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On New Year's Day a 42-year-old taxi driver, Michael Atherton, murders his partner, her sister and her sister's daughter before shooting himself at the family home in Horden, County Durham.
On 3rd January Gary Dobson and David Norris are found guilty by an Old Bailey jury of the racist murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence, 18 years after he was stabbed to death near a south London bus stop.
On 11th January video emerges showing what is believed to be four US Marines urinating on the corpses of three Taliban fighters. The President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai condemns their action as "completely inhuman".
On the same day an Iranian nuclear scientist, Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, is assassinated in north Tehran by a magnetic bomb attached to his car by two motorcyclists. Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi says on state TV that the bomb attack would not stop "progress" in the country's nuclear programme.
The radio and television presenter Bob Holness, who hosted the British version of Blockbusters (1983-1994), dies on 12th January, aged 83. In 1992 Lyn Paul had appeared on his radio show Bob Holness Requests The Pleasure.
The Costa Concordia, a cruise ship with more than 4,000 people aboard, runs aground off the Italian island of Giglio on Friday, 13th January.
Eastman Kodak, the photography company founded in 1892, files for bankruptcy on 19th January.
At least 185 people are killed in a series of bombings in Kano, Nigeria on 20th January. The Islamist Boko Haram organisation claims responsibility for the attacks.
The R&B singer Etta James dies on 20th January, aged 73, after a long battle with leukaemia.
On Monday, 23rd January EU foreign ministers agree to an embargo on oil and gold imports from Iran.
Following the lead of the Royal Bank of Scotland Chairman, Philip Hampton, who had turned down a bonus share package worth £1.4 million, the company's Chief Executive, Stephen Hester, announces on 29th January that he will turn down his bonus of £963,000.
Two days later the former RBS Chief Executive, Fred Goodwin, is stripped of his Knighthood "for services to banking".

78 people are killed and hundreds injured on Wednesday, 1st February when violence breaks out after a football match in Port Said, Egypt, between Cairo's Al-Ahly and the local team, Al-Masry. Al-Masry had won the game 3-1.
On Friday, 3rd February Chris Huhne resigns as the UK's Energy Secretary after being told that he is to be prosecuted for perverting the course of justice, over claims that his wife accepted speeding penalty points on his behalf.
On the same day John Terry is sacked for the second time as Captain of the England football team, following the adjournment of his trial on charges of racially abusing QPR's Anton Ferdinand.
On Monday, 6th February, at 11.49am, a 6.7-magnitude earthquake strikes the central Philippines.
Gun salutes are held around the UK on 6th February to mark the 60th anniversary of The Queen's accession to the throne, including a 41-gun salute in Hyde Park, London, a 62-gun salute at the Tower of London and a 21-gun Royal Salute at Edinburgh Castle.
Romania's Prime Minister, Emil Bo, resigns on 6th February following a series of protests against his government's austerity measures. The Justice Minister, Catalin Predoiu, is appointed as caretaker prime minister.
On Wednesday, 8th February Harry Redknapp, the manager of Tottenham Hotspur FC, is found not guilty of tax evasion by a jury at Southwark Crown Court.
On the same day Fabio Capello resigns as England manager, having publicly challenged the FA's decision to strip John Terry of the captaincy.
Whitney Houston, whose hits included I Will Always Love You and Saving All My Love For You, dies in Los Angeles on Saturday, 11th February at the age of 48.
On Thursday, 16th February the so-called "underwear bomber" Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who had attempted to blow up a US-bound plane on Christmas Day 2009, is sentenced to life in prison without parole.
On the same day the UN General Assembly votes in favour of a resolution condemning human rights violations in Syria and calling for an end to the violence.
44 inmates are killed in a riot at Monterrey's Apodaca prison on Sunday, 19th February.
The comedian Frank Carson, remembered for his catchphrases "It's a cracker!" and "It's the way I tell 'em!", dies on 22nd February, aged 85.
On the same day a commuter train hits the end of the platform at Once station, Buenos Aires, killing 49 people and leaving at least 600 injured.
Entrepreneur Emma Harrison steps down as the UK government's "family champion" on 23rd February amid a police probe into irregularities at her company A4e. The following day she also resigns as chairman of A4e.
On 25th February at least 26 people are killed by a car bomb in the southern Yemen city of Mukalla, shortly after Yemen's new President, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, had been sworn into office.
The first edition of The Sun On Sunday is published on 26th February.
On the same day The Artist wins the Oscar for Best Picture at the 84th Academy Awards.
Davy Jones, lead singer with the 1960s pop band The Monkees, dies on 29th February, aged 66, after suffering a massive heart attack.

Vladimir Putin wins the presidential election held in Russia on Sunday, 4th March.
Oscar-winning songwriter Robert B. Sherman, whose credits included the classic screen musicals Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, dies in London on 6th March, aged 86.
On Sunday, 11th March a US soldier, Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, goes on a shooting spree, killing 16 civilians, nine of them children, in the Afghan villages of Balandi and Alkozai.
The former editor of the News of the World and The Sun Rebekah Brooks and her husband, racehorse trainer Charlie Brooks, are among six people arrested on Tuesday, 13th March by police investigating phone hacking at News International.
On the same day 22 schoolchildren and six adults are killed in a coach crash in a tunnel near Sierre in the southern Swiss alps. The coach party had been on its way back to Belgium after a week-long skiing holiday in Val d'Anniviers.
The publisher of the Encyclopaedia Britannica announces on 13th March that, after 244 years, the 32-volume print edition is to be discontinued.
The musical Once, a stage adaptation of the 2007 film, opens on Broadway on 18th March at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre.
On Monday, 19th March a 30-year-old rabbi and teacher of religion, Jonathan Sandler, his two sons, Aryeh and Gavriel, and a seven-year-old girl, Myriam Monsonego, are shot outside the Jewish Ozar Hatorah School in Toulouse.
On Thursday, 22nd March their assassin, Mohammed Merah, dies in a hail of bullets as he jumps from a window, "shouting madly" at police trying to capture him alive. Merah, a Frenchman of Algerian origin, had previously killed three French soldiers, one on 11th March and two more on 15th March.
One Direction make history by becoming the first British group to début at number 1 in the US album chart with their first release Up All Night.
On Friday, 23rd March Pope Benedict XVI begins his 23rd international trip, visiting Mexico and then Cuba. Following his visit Cuba's communist government declares Good Friday a public holiday.
Jocky Wilson, who was twice the world darts champion, dies on Saturday, 24th March, aged 62.
Conservative Party co-treasurer Peter Cruddas, who had been filmed by undercover journalists from The Sunday Times, resigns on 25th March over his claims that a "premier league" donation of £250,000 could buy access to the Prime Minister.
The leader of the Respect party, George Galloway wins the Bradford West by-election held on Thursday, 29th March, overturning a Labour majority of 5,763 to take the seat by 10,140 votes.

On Sunday, 1st April Madonna's album MDNA enters the UK album chart at number 1. As her 12th number 1 album it makes her the most successful solo artist in UK chart history, beating the previous record of 11 chart-toppers held by Elvis Presley.
By-elections are hold in Burma on 1st April to fill 45 vacant parliamentary seats. The main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Aung San Suu Kyi, wins in 43 of the 44 seats it contested. Aung San Suu Kyi wins a seat representing Kawhmu, on the outskirts of Rangoon.
On Monday, 2nd April seven people are killed and three wounded at Oikos University in Oakland, California when a former student, One Goh, returns to the campus and starts firing a gun.
On 7th April 139 people, most of them Pakistani soldiers, are buried alive when an avalanche hits a battalion headquarters in the Himalayas.
On 10th April the European Court of Human Rights rules that the radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza, along with four other terror suspects, would not be subject to "ill-treatment" in the United States and that their extradition was lawful.
North Korea launches a rocket on Friday, 13th April but the rocket splinters into pieces over the Yellow Sea soon after take off.
On Tuesday, 17th April the space shuttle Discovery is flown to its new home at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, bolted to the top of a modified jumbo jet.
On the same day it is announced that the Pulitzer Prize board had failed to select a winner of the award for fiction for the first time in 35 years.
On Thursday, 26th April the former President of Liberia, Charles Taylor, is found guilty of aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity at the Special Court for Sierra Leone in The Hague.

Edvard Munch's The Scream is sold for a record £74 million at Sotheby's in New York on Wednesday, 2nd May
In local elections held on Thursday, 3rd May Boris Johnson is elected for a second term as Mayor of London.
The Socialist party candidate François Hollande wins the French presidential election held on Sunday, 6th May with 51.7% of the vote. The incumbent Nicolas Sarközy is the first French president since 1981 not to win a second term.
On Tuesday, 8th May nine Asian men are convicted of sexually exploiting teenage girls in Rochelle. The following day they are sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court to a total of 77 years in jail.
Hairstylist Vidal Sassoon dies at his home on Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles on 9th May, aged 84.
During an interview with ABC News on the same day President Barack Obama declares his support for gay marriage.
Two suicide bombs explode in Damascus on 10th May, killing at least 55 people and injuring hundreds more.
On 11th May, following the wettest April on record, the UK Environment Agency announces that the official drought status is to be lifted for 19 counties in the South-west, the Midlands and Yorkshire. Hosepipe bans imposed by seven water companies remain in place in areas south and west of a line from Lincolnshire to Sussex.
Donna Summer, whose hits included Love To Love You Baby, I Feel Love and Hot Stuff, dies of cancer on 17th May, aged 63.
Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, the man convicted for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, dies at his home in Tripoli on 20th May, aged 60.
Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees dies on the same day, aged 62.
On Friday, 25th May at least 108 people are massacred in the Syrian village of Taldou, near the town of Houla.
On 26th May Swedish singer Loreen wins the Eurovision Song Contest in Azerbaijan with the song Euphoria. The UK entry Love Will Set You Free, sung by Engelbert Humperdinck, finishes 25th out of 26.

On Saturday, 2nd June the United Kingdom starts four days of celebrations to mark The Queen's 60 years on the throne. On Sunday, 3rd June more than a million people brave the miserable weather to watch a Royal Pageant on the Thames. The next day a Diamond Jubilee concert, organised by Gary Barlow, is held outside Buckingham Palace. A Thanksgiving service is held at St. Paul's Cathedral on Tuesday, 5th June followed by a flypast and gun salute at Buckingham Palace.
The author Ray Bradbury, best known for his novel Fahrenheit 451, dies in Los Angeles on 5th June, aged 91.
The Queen's Birthday Honours List, published on 16th June, includes an OBE for Gary Barlow, a Knighthood for Kenneth Branagh and a CBE for Kate Winslet.
The New Democracy party wins the largest share of the vote in the Greek elections held on Sunday, 17th June. The New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras is sworn in as Prime Minister on 20th June.
Julian Assange, the Wikileaks founder facing extradition to Sweden from Britain for questioning over alleged sex crimes, takes refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London on 19th June. Fifty-eight days later he is granted political asylum.
On 22nd June Syria shoots down a Turkish F-4 reconnaissance plane in international airspace over the Mediterranean.
Mohammed Morsi is officially declared the winner of Egypt's presidential election on Sunday, 24th June with 51.7% of the votes cast. A huge crowd celebrates in Cairo's Tahrir Square.
The Queen shakes hands with Martin McGuinness when she visits Belfast on Wednesday, 27th June.
The Emirates Air Line, a £44 million cable car system crossing the Thames, is opened by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, on 28th June.
Deadly storms tear through the Midwest states to the region around Washington DC on 29th June, leaving millions of homes and businesses without power.
At the end of the month the Met Office confirms that the period from April to June had been the wettest second quarter in the UK since records began in 1910.

The Chief Executive of Barclays Bank, Bob Diamond, resigns on Tuesday, 3rd July, a week after the bank had been fined a record amount for trying to manipulate inter-bank lending rates. Barclays chief operating officer, Jerry del Missier, resigns later the same day.
On 4th July scientists at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) announce that they may have discovered the so-called "Higgs boson" particle.
Comedy star Eric Sykes dies on 4th July, aged 89.
The Shard, Europe's tallest building, containing offices, exclusive residences, a luxury hotel and restaurants across 72 floors, is officially unveiled on 5th July.
On 11th July a suicide bomber blows himself up as a group of cadets leaves the Yemini police academy in Sanaa, killing at least 10 people.
Promoters pull the plug on Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney while they perform Twist And Shout at a concert in Hyde Park on Saturday, 14th July. The show had over-run the 10.30pm curfew imposed by Westminster City Council.
The world's largest private security company G4S fails to fulfil its £250 million contract to guard athletes and spectators during the Olympic Games. British Armed Forces are drafted in to bolster security at London 2012.
The results of the 2011 census are released by the Office for National Statistics on 16th July. The figures reveal a rise in the population of England and Wales - up 3.7 million on the 2001 census to a new figure of 53.1 million people. One in six of the population is over 65 years old.
On Wednesday, 18th July a bomb blast in Damascus kills Hassan Turkmani, the Assistant Vice President of Syria, Dawoud Rajha, Syria's Defence Minister, and Assef Shawkat, the brother-in-law of the Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad,
On Friday, 20th July 12 people are killed and 70 more injured in Aurora, Colorado, when a gunman wearing a gas mask opens fire at a midnight screening of the new Batman film The Dark Knight Rises. The gunman, James Holmes, pleads not guilty due to insanity but a jury of nine women and three men reject defense arguments that he was controlled by his schizophrenia and on 16th July 2015 find him guilty of murder. He is sentenced to life in jail without the possibility of parole.
The Olympic Games open in London on Friday, 27th July. The opening ceremony features a cast of thousands, including Kenneth Branagh portraying Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Daniel Craig as James Bond, J.K. Rowling, Rowan Atkinson as Mr. Bean and David Beckham,
On 30th July a fire breaks out on a coach of the Tamil Nadu Express from Delhi to Chennai, killing thirty-two of the people on board.
Best-selling Irish author Maeve Binchy, who sold more than 40 million books worldwide, dies after a short illness on 30th July.
The US author and political commentator Gore Vidal dies at his home in Hollywood Hills on 31st July, aged 86.
700 million people in northern and eastern India are left without electricity when three of the country's five electricity grids fail on 30th and 31st July.

On 3rd August a jury at Chester Crown Court returns guilty verdicts against the parents of Shafilea Ahmed for murdering their 17-year-old daughter at the family home in Warrington in 2003. Iftikhar Ahmed and Farzana Ahmed are both sentenced to life imprisonment.
On Sunday, 5th August a gunman identified as Wade Michael Page, a 40-year-old US army veteran, shoots and kills six worshippers at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Milwaukee, before himself being shot dead by the police.
On 6th August, at 06:32 BST (05:32 GMT), the US space agency's one-tonne robot rover, Curiosity, touches down on Mars.
On the same day the Syrian Prime Minister, Riad Hijab, defects from President Bashar al-Assad's government, just two months after he was appointed.
Thirty-four people are killed and at least 78 injured on Thursday, 16th August when police open fire on striking miners at a platinum mine in Marikana.
On Friday, 17th August the three members of the punk band Pussy Riot - Maria Alyokhina, 24, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 29 - are found guilty of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred and sentenced to two years in prison.
Dom Mintoff, the former Prime Minister of Malta, dies on 20th August, aged 96. The ground-breaking comedian Phyllis Diller also dies on 20th August, aged 95.
On the same day Gu Kailai, the wife of the disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai, is given a suspended death sentence for the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood, whose dead body had been found in a Chongqing hotel room on 15th November 2011.
The right-to-die campaigner Tony Nicklinson dies on 22nd August. His last words, relayed via Twitter, are: "Goodbye world the time has come, I had some fun."
On the same day two pictures of Prince Harry are published on the TMZ website, showing him naked at a private party in his VIP suite at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas.
On 23rd August former fugitive tycoon Asil Nadir is sentenced to 10 years in jail for stealing £28.6m from his Polly Peck business empire.
On 24th August Apple is awarded $1.05bn in damages from Samsung by a jury at San José federal court.
Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, dies on 25th August at the age of 82.
Max Bygraves, known for his catchphrase "I wanna tell you a story", dies on 31st August, aged 89.

Lyricist Hal David, who wrote the words to hits such as Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head, Walk On By and I Say A Little Prayer, dies of a stroke on Saturday, 1st September, aged 91.
The musical Chicago, the longest running revival in London, closes on the same day after 6,187 performances.
Three members of a UK family - Saad al-Hilli, his wife and mother-in-law - are shot dead near Lake Annecy on Wednesday, 5th September. A French cyclist thought to have been a witness is found shot dead nearby.
Songwriter, guitarist and singer Joe South, who wrote the hits Games People Play, Hush and (I Never Promised You A) Rose Garden, dies on 5th September after a heart attack, aged 72.
The US Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens and three other US citizens are killed in an armed attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi on Tuesday, 11th September.
Violent protests against a 14-minute trailer for the film Innocence Of Muslims, which was made in the USA, spread across the Middle East and North Africa. The US embassies in Cairo, Sanaa and Tunis are all attacked, as are the US, German and UK embassies in Khartoum.
The Report of the Hillsborough Independent Panel is published on 12th September. Speaking afterwards the Prime Minister David Cameron apologises to the families of the 96 who were killed in the Hillsborough football disaster of 1989 for the "failure of the state to protect their loved ones and the indefensible wait to get to the truth."
Apple launch the iPhone 5 on 12th September. The phone goes on sale in the UK on 21st September.
On Friday, 14th September the French magazine Closer publishes photos of the Duchess of Cambridge sunbathing topless while on holiday at the Château D’Autet, a luxury holiday chateau in Provence owned by the Queen’s nephew Viscount Linley.
Two policewomen, Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes, are killed in a gun and grenade attack in Motram, Greater Manchester on Tuesday, 18th September. Dale Cregan is charged with their murders and two others.
Singer Andy Williams dies at his home in Branson, Missouri on Tuesday, 25th September, after a year-long battle with bladder cancer. He was 84.
On Thursday, 27th September a Sita Air Dormier 288 light aircraft crashes on the outskirts of Kathmandu shortly after take-off, killing the 19 people on board.

On Wednesday, 3rd October ITV broadcasts a documentary Exposure: The Other Side Of Jimmy Savile, in which five women claim that they had been indecently assaulted by the disc jockey and TV presenter when they were children. The programme prompts the BBC to set up an internal enquiry and the police to launch a criminal investigation.
On the same day five people are killed when a Syrian mortar hits the Turkish village of Akcakale. The next day Turkey's parliament authorises troops to launch cross-border operations for up to a year.
The radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza and four other terror suspects are deported from Britain on Friday, 5th October to face trial in the USA.
On Saturday, 6th October Pope Benedict's ex-butler Paolo Gabriele is found guilty of stealing confidential papers from him and sentenced to 18 months in jail.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez wins a fourth term in office, defeating Henrique Capriles in the election held on 7th October with a 54% share of the vote.
Mark Bridger appears before magistrates in Aberystwyth on Monday, 8th October, charged with the murder of five-year-old April Jones, who went missing from near her home in Machynlleth, mid Wales, on Monday, 1st October.
Malala Yousafzai, a 14-year-old girl who had spoken out against the Pakistan Taliban's ban on education for girls, is shot in the head on Tuesday, 9th October on her way home from school.
On 12th October the Nobel committee president Thorbjoern Jagland announces that the EU has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for six decades of advancing peace in Europe. The presidents of the EU's three main institutions collect the prize at a ceremony in Oslo City Hall on 10th December.
Felix Baumgartner makes a record-breaking jump from 24 miles above the earth on 14th October, becoming the first skydiver to break the speed of sound.
The Government's Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell resigns on 19th October over an incident in which he had used bad language to a police officer at the gates to Downing Street. In his letter of resignation he writes: "I did not, never have, and never would call a police officer a 'pleb'."
On the same day thirteen people are injured by a hit-and-run driver in a series of incidents in Ely and Leckwith in the west of Cardiff. A 32-year-old mother, Karina Menzies, dies saving the lives of her two children.
Sir Norman Bettison, the West Yorkshire chief constable, resigns on 24th October, following criticism of his conduct after the Hillsborough disaster.
US President Barack Obama declares a "major disaster" in New York state on Tuesday, 30th October, after "Super-storm" Sandy had smashed into the US East Coast, causing flooding and cutting power to millions.

On Tuesday, 6th November Barack Obama is re-elected to a second term, defeating his Republican challenger Mitt Romney in the US Presidential election.
Clive Dunn, who played Corporal Jones in the BBC sitcom Dad's Army, dies at his home in Portugal on 7th November, aged 92.
Bill Tarmey, who played Jack Duckworth in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street, dies at his holiday home in Tenerife on 9th November, aged 71.
The CIA Director David Petraeus resigns on the same day, after admitting to an extra-marital affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell.
The BBC's Director General, George Entwistle, resigns on 11th November, after a report on Newsnight (BBC2) had wrongly implicated Lord McAlpine in a child abuse scandal.
On Wednesday, 14th November tens of thousands of workers stage protests and strikes across Europe against rising unemployment and austerity measures.
On the same day, following a wave of rocket attacks on southern Israel, the Hamas military chief, Ahmed Said Khalil al-Jabari, is killed by a retaliatory Israeli missile strike on Gaza City. After eight days of violence, during which at least 158 Palestinians and six Israelis were killed, a cease-fire is agreed on Wednesday, 21st November.
Xi Jinping replaces Hu Jintao as general secretary of China's Communist Party on 15th November.
On Saturday, 17th November a bus driver and 50 children aged four to six years old are killed when their school bus is hit by a train in central Egypt.
Larry Hagman, who played J.R. Ewing in the TV soap Dallas, dies on 23rd November, aged 81, after suffering from cancer.
At least 112 people die in a fire at the Tazreen Fashion factory in Dhaka on Saturday, 24th November.
On 25th November The Rolling Stones celebrate their 50th anniversary with the first of five concerts at London's O2 Arena.
On 29th November the UN general assembly votes to admit Palestine as a state with observer status, 65 years to the day after it had voted to partition Palestine.

Nine people are killed on Sunday, 1st December when concrete panels collapse and start a fire in the Sasago tunnel, west of Tokyo.
On 3rd December Belfast City Council votes to restrict the flying of the union flag at Belfast City Hall from 365 days a year to designated days only.
On the same day, after the Duchess of Cambridge had been admitted to King Edward VII hospital with acute morning sickness, a spokesman for St. James's Palace announces that she is expecting a baby. The next day Mel Greig and Michael Christian, from Sydney radio station 2Day FM, pose as the Queen and Prince Charles in a hoax phone call to the hospital. Jacintha Saldanha, the nurse who took the call, is found dead on Friday, 7th December.
The last-ever printed edition of Dandy goes on sale on 4th December, the 75th anniversary of its first edition.
Dave Brubeck, the US jazz pianist who recorded Take Five, dies of heart failure on 5th December, a day ahead of his 92nd birthday.
Astronomer Sir Patrick Moore, who presented the television programme The Sky At Night, dies at his home in Selsey, West Sussex on 9th December, aged 89.
Sitar player Ravi Shankar, who popularised Indian music around the world, dies in Scripps Memorial Hospital in San Diego on 11th December at the age of 92.
On 12th December North Korea successfully launches a long-range rocket to put a satellite into space, ignoring a UN resolution passed in June 2009, which banned the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) from carrying out ballistic missile tests.
The former BBC newsreader Kenneth Kendall dies in hospital in Newport on the Isle of Wight on 14th December, aged 88.
On the same day 20 children and 6 adults are massacred by a gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. The gunman, Adam Lanza, had killed his mother before driving to the school and opening fire, and then taking his own life.
On Sunday, 16th December a 23-year-old woman is gang raped on a bus in Delhi. The attack causes widespread anger and prompts candle-lit vigils and demonstrations. The woman dies of her injuries 12 days later.
Shinzo Abe becomes the prime minister of Japan for a second time when the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) wins a majority in the elections held on 16th December.
US actor Jack Klugman, who starred in the 1970s TV series The Odd Couple and Quincy M.E., dies in Los Angeles on 24th December, aged 90.
On the same day two volunteer firefighters are shot dead and two are injured while responding to an emergency call in the town of Webster in New York state. The gunman who ambushed them, William Spengler, is later found dead at the scene.
On 25th December the Egyptian election commission announces that 63.8% of the voters in a two-stage referendum held on 15th and 22nd December had backed President Mohammed Morsi's proposal for a new constitution. The voting statistics reveal that only 32.9% of Egypt's 52 million voters had taken part in the referendum.
Gerry Anderson, creator of Thunderbirds, Stingray and Joe 90, dies at the age of 83 on Wednesday, 26th December.
Former England cricket captain Tony Greig dies in Sydney on 29th December after suffering a heart attack, aged 66.
Nearly 80 years after its first issue, the final print edition of Newsweek magazine is published on Monday, 31st December.
On 3rd January 2013 The Met Office confirms that 2012 had been the second wettest year on record in the UK.

• James Arthur
  
• Misha B
  
• Clean Bandit
  
• Marcus Collins
  
• Loreen
  
• Rita Ora
  
• Rudimental
  
• Sam Smith
  
• The Weeknd
  
  

• Adele
  Skyfall
  
• Gabrielle Aplin
  The Power Of Love
  
• James Arthur
  Impossible
  
• Misha B
  Home Run
  
• Gary Barlow / Commonwealth Band
  Sing
  
• Justin Bieber
  Boyfriend
  
• Chris Brown
  Don't Wake Me Up
  
• Chris Brown
  Turn Up The Music
  
• Cheryl
  Call My Name
  
• Coldplay & Rhianna
  Princess Of China
  
• Marcus Collins
  Seven Nation Army
  
• Cover Drive
  Twilight
  
• Disclosure featuring Sam Smith
  Latch
  
• DJ Fresh featuring Rita Ora
  Hot Right Now
  
• Florence & The Machine
  Spectrum
  
• Fun
  Some Nights
  
• Fun featuring Janelle Monae
  We Are Young
  
• Girls Aloud
  Something New
  
• Gotye featuring Kimbra
  Somebody That I Used To Know
  
• David Guetta featuring Sia
  Titanium
  
• Calvin Harris featuring Example
  We'll Be Coming Back
  
• Calvin Harris / Florence Welch
  Sweet Nothing
  
• Jessie J
  Domino
  
• Jessie J featuring David Guetta
  Laserlight
  
• Carly Rae Jepsen
  Call Me Maybe
  
• Justice Collective
  He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother
  
• Alicia Keys
  Girl On Fire
  
• Labrinth featuring Emeli
  Beneath Your Beautiful
  
• Amelia Lily
  You Bring Me Joy
  
• Little Mix
  DNA
  
• Little Mix
  Wings
  
• Loreen
  Euphoria
  [Eurovision Song Contest Winner]
  
• Maroon 5 featuring Wiz Khalifa
  Payphone
  
• Bruno Mars
  Locked Out Of Heaven
  
• Nicki Minaj
  Starships
  
• Jason Mraz
  I Won’t Give Up
  
• Olly Murs featuring Flo Rida
  Troublemaker
  
• Ne-Yo
  Let Me Love You
  
• One Direction
  Little Things
  
• Rita Ora
  How We Do (Party)
  
• Rita Ora featuring Tinie Tempah
  R.I.P.
  
• Sean Paul
  She Doesn't Mind
  
• Katy Perry
  Part Of Me
  
• Pink
  Blow Me (One Last Kiss)
  
• Psy
  Gangnam Style
  
• Alyssa Reid featuring Jump Smokers
  Alone Again
  
• Flo Rida
  Whistle
  
• Rihanna
  Diamonds
  
• Rudimental featuring John Newman
  Feel The Love
  
• Sam & The Womp
  Bom Bom
  
• Emeli Sandé
  Beneath
  
• Emeli Sandé
  Next To Me
  
• Script featuring will.i.am
  Hall Of Fame
  
• Stooshe
  Black Heart
  
• Swedish House Mafia / Martin
  Don't You Worry Child
  
• Taylor Swift
  We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
  
• Train
  Drive By
  
• Tulisa
  Young
  
• Wanted
  Chasing The Sun
  
• Wiley featuring Ms D
  Heatwave
  
• will.i.am featuring Eva Simons
  This Is Love
  
• will.i.am featuring Britney Spears
  Scream & Shout
  
• Robbie Williams
  Candy
  

• Karmin
  Brokenhearted
  

• Gary Barlow / Commonwealth Band
  Sing
  
• Bat For Lashes
  The Haunted Man
  
• Justin Bieber
  Believe
  
• Colin Blunstone
  On The Air Tonight
  
• Chris Brown
  Fortune
  
• Jake Bugg
  Jake Bugg
  
• Matt Cardle
  The Fire
  
• Mary Chapin Carpenter
  Ashes And Roses
  
• Cheryl
  A Million Lights
  
• Marcus Collins
  Marcus Collins
  
• Shawn Colvin
  All Fall Down
  
• Ry Cooder
  Election Special
  
• Lana Del Ray
  Born To Die
  
• Bob Dylan
  Tempest
  
• Kathleen Edwards
  Voyageur
  
• Donald Fagen
  Sunken Condos
  
• Paloma Faith
  Fall To Grace
  
• Newton Faulkner
  Write It On Your Skin
  
• Bill Fay
  Life Is People
  
• The Bryan Ferry Orchestra
  The Jazz Age
  
• Ellie Goulding
  Halcyon
  
• Macy Gray
  Covered
  
• Macy Gray
  Talking Book
  
• Nanci Griffith
  Intersection
  
• Calvin Harris
  18 Months
  
• George Harrison
  Early Takes, Volume 1
  
• Mick Hucknall
  American Soul
  
• JLS
  Evolution
  
• Elton John vs. Pnau
  Good Morning To The Night
  
• Norah Jones
  ...Little Broken Hearts
  
• Tom Jones
  Spirit In The Room
  
• Katzenjammer
  A Kiss Before You Go
  
• R. Kelly
  Write Me Back
  
• The Killers
  Battle Born
  
• Diana Krall
  Glad Rag Doll
  
• Leona Lewis
  Glassheart
  
• Linkin Park
  Living Things
  
• Little Mix
  DNA
  
• Lyle Lovett
  Release Me
  
• Jeff Lynne
  Long Wave
  
• Paul McCartney
  Kisses On The Bottom
  
• Amy MacDonald
  Life In A Beautiful Light
  
• Madness
  Oui Oui Si Si Ja Ja Da Da
  
• Madonna
  MDNA
  
• Marina & the Diamonds
  Electra Heart
  
• Maroon 5
  Overexposed
  
• Katie Melua
  Secret Symphony
  
• Mika
  The Origin Of Love
  
• The Military Wives
  In My Dreams
  
• Kylie Minogue
  The Abbey Road Sessions
  
• Jason Mraz
  Love Is A Four Letter Word
  
• Mumford & Sons
  Babel
  
• Olly Murs
  Right Place Right Time
  
• Willie Nelson
  Heroes
  
• Frank Ocean
  Channel Orange
  
• Sinéad O'Connor
  How About I Be Me (And You Be You)?
  
• One Direction
  Take Me Home
  
• Rita Ora
  Ora
  
• Beth Orton
  Sugaring Season
  
• Camille O'Sullivan
  Changeling
  
• Pet Shop Boys
  Elysium
  
• Gretchen Peters
  Hello Cruel World
  
• Lisa Marie Presley
  Storm & Grace
  
• Rihanna
  Unapologetic
  
• Rumer
  Boys Don't Cry
  
• Emeli Sandé
  Our Version Of Events
  
• Script
  Number 3
  
• Scissor Sisters
  Magic Hour
  
• Bruce Springsteen
  Wrecking Ball
  
• Taylor Swift
  Red
  
• Rod Stewart
  Merry Christmas Baby
  
• Tulisa
  The Female Boss
  
• Carrie Underwood
  Blown Away
  
• Rufus Wainwright
  Out Of The Game
  
• Paul Weller
  Sonik Kicks
  
• Jack White
  Blunderbuss
  
• Robbie Williams
  Take The Crown
  
• xx
  Coexist
  
• Neil Young & Crazy Horse
  Psychedelic Pill
  
  

• The Amazing Spider-Man
  
• Amour
  
• Argo
  
• Anna Karenina
  
• Beasts Of The Southern Wild
  
• The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
  
• Brave
  
• Coriolanus
  
• The Dark Knight Rises
  
• Dark Shadows
  
• The Descendants
  
• The Dictator
  
• The Five-Year Engagement
  
• Frankenweenie
  
• Gambit
  
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
  
• Hope Springs
  
• The Hunger Games
  
• The Iron Lady
  
• J. Edgar
  
• Jeff, Who Lives At Home
  
• Joyful Noise
  
• Les Misérables
  
• The Master
  
• My Brother The Devil
  
• Nero Fiddled
  
• Noordzee, Texas
  
• Prometheus
  
• Room 237
  
• Rust And Bone
  
• Salmon Fishing In The Yemen
  
• Shadow Dancer
  
• Skyfall
  
• Snow White And The Huntsman
  
• Titanic 3D
  
• To Rome With Love (Woody Allen)
  
• War Horse
  
• W.E.
  
• The Woman In Black
  
• Woody Allen: A Documentary
  
  

Tony Award for Best Musical:
Once

Olivier Award
for Best New Musical:
Matilda

• The Apprentice (Series 8)
  
• Bad Education (Series 1)
  
• Best Possible Taste: the Kenny Everett Story
  
• The Big Bang Theory (Season 6)
  
• Birdsong
  
• Britain's Got Talent (Series 6)
  
• Call The Midwife (Series 1)
  
• The Chase (Series 5)
  
• Doctor Who (Series 7)
  
• Downton Abbey (Series 3)
  
• Eastsiders (Season 1)
  
• Exposure: The Other Side Of Jimmy Savile
  
• Friday Night Dinner (Series 2)
  
• Game Of Thrones (Season 2)
  
• Glee (Season 4)
  
• The Great British Bake Off (Series 3)
  
• I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here! (Series 12)
  
• Last Tango In Halifax (Series 1)
  
• Line Of Duty (Series 1)
  
• Miranda (Series 3)
  
• Mrs. Brown's Boys (Series 2)
  
• Parade's End
  
• Pointless (Series 6 and 7)
  
• RuPaul's Drag Race (Season 4)
  
• Strictly Come Dancing (Series 10)
  
• Superstar
  
• Twenty Twelve
  
• Vera (Series 2)
  
• The Voice UK (Series 1)
  
• Who Do You Think You Are? (Series 9)
  
• Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? (Series 29)
  
• The X Factor (Series 9)
  
  

BBC Sport

BBC
Sports Personality
of the Year:
Bradley Wiggins

Darts: Adrian Lewis retains his PDC World Darts Championship title, beating Andy Hamilton n the final, 7-3.
Unseeded qualifier Christian Kist wins the BDO World Championship, beating Tony O'Shea in the final, 7-5. O'Shea had beaten the defending champion Martin Adams at the quarter-final stage.

Tennis: Victoria Azarenka wins the women's singles title at the Australian Open, defeating Maria Sharapova in the final, 6-3,6-0.
Novak Djokovic retains his men's singles title with a five-set victory over Rafael Nadal, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 7-5. Lasting 5 hours and 53 minutes, it is the longest Grand Slam final ever played.
Nonetheless Nadal goes on to win his eighth Monte Carlo Masters and his seventh Barcelona Open, becoming the first man in the Open era to win two ATP tournaments at least seven times. He confirms his status as the 'king of clay' at the French Open, winning the men's singles title for the seventh time and breaking the record he had previously shared with six-time champion Björn Borg. He beats Novak Djokovic in the final in four sets (6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5).
Maria Sharapova completes her set of Grand Slam singles titles with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Sara Errani in the women's final.
At Wimbledon Roger Federer wins his seventh men's singles title, equalling the record held by Pete Sampras. Victory in the final over Andy Murray (4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4), meant that Federer also regained the world No.1 ranking from Novak Djokovic. Rafael Nadal suffers a surprise second round loss to Lukas Rosol, after which he finds himself sidelined for the rest of the season with a left knee injury.
Serena Williams wins the women's singles title for the fifth time, defeating Agnieszka Radwanska in the final, 6-1,5-7, 6-2.
Williams run of good form continues to the US Open, where she beats Victoria Azarenka in the women's singles final (6-2 2-6 7-5) to take the title for the fourth time.
The men's singles title is won by Andy Murray, who defeats Novak Djokovic in five sets (7-6, 7-5, 2-6 3-6 6-2), so ending Britain's 76-year wait for a male Grand Slam singles champion.

Cricket: Pakistan win the Winter test series against England 3-0 for the first time. Victory for Pakistan in the third Test in Dubai after being bowled out for 99 on the first day ensured that the team became the first side since 1907 to win a Test after scoring fewer than 100 runs in the first innings.
At the end of August England captain Andrew Strauss retires from all forms of cricket.
The West Indies beat Sri Lanka in the World Twenty20 final in Colombo by 36 runs.
England win the Winter test series against India 2-1, despite a nine-wicket thrashing in the opening Test. It is India's first series loss to England on home soil since 1984-85.

Rugby Union: Wales win the Six Nations Championship, clinching a third 'Grand Slam' in eight years with a 16-9 victory over France.
On 1st December England beat New Zealand 38-21 at Twickenham. The All Blacks had been unbeaten in 20 matches.

Rowing: the University of Cambridge crew wins 158th Boat Race after one of the most eventful races in history. The race has to be re-started after a 35-year-old man, Trenton Oldfield, swims in front of the approaching boats. Oxford's Hanno Wienhausen breaks his oar in a clash with Cambridge after the race resumes. The Oxford bowman Dr. Alex Woods then collapses in the boat after it crosses the line and has to be taken to Charing Cross Hospital for treatment.

Golf: Bubba Watson beats Louis Oosthuizen in a play-off to win the 76th Masters in Augusta. The two had been tied at 10 under after 72 holes but Watson takes the title after Oosthuizen hits a bogey five on the second extra hole.
Webb Simpson wins the US Open at the Olympic Club, San Francisco.
Ernie Els wins The Open at Royal Lytham and St. Annes after the tournament leader Adam Scott lets slip a lead of four shots with four holes remaining.
Rory McIlroy wins the US PGA Championship at Kiawah Island by eight shots, hitting a final round of 66 to finish 13 under par.
Europe win the Ryder Cup at the Medinah Country Club, Illinois.

Horse Racing: Neptune Collonges, ridden by Daryl Jacob, wins the Grand National in a photo finish from Sunnyhillboy. Katie Walsh is the highest-placed woman rider in the race after finishing third on Seabass.
Three-time champion jockey Frankie Dettori wins the Ascot Gold Cup for the fifth time.
On 5th December he is given a six-month ban after testing positive for a banned substance at Longchamp on 16th September.
On 15th October jockey Richard Hughes rides seven winners from eight races at Windsor at combined odds of 10,168-1.
On 20th October the world's top-rated racehorse Frankel wins the Champion Stakes at Ascot to end his career with a 14th consecutive victory.
On 31st October it is announced that the record-breaking steeplechaser Kauto Star had been retired.

Football: Chelsea win the FA Cup for the fourth time, beating Liverpool in the final 2-1.
Manchester City score two injury-time goals to beat QPR 3-2 in the final match of the season, winning the Premier League title on goal difference from hometown rivals Manchester United.
Chelsea win the Champions League final against Bayern Munich 4-3 on penalties.
Spain win Euro 2012, beating Italy in the final 4-0.
David Beckham plays his last game for LA Galaxy, helping the team win the MLS Cup for the second year in a row with a 3-1 victory over Houston Dynamo.

Snooker: Ronnie O'Sullivan beats Ali Carter 18-11 to win his fourth World Championship title at the Crucible.
Mark Selby beats Shaun Murphy 10-6 in the final of the UK Snooker Championship.

Cycling: Bradley Wiggins becomes the first British cyclist to win the Tour de France. His Team Sky colleague Chris Froome finishes second. Mark Cavendish wins the final stage of the Tour on the Champs-Elysées for the fourth year in a row, confirming his status as the most successful sprinter in the Tour's history.
Lance Armstrong is stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and given a lifetime ban by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), following his decision not to contest the drugs charges made against him. On 10th October the USADA releases 200 pages of evidence against Armstrong, including testimony from 11 of his former team-mates. On 22nd October Armstrong is stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life again, this time by cycling's governing body, the International Cycling Union.

Olympic Games: US swimmer Michael Phelps become the most decorated Olympian in history, winning four gold medals and two silver to take his overall medal tally to 22.
Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt successfully defends the three Olympic titles he won in Beijing, becoming the first man to ever win back-to-back gold medals in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay.
Team GB wins a total of 65 medals - 29 gold, 17 silver and 19 bronze.
Cyclist Sir Chris Hoy becomes the most successful British Olympian of all time, winning two gold medals (in the men's keirin and men's team sprint) to add to the four gold and one silver he had won at the previous two Olympics.
Bradley Wiggins also wins his seventh Olympic medal, winning gold in cycling time trial.
Mo Farah wins gold in the men's 10,000m and 5,000m races.
In the Olympics tennis competition Andy Murray gains revenge for his defeat in the Wimbledon final, defeating Roger Federer on Centre Court (6-2 6-1 6-4) to win the gold medal in the men's singles. He also wins a silver medal with his mixed doubles partner Laura Robson.

Motor Racing: Sebastien Loeb secures his ninth consecutive World Rally Championship with victory in the Rallye de France on 7th October.
Sebastian Vettel becomes only the third driver after Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher to win the Formula 1 World Drivers' Championship three times in a row.

Man Booker Prize

Winner:
Hilary Mantel
Bring Up The Bodies

Tan Twan Eng
The Garden
Of Evening Mists

Deborah Levy
Swimming Home

Alison Moore
The Lighthouse

Will Self
Umbrella

Jeet Thayil
Narcopolis

Orange Prize
for Fiction

Madeline Miller
The Song Of Achilles