2012 Norwegian Air Force C-130 crash, Accident
The radar plots show the aircraft maintained a straight course over the last 50 km of the flight until impact, in line with the planned route. The plots did not indicate tactical low-level flying, although that was an optional plan for part of the route if weather conditions allowed. Just prior to the crash, Swedish air traffic controllers at Kiruna cleared the Hercules to descend to 7,000 feet (2,134 meters). This altitude is just 20 meters above the height of the top of the Kebnekaise mountain. The altitudes for the continuous radar plots remained in the possession of the accident investigation board and were not released.


2012 Norwegian Air Force C-130 crash, Aircraft
The aircraft involved was a Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules as 5630 (USAF serial no: 10-5630, c/n: 382-5630), a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. It was the last of four such planes acquired by the Norwegian military between 2008 and 2010 and was named Siv.


2012 Norwegian Air Force C-130 crash, Aircraft
The commander, 42-year-old Ståle Garberg, had 6229 flight hours, while the first officer, 46-year-old Truls Audun Ørpen, had 3286 flight hours. Both were considered to be experienced airmen.


2012 Norwegian Air Force C-130 crash, Victims
A total of five people (a crew of four plus an extra officer) were aboard the aircraft when it crashed. All of them were Royal Norwegian Air Force officers and "among the most experienced" in the Norwegian military, according to the head of the Norwegian Armed Forces. The names of the missing were released by the military on 16 March 2012.


2012 Norwegian Air Force C-130 crash, Aftermath
Following the accident, a search effort led by Swedish rescue service was launched, but was hampered by snow, wind and cloud cover, impeding helicopter reconnaissance. Around 4 pm Central European Time on 16 March, a Norwegian P-3 Orion aircraft participating in the search spotted an orange or red object on the ground in the Kebnekaise mountain range. Danish helicopters attempted to locate and identify the object, but due to the weather conditions, the search was called off before any finds were made. Later thousands of pieces of wreckage and debris were located at the site identified by the Orion aircraft.


2012 Norwegian Air Force C-130 crash, Aftermath
Some of the parts showed burn marks and smelled of kerosene. Footage recorded by the Orion plane showed what appeared to be soot and ashes spread over the side of the mountain. Through the use of search dogs, human remains were discovered and relocated for DNA testing, and subsequently on 17 March the search for survivors was called off since it was believed that all five people on board had been killed and the aircraft destroyed. Efforts were refocused on an accident investigation.


2012 Norwegian Air Force C-130 crash, Investigation
The ongoing investigation is headed by the Swedish Accident Investigation Authority with participation of the Norwegian Accident Investigation Board. The aircraft is considered to have been completely destroyed by the impact and the following explosion, and on 22 March work began on moving debris from the temporary investigative base in Nikkaluokta near the crash site to an aircraft hangar at Kiruna Airport, but efforts were still being hampered by adverse weather and the discovery of further cracks in the glacier on which the debris is located.


2012 Norwegian Air Force C-130 crash, Investigation
In August 2012 both the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder were found and flown to the United Kingdom where experts at the Air Accidents Investigation Branch are aiding local authorities in salvaging data from the two recorders as Sweden does not have the expertise to handle flight recorders as damaged as the ones found in the wreckage. By 3 October 2012 NRK reported that data from the flight recorders had been successfully downloaded, and preliminary results have indicated that the terrain warning system was set for landing, so no warning was given before impact.


2012 Norwegian Air Force C-130 crash, Investigation
The accident report was repeatedly delayed, but was released by the Swedish Accident Investigation Authority (Statens haverikommission) on 22 October 2013 stating:


2012 Norwegian Air Force C-130 crash, Investigation
The accident was caused by the crew on HAZE 01 not noticing the shortcomings in the clearances issued by the air traffic controllers and to the risks of following these clearances, which resulted in the aircraft coming to leave controlled airspace and be flown at an altitude that was lower than the surrounding terrain


2012 Norwegian Air Force C-130 crash, Investigation
In 2019 it became known that the flight crew did not have maps showing the height of the mountain Kebnekaise. The map they were issued had little or wrong information about the terrain in Sweden, the reason was that the Air Force lacked map data for Sweden. It was an information that did not appear clearly in the accident report, but as an internal investigation by the Air Force, that was started after a former Air Force employee had notified about it in 2017.


2012 Norwegian Figure Skating Championships
The 2012 Norwegian Figure Skating Championships were held at the Leangen Arena in Trondheim from January 13 to 15, 2012. Skaters competed in the discipline of single skating. The results were used to choose the teams to the 2012 World Championships, the 2012 European Championships, the 2012 Nordic Championships, and the 2012 World Junior Championships.


2012 Norwegian First Division
The 2012 1. divisjon (referred to as Adeccoligaen for sponsorship reasons) was a Norwegian second-tier football season. The season began on 9 April 2012 and ended on 11 November 2012.


2012 Norwegian First Division
Two clubs, Start and Sarpsborg, were relegated from the 2011 Tippeligaen, while Notodden, Tromsdalen, Ull/Kisa, and Bærum were promoted from the 2011 2. divisjon.


2012 Norwegian First Division
Asker, Nybergsund-Trysil, Randaberg and Løv-Ham were relegated to the 2012 2. divisjon


2012 Norwegian First Division
At the end of the season, the two best teams were promoted to the 2013 Tippeligaen, while the four worst placed teams were relegated to the 2013 2. divisjon.


2012 Norwegian First Division, League table, Promotion play-offs
Start and Sarpsborg were directly promoted, and five teams entered a play-off for the last Tippeligaen spot in the 2013 season. These were:


2012 Norwegian First Division, League table, Promotion play-offs
The four Adeccoligaen teams first played a single game knockout tournament, with the winner (Ull/Kisa) advancing to a two-legged tie against the Tippeligaen team (Sandnes Ulf) for the 16th and final spot in the 2013 season. Sandnes Ulf retained their Tippeligaen spot with an aggregate 7–1 win over Ull/Kisa.


2012 Norwegian Football Cup
The 2012 Norwegian Football Cup will the 107th season of the Norwegian annual knockout football tournament. It began with qualification matches in April 2012. The first round was played on 1 May 2012 and the tournament ended with the final on 25 November 2012. Aalesund was the defending champions, having beaten Brann 2–1 in last season's final, but was eliminated by Sandefjord in the Fourth Round.


2012 Norwegian Football Cup
The victory earned Hødd a place in the second qualifying round of the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League.


2012 Norwegian Football Cup, Calendar
Below are the dates for each round as given by the official schedule:


2012 Norwegian Football Cup, First round
The 49 winners from the Second Qualifying Round joined with 79 clubs from the Premier League, First Division and Second Division in this round of the competition.


2012 Norwegian Football Cup, First round
This round saw the top-flight teams Sandnes Ulf and Sogndal eliminated. This was the first time since 1993, when Jevnaker eliminated Lyn, that a team from the top division is eliminated in the first round. 11,273 spectators saw Vålerenga win 2-1 against Lyn, which is a new all-time high attendance for the first round. The old record was 5,625, from 1945. This was also the first time since 1967 that the two teams from Oslo met in the Norwegian Cup.


2012 Norwegian Football Cup, Second round
The Second Round took place on the week commencing 7 May 2012. The 64 winners from the First Round competed in this stage of the competition. The setup for this round was announced on 3 May 2012.


2012 Norwegian Football Cup, Third round
The Third Round was played on the week commencing 18 June 2012.


2012 Norwegian Football Cup, Fourth round
The Fourth Round took place from 27 June to 5 July 2012.


2012 Norwegian Football Cup, Quarter-finals
The draw for the Quarter-finals took place on 10 July 2012, and the matches were played on 18 and 19 August 2012.


2012 Norwegian Football Cup, Semi-finals
The draw for the semi-finals took place on 20 August, with the second-tier side Hødd being drawn at home against Brann, while Molde met Tromsø at Alfheim Stadion. The matches took place on the week commencing 24 September 2012.


2012 Norwegian Football Cup, Final
The 2012 Norwegian Football Cup Final was played between Tromsø and Hødd at Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo on 25 November 2012.


2012 Norwegian Football Cup Final
The 2012 Norwegian Football Cup Final was the 107th final of the Norwegian Football Cup. The final was contested by Hødd and Tromsø and took place on 25 November 2012 at Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo, in front of a crowd of 24,217. This was Tromsø's third final, and they had won the two previous finals in 1986 and 1996, while the Norwegian First Division side Hødd played their first final ever.


2012 Norwegian Football Cup Final
Hødd, who entered the final as underdogs, won the final after penalties and became the first second-tier to win the Norwegian Cup in 15 years, since Vålerenga won in 1997. As the winner of the Norwegian Cup, Hødd earned a place in the second qualifying round of the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League.


2012 Norwegian Football Cup Final, Route to the final, Hødd
Hødd faced the Third Division team Tornado Måløy in the First Round of the 2012 Norwegian Football Cup, and Hødd became the third team in four years to reach the final after beating Tornado Maløy in the First Round, like Molde did in 2009 and Aalesund in 2011. Fredrik Klock scored Hødd's first goal after a corner kick, before Vegard Heltne scored the second goal a few minutes later. Michael Karlsen's goal after 30 minutes was the last goal in the match, and Hødd won comfortably 3–0. Karlsen also scored in the Second Round when Hødd won 1–0 against another Third Division side, Arna-Bjørnar. Hødd's head coach Lars Arne Nilsen claimed ahead of the final that Arna-Bjørnar was the team who was closest on eliminating Hødd from the cup that year.


2012 Norwegian Football Cup Final, Route to the final, Hødd
The First Division side Sarpsborg 08 visited Høddvoll in the Third Round, and it was the guests that took the lead after 38 minutes when Morten Giæver scored. Espen Standal equalized after 66 minutes and with 1–1 at full-time, the match went into extra time. As the tie approached 120 minutes, Pål André Helland scored Hødd's winning goal. Helland scored twice when Hødd drew 2–2 in the quarter-final against the Tippeligaen side Haugesund. Hødd won the penalty shoot-out 5–4 when Martin Bjørnbak missed Haugesund's sixth penalty after Helland and Haugesund's Alexander Søderlund missed one penalty each while the rest scored.


2012 Norwegian Football Cup Final, Route to the final, Hødd
The supporters of Brann booked plane-tickets and hotel-rooms in Oslo after their team were drawn away against Hødd in the semi-final, as they were confident that Brann would beat the second-tier team and reach a second consecutive cup final, despite not winning in Møre og Romsdal since Brann won 2–0 against Molde on 6 May 2006. Zsolt Korcsmár sent Brann in the lead after 17 minutes before Fredrik Aursnes equalized five minutes before half time. With goals from Helland and Kjell Rune Sellin in the second half Hødd won 3–1, and qualified for their first ever Norwegian Cup final.


2012 Norwegian Football Cup Final, Route to the final, Tromsø
Tromsø won 2–0 after two goals from Steffen Nystrøm against the Third Division side Porsanger in the First Round. Tromsø met Stjørdals-Blink in the Second Round, six years after they met in the Second Round of the 2006 Norwegian Football Cup, and Tromsø won 2–1 after goals from William Frantzen and Thomas Drage. Tromsdalen, who have met only either Tromsø or Bodø/Glimt in the Third Round since 1993, were beaten 4–0 in the Third Round after goals from Ruben Yttergård Jenssen, Zdeněk Ondrášek, Fredrik Björck and Vegard Lysvoll.


2012 Norwegian Football Cup Final, Route to the final, Tromsø
Remi Johansen sent Tromsø in the lead after 42 minutes in the Fourth Round match against second-tier team Start. Rolf Daniel Vikstøl equalized for Start three minutes into injury time, and after none of the team scored in the extra time the match was decided in a penalty shoot-out, which Tromsø won 4–1. Tromsø eliminated rivals FK Bodø/Glimt in the quarterfinal after Ondrášek scored the only goal at Aspmyra Stadion. Last years Tippeligaen winners, Molde, the only team who won against Tromsø at Alfheim Stadion last season, were drawn against Tromsø in the semi-final.


2012 Norwegian Football Cup Final, Route to the final, Tromsø
Ondrášek scored the first goal in the semi-final at Alfheim, and Tromsø were leading 1–0 at half time. Ole Martin Årst scored Tromsø's second goal in the 72nd minute, and when Molde only managed to score once, Daniel Chima seven minutes before full-time, Tromsø were ready for their first Norwegian Cup final since 1996.


2012 Norwegian Football Cup Final, Pre-match, Supporters
Like in the previous finals, the two clubs received 13,000 of the 25,500 tickets to the final. Of the 13,000 seats, the two club got 3,000 each while the remaining 7,000 are distributed between the clubs based on the average attendance in their home games in the league, which resulted in 7,300 tickets to Tromsø while Hødd received 5,700. The remaining 10,000 tickets went to partners of the Norwegian Football Association.


2012 Norwegian Football Cup Final, Pre-match, Supporters
The Norwegian FA decided to rebuild parts of the stands at Ullevaal, in particular the stands where Tromsø's supporters were situated. Construction started a week and a half before the match and as a result Tromsø's supporters are not going to have a roof during the match. This has caused some distress among the supporters, who fear that the lack of a roof will rob their singing of the proper acoustics during the match.


2012 Norwegian Football Cup Final, Pre-match, Officials
Ten years after Kjetil Sælen made his debut as a referee in Tippeligaen, he was selected to officiate his first Norwegian Cup final. The Arna-Bjørnar based referee had previously been fourth official in the 2006 Norwegian Football Cup and had officiated 115 matches in Tippeligaen at the time of the final. Sælen's assistants for the final was Sven Erik Midthjell from Eid IL and Reidar Gundersen from Frisk Asker. Kristoffer Helgerud was originally assigned as fourth official, but were replaced by Brage Sandmoen the day before the final.


2012 Norwegian Football Cup Final, Match, Background
Tromsø, who won the Norwegian Cup in 1986 and 1996, went into their third final as favourites; the team finished fourth in Tippeligaen while Hødd, who appeared in their first final, avoided relegation to the Second Division in the last match with better goal difference than Tromsdalen. The two teams had met each other on four previous occasions, when Tromsø were playing in the First Division in 2002 they won both matches against Hødd 3–0. Tromsø also won both matches when Hødd were playing in Tippeligaen in 1995.


2012 Norwegian Football Cup Final, Match, Report
Saliou Ciss was preferred ahead of Tromsø's captain Miika Koppinen as the left centre back, and with Koppinen on the bench Ruben Yttergård Jensen was captaining Tromsø, who played in a 4-4-2 formation. Aursnes, who scored against Brann in the semifinal, was ill ahead of the final but recovered in time to start in Hødd's 4-2-3-1 formation alongside Sivert Heltne Nilsen in the midfield.


2012 Norwegian Football Cup Final, Match, Report
Hødd's Vegard Heltne fouled Hans Norbye after only 14 seconds and received the fastest ever yellow card in a Norwegian Cup final. One minute later, Ondrášek had a big opportunity to send Tromsø in the lead, but his shot hit above the crossbar. Tromsø controlled possession in the start of the first half, and Thomas Drage had a shot from the corner of the penalty area in the 17th minute, but his shot ended half a meter wide off the post. Hødd had two great chances at the end of the first half, but both the shots from Sandal and Helland went wide off the post.


2012 Norwegian Football Cup Final, Match, Report
Hødd settled into their own rhythm after half time, and took the lead after 62 minutes when Sandal sent a defence-splitting pass to Sellin who converted the ball behind Benny Lekström. Minutes later, Sandal unleashed a 30-yard strike which went only inches over the bar. Tromsø almost drew level when veteran striker Ole Martin Årst, but Hødd's goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland saved it with his face. Nyland then repeated his heroics five minutes later, this time denying Ondrášek with a one-hand save from point-blank range. Three minutes from full-time, Ciss finally ended Hødd's resolve when he scored from Remi Johansen's centre.


2012 Norwegian Football Cup Final, Match, Report
In the extra time, the pressure from Tromsø was almost continuous. However, it was Hødd who got the first big chance after 102 minutes when Andreas Rekdal was along with the goalkeeper, but instead of shooting Rekdal sent a pass to Helland who shot over the open goal from 20 meter. During the last three minutes of the extra time Nyland, who was voted as the man of the match by the official jury, had two magnificent saves on shots from Remi Johansen and Ruben Kristiansen.


2012 Norwegian Football Cup Final, Match, Report
After Akem Latifu, Årst, Nilsen, Drage and Helland converted their penalties, Ørjan Nyland saved the penalty from Remi Johansen with Hødd leading 3–2. Tromsø's goalkeeper Lekström then followed up by saving Sandal's penalties before Ciss sent his attempt wide. Andreas Rekdal scored on the next penalty, which meant that Hødd won the penalty shoot-out, and secured their first Norwegian Cup ever.


2012 Norwegian Women's Cup
The 2012 Norwegian Women's Cup was the 35th season of the Norwegian annual knockout football tournament for women. The tournament started on 8 May 2012, and will end on 24 November 2012 with the final. The defending champions are Stabæk which beat Røa in the last year's final on penalties.


2012 Norwegian Women's Cup
After playing the last three finals in Telenor Arena, the Football Association of Norway announced on 6 June 2012 that this year's final will be played on Åråsen Stadion.


2012 Norwegian Women's Cup, Second round
Alta, IL Hødd and the 12 teams from Toppserien entered at this stage of the competition.


2012 Norwich City Council election
Elections to Norwich City Council took place on 3 May 2012, the same day as other 2012 United Kingdom local elections. Fifteen out of thirty-nine council seats were up for election and the Labour Party gained control of the council from No Overall Control.


2012 Norwich City Council election
The Green Party held firm, while the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives suffered losses.


2012 Norwich City Council election
The Liberal Democrats lost their last seat in Lakenham to Labour, meaning that they now only held seats in the affluent Eaton ward. Former Liberal Democrat Group leader, Judith Lubbock held Eaton convincingly.


2012 Norwich City Council election
After the election, the composition of the council was as follows:


2012 Norwich City Council election
All changes in vote share are calculated with reference to the 2008 election, the last time these seats were contested.


2012 Norwich City Council election, Council Composition
Prior to the election the composition of the council was:


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team
The 2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Brian Kelly and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. They competed as an independent.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team
Despite starting the season unranked, the Fighting Irish ended the regular season with a 12–0 record. Led by Heisman Trophy finalist and Butkus Award winner Manti Te'o, the Irish finished with the number one defense in the country, giving up just 10.3 points per game. They played in the BCS National Championship Game with a chance to win their first national title since 1988 but were defeated by the Alabama Crimson Tide.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team
All wins in the 2012 and 2013 seasons were later vacated for use of ineligible players.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Before the season, 2012 NFL Draft
Notre Dame had 4 players selected in the 2012 NFL Draft. In the 1st round, the Arizona Cardinals selected Michael Floyd and the Minnesota Vikings selected Harrison Smith. In the 5th round, the Vikings selected Robert Blanton and the San Francisco 49ers selected Darius Fleming.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Before the season, Transfers out / departures
Senior quarterback Dayne Crist was granted a release from the team by Brian Kelly to explore transfer options in December 2011. He decided to join his former Notre Dame head coach, Charlie Weis, at the University of Kansas. Aaron Lynch also transferred out of the program to USF. Cornerback Tee Shepherd left the school less than two months after his early enrollment. Jordan Prestwood, an offensive tackle who transferred from FSU, sat out the 2011 season, and was also eligible to play in 2012, departed the team. Brad Carrico also departed the team after a foot injury and was granted a medical hardship after failing to recover from a foot surgery.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Before the season, Transfers in
Amir Carlisle, a freshman Running Back for USC, transferred to Notre Dame in January. The NCAA approved his waiver request in March, enabling him to play this fall. Joshua Williams, a quarterback and kick returner for UT, transferred to Notre Dame in the summer.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Before the season, Coaching changes
Notre Dame lost a few coaches to other schools in the off season. Running Backs coach Tim Hinton and Offensive Line and Run game coordinator Ed Warriner left to take positions with Ohio State University. Offensive coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach Charley Molnar left to take the head coach position at University of Massachusetts. There were also coaching changes within the staff. Bob Diaco became assistant head coach. Chuck Martin took over as Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks coach. Scott Booker came down from being an intern to Tight Ends And Special Teams Coach. There were some outside hires to fill positions on the staff as well. Bob Elliott was hired from Iowa State to coach the safeties, and Harry Hiestand was hired from Tennessee to be offensive line coach and Run Game Coordinator.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Before the season, Recruiting class
Brian Kelly received 17 commitments in his second full recruiting class. Those include commitments from three early-enrollees: defensive tackle Sheldon Day, quarterback Gunner Kiel, and cornerback Tee Shepard.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, Navy (Emerald Isle Classic) (Rivalry)
Irish running backs Theo Riddick and George Atkinson both ran for two scores and defensive end Stephon Tuitt returned a fumble 77 yards for another TD as Notre Dame routed Navy 50–10 in Notre Dame's season opener in Ireland. A crowd of 49,000, mostly visiting Americans, filled Dublin's Aviva Stadium for the first U.S. college game in Ireland since 1996, when the same two teams played in the Emerald Isle Classic at Croke Park. The Fighting Irish dominated the game, running the ball for 293 yards and 6.4 yards per carry against Navy's defense.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, Navy (Emerald Isle Classic) (Rivalry)
Riddick gained 107 yards on 19 carries, Atkinson 99 yards on just nine carries. Irish quarterback Everett Golson, making his first start, put the Fighting Irish up 27–0 with a 5-yard end zone jump ball to tight end Tyler Eifert, who beat two smaller Navy defenders. Navy managed a 26-yard field goal before halftime and opened the second half with a nifty three-pass drive capped by Shawn Lynch's 25-yard grab to make it 27–10 but could get no closer.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, Navy (Emerald Isle Classic) (Rivalry)
Notre Dame's defensive leader, inside linebacker Manti Te'o, recovered one fumble and intercepted Navy quarterback Trey Miller's final pass of the day, an underthrown ball into triple coverage. Surprisingly, they were his first fumble recovery and interception, respectively, of his four-year Notre Dame career. Irish starters Tommy Rees and Carlo Calabrese did not make the trip due to violating team and university rules regarding an off campus incident with Indiana police last Spring. Cierre Wood, Notre Dame's starting running back from a year ago, also did not play due to being suspended the first two games of the season for violating team rules.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, Navy (Emerald Isle Classic) (Rivalry)
The game was officially tied to an Irish tourism initiative called The Gathering, which seeks to encourage members of the Irish diaspora (especially in the U.S.) to visit their ancestral home in 2013. Unlike the 1996 meeting, the 2012 game was aired live in parts of Europe as well as the U.S.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, Purdue (Shillelagh Trophy)
Following Notre Dame's dominant performance against Navy, the Irish found themselves in a dogfight versus their in-state rival Purdue, a team they had beaten soundly the year before 38–10. After a scoreless first quarter, Irish quarterback Everett Golson led the Irish on an 88-yard scoring play in the second quarter with three big third-down conversions to take a 7–0 lead. Golson scrambled on the first one, avoided two rushers and then hit tight end Troy Niklas on a 30-yard pass.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, Purdue (Shillelagh Trophy)
Three plays later, on another third down, he found DaVaris Daniels behind the Boilermaker defense for a 41-yard gain to the 9. On a third-and-goal, Golson rolled right and made a dive for the end zone as he was being hit right at the goal line. Officials initially ruled him out of bounds, but after a video review the call on the field was reversed and he was awarded a touchdown because he hit the pylon. The Boilermakers alternated quarterbacks Caleb TerBush and Robert Marve throughout the game.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, Purdue (Shillelagh Trophy)
Marve led the Boilermakers on a quick 58-yard scoring drive at the end of the first half that started with Raheem Mostert's 41-yard kickoff return. Marve then hit O. J. Ross with a 16-yarder and, on a third-and-goal from the 2, he found Antavian Edison in the corner of the end zone with nine seconds to play in the half to tie the game at 7–7.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, Purdue (Shillelagh Trophy)
In the third quarter, Golson found tight end Tyler Eifert for passes of 22 and 25 yards that carried them to the 3-yard line, where he tossed a touchdown pass to T. J. Jones for a 14–7 lead. The Irish would also add a Kyle Brindza field goal in the third quarter to take a 17–7 lead. in the fourth quarter, Purdue came roaring back with a field goal and then a TerBush 15-yard TD pass to Edison with 2:12 left to tie the game at 17–17.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, Purdue (Shillelagh Trophy)
The late score was set up by Josh Johnson's recovery of a Golson fumble. Golson was shaken up on the play and having trouble gripping the ball, so the Irish turned to Tommy Rees, who was returning from a one-game suspension as a second stringer. The former starting quarterback got one chance and produced a last-minute drive that led to a 20–17 victory over the Boilermakers on Kyle Brindza's 27-yard field goal with seven seconds to go.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, #10 Michigan State (Megaphone Trophy)
No . 20 Notre Dame got off to its best start since 2002, beating No. 10 Michigan State 20–3 in East Lansing. The win marked the first time Notre Dame had beaten a top 10 squad since defeating Michigan in 2005. Everett Golson threw a touchdown pass and ran for a score in the first half to help down the Spartans. Golson was 14 of 32 for 178 yards and a TD, including 36-yard pass to John Goodman. He ran for a 6-yard TD early in the second quarter to give Notre Dame a 14–0 lead.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, #10 Michigan State (Megaphone Trophy)
The Irish shook off a sloppy start that included George Atkinson running into a teammate on a kickoff return, a false start and a timeout before their first snap. The Irish defense was dominant, sacking Spartan quarterback Andrew Maxwell three times in the second quarter alone. The Spartans were held to 77 total yards rushing and 178 yards passing and 3 total points.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, #10 Michigan State (Megaphone Trophy)
Late in the 4th quarter, the Irish extended their lead when Kyle Brindza made a 29-yard field goal at the end of a time-consuming drive that took 6:21 off the clock and extended the score to 17–3. Michigan State's slim comeback hopes were dashed when Spartan running back Le'Veon Bell was going out of bounds and his lateral was caught by linebacker Manti Te'o with 4:20 left in the game to set up Brindza's 47-yard field goal that provided the 20–3 final score.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, #10 Michigan State (Megaphone Trophy)
Te'o also had a game-high 12 tackles, one for a loss, and broke up two passes, playing just a few days after the supposed death of his girlfriend, who he believed had lost a long battle with leukemia, and his grandmother. The Irish improved to 46–28–1 against the Spartans and broke the Spartans' 15-home game winning streak.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, #17 Michigan (Rivalry)
After three consecutive last second Wolverine victories over the Irish, Notre Dame's defense stifled a 17th-ranked Denard Robinson led Michigan squad in a 13–6 victory. Manti Te'o led the Irish defensive effort with two interceptions as the 11th-ranked Fighting Irish picked off five Michigan passes and forced a fumble. Irish backup quarterback Tommy Rees sparked the Notre Dame offense after a shaky start by Everett Golson, who threw two interceptions of his own before being pulled by Coach Brian Kelly.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, #17 Michigan (Rivalry)
Robinson, who amassed 948 yards of total offense in victories over the Irish past two years, wasn't as effective this time around as the Irish repeatedly forced him into mistakes. He threw four interceptions in the first half, then lost a fumble at the Notre Dame 8-yard line on the first drive of the second half.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, #17 Michigan (Rivalry)
The victory sent the Irish off to their best start (4–0) since 2002. The win also ended a streak of three straight games in which Michigan beat the Irish with a score in the final 27 seconds, the last two Michigan victories with Robinson at quarterback. Robinson finished 13-of-24 passing for 138 yards and also rushed for 90 yards on 26 carries. The victory belonged to the Irish defenders, who held a nationally-ranked opponent without a touchdown for a second straight week. Te'o finished with eight tackles, and safety Bennett Jackson had nine tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery. The Irish fans showed support for Te'o by wearing Hawaiian leis, after Te'o had suffered the death of his grandmother and girlfriend the previous week.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, Stanford
The Irish defense once again proved to be the strength of the 2012 Notre Dame team, stuffing Stanford on a classic goal line stand in an overtime thriller to down the Cardinal by a score of 20–13. After three years of being pushed around by the Cardinal, the Fighting Irish pushed back, winning the most important shoving match they had all season. A wall of Notre Dame defenders stopped Stanford running back Stepfan Taylor inches from the end zone on fourth and goal.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, Stanford
Taylor went up the middle and was knocked back, but kept reaching and turning with bodies underneath him. It was unclear if his knee ever did hit the ground before reaching the ball across the goal line, but the officials on the field ruled Taylor's forward progress to be stopped before crossing the goal line. The celebration by the Irish crowd of 80,795 had to wait for a replay review. The call stood. Irish fans who weren't already on the field spilled out of the stands in celebration of the win.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, Stanford
Early on the game was a defensive battle. Notre Dame defensive tackle Stephon Tuitt was in the Stanford backfield all day and Manti Te'o was all over Stanford ball carriers. On the Cardinal side, Shayne Skov and Ben Gardner gave Irish quarterback Everett Golson and the Irish very little room to operate. Golson was inconsistent with his play, completing 12 of 24 for 141 yards and a touchdown.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, Stanford
He also lost two key fumbles – one that Stanford's Chase Thomas recovered in the end zone in the second quarter for a touchdown and the other in the third that gave the Cardinal the ball back after Golson had made a long run deep into Stanford territory. Thomas' touchdown put Stanford up 7–3, the first time all season Notre Dame had trailed in a game. Notre Dame finally found the end zone on the first play of the fourth quarter. On a third-and-18 from the 24, Golson lofted a pass to the front corner of the end zone that the 6-foot-6 Irish tight end Tyler Eifert came down with for a 10–10 tie.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, Stanford
The Cardinal responded with their best drive of the game, a 16-play, 65-yard march that took 8:03 off the clock and reached the Notre Dame 3. The Irish got a stop on third down and Stanford had to settle for a field goal to take a three-point lead. On the ensuing possession, Golson would start the Irish drive down the field to tie or take the lead, but he took a helmet to the head during the drive to knock him out the game with concussion-like symptoms.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, Stanford
Brian Kelly would again turn to Irish back up quarterback Tommy Rees, who had previously relieved Golson in the Purdue game and lead the Irish to a three-point win. Rees again responded to get the Irish into field goal range, completing an 11-yard pass to Eifert, and then, on third-and-4 from the 28, Eifert drew a pass-interference call on Terrence Brown that gave the Irish a first down at the 13. The Irish settled for Kyle Brindza's 22-yard field goal with 20 seconds left to tie it at 13. TJ Jones made a reaching 7-yard touchdown catch from Rees on the first overtime possession to give the Fighting Irish a 20–13 lead. Then the Fighting Irish defense, which had not given up a touchdown in four straight games, made its stand.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, BYU
The Irish rushed for 270 yards against a Cougars defense that entered the game third in the nation against the rush. Theo Riddick ran for a career-high 143 yards, Cierre Wood ran for 114 yards and George Atkinson III scored the go-ahead touchdown as the Irish rallied for a 17–14 win. In the 1st quarter, Tommy Rees threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Eifert to give the Irish a 7–0 lead.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, BYU
In the 2nd quarter, BYU quarterback Riley Nelson threw a pair of touchdown passes, the first to Cody Hoffman to tie the game, the second to Kaneakua Friel to give the Cougars a 14–7 lead. In the 3rd quarter, Kyle Brindza kicked a 24-yard field goal to get the Irish within 14–10. Brindza had missed two field goals earlier in the game. In the 4th quarter, Atkinson's touchdown run gave the Irish a 17–14 lead.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, #8 Oklahoma
Before the season began, the contest was regarded as one of the biggest games for both teams, and the Fighting Irish and Sooners did not disappoint. Both were regarded as dark horses for the national championship. Even though Notre Dame came in as the higher-rated team, many saw them as the underdog, due in part to the erratic play of starting quarterback Everett Golson. Using an up-tempo, no-huddle offense that forced the Notre Dame defense to play most of Oklahoma's first two drives out of their base package, Landry Jones led the Sooners down the field with ease.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, #8 Oklahoma
Only a bad snap on their first possession and a pass deflection in the red zone by Louis Nix on the second kept the Sooners from scoring more than a field goal halfway through the opening quarter. Notre Dame hit back two plays after falling behind 3–0, with Cierre Wood running up the middle for a 62-yard touchdown, the longest of the season for the Fighting Irish. The teams traded field goals in the second quarter, and the only other notable play took place near halftime, when an apparent Blake Bell touchdown was nullified by a holding call. Despite being down 10–6, Oklahoma had a 197–161 edge in yardage. Crucially however, the Sooners only had a net three rushing yards. On the Notre Dame side, Manti Te'o led all comers with 10 tackles and a sack, while Golson was putting together his most poised performance of the year.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, #8 Oklahoma
Notre Dame missed a field goal at the end of a drive that consumed half of the third quarter, and the defense continued to stifle Oklahoma in the ground game, while surrendering yards but no points through the air. Early in the fourth quarter, Kyle Brindza made amends for he earlier miss by squeezing in a 44-yard field goal. A short punt on the next Irish possession gave Oklahoma a short field on which to respond.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, #8 Oklahoma
A 35-yard pass to Jalen Saunders and a surprise 4th down throw by Bell were key plays in setting up a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Bell, the first rushing score given up by the Notre Dame defense all season. It also ended an overall streak of 41 quarters without allowing a touchdown on the ground. Golson and the Irish responded immediately, with a 50-yard bomb to freshman speedster Chris Brown silencing the Oklahoma faithful. A few plays later, Golson put Notre Dame back on top 20–13 with a 1-yard burrowing run of his own.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, #8 Oklahoma
The next Oklahoma drive produced the defining play of the game, as linebacker Dan Fox tipped the ball away from Saunders, and Te'o dove to snatch the interception only inches off the grass. This led to another Brindza field goal, and the Irish iced the game after gaining possession on downs, with a 15-yard jaunt by Theo Riddick accounting for the final margin of 30–13. Golson played his most complete game of the season, hitting 13 of 25 passes for 177 yards, while adding 64 yards and a touchdown rushing.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, #8 Oklahoma
Crucially, he did not turn the ball over once, with many of his incompletions occurring while throwing the ball away to avoid a sack or negative play; and the Irish converted nearly 50% of their third downs under his guidance. The Irish defense stood to the challenge as well, giving up no deep passing plays, and only 15 yards on the ground. The victory vaulted Notre Dame to No. 3 in the major polls.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, Pittsburgh (Rivalry)
Down 20–6 in the fourth quarter with its national title hopes on the line, Notre Dame rallied in triple overtime to defeat the Pitt Panthers and remain undefeated. Everett Golson scored on a quarterback sneak in the third overtime and the fourth-ranked Fighting Irish came back from a 14-point deficit for a 29–26 win.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, Pittsburgh (Rivalry)
Notre Dame avoided the fate of the 2002 team, the last Irish team to start a season 8–0, which was upset by Boston College 14–7. Brian Kelly pulled Golson late in the second quarter because he was missing reads and progressions. But the coach put Golson back in after backup Tommy Rees threw an interception, and the Irish fell behind by two touchdowns. A victory seemed unlikely when they fell behind 20–6 late in the third quarter. Golson threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to T. J. Jones early in the fourth quarter, as Notre Dame cut Pitt's lead to 20–12.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, Pittsburgh (Rivalry)
Notre Dame's chances for a comeback appeared to end when Pitt cornerback K'Waun Williams intercepted a pass by Golson in the end zone. But the Irish defense held, and Golson completed a 45-yard pass to DaVaris Daniels on a broken play to get to the Pitt 5-yard line. Golson then threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Theo Riddick and ran in for the two-point conversion to tie the game.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, Pittsburgh (Rivalry)
After the two teams traded field goals in the first overtime, Notre Dame looked poised to score for a victory, but running back Cierre Wood fumbled as he attempted to dive into the end zone in the second overtime and Pitt safety Jarred Holley recovered. But the Irish kept finding life, the last time when Kevin Harper missed a 33-yard field goal wide right following Wood's fumble. After Pitt would again kick a field goal in the third over time period, Golson would cap off the comeback with a 1-yard touchdown run. It was the fifth consecutive year that Notre Dame and Pittsburgh played a game decided by less than a touchdown – with two of those reaching overtime. Plus, of the last nine meetings between the schools, eight have been decided by eight points or fewer.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, Wake Forest
In 2011, Notre Dame won 24–17 in Winston-Salem. Notre Dame is now 2–0 against Wake Forest. With this victory, Notre Dame became this season's final undefeated major bowl-eligible team in college football.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, USC (Jeweled Shillelagh) (Rivalry)
For the first time since its 1988 championship season, Notre Dame came into the Los Angeles Coliseum with a No. 1 ranking and a chance to play for the national title on the line against its biggest rival, the Trojans of Southern California. USC, who had beaten the Irish nine out of the last ten meetings, often in a lopsided fashion, was playing the unfamiliar role of spoiler. Picked by the AP as the preseason No. 1 team, the Trojans came into the game unranked for only the second time since 2001.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, USC (Jeweled Shillelagh) (Rivalry)
Complicating matters, USC had to play without its four-year starting quarterback, Matt Barkley, who was lost to injury just the week before against its cross-town rival UCLA. USC Coach Lane Kiffin elected to start redshirt freshman Max Wittek at quarterback, who despite some late-game heroics, was outmatched against the No. 1 ranked Irish defense. In the final minutes of the game, down nine points, Wittek connected with USC's All-America wide receiver Marqise Lee to put the Trojans at the one-yard line with a chance to close the score to a one possession game.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, USC (Jeweled Shillelagh) (Rivalry)
Notre Dame's impenetrable defense appropriately made a decisive stand keeping USC out of the end zone on four plays from the Irish 1 with 2:33 to play. After three straight runs yielded minuscule gains, Wittek threw incomplete to fullback Soma Vainuku, setting off a celebration on the Notre Dame sideline and in the Irish sections of the sold-out stadium.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, USC (Jeweled Shillelagh) (Rivalry)
The 22–13 win secured Brian Kelly's Notre Dame squad a trip to Miami to play in the National Championship game, its first in 24 years. Running back Theo Riddick led the Irish ground attack with 146 yards and a touchdown, Kyle Brindza kicked five field goals, and Everett Golson passed for 217 yards as the Irish completed their first perfect regular season since 1988. Southern Cal's much-criticized defense was exploited by the Irish, with Golson patiently finding the gaps in the Trojans' pass coverage for 181 yards passing in the first half.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, USC (Jeweled Shillelagh) (Rivalry)
Riddick went 9 yards for a TD in the first quarter, but USC also stiffened to hold Notre Dame to field goals twice in the red zone. The Notre Dame defense held its 12th straight opponent without a first-quarter touchdown, but Wittek found Robert Woods for a 9-yard score on the first play of the second quarter – just the ninth touchdown allowed by Notre Dame all season long. The Irish took a 16–10 lead to halftime when Brindza hit the second-longest field goal in Notre Dame history.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, USC (Jeweled Shillelagh) (Rivalry)
Irish linebacker Manti Te'o made the seventh interception of his phenomenal season when Wittek threw directly to him on USC's second play of the second half. Both teams struggled to move the ball in the third quarter, and USC settled for a field goal with 9:20 to play just a few moments after Kiffin called a timeout right before a play that ended with Lee appearing to catch a pass on the goal line. The Irish out-gained the Trojans in total yards 493–281, and time of possession by 9 minutes, but repeatedly, the Irish had to settle for field goals in the red zone, putting the outcome of the game somewhat in doubt until the Irish's spectacular goal line stand.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, USC (Jeweled Shillelagh) (Rivalry)
The game was watched by 16.1 million viewers on television.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Season, Game summaries, #2 Alabama (BCS National Championship Game)
Notre Dame's first time playing for the national championship since the 1988 season, when the Irish defeated West Virginia 34–21 at the Fiesta Bowl. Notre Dame was 5–1 all time vs. Alabama entering the game, while Alabama under Nick Saban had won two of the last three national championships. The Fighting Irish lost, 42–14.


2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Post season, NCAA sanctions
In 2018, the NCAA launched its own investigation and saw that Notre Dame had used ineligible players this season as well as the succeeding season. As a result, the Irish had to vacate all wins from this season as well as the next one. Had Notre Dame beaten Alabama in the National Championship game, they would've been the second team in college football history, behind the 2004 USC Trojans, to be stripped of a national championship as a result of punishment from the NCAA.


2012 Nottingham Challenge
The 2012 Nottingham Challenge (known for sponsorship reasons as the Aegon Nottingham Challenge) was a professional tennis tournament played on grass courts. It was the second edition of the tournament which was part of the 2012 ATP Challenger Tour and the 2012 ITF Women's Circuit. It took place in Nottingham, Great Britain between 11 and 17 June 2012.


2012 Nottingham Challenge, ATP entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2012 Nottingham Challenge, ATP entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received entry as a special exempt into the singles main draw:


2012 Nottingham Challenge, WTA entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2012 Nottingham Challenge – Men's Doubles
Rik de Voest and Adil Shamasdin were the defending champions but Shamasdin decided not to participate. de Voest played alongside Karol Beck, but lost in the First Round to Dominic Inglot and Jonathan Marray. Olivier Charroin and Martin Fischer won the title defeating Evgeny Donskoy and Andrey Kuznetsov in the final 6–4, 7–6(8–6).


2012 Nottingham Challenge – Men's Singles
Dudi Sela was the defending champion, but he lost in the quarterfinals to Grega Žemlja. Grega Žemlja won the title defeating Karol Beck in the final 7–6(7–3), 4–6, 6–4.


2012 Nottingham Challenge – Women's Doubles
Eva Birnerová and Petra Cetkovská were the defending champions, but both players chose not to participate. Ashleigh Barty and Sally Peers won the title defeating Réka-Luca Jani and Maria João Koehler in the final 7–6(7–2), 3–6, [10–5].


2012 Nottingham Challenge – Women's Singles
Elena Baltacha was the defending champion, but chose to participate at the 2012 Birmingham Classic instead. Ashleigh Barty won the title, defeating Tatjana Malek in the final 6–1, 6–1.


2012 Nova Scotia Men's Molson Provincial Championship
The 2012 Nova Scotia Men's Molson Provincial Championship was held from February 8 to 12 at the Bridgewater Curling Club in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia. The winning team, skipped by Jamie Murphy, represented Nova Scotia at the 2012 Tim Hortons Brier in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.


2012 Nova Scotia Scotties Tournament of Hearts
The 2012 Nova Scotia Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Nova Scotia's women's provincial curling championship, was held from January 25 to 29 at the CFB Halifax Curling Club in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The winning team of Heather Smith-Dacey, represented Nova Scotia at the 2012 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Red Deer, Alberta, where they finished with a 4-7 record.


2012 Nova Scotia Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Qualification rounds, Round 1
The first qualification round for the 2012 Nova Scotties Tournament of Hearts took place from December 9 to 11, 2011 at the Wolfville Curling Club in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. The format of play was an open-entry triple knockout qualifying six teams to the provincial playoffs


2012 Nova Scotia Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Qualification rounds, Round 2
The second qualification round for the 2012 Nova Scotties Tournament of Hearts took place from January 6 to 8 at the Bridgetown Curling Club in Bridgetown, Nova Scotia. The format of play was an open-entry double knockout qualifying two teams to the provincial playoffs.


2012 Nova Scotia municipal elections
Municipal elections were held across the Canadian province of Nova Scotia on October 20, 2012.


2012 Nova Scotia municipal elections
Selected mayoral races are as follows. Each town and regional municipality in the province held an election for mayor, while one county (Colchester) and one municipal district (Lunenburg) held races for mayor as well.


2012 Novak Djokovic tennis season
The 2012 Novak Djokovic tennis season officially commenced on January 2 with the start of the 2012 ATP World Tour.


2012 Novak Djokovic tennis season, Yearly summary, Grand Slam performances, Australian Open
In the semi-final, Djokovic beat Andy Murray in five sets (7–5 in the 5th set) after 4 hours and 50 minutes, coming back from a two sets to one deficit and fending off break points at 5-all in the 5th set . In the final, Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal in five sets, coming from a break down in the final set to win 7–5. At 5 hours and 53 minutes, the match was the longest final in Open Era Grand Slam history, as well as the longest match in Australian Open history, surpassing the 5 hour and 14 minute 2009 semi-final between Nadal and Fernando Verdasco.


2012 Novak Djokovic tennis season, Yearly summary, Grand Slam performances, Roland Garros
Djokovic reached his maiden French Open final by defeating Roger Federer, reaching the final of all four majors consecutively. Djokovic had the chance to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four major titles at once, having won last year's Wimbledon and US Open titles as well as this year's Australian Open, but was beaten by Nadal in the final in four sets.


2012 Novak Djokovic tennis season, Yearly summary, Grand Slam performances, Wimbledon
Djokovic failed to defend his Wimbledon title, losing to Roger Federer in four sets in the semi-finals.


2012 Novak Djokovic tennis season, Yearly summary, Grand Slam performances, US Open
At the US Open, Djokovic reached his third consecutive final by beating fourth-seeded David Ferrer in a match suspended a day due to rain. He then lost the final to Murray in five sets.


2012 Novak Djokovic tennis season, All matches
This table chronicles all the matches of Djokovic in 2012, including walkovers (W/O) which the ATP does not count as wins. They are marked ND for non-decision or no decision.


2012 Novak Djokovic tennis season, Yearly records, Statistics
The table below summarizes the worldwide ranking of Novak Djokovic in different sectors of the game according to the  as of November 12, 2012.


2012 Novak Djokovic tennis season, Yearly records, Head-to-head matchups
Novak Djokovic has a 24–10 (70.6%) record against the top 10, a 33–2 (94.3%) record against the top 50 and an 18–0 (100%) record against other players outside the top 50.


2012 Novak Djokovic tennis season, Yearly records, Head-to-head matchups
Ordered by number of wins(Bolded number marks a top 10 player at the time of match, Italic means top 50)


2012 Nozhay-Yurtovsky District clashes
The 2012 Nozhay-Yurtovsky District clashes involving Russian Interior Ministry special forces supported by heavy weapons and military aircraft and Islamist militants occurred between February 13 and 17, 2012, reportedly leaving at least 24 people dead on both sides. The Nozhay-Yurtovsky District is a part of the Russian republic of Chechnya bordering Dagestan. According to the Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov, mountains were being cleared of rebels because of a planned construction of a tourist complex in the area.


2012 Nozhay-Yurtovsky District clashes, Results
Initially, Kadyrov claimed that a group of 20 fighters led by Magarbi Timiraliyev ("Abudar") have been destroyed in a special operation, including 13 killed "earlier", and that 13 government troops were killed and 20 injured. However, in an official report for Russian president Dmitry Medvedev (as cited by the state agency ITAR-TASS), Russia's interior minister Rashid Nurgaliyev said that 17 troops have been killed and 24 wounded, and there are only seven confirmed killed members of an armed group; Nurgaliyev also said that the government forces had been ambushed.


2012 Nozhay-Yurtovsky District clashes, Results
According to unofficial Russian sources, at least 21 special policemen were killed and 36 injured while "completely" destroying Timiraliyev's armed group of an unreported size (presumably around seven members). There is also actually no information about the fate of Timiraliyev himself. Kavkazcenter confirmed five rebel deaths, citing the number of bodies shown on TV.


2012 Nuclear Security Summit
The 2012 Nuclear Security Summit was a summit held at the COEX Convention & Exhibition Center in Seoul, South Korea, on March 26 and 27, 2012. It was the second time the conference was held after the 2010 Nuclear Security Summit.


2012 Nuclear Security Summit
The summit series discusses international cooperative measures to protect nuclear materials and facilities from terrorist groups. Fifty-eight world leaders from 53 states and four international organizations, including the United Nations, International Atomic Energy Agency, the European Union and INTERPOL, participated. The main issues discussed were:


2012 Nuclear Security Summit
At the summit, the leaders discussed nuclear terrorism threats and nuclear security preparedness. They also reviewed the implementation of agreements and voluntary commitments. Then the leaders focused on major nuclear security issues, mostly brought up at the Washington summit, such as the minimization and management of highly enriched uranium, ratification of nuclear security conventions, strengthening information and transportation security, IAEA’s role, preventing illicit nuclear trafficking, nuclear security culture, and international cooperation and assistance.


2012 Nuclear Security Summit
In the aftermath of the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, Korea added a new issues of radiological security and the nuclear security-safety interface to the agenda from the natural disasters since World War II (1939-45) and Korean War (1950-53). The Washington summit had focused on nuclear terrorism with explosive nuclear devices, perceiving that as the biggest threat to international security after 9/11 attacks in New York City in 2001, 3/11 train bombings in Madrid in 2004, and 7/7 bombings in London in 2005. The 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security summit also discussed protection against dirty bombs and the sabotage of nuclear facilities.


2012 Nuclear Security Summit
Some states opposed the two new items, saying that they would dilute the focus of the summit.


2012 Nuclear Security Summit, Background
The first Nuclear Security Summit was held in Washington D.C., U.S.A. on April 12-13, 2010. U.S. President Barack Obama, who proposed the Nuclear Security Summit in his April 2009 Prague speech, invited 47 heads of government and heads of states and three representatives of international organizations. In the Prague speech, President Obama announced his vision for a ‘world without nuclear weapons’ and proposed nuclear security as one of three strategic goals for this vision together with nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation. President Obama also announced a nuclear security goal to secure all vulnerable nuclear materials around the world in four years.


2012 Nuclear Security Summit, Background
During the Washington summit, Korea was proposed as the second summit host by President Obama, which was accepted.


2012 Nuclear Security Summit, Schedule and agenda
After a reception, on March 27 there was a Morning Session, a Working Luncheon and an Afternoon Session.


2012 Nuclear Security Summit, Schedule and agenda
1. March 26 (Monday)-Working Dinner :  Review of the Progress Made Since the 2010 Washington Summit2. March 27 (Tuesday)      -Plenary Session I : National Measures and International Cooperation to Enhance Nuclear Security, including Future Commitments-Working Lunch :   Nuclear Security-Safety Interface-Plenary Session II : National Measures and International Cooperation to Enhance Nuclear Security, including Future Commitments (cont. ).


2012 Nuclear Security Summit, Seoul Communiqué
The Seoul Communiqué built on the objectives and measures set out in the 2010 Washington Communiqué to identify 11 areas of priority and importance in nuclear security and presents specific actions in each area.


2012 Nuclear Security Summit, Seoul Communiqué
The 11 areas are as follows: the global nuclear security architecture; the role of the IAEA; nuclear materials; radioactive sources; nuclear security and safety; transportation security; combating illicit trafficking; nuclear forensics; nuclear security culture; information security; and international cooperation.


2012 Nuclear Security Summit, Seoul Communiqué
The Seoul Communiqué sets out the following specific actions in the above 11 areas:


2012 Nuclear Security Summit, Seoul Communiqué
The Seoul Communiqué provides important timelines for advancing nuclear security objectives, such as the target year (end of 2013) for states to announce voluntary actions on minimizing the use of HEU and the goal year (2014) for bringing the amended CPPNM into effect. It reflects the need to address both the issues of nuclear security and nuclear safety in a coherent manner for the sustainable peaceful uses of nuclear energy. It also emphasizes the need to better secure spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste. It also sets out specific measures to prevent radiological terrorism, an issue only briefly touched upon at the Washington Summit.


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres
The 2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres were a series of mass murder attacks between the allied Sinaloa Cartel and Gulf Cartel against Los Zetas in the border city of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, across the U.S.-Mexico border from Laredo, Texas. The drug-violence in Nuevo Laredo began back in 2003, when the city was controlled by the Gulf Cartel. Most media reports that write about the Mexican Drug War, however, point to 2006 as the start of the drug war. That year is a convenient historical marker because that's when Felipe Calderón took office and carried out an aggressive approach against the cartels.


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres
But authors like Ioan Grillo and Sylvia Longmire note that Mexico's drug war actually began at the end of Vicente Fox's administration in 2004, when the first major battle took place in Nuevo Laredo between the Sinaloa Cartel and Los Zetas, who at that time worked as the armed wing of the Gulf Cartel.


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres
When Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, the former leader of the Gulf Cartel, was arrested in 2003, the Sinaloa Cartel, sensing weakness, tried to move in on Nuevo Laredo, unleashing a bloody battle. Los Zetas, however, were successful in expelling the Sinaloa organization out of Nuevo Laredo, and have ruled the city "with fear" ever since. Nevertheless, the Gulf cartel and Los Zetas broke relations in early 2010, worsening the violence across northeast Mexico. The cartels are fighting for control of the corridor in Nuevo Laredo that leads into Interstate 35, one of the most lucrative routes for drug traffickers.


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres
Nuevo Laredo is a lucrative drug corridor because of the large volume of trucks that pass through the area, and the multiple (exploitable) ports of entry. Over 40% of all cargo crossings from Mexico to the United States crosses through the border checkpoints in Nuevo Laredo. It is for the same reason that Tijuana and Ciudad Juárez are so valuable for the drug trafficking organizations.


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, Past incidents in Nuevo Laredo, 2003 shootout
At around 3 am on 1 August 2003, the Federal Investigations Agency (AFI) confronted a group of armed men in the streets of Nuevo Laredo. Members of the AFI were staying at a hotel when Juan Manuel Muñoz Morales, the attorney general of the city, called for help. He was reportedly being chased by several individuals in a dark-colored truck. Consequently, the AFI officers followed the truck with seven of their vehicles, triggering a shootout between the police officers and alleged drug traffickers. The armed confrontation lasted for more than 40 minutes, provoking "panic" and turning Nuevo Laredo into a "battlefield." The gun detonations were heard throughout most of the city. Some witnesses, who preferred to remain anonymous, claimed that they saw over "18 armed men in black with ski-masks."


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, Past incidents in Nuevo Laredo, 2003 shootout
During the chase, five armed men in another vehicle shot at the police convoy. The triggermen in the two vehicles then engaged in a gunfight with the AFI for minutes, but one of the vehicles collided with a police truck. The vehicle the drug traffickers were in then caught on fire, and two of the gunmen were burned to death. The third one died on the sidewalk. According to PGR, the three gunmen that were killed were members of Los Negros, a group of hitmen under the tutelage of Joaquín Guzmán Loera (a.k.a. El Chapo) and of the Juárez Cartel.


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, Past incidents in Nuevo Laredo, 2003 shootout
Rocket-launchers, along with an "inexact number of assault rifles," were reportedly used in the attack. In addition, the government agency stated that 198 municipal police officers were to be investigated for possible connections with the Gulf Cartel; Manuel Muñoz, the attorney general who was being chased, was detained by the Mexican authorities. It is believed that he had liberated five members of Los Zetas who had been detained during the armed confrontation. According to Esmas.com, this shooting was the first major gunfire in Nuevo Laredo between the Mexican authorities and cartel members in over thirty years.


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, Past incidents in Nuevo Laredo, 2003 shootout
Between 1 January and 1 August 2003, 45 homicides were reported in Nuevo Laredo, along with 40 kidnappings.


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, Past incidents in Nuevo Laredo, El Chapo enters Nuevo Laredo
After the apprehension of Osiel Cárdenas Guillén in 2003, the former leader of the Gulf Cartel, his criminal organization went through a leadership crisis, since there was no visible leader to take the lead of the cartel. Nonetheless, Joaquín Guzmán Loera, the drug boss of the Sinaloa cartel who is best known as El Chapo, "broke the rules" and penetrated into Tamaulipas. His organization began to kill police officers—forcing many to take a side with or against him—and assassinating rival cartel members. The Mexican Armed Forces and the program México Seguro were unable to put down the violence.


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, Past incidents in Nuevo Laredo, El Chapo enters Nuevo Laredo
For the first time in many years, the Mexican State was limited in its actions—and even surpassed—by the criminal organizations. The Sinaloa Cartel stood to its firm intention to become the "hegemonic drug trafficking organization in Mexico." And to do so, it had to control the cities along the U.S.-Mexico border. Back in the early 2000s, if a different drug trafficking organization wanted to traffic narcotics through a different corridor, they had to pay a fee to the cartel that controlled it. Hence, it often resulted in a high prize, since Osiel Cárdenas Guillén "knew how much every millimeter in his turf cost."


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, Past incidents in Nuevo Laredo, El Chapo enters Nuevo Laredo
No drug trafficking organization before the Sinaloa cartel had dared to take on the Gulf Cartel. But Juan José Esparragoza Moreno and El Chapo Guzmán were persuasive in moving on into Nuevo Laredo and the rest of Tamaulipas. One of the first steps in the war between the Gulf and Sinaloa cartels began when Arturo Beltrán Leyva, alias El Barbas, hired Dionisio Román García (El Chacho), the leader of a gang who operated in Nuevo Laredo under the permission of Osiel in 2002.


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, Past incidents in Nuevo Laredo, El Chapo enters Nuevo Laredo
Nevertheless, El Chacho turned against the Osiel and the Gulf organization by deciding to work for the Sinaloa cartel and killing a Zeta member. This triggered a series of attacks and executions in Tamaulipas. And, in order to put down the violence, El Barbas sought Arturo Guzmán Decena, one of the founders of Los Zetas, and told him that he "did not want any problems" with the Zetas, and that he would do his best to turn in El Chacho. Guzmán Decena accepted his apology, but told him that if anyone from the Sinaloa cartel wanted to traffic drugs inside the Gulf Cartel's territory, they had to be unarmed and under supervision.


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, Past incidents in Nuevo Laredo, El Chapo enters Nuevo Laredo
In May 2002, El Chacho was kidnapped in the city of Monterrey by members of Los Zetas, and eventually found dead in Tamaulipas, bearing signs of torture. El Barbas then asked Osiel if Edgar Valdez Villarreal (La Barbie) could replace El Chacho, and he accepted. Los Zetas, however, were not convinced nor happy with Osiel's decision, because for them, "a betrayal is a betrayal." Fifteen days after the capture of Osiel, Valdez Villarreal called Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano (who had taken the lead of Los Zetas after the death of Guzmán Decena in 2002) and said: "You have a week to leave the territories from Reynosa to Nuevo Laredo." With this, the war had started.


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, 2012 incursions, 17 April 2012 massacre
Dismembered remains of 14 men were found in several plastic bags inside a Chrysler Voyager in the border city of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas on 17 April 2012. All of those killed were between the ages of 30 and 35. Mexican officials stated that they found a "messaged signed by a criminal group," but they did not release the content of the note, nor if those killed were members of Los Zetas or of the Gulf Cartel.


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, 2012 incursions, 17 April 2012 massacre
CNNMéxico stated that the message left behind by the criminal group said that they were going to "clean up Nuevo Laredo" by killing Zeta members. The Monitor newspaper, however, said that a source outside law enforcement but with direct knowledge of the attacks stated the 14 bodies belonged to members of Los Zetas who had been killed by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, now a branch of the Sinaloa Cartel. Following the attacks, the Sinaloa cartel's kingpin, Joaquín Guzmán Loera—better known as El Chapo Guzmán—sent a message to Los Zetas that they will fight for the control of the Nuevo Laredo plaza. The message read the following:


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, 2012 incursions, 17 April 2012 massacre
"We have begun to clear Nuevo Laredo of Zetas because we want a free city and so you can live in peace. We are narcotics traffickers and we don't mess with honest working or business people. I'm going to teach these scums to work Sinaloa style—without kidnapping, without payoffs, without extortion. As for you, 40, I tell you that you don't scare me. I know you sent H to toss heads here in my turf, because you don't have the stones nor the people to do it yourself. Don't forget that I'm your true father."


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, 2012 incursions, 17 April 2012 massacre
Nuevo Laredo is considered a stronghold of Los Zetas, although there were incursions by the Sinaloa Cartel in March 2012. Consequently, Los Zetas responded two days later with incursions to Sinaloa, the home state of the Sinaloa Cartel. The Sinaloa Cartel's first attempt to take over Nuevo Laredo happened in 2005, when Los Zetas was working as the armed wing of the Gulf Cartel.


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, 2012 incursions, 17 April 2012 massacre
The "40" in the message is a reference to Miguel Treviño Morales, a top leader of Los Zetas based in Nuevo Laredo, and longtime adversary of El Chapo Guzmán. The "H" is presumably Héctor Beltrán Leyva, the last remaining brother of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel. The Beltrán Leyva organization, unlike the Zetas, has presence in Sinaloa state, and would probably have an easier time attacking the Sinaloa Cartel on its own turf. The message does not mention the fact that the Gulf Cartel is probably supporting the Sinaloa Cartel in carrying out the executions.


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, 2012 incursions, 17 April 2012 massacre
In addition, the banner suggests that the alliance between Los Zetas and the Beltrán Leyva Cartel remains intact as of 2012 despite its losses it lived in 2008. The message also suggests the differences in the modus operandi of Los Zetas and the Sinaloa Cartel, because as authors of InSight Crime allege, the Zetas have a reputation of operating through extortions, kidnappings, robberies, and other illicit activities; in contrast, the Sinaloa Cartel is known simply for drug trafficking. (Both assertions are not wholly true, but often reflect a popular sentiment). Guzmán attempted to take over Nuevo Laredo after the capture of the Gulf Cartel leader, Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, in 2003.


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, 2012 incursions, 17 April 2012 massacre
Nevertheless, Guzmán retreated after a few years of bloody turf wars. The Sinaloa Cartel's return to Nuevo Laredo, however, was seen again in March 2012 after Guzmán reportedly left several corpses and a message heralding his return. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Nuevo Laredo is the busiest border crossing in terms of truck crossings with over 1.7 million trucks a year, more than double than any other crossing in the Mexico–United States border. Nuevo Laredo is the fourth-busiest border crossing in terms of passenger vehicles.


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, 2012 incursions, 17 April 2012 massacre
Patrick Corcoran of InSight Crime believes that the turf war in Nuevo Laredo will bring a huge wave of violence, but also mentioned that the circumstances have changed since the split of the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas in early 2010. The current alliance between Guzmán's Sinaloa Cartel and the Gulf Cartel may successfully extract Los Zetas and give El Chapo the upper hand.


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, 2012 incursions, 17 April 2012 massacre
And once the Sinaloa Cartel gets established in Nuevo Laredo, it may possibly make moves to control Reynosa and Matamoros, Tamaulipas.


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, 2012 incursions, 17 April 2012 massacre
On 24 April 2012, the attorney general of the state of Tamaulipas identified 10 of the 14 people killed. In addition, the Mexican authorities stated that those killed had "no relationship with the criminal group Los Zetas," and that they were in fact innocent civilians. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection indicated that 7 out of the 14 who were killed were reportedly deported immigrants who were working illegally in the United States.


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, 2012 incursions, 17 April 2012 massacre
The authorities said that the massacre was carried out to generate "psychosis," because there is no concrete evidence of a "war between drug cartels" nor elements that indicate the presence of a group representing the Sinaloa Cartel in the border city of Nuevo Laredo. Some of the bodies have been returned to their families. The rest of the corpses have not been identified and remain in the Forensic Medical Services (SEMEFO).


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, 2012 incursions, 4 May 2012 massacre
23 bodies—14 of them decapitated and 9 of them hanged from a bridge—were discovered in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, in an escalation of brutal violence involving rival drug gangs on the U.S. border. In the first incident, at around 1:00 am on 4 May 2012, nine people were hanged from a bridge on the Mexican Federal Highway 85D with a message left behind by the killers. Horrified motorists encountered the blood-stained bodies of four women and five men hanging off a bridge.


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, 2012 incursions, 4 May 2012 massacre
The banner left behind reportedly stated that those killed were the perpetrators of the car bomb in the city on 24 April 2012. In addition, the 9 people who were hanged on the bridge were reportedly members of the Gulf Cartel who were killed by Los Zetas for "heating up" their turf. The message read the following:


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, 2012 incursions, 4 May 2012 massacre
"Fucking (Gulf Cartel) whores, this is how I'm going to finish off every fucker you send to heat up the turf. You have to fuck up sometime and that's when I'm gonna put you in your place. We are going to fuck up El Gringo that keeps setting off car bombs; the fucker Juanito Carrizales and his friend El Tubi, who I killed because he kept crying like a bitch; El Metro 4 who asked Comandante Lazcano for mercy when he was kicking the shit out of him; and now El R1 in Reynosa and you. But it's okay, here are your guys. The rest went away but I'll get them. Sooner or later. See you around fuckers.


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, 2012 incursions, 4 May 2012 massacre
In the second incident, which occurred hours later, 14 decapitated bodies were abandoned inside a vehicle in front of the Customs Agency; the severed heads were left inside several ice coolers in front of the municipal palace. The Mexican police said the second massacre could have been an act of revenge by the Gulf Cartel to Los Zetas for the earlier killings.


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, 2012 incursions, 4 May 2012 massacre
Along with the decapitated bodies was a message allegedly signed by Joaquín Guzmán Loera, where he demanded the municipality mayor of Nuevo Laredo, Benjamín Galván, along with other municipal and state leaders and public safety officials to recognize the Sinaloa cartel's presence in the area and stop insisting he is not in the city. The message read the following:


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, 2012 incursions, 4 May 2012 massacre
"You want credibility that I am in NL? What will it take, bringing the heads of Zeta leaders? Or yours? Mr. [Benjamín Galván], since you want to give us a sweet treat, with you coming out saying that nothing is happening here and all is well, continue with the same and I assure you that heads will keep rolling. Keep making Z-40's case to say and deny that we already operate in Nuevo Laredo, just so that Lazcano will not scold this illiterate car washer.


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, 2012 incursions, 4 May 2012 massacre
And you [Alfonso Olvera], Director of Public Security appointed entirely by Z-40, who is your buddy, keep declaring that my staff does not operate here in Nuevo Laredo. Or you, [Víctor Almanza], stating that the dismembered were masons, traders, migrants or simple and humble workers (and not what they were Zetas). Continue to deny my presence here in Nuevo Laredo and you will continue to see their heads. I do not kill innocent people to submit work as you are accustomed Z-40, all dead in Nuevo Laredo are pure scums, in other words, pure Z. Sincerely, your father."


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, Car bomb attacks
At around 8:00 a.m. on 24 April 2012 in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, a car bomb exploded outside the city's police department. When the Mexican military arrived at the area of the explosion, they engaged in a confrontation with cartel members who shot them upon their arrival. There was one civilian who was injured as a result of the car bomb. The Blog del Narco credited the attacks to Joaquín Guzmán Loera (a.k.a. El Chapo), who reportedly left another message for Los Zetas about the Sinaloa cartel's incursion in Nuevo Laredo.


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, Car bomb attacks
In the second incident, suspected members of a drug trafficking organization opened fire at a hotel that the Federal police was using as barracks on 23 May 2012, and then set off a car bomb in front of the police dormitories. A Chevrolet pickup truck exploded at around 5:30 a.m. inside the parking lot of Hotel Santa Cecilia in southern Nuevo Laredo, injuring 2 civilians and 8 police officers. The blast was strong enough to partially damage several rooms in the hotel and a couple of vehicles.


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, Car bomb attacks
Three of the ten police officers were wounded with third degree burns in half of their bodies, while the rest were treated for non-life-threatening wounds. Many residents living in Nuevo Laredo and across the international border in Laredo, Texas were reportedly awaken by the car explosion. Some Laredo residents also began calling 9-1-1 early in the morning as the cartel battles in Nuevo Laredo reached their peak. One resident even said that the explosions in Nuevo Laredo made his house shake across the border.


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, Car bomb attacks
Soon after the attacks, the Mexican Army put up a military checkpoint in the avenue where the hotel is situated. In addition, this attack was the first attack directed to Tamaulipas' new state police force, which took over the duties of the municipal police forces that were considered ineffective and corrupt. The authorities in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas believe that Los Zetas, one of Mexico's most powerful criminal groups, carried out the attack. Los Zetas are known for carrying out a number of attacks, but this one was described as "one of the most elaborate."


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, Car bomb attacks
A third car bomb was abandoned on 29 June 2012 in front of the municipal palace at around 11:00 a.m., and exploded just below the office of Benjamín Galván Gómez, the mayor of Nuevo Laredo. Explosives were planted inside a gray Ford Ranger pickup truck, damaging more than ten vehicles that were parked near the car bomb and destroying dozens of windows in its surroundings. The detonation was heard on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. Laredo police said they received calls from several residents reporting an explosion, and dispatched officiers to the international bridges in the Texan city.


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, Car bomb attacks
A plume of smoke was seen from the U.S. side too. In addition, seven people who were near the explosion were injured. The Federal police and the Mexican Army cordoned the crime scene, as paramedics stabilized the bystanders and transported them to the nearest hospital. The Mexican authorities believe this car bomb attack was a form of "expression" by the criminal syndicates who operate in Nuevo Laredo and want to make their presence known. The state of Tamaulipas pledged to intensify the security measures in Nuevo Laredo.


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, Attacks against the media
On 19 March 2004, journalist Roberto Javier Mora García was stabbed 26 times outside his home in Nuevo Laredo. On 6 February 2006, two armed men broke into the offices of El Mañana and detonated a grenade. They also shot the outside walls of the installation with AK-47s and AR-15s before fleeing the scene. According to La Jornada, the armed men shot the installation more than 100 times, injuring Jaime Orozco Tey, a journalist. On 30 July 2010, a group of armed men in a vehicle threw a grenade at the offices of Televisa in Nuevo Laredo, damaging two vehicles.


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, Attacks against the media
On 26 September 2011, María Elizabeth Macías Castro, an editor of la Primera Hora newspaper, was decapitated; a note was left behind by Los Zetas, claiming responsibility for the killing. The message read the following: "For those who don't want to believe, this happened to [María Elizabeth Macías Castro] because of [her] actions, for believing in the army and the navy. Thank you for your attention, respectfully, Los Zetas.


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, Attacks against the media, Attacks against bloggers and social media users
On 13 September 2011, a man and a woman in their early twenties were hanged from a pedestrian bridge in Nuevo Laredo. Their fingers and ears were mutilated, and both bore signs of torture. The signs left behind declared that the pair were killed for posting denouncements of the drug cartel activities on the Internet. The message read: "This is going to happen to all of those posting funny things on the Internet," one sign said. "You better (expletive) pay attention. I'm about to get you." The killing was carried out by Los Zetas.


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, Attacks against the media, Attacks against bloggers and social media users
On 9 November 2011, a blogger was tortured and decapitated for allegedly denouncing against the organized crime groups online. The man killed reportedly used the username "Rascatripa" in the site known as Nuevo Laredo en Vivo, where civilians post on the activities of Los Zetas. The killers left another message on top of the corpse stating the following: "Hello! I'm Rascatripas and this happened to me for failing to understand that I should not report things on social media websites. With this last report I bid farewell to Nuevo Laredo en Vivo."


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, Attacks against the media, Attacks against bloggers and social media users
This man was the fourth killed by the cartels for posting against them on the Internet in less than two months. The brutal killings sent "shock waves" to the online community, and Twitter users from Nuevo Laredo, Reynosa, and the Rio Grande Valley, along with other border communities, issued a joint statement asking for protection in November 2011. The bloggers asked the Mexican government to solve the murders and protect freedom of speech. Even the "hacker group" known as Anonymous stepped in and gave recommendations to the community in Nuevo Laredo to "be careful" when denouncing Los Zetas.


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, Attacks against the media, Cartels silence the media
In another incident, a group of armed men attacked the offices of El Mañana newspaper at around 23:00 hours on 11 May 2012. The Mexican authorities stated that no one was injured in the 5-minute shootout, but the offices and some vehicles were damaged when bullets impacted from the outside. When the employees of El Mañana heard the detonations, they threw themselves on the floor, while others suffered nervous breakdowns. Some witnesses mentioned that they heard grenade explosions during the attack. In addition, a message was reportedly left behind by the perpetrators.


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, Attacks against the media, Cartels silence the media
The damage was minimal, but the message was understood. El Mañana took the attack as a warning from the Sinaloa Cartel that it wants coverage claiming that they are taking over Nuevo Laredo and beating Los Zetas, therefore making the Sinaloa cartel look "tough" and Los Zetas "look weak." The problem is that if the journalists decide to favor the Sinaloa cartel or Los Zetas, they will find themselves threatened by one of the cartels. In other words, one cartel threatens if there isn't coverage (Sinaloa cartel) and the other cartel threatens if there is coverage (Los Zetas).


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, Attacks against the media, Cartels silence the media
Following the attacks, El Mañana declared that it will no longer report on news relating to drug-violence. They may in fact be the first newspaper to publicly step down and stop covering all crime incidents involving stories of mafia groups fighting for control. The day that the editorial stepped down, 49 decapitated bodies were found along a highway near Monterrey, Mexico's third largest city, and just 120 miles south of Nuevo Laredo. Most newspapers covered this incident, but El Mañana did not. Again, on 10 June 2012, El Mañana suffered another grenade attack but only material damages were reported. In response to the attacks, the newspaper issued the following message to the public:


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, Attacks against the media, Cartels silence the media
We ask for the public's comprehension and will refrain, for as long as needed, from publishing any information related to the violent disputes our city and other regions of the country are suffering ... The company's editorial and administrative board has been forced to make this regrettable decision by circumstances we are all familiar with, and by the lack of adequate conditions for freely exercising professional journalism ... We will only address the (violent crime) issue through the opinions of professional analysts who study the phenomenon in an intelligent and responsible way ... [ We will not] serve the petty interests of any de-facto power or criminal group.


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, Attacks against the media, Cartels silence the media
Many Mexicans have been relying on social media chatrooms and sites like Facebook and Twitter as traditional media "self-censor in the face of cartel violence." Moreover, due to the violent attacks the press has received in Nuevo Laredo, news media have practiced "self-censorship," where local journalist prefer to silence the press and refuse to report on important incidents for fears of reprisals by the cartels. Events that would go on the front-page of any newspaper—mass murders with over six dead, shooting incidents wounding three soldiers—often go unreported in Nuevo Laredo. The cartels want the cities they control to appear calm in order to prevent the government from sending federal troops. Consequently, the press, tired of extortions and death threats, prefers to go silent because there is no guarantee for their safety.


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, Attacks against casinos
On 21 May 2012, the Mexican authorities were alerted that a casino was on fire in Nuevo Laredo. At around six in the morning, an anonymous call alerted the police that smoke was coming from a building. By 8:00 a.m. the fire had been put down, but a portion of the casino was consumed by the flames. Nonetheless, only material damages were reported. Inside the casino were several containers holding large amounts of gasoline, which helped the authorities conclude that the arson was intentional.


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, Attacks against casinos
The 'Amazonas' casino, as it was known, opened in February 2010; however, it was closed in March 2012 for operating illegally. According to the Blog del Narco, several people from Nuevo Laredo knew that the casino was owned by Los Zetas. The article was also mentioned that the Zetas ordered the closure of another casino known as 'El Juega Juega' to benefit 'Amazonas.'


2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres, Attacks against casinos
Three days later on 24 May 2012, the 'Maranho' nightclub, considered among the most popular in Nuevo Laredo, was set on fire between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m. And according to unofficial accounts, a group of gunmen were the perpetrators, while some accounts mention that they used grenades and bombs. The nightclub was "completely destroyed," but no victims were reported. Other grenade explosions were heard across the border in Laredo, Texas, while the residents turned to #LaredoFollow hashtag on Twitter to report on the violence. Unconfirmed reports from KGNS-TV state that several places in Nuevo Laredo, including educational institutions, are under bomb threats. However, the main targets in the bomb attacks have been entertainment businesses with supposed ties with the mafias that operate in the city.


2012 Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council election
The Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council election to the Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council took place on 3 May 2012. Half of the council was up for election. Labour gained control of the council.


2012 Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council election, Council Composition
The composition of the council before the election and a summary of which parties' seats are up for election can be found in the following table:


2012 O'Byrne Cup
The 2012 O'Byrne Cup was a Gaelic football competition played by the teams of Leinster GAA. The competition differs from the Leinster Senior Football Championship as it also features further education colleges and the winning team does not progress to another tournament at All-Ireland level. The winners of the 2011 O'Byrne Cup were Kildare. The O'Byrne Cup began on 8 January 2012. Prior to the start of the competition, Kilkenny announced that they would not be participating in the competition this year.


2012 O'Byrne Cup, O'Byrne Cup, First Round
The first round winners Meath, DCU, Longford, Kildare, Offaly, Dublin and UCD went on to qualify for the quarter finals of the tournament. The losers of the first round went on to the O'Byrne Shield quarter finals. All the first round matches took place on 8 January 2012.


2012 O'Byrne Cup, O'Byrne Cup, Final
The final of the O'Byrne Cup was originally supposed to take place on 29 January 2012. However, due to the venue (St Conleth's Park) being waterlogged, it was postponed. The new date was Friday 17 February in Portlaoise.


2012 O'Byrne Cup, O'Byrne Shield
The O'Byrne Shield consists of the 7 losing teams from the first round of the O'Byrne Cup.


2012 O'Higgins F.C. season
The 2012 O'Higgins F.C. season is O'Higgins F.C. 's 49th season in the Primera División and their sixth consecutive season in Primera División. The club plays in three tournaments: The Primera División de Chile, Copa Sudamericana and the Copa Chile.


2012 O'Higgins F.C. season, The odissey of Eduardo Berizzo
For the 2012 season, the year started of abrupt form with Fernando De la Fuente's departure after a strong discussion with Eduardo Berizzo and also with the goalkeeper's coach Roberto Bonano, being confirmed then that the player will be loaned to Deportes La Serena, losing of this form to one of the best defensive midfielders of the Chilean football for face the Torneo de Apertura.


2012 O'Higgins F.C. season, The odissey of Eduardo Berizzo
However, the club's board surprised to Rancagua with the signings of the Argentine talented attacking midfielder Ramón Fernández, former footballer of Unión La Calera, who was tempted by country's powerhouse clubs: Colo-Colo and Universidad de Chile, after a very well year, the Paraguayan footballer Rodrigo Rojas, who played for teams like River Plate, and finally to Julio Barroso, defender champion of the 2005 FIFA U-20 World Cup with Argentina that played for Boca Juniors.


2012 O'Higgins F.C. season, The odissey of Eduardo Berizzo
On 27 January 2012, the club achieved his first triumph in the Torneo de Apertura against Antofagasta at the Estadio Parque El Teniente with a goal of Ramón Fernández in the 42nd minute, losing at the capital 1–0 with Colo-Colo, the next match.


2012 O'Higgins F.C. season, The odissey of Eduardo Berizzo
On 25 February, the team achieved his most important victory against Universidad de Chile at Rancagua, with goals of Enzo Gutiérrez, Guillermo Suárez and Fernández, in where Luis Marín saved a penalty to Marcelo Díaz, earning of this form the first place, that lost when Universidad Católica in March defeated 2–1 to the team at El Teniente, then achieving with Julio Barroso and Rodrigo Rojas as the key players, the team achieved four consecutive wins, that finished when Huachipato defeated 2–1 to the club with goals of the striker Manuel Villalobos and the left back José Contreras, but despite of the defeat at the city of Talcahuano, the team led by Eduardo Berizzo, after of beat 5–0 to Palestino at Rancagua, on 28 April, more than of one hundred fans traveled for view the qualification of his team to the Copa Sudamericana, after of a 1–0 away victory over Santiago Wanderers with a goal of the midfielder Enzo Gutiérrez at Valparaíso.


2012 O'Higgins F.C. season, The odissey of Eduardo Berizzo
On 23 June 2012, after a successful regular phase in the second place under Universidad de Chile at the top of the table, in the playoffs faced to Unión La Calera in the quarterfinals.


2012 O'Higgins F.C. season, The odissey of Eduardo Berizzo
The first match at La Calera, the team won 1–0 with a free kick goal of Ramón Fernández, who played the last season in that club, not celebrating the goal, in Rancagua for the second match, the club again won, now for a 3–2 victory, thanks to Enzo Gutiérrez, who scored a peace of goal after an incredible bicycle kick that defeated to the keeper Lucas Giovini.


2012 O'Higgins F.C. season, The odissey of Eduardo Berizzo
The next key, the club faced to Unión Española in the semifinals at Santiago, in where with a goal of the playmaker Emiliano Vecchio the club was defeated at the Estadio Santa Laura, finally winning 2–1 at the second match with goals of Luis Pedro Figueroa and Rodrigo Rojas, whilst for the club of Independencia, scored the striker Sebastián Jaime.


2012 O'Higgins F.C. season, The odissey of Eduardo Berizzo
The next game, now for the finals against the club Universidad de Chile, O'Higgins beat for the same scored of the last match to the team of the University, with goals of Rojas and the Argentine full back Alejandro López, whilst for the blues scored Guillermo Marino.


2012 O'Higgins F.C. season, The odissey of Eduardo Berizzo
O'Higgins was the Primera División champion of the Torneo de Apertura, until the 92nd minute of game in the Estadio Nacional, because with annotations of Charles Aránguiz and the same Marino, the club equalized the key, winning 2–0 in the penalties thanks to the blues' keeper Jhonny Herrera, who saved three penalties to Rodrigo Rojas, Yerson Opazo and Enzo Gutiérrez. However, the match was not exempt of polemics, because the referee Enrique Osses conceded a non–existent penalty to Marino, that was scored by Aránguiz, and unfairly red-carded to the centre back Julio Barroso, after an aggression of the right back José Rojas of Universidad de Chile.


2012 O'Higgins F.C. season, Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Squad correct as of 28 July 2012.


2012 O'Higgins F.C. season, Club, Kit
Supplier:  DiadoraSponsor(s):  Agrosuper,  Codelco,  Entel,  Essbio (back),  Clínica Integral (sleeves),  Sodimac (shorts),  Clos de Pirque (socks)


2012 O'Higgins F.C. season, Season results, Competitive, Apertura 2012
2–2 on aggregate. O'Higgins won due to its position at the regular season (O'Higgins: 2nd, Unión Española: 5th)


2012 O'Higgins F.C. season, Season results, Competitive, Apertura 2012
3–3 on aggregate. Universidad de Chile won 2–0 on penalties.


2012 O'Higgins F.C. season, Season results, Competitive, Copa Sudamericana
O'Higgins play against Cerro Porteño of Paraguay. In the first match the team draw 3-3, but with a negative point for the away goals rule. In the second match, played in Paraguay, the club lose 4-0, Cerro Porteño won on points 4–1, and O'Higgins is eliminated of the tournament.


2012 OCT Championships
The 2012 OCT Championships was held from September 6 to 9 at the Oakville Curling Club in Oakville, Ontario as part of the 2012–13 Ontario Curling Tour. The event was held in a round robin format, with the purse for the men's event being CAD$23,400, and CAD $15,600 for the women's event.


2012 OEC Kaohsiung
The 2012 OEC Kaohsiung was a professional tennis tournament played on hard courts. It was the first edition of the tournament which was part of the 2012 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Kaohsiung, Taiwan between 23 and 29 April 2012.


2012 OEC Kaohsiung, Singles main draw entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2012 OEC Kaohsiung, Singles main draw entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received entry from the qualifying draw as a lucky loser: