA European Championship at Wembley, winning a penalty shoot out 3-2 after the match had ended in a 1-1 draw.
Former Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero, who had signed a two-year contract to play for Barcelona starting on 1st July, announces his retirement from professional football on 15th December.

Cycling: the Tour de France, originally scheduled to take place between 2nd-25th July, is moved to 26th June to 18th July to avoid the rescheduled 2020 Summer Olympics. Tadej Pogacar wins the race for the second year in a row. Mark Cavendish makes history by equalling Belgian great Eddy Merckx's record of 34 stage wins.

Olympic Games: Team GB wins 65 medals at the Olympics - 22 golds, 21 silvers and 22 bronze.
Tom Dean becomes the first British male swimmer to win two golds at the same Olympic Games since 1908, winning the men's 200m freestyle and the men's 4×200m freestyle relay with James Guy, Matt Richards and Duncan Scott.
Swimmer Adan Peaty becomes the first British swimmer to defend an Olympic title, winning the gold medal in the men's 100m breaststroke. Peaty wins a second gold medal in the first-ever 4x100m mixed medley relay with Kathleen Dawson, Anna Hopkin and James Guy.
Track cyclist Jason Kenny successfully defends his keirin title to become the first Briton to win seven Olympic gold medals. His wife Laura Kenny wins her fifth gold and sixth Olympic medal with Katie Archibald in the women's madison.
Diver Tom Daley, appearing in his fourth Olympics, wins a gold medal alongside Matty Lee in the men's synchronised 10 metre platform.
Gymnast Max Whitlock, the reigning pommel champion from Rio, successfully defends his title.
Athletes from Jamaica complete a clean sweep of the medals in the women's 100m. Defending champion Elaine Thompson-Herah wins in a time 10.61 seconds to become the second-fastest woman in history, followed by Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (10.74) and Shericka Jackson (10.76). The three women plus their team-mate Briana Williams also win the women's 4x100m relay. Elaine Thompson-Herah additionally wins the women's 200m race.
Italy's Lamont Marcell Jacobs is a surprise winner of the men's 100m race.
Allyson Felix of the USA becomes the most decorated female track and field athlete of all time by taking 400m bronze for her 10th Olympic medal.
Norway's Karsten Warholm wins the men's 400m hurdles, setting a new world record of 45.94 seconds. The USA's Sydney McLaughlin wins the women's 400m hurdles, also setting a new world record of 51.46 seconds.

Cricket: England cricket captain Joe Root returns to the top of the ICC's Test batting rankings after scoring consecutive Test centuries in three matches against India at an average of 126.75.
Australia retain the Ashes, beating England in the third Test by an innings and 14 runs to take an unassailable 3-0 series lead.

Athletics: Flora Duffy from Bermuda and Kristian Blummenfelt from Norway become the first triathletes to be crowned Olympic and world champions in the same year. Duffy, finishes third in the World Triathlon Championships Series final in Edmonton, Canada - enough to crown her world champion; Blummenfelt later wins the men's race to match her historic achievement.

Motor Racing: COVID-19 restrictions delay the start of 2021 Formula 1 season. The first race, the Australian Grand Prix, which had been scheduled for 19th-21st March, is cancelled.
Max Verstappen overtakes Lewis Hamilton on the last lap of the last race of the season in Abu Dhabi to win the F1 Drivers' Championship. Mercedes retain the Constructors' Championship.

Man Booker Prize

Winner:

Damon Galgut
The Promise

Anuk Arudpragasam
A Passage North

Patricia Lockwood
No One Is Talking About This

Nadifa Mohamed
The Fortune Men

Richard Powers
Bewilderment

Maggie Shipstead
Great Circle

Women's
Prize for Fiction

Susanna Clarke
Piranesi