What a year! We shed tears of pride at the Olympics and sorrow as Syria imploded, but what were the top 10 news stories of 2012? Read on as Grazia Daily rounds up the big headlines...
1. Costa Concordia
Dubbed the titanic of 2012, Costa Concordia claimed 32 lives when it sank just off the west coast of Italy in January, after hitting a rock. The ship’s captain, Francesco Schettino is now facing manslaughter charges after it emerged that he was sailing too close to shore to impress a woman.
** 2. Syria**
When government bombs rained down on the Syrian city of Homs, the heart of the rebel insurgency, earlier this year, hundreds of civilians were killed – and their only makeshift hospital obliterated. For Syria’s President, Bashar Al-Assad, it was another bloody chapter in a civil war which still rages on in the country. For his wife, Asma, it was just another day shopping…
** 3. Pussy Riot**
When the Russian punk band stormed a church in Moscow in February, it caught the attention of the world.
4. Olympics Extravaganza!
The podium tears. Mo Farah’s face. The Queen’s part in Bond. Oh the emotion of it all. To be honest, we’re so sad it’s over that we can barely speak about the fact it’s four years until we’ll be able to do it all again.
5. Jen An’s engaged, Brangelina follow suit, Demi and Ashton split – and Kristen cheats
Oh, and then there was TomKat splitting, Vanessa Paradis and Johnny Depp calling it a day and Rihanna’s on/off/on/off (are they off again at the moment?) relationship baffling us all year…
6. Obama-rama
The Presidential election debate gripped the nation and, well, just about every other nation too. Obama, we were behind you all the way. Though there was a moment just after we caught Mitt Romney Style, the politician’s parody of Gangnam (sort of) that it could have gone either way…
7. Kate Middleton’s Royal Scandal
Poor Kate got caught right in the middle of a right Royal scandal this September when she was photographed in the nude whilst holidaying in France with hubby Wills amidst their Royal tour. Closer magazine France published the pictures, prompting the palace to take action.
8. Hurricane Sandy
She crossed 24 US states, causing an estimated $80 billion in damage and, on October 29, Hurricane Sandy brought New York to a standstill. The storm surge flooded the city, cutting off power in and around the area – and bringing New York’s stock exchange to a halt for the first time since 9/11.
9. Newtown Shooting
When devastating news of a school shooting started to emerge, the world’s attention turned to the picturesque village of Newtown. On Friday, December 14, Adam Lanza shot his mother dead, before driving her car to the local elementary school where he killed 26 people – 20 of them children aged five or six.
10. The Ikea Monkey
We all know him by now. We all admire him. And we all wish he would just tell us where he got his uh-mazing coat from. Hope to see you more in 2013, oh stylish monkey who is partial to good value home-ware.