2012 CE

2012 was designated as; International Year of Cooperatives; International Year of Sustainable Energy for All

In the 2010s, the 21st century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

6 January – Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller announces that the country is to become a republic, with plans to remove Queen Elizabeth II as head of state and the Jamaican monarchy in general.Jamaica source
January 12 - South Sudan deposited the instruments of ratification for both the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and Montreal Protocol, for ratification to take effect April 11.South Sudan source
January 23 – Iran–European Union relations: the European Union adopts an embargo against Iran in protest of its continued effort to enrich uranium.source
February 27 – Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh formally transfers power to Vice President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, after a year of mass protests, ending his 33-year-long reign.source
March 1 – Sauli Niinistö is inaugurated as the 12th President of Finland.source
March 4 – Vladimir Putin is elected President of Russia.source
April 6 – The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad unilaterally declares the independence of Azawad from Mali.source
April 11 – Kim Jong Un was elected First Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, and his father, Kim Jong Il, was given the appellation "Eternal General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea".source
May 6 – Legislative elections are held in Greece to elect all 300 members of the Hellenic Parliament and the New Democracy party led by Antonis Samaras, comes out as the largest party winning 108 out of 300 seats.source
May 20 Presidential elections were held in the Dominican Republic, Danilo Medina result as president-elect.source
June 17 – Snap legislative elections are held in Greece, following failure to form a government, to elect all 300 members of the Hellenic Parliament and the New Democracy party, led by Antonis Samaras, comes out as the largest party winning 129 out of 300 seats.source
June 21 – The Congress of Paraguay approves the impeachment of president Fernando Lugo.source
June 21 - President Fernando Lugo is impeached and removed from officeParaguay source
June 22 – Fernando Lugo is removed from power. Vice President Federico Franco becomes the new president of Paraguay.source
June 30 – Mohamed Morsi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, is elected 5th President of Egypt, the first elected democratically by the Egyptian people, sparking mixed reactions and protests throughout the country.source
July 4 – Sport Club Corinthians Paulista wins the Copa Libertadores by beating the Boca Juniors.source
August 31 – Armenia severs diplomatic relations with Hungary, following the extradition to Azerbaijan and subsequent pardoning of Ramil Safarov, who was convicted of killing an Armenian soldier in Hungary in 2004. The move is also met with fierce criticism from other countries.source
September 7 – Canada officially cuts diplomatic ties with Iran by closing its embassy in Tehran, and orders the expulsion of Iranian diplomats from Ottawa, over support for Syria, nuclear plans and human rights abuses.source
October 25 – North Kalimantan is established as the 34th province of Indonesia.source
November 6 – 2012 United States presidential election: Barack Obama is reelected President of the United States, defeating his Republican challenger Mitt Romney.source
November 15 – After the 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, Xi Jinping succeeds Hu Jintao as the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and becomes the top leader of China.source
November 18: Primary elections, Juan Orlando Hernández wins the candidature for National Party of Honduras and Mauricio Villeda wins in the Liberal Party of Honduras.Honduras source
November 29 – The UN General Assembly approves a motion granting Palestine non-member observer state status.source
2 December – Borut Pahor wins the Slovenian presidential election runoffSlovenia source
December 6 – The U.S. state of Washington becomes the first jurisdiction in the modern world to officially legalize the possession of cannabis for personal use.source
December 8 – The UN Climate Change Conference in Qatar agrees to extend the Kyoto Protocol until 2020.source
24 December: Pakistan decides to accord recognition to the Republic of Kosovo.Kosovo source
2012 Latvian constitutional referendumLatvia source
Parliamentary elections were held on 14 October 2012. The long-ruling Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), led by Milo Đukanović, remained the dominant political force.Montenegro source

Conflict & Security

January 1 - Moldova security zone incidentMoldova source
January 1 - South Sudan is to send more troops and police to Pibor, the scene of ethnic violence.South Sudan source
January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the Romanian city of Târgu Mureș, protesters expressing solidarity towards certain figures in the medical field and calling for the resignation of president Traian Băsescu. The protests would soon spread through all of the country, marking the start of a long civil unrest in Romania, lasting up to November 2015.source
January 30 - A US drone airstrike kills 15 members of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in Lawdar in the Abyan Governorate.Yemen source
February 1 – Egypt's deadliest football incident known as the Port Said Stadium riot is sparked after local Port Said Al Masry fans attack supporters of Cairo-based team Al Ahly SC. The massacre results in 74 deaths: 72 Al Ahly fans, 1 Al Masry fan and 1 police officer. Most of the deaths are caused by stabbing, fans thrown off the stands and a stampede.source
March 4 – A series of explosions is reported at a munitions dump in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of the Congo, with at least 250 people dead.source
March 5 – Air date of Kony 2012 (viral documentary film) on YouTube.source
March 17 - Mauritania's state information agency announces that Abdullah Senussi, Muammar Gaddafi's former intelligence chief, has been arrested at the airport in Nouakchott upon arrival from Morocco.Mauritania source
March 22 – The President of Mali, Amadou Toumani Touré, is ousted in a coup d'état after mutinous soldiers attack government offices.source
March 29: A unrest and fire inside the San Pedro Sula kills 13 inmates.Honduras source
April 12 – Mutinous soldiers in Guinea-Bissau stage a coup d'état and take control of the capital city, Bissau. They arrest interim President Raimundo Pereira and leading presidential candidate Carlos Gomes Júnior in the midst of a presidential election campaign.source
April 22 - Sebastian Vettel won the 2012 Bahrain Grand Prix during protests.Bahrain source
May 12–August 12 – The 2012 World Expo takes place in Yeosu, South Korea.source
May 25 – Houla massacre takes place, perpetrated by the Syrian Arab Army, with 108 being killed.source
June 8 – UEFA Euro 2012, hosted by Poland and Ukraine, begins in Warsaw, with a match between Poland and Greece, which ends 1-1.source
September 11–27 – A series of terrorist attacks are directed against United States diplomatic missions worldwide, as well as diplomatic missions of Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. In the US, opinions are divided over whether the attacks are a reaction to a YouTube trailer for the film Innocence of Muslims. In Libya, US ambassador J. Christopher Stevens is among those killed during attacks in Benghazi.source
14 September: Protesters angered by an anti-Islamic film denigrating the Prophet Muhammad attack the German and British embassies in Khartoum. In Khartoum, Tunis and Cairo, at least seven people die. An Egyptian fruit seller dies by rubber bullets.Sudan source
November 13 – Activision releases Call of Duty: Black Ops II.source
November 14–21 – Israel launches Operation Pillar of Defense against the Palestinian-governed Gaza Strip, killing Hamas military chief Ahmed Jabari. In the following week 140 Palestinians and five Israelis are killed in an ensuing cycle of violence. A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is announced by Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after the week-long escalation in hostilities in Southern Israel and the Gaza Strip.source
December 4-6 – Egyptian protestors protest outside the presidential palace against the 2012 constitutional declaration which gave President Morsi influence over the judiciary and turns violent when Morsi supporters clashed with anti-Morsi protestors. It led to the intervention of security forces. The incident caused the deaths of at least 10, including anti-Morsi protestors and supporters of Morsi as well as hundreds of injuries.source
The Myanma military begins its systematic violence against the Rohingya people, burning villages and committing atrocities.Myanmar source

Exploration & Expansion

28 January – The African Union opens its new headquarters in Addis Ababa.Ethiopia source
Romanian Consulate General was founded in ZaječarSerbia source
March 6 - The Cyrenaica region, covering the eastern coast of Libya, announces plans for semi-autonomy.Libya source
April 23 - Kazakhstan issues an official ‘thank you’ to Sacha Baron Cohen for his comedy character Borat Sagdiyev despite an initial ban.Kazakhstan source
May 9–13 - The first international bicycle tour was organized in memory of Heydar Aliyev.Azerbaijan source
July 21 – Turkish adventurer Erden Eruç becomes the first person in history to complete a solo human-powered circumnavigation of the Earth.source
19 August – The Kapilavastu relics arrive in Sri Lanka for a three-week exposition.Sri Lanka source
September 3: The African Development Bank pledges 56 billion CFA francs to help Togo repair border roads near Burkina FasoTogo source
Eritrea at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics in Innsbruck, AustriaEritrea source

Religion & Belief

1 January – The renaming of Council for Hakka Affairs to Hakka Affairs Council.Taiwan source
28 January – Irish Football League Cup final – Coleraine v Crusaders.Northern Ireland source
13 May – Pastor Maldonado wins the Spanish Grand Prix, marking him the first Venezuelan Formula One driver to win a race.Spain source
June 26 – Bhutan's four-century-old Wangdue Phodrang Dzong, a ridge-top monastery, catches fire and is destroyed; however no relics were destroyed since the monastery was undergoing a renovation.Bhutan source
June 28 – Vice President of Iran Mohammad-Reza Rahimi delivers an antisemitic speech at a United Nations conference on the illegal drug trade saying that a central Jewish text, the Talmud, was responsible for the spread of illegal drugs around the world; his speech draws condemnation from U.N. and the European Union diplomats.Iran source
July 31 - Iryna Kalynets, Ukrainian poet;Ukraine source
2 September – Meles' state funeral took place in Addis Ababa and inhumed at Holy Trinity Cathedral Church.Ethiopia source
October 21 – Pedro Calungsod is canonized in the Vatican City. He is the second Filipino saint.Philippines source

Economy & Finance

January 1 - Nigeria announces an end to its fuel subsidy scheme leading the Nigeria Labour Congress to call for strikes and street protests.Nigeria source
13 January – The credit rating agency Standard & Poor's lowers its long-term credit ratings by two notches on multiple eurozone countries, including Cyprus, while lowering it by one notch for Austria, France, Malta, Slovakia, and Slovenia.Cyprus source
February 19 – Iran suspends oil exports to Britain and France, following sanctions put in place by the European Union and the United States in January.source
February 21 – Greek government-debt crisis: Eurozone finance ministers reach an agreement on a second, €130-billion Greek bailout.source
April 3 - Tajikistan accuses Uzbekistan of imposing an economic blockade.Uzbekistan source
April - Bonham Strand brand of bespoke tailored suits is founded.Hong Kong source
May 17 – The World Bank approves $34 million to boost food production in the agricultural and livestock sectors of the Chadian economy.Chad source
August 24 – The House of Representatives of Japan passes a resolution criticizing the President of South Korea Lee Myung-bak's visit to the disputed Liancourt Rocks.source
October 22 – Nguyễn Tấn Dũng admitted mistakes in economic management.Vietnam source
December 3 - Mykola Azarov's government is dismissed;Ukraine source
December 17 – Spanish bank Grupo Santander announces the acquisition of the remaining 10% of Banesto it did not yet own, effectively absorbing it into Banco Santander.source
Police United FC (Belize) is foundedBelize source

Technology & Infrastructure

1 January: Ada Bridge, one of the tallest bridges in Europe, is completed and open to the public in Belgrade, Serbia.Serbia source
January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins.source
March 7 - Sweden is reported to be helping Saudi Arabia construct plans for a weapons factory.Saudi Arabia source
March 8: TVM HD was launched as the first HD channel with new logos for TVM and TVM 2 (formerly Education 22)Malta source
August 1 – Microsoft finishes development of Windows 8, with general availability announced for October 26.source
16 August – Bystrík Režucha, conductor (born 1935)Slovakia source
October 29 – switching to digital televisionLithuania source
17 November – A railway accident in Manfalut resulted in the death of 50 school children and one bus driver.Egypt source
December: The KNR2 television channel is established.Greenland source
New Togolese Commitment (April 28)Togo source

Science & Discovery

January 12 – Winger Balázs Dzsudzsák signed from FC Anzhi Makhachkala to FC Dynamo Moscow for a fee of €19 million thus becoming the most expensive Hungarian footballer ever.Hungary source
March 13 – After 246 years since its first publication, the Encyclopædia Britannica discontinues its print edition.source
April 12 - Despite warnings by U.S. President Barack Obama that Jong-Un has nothing to gain from provocations, Pyongyang proceeds to launch a satellite launching rocket, which disintegrates in mid-air.North Korea source
April 13 – Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3, a North Korean Earth observation satellite, explodes shortly after launch. The United States and other countries had called the impending launch a violation of United Nations Security Council demands. The launch was planned to mark the centenary of the birth of Kim Il Sung, the founder of the republic.source
May 16 - British musician Oz Bayldon, representing Music4children, establishes a Guinness World Record by performing the highest concert on land, at 6,676 m (21,246 ft), on Mera Peak.Nepal source
May 20 – An annular solar eclipse visible from Asia and North America is the 58th solar eclipse from 73 solar eclipses of Solar Saros 128.source
May 22 – Tokyo Skytree, the tallest self-supporting tower in the world at 634 metres high, is opened to the public.source
June 5–6 – The century's second and last solar transit of Venus occurs. The next pair are predicted to occur in 2117 and 2125.source
June 18 – Shenzhou 9, a Chinese spacecraft carrying three Chinese astronauts, including the first-ever female, docks manually with orbiting module Tiangong-1, making this the third country, after the United States and Russia, successfully to perform the mission.source
June 30 – An extra leap second (23:59:60) is added to end of June. The last time this occurred was in 2008.source
July 4 – CERN announces the discovery of a new particle with properties consistent with the Higgs boson after experiments at the Large Hadron Collider.source
July 21 – F-1 satellite was launched.Vietnam source
August 6 – Curiosity, the Mars Science Laboratory mission's rover, successfully lands on Mars.source
11 August – Usain Bolt wins a third gold medal of the 2012 Olympics as he anchors Jamaica's sprint relay team to a world record.Jamaica source
August 25 – The Voyager 1 space probe becomes the first human-made object to successfully exit the Solar System and enter Interstellar space, and to an extent, becoming the first Interstellar probe, pioneering Interstellar exploration.source
September 4 – Windows 7 overtakes Windows XP in market share globally.source
October 14 – Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner becomes the first person to break the sound barrier without any machine assistance, during a record space dive out of the Red Bull Stratos helium-filled balloon from 128,000 ft (24 mi) over Roswell, New Mexico in the United States.source
October 26 – Microsoft releases Windows 8 to the general public.source
November 13 – A total solar eclipse occurs in parts of Australia and the South Pacific. It is the 45th of 72 solar eclipses of Solar Saros 133.source
December 9: F1 driver Lewis Hamilton came to Malta with driving a Vodafone McLaren F1 car.Malta source
December 12 – North Korea successfully launches satellite Kwangmyongsong-3 Unit 2.source
December 21 – The music video for Psy's "Gangnam Style" becomes the first YouTube video to reach a billion views.source
December 28 – Japanese supercentarian Jiroemon Kimura surpasses the final age of Danish-American supercentarian Christian Mortensen of 115 years, 252 days and becomes the oldest validated man in recorded history.source
Indonesia at the 2012 Summer ParalympicsIndonesia source
University of Science and Technology of TogoTogo source

Health & Medicine

January 20 - The Yemeni government modifies a new bill that would have granted legal immunity to aides of outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh.Yemen source
May 18: Human rights groups speak out against unsanitary conditions of the Lomé prison which led to prisoner deathsTogo source
June 6 – 2012 Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus outbreak first identified.source
June 28 – Vice President Joseph Boakai launches the 2012 Comprehensive Food Security And Nutrition Survey in Paynesville.Liberia source
June 29: Mater Dei Hospital celebrated its 5 Year anniversary as the general hospital in Malta.Malta source
1 November: Yellow fever kills 32 people and sickens at least 50 more in the Darfur region of Sudan.Sudan source
December 10 – The Séléka overthrows the government of the Central African Republic which leads to the outbreak of a Civil war.source
20 December – The British government sets to send aid to ease hunger crisis of countries in the Sahel region.Burkina Faso source
December 30 - The development concept “Azerbaijan 2020: a look into the future” was adopted by the decree of Ilham AliyevAzerbaijan source
According to the State Statistics Service, in September, for the first time in 19 years, the population of Ukraine increased;Ukraine source

Crime & Justice

February 26 – Seventeen-year-old African-American student Trayvon Martin is shot to death by neighborhood watch coordinator George Zimmerman in an altercation in Sanford, Florida.source
March 15 – Communist party chief of Chongqing Bo Xilai, well known for his neo-Maoist leanings and policies, is removed from his post after a large scandal involving the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood and an incident involving the Chongqing police chief Wang Lijun.source
28 March: Ghazi Beji and Jabeur Mejri are sentenced to imprisonment for "transgressing morality, defamation and disrupting public order" after posting naked caricatures of Muhammad to Facebook.Tunisia source
March 31 - Ahmed Ismail Hassan, a journalist and videographer, was shot and killed by security forces.Bahrain source
April 25 – Former Liberian President Charles Taylor is found guilty on 11 counts of aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Sierra Leone Civil War.source
May 13: Valletta F.C. wins their 21st title of the Maltese Premier League.Malta source
8 June – Jamaican "drug lord" Christopher "Dudus" Coke is sentenced to 23 years in a U.S. prison.Jamaica source
July 15 – South Korean rapper Psy releases his hit single Gangnam Style.source
July 31: The wife of the Finance Minister Hector Guillén is arrested in Tegucigalpa with one million Lempiras (about $50.000).Honduras source
October 3 – Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal: Mark Williams-Thomas presents the ITV documentary which exposes Jimmy Savile as a paedophile. The revelations of Savile's prolific sexual abuse crimes results in widespread shock and disgust across the country, resulting in a national scandal, a police investigation into Savile's crimes, and all television episodes featuring him being removed from syndication.source
October 14 - Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, shot by troops yesterday, is flown to France.Mauritania source
October 16 – Seven paintings worth $25 million are stolen from the Kunsthal in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.source
October 28 – Jorge Lorenzo becomes the World Champion of the 2012 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season.source
9 November – Milan Čič, lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the Slovak Socialist Republic from 1989 to 1990 (born 1932).Slovakia source
29 November: A UN war crimes tribunal acquits former Kosovan Prime Minister and former commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army Ramush Haradinaj of war crimes, prompting Serbia to denounce the court.Kosovo source
December 14 – Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting: Adam Lanza kills his mother before driving to Sandy Hook Elementary School, shooting dead twenty students and six teachers before killing himself in Newtown, Connecticut. It becomes the deadliest school shooting at a K-12 school in U.S. history.source
December 16 – The 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder, otherwise known as the Nirbhaya case, occurred on the night of December 16, 2012. The case involved the fatal assault of a 22-year-old physiotherapy intern by a group of six men in a moving bus.source

Disasters & Accidents

January 13 – The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off the coast of Italy, causing 32 deaths.source
February 18: A massive fire destroys three markets in the center of Tegucigalpa, nine persons injured.Honduras source
March 12 – A coach carrying school pupils and teachers crashes while travelling through Sierre Tunnel on the A9 motorway in western Switzerland. Of the 52 people on board, 28 are killed, among them 22 children.source
April 20 – Bhoja Air Flight 213 crashes near Rawalpindi, Pakistan, killing all 127 people on board.source
April 27 - Dnipropetrovsk explosionsUkraine source
June 3 – Dana Air Flight 0992, on a flight from Abuja to Lagos, Nigeria, suffered a dual-engine failure during its approach to Lagos where it crashed onto buildings, killing all 153 people on board and six on the ground.source
July 17 – The Syrian consulate in Almaty suffered serious damage following an alleged arson attack.Kazakhstan source
July 18: An explosion has killed at least seven people on a bus carrying Israeli tourists in the eastern Bulgarian city of Burgas. More than 20 people were also injured when the bus exploded at Burgas airport, by the Black Sea.Bulgaria source
July 21 - a RBAirF Bell 212 was due to return to the airbase later that same morning, but subsequently was found crashed with the loss of 12 out of 14 military personnel in Rampayoh, Mukim Labi. Investigations by the Supreme Board of Inquiry of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) concluded that the crash was caused by human error whilst in flight; specifically 'unauthorised low-level flying' which resulted in a controlled flight into terrain (CFIT).Brunei source
An artisanal gold mine collapses in Orientale Province, killing approximately 60 miners.Democratic Republic of the Congo source
October 4 – Racing legend Micheal Schumacher announced his retirement from Formula One during the Japanese Grand Prix.source
7 October: An Antonov An-12 aircraft belonging to the Sudanese military crashes southwest of Khartoum, killing at least 13 of the 22 people on board.Sudan source
November 5 - Five bombs exploded in Manama, killing two people.Bahrain source
December 18 – At least 55 people drown after an overcrowded boat capsizes off the coast of Somalia.source

Climate & Environment

January 15 - South Sudan accuses neighboring Sudan of "stealing" its oil exports.South Sudan source
15 January: South Sudan accuses neighboring Sudan of "stealing" its oil exports.Sudan source
February 5 - Bosnia and Herzegovina declares a state of emergency as a result of the cold snap.Bosnia and Herzegovina source
February 6 – A magnitude 6.7 earthquake strike in the central Philippines island of Negros, leaving 112 people dead.source
April 11 – An 8.6 earthquake strikes Indonesia triggering a small tsunami that hits the coast of Aceh.source
May 22: A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 24 km west of Bulgaria's capital Sofia, at a depth of 9.4 km. A citizen died from heart attack, several buildings were damaged.Bulgaria source
June 7 – Morley and Dianella in Perth, Western Australia, have a once in a decade tornado.source
July 23 – The Solar storm of 2012 is an unusually large coronal mass ejection emitted by the Sun which barely misses the Earth by nine days. If it had hit, it would have caused up to US$2.6 trillion in damages to electrical equipment worldwide.source
July 30–31 – In the worst power outage in world history, the 2012 India blackouts leave 620 million people without power.source
August–September – Flooding caused by a month of heavy rainfall in the Far North Region leaves nearly 30 people dead and displaces at least 4,000.Cameroon source
11 September – Violent demonstration erupted in Egypt in reaction to Innocence of Muslims, an anti-Islamic YouTube video written by Egyptian-American writer Nakoula Basseley Nakoula.Egypt source
October 12 – The United Nations Human Rights Council begins to move refugees from the Central African Republic from Chad to new sites after floods.Chad source
October 22 – November 2 – Hurricane Sandy, the largest Atlantic hurricane on record (as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spanning 900 miles (1,400 km)), wreaks havoc, resulting in 233 total deaths and $68.7 billion (2012 USD) damage.source
25 October – Hurricane Sandy affects Jamaica.Jamaica source
November 25–December 9 – Typhoon Bopha, known as "Pablo" in the Philippines, kills at least 1,067 with around 838 people missing. The typhoon causes considerable damage in the island of Mindanao.source
December 12 would be the last time in the 21st century that the month, day and final two digits of the year are the exact same (12/12/12). The next time this will happen will be on New Year's Day in 2101 (01/01/01).source

Culture & Society

January 10 - Anykščiai took the title of a cultural capital of Lithuania.Lithuania source
January 18 – As part of a series of protests against the Stop Online Piracy Act and the PROTECT IP Act, the English Wikipedia goes dark for 24 hours, starting at midnight Eastern Standard Time (05:00 UTC).source
February 3–4: Malta Eurovision Song Contest is held at the MFCC in Ta' Qali.Malta source
February 6 – The Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II commemorates 60 years since the accession of Elizabeth II as Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms.source
March 22 – Pakistan wins the 2012 Asia Cup cricket tournament.source
May 2 – A pastel version of The Scream, by the Norwegian painter Edvard Munch, sells for US$120 million in a New York City auction, setting a new world record for an auctioned work of art.source
May 19 – Chelsea wins the 2011-12 UEFA Champions League held in Munich, Germany by beating the home side Bayern Munich in the final.source
May 22–26 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 takes place in Baku, Azerbaijan, and is won by Swedish entrant Loreen with the song "Euphoria".source
Elections on all levels were held.Serbia source
July 1 – The final match of the UEFA Euro 2012 takes place in Kyiv between Spain and Italy. Spain wins 4–0, achieving victorious from the third international tournament in a row, after winning UEFA Euro 2008 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup.source
July 27–August 12 – The 2012 Summer Olympics are held in London, England, United Kingdom.source
27 July to 12 August - Paraguay at the 2012 Summer OlympicsParaguay source
5 August – At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, In athletics, sprinter Usain Bolt of Jamaica wins the 100 metres final.Jamaica source
September 22 – The United Kingdom informs the World Health Organization about a novel coronavirus case originating from Saudi Arabia.source
11 November – Slovenian presidential election, 2012Slovenia source
December 6–16 – The 2012 FIFA Club World Cup is held in Japan and won by Sport Club Corinthians Paulista.source
December 21 – 2012 phenomenon: End of 13th b'ak'tun in the Mayan calendar, supposed end of the world according to new age beliefs. Festivities took place to commemorate the event in the countries that were part of the Maya civilization (Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador), with main events at Chichén Itzá in Mexico and Tikal in Guatemala.source
December 23 - Pădurea Domnească caseMoldova source
Tunisia competed at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, United Kingdom.Tunisia source

Births

24 January – Countess Athena of MonpezatDenmark source
February 1 – Athena Calica, wushu practitioner, daughter of 2001 Southeast Asian Games winner Jerome Calica and contestant in It's Showtime's Mini Miss UPhilippines source
13 October – Iris Alessandra Alyssa – ActressMalaysia source
21 November – Etah James, Thoroughbred racehorseNew Zealand source

Deaths

1 January - Hermann Guggiari, 87, engineer and sculptor. (born 1924) (Spanish)Paraguay source
16 January – Joe Bygraves, 80, Jamaican born British former British Empire heavyweight champion boxer.Jamaica source
January 22 – Joe Paterno, 85, American college football coach (Penn State Nittany Lions), lung cancer.source
February 11 – Whitney Houston, 48, American singer ("I Will Always Love You") and actress (The Bodyguard), accidental drowning.source
March 10 – Jean Giraud, 73, French comic book artist (Blueberry, Métal Hurlant) and film production designer (Tron, Alien), cancer.source
May 17 – Donna Summer, 63, American singer ("Bad Girls", "Hot Stuff", "Last Dance", "I Feel Love"), lung cancer.source
June 5 – Ray Bradbury, 91, American author (Fahrenheit 451, Something Wicked This Way Comes, Dandelion Wine).source
June 24 – Lonesome George, the last known individual of the Pinta Island tortoise subspecies, dies in Galápagos National Park, thus making the subspecies extinct.source
13 July – Polde Bibič, actor, writer and academic (born 1933)Slovenia source
July 20 – 2012 Aurora theater shooting: 12 people are killed and 58 are injured in a mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. The shooter, James Holmes, opens fire on a crowd during a screening of The Dark Knight Rises.source
14 August – Svetozar Gligorić, Serbian chess grandmaster (born 1923)Serbia source
August 25 – Neil Armstrong, 82, American astronaut, first person to walk on the Moon, complications from surgery.source
September 3 – Sun Myung Moon, 92, South Korean religious figure, founder of the Unification Church and The Washington Times, pneumonia.source
September 13 – Peter Lougheed, 84, Canadian politician, Premier of Alberta (1971–1985); MLA for Calgary-West (1967–1986), natural causes.source
October 14 – Arlen Specter, 82, American politician, U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania (1981–2011), complications of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.source
October 21 – George McGovern, 90, American politician and USAAF pilot, U.S. Representative (1957–1961) and Senator (1963–1981), 1972 Democratic Party presidential nominee.source
November 19 – Boris Strugatsky, 79, Russian science fiction author, pneumonia.source
November 21 – Ajmal Kasab, 25, Pakistani gunman involved in 2008 Mumbai attacks, execution by hanging.source