2012 Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip, Social media and Internet, Allegations of Hamas disinformation
Hamas fabricated achievements and used pictures of children injured or killed in Syria, presenting them in the social media as Palestinian dead. One of its tweets about the Israeli strikes contained a picture of a dead girl, previously posted on the "Syrians & Friends" Facebook page in October 2012. Another photo of explosions that was uploaded to the Facebook page affiliated with Hamas appeared to be digitally altered. Hamas staged several fake deaths and scenes of injury in front of TV crews.


2012 Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip, Social media and Internet, Allegations of Hamas disinformation
Some argued that Hamas' manipulation effectively undermined their own cause, as readers could not be certain of the authenticity of what they were seeing.


2012 Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip, Media coverage
Noam Chomsky, Seumas Milne, Glenn Greenwald, John Mearsheimer, Paul Pillar, and several other writers have blamed Israel for the conflict. Former British commander, Richard Kemp, by contrast, said there was a "very effective anti-Israel propaganda machine" that misunderstands what he considers the reality that Hamas is a terrorist organization.


2012 Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip, Media coverage
Sharine Tadros, an Al Jazeera correspondent to the Middle East who covers the conflict from Gaza, criticized several aspects of the media approach to the conflict. Tadros criticized what she said was an uncritical and repetitive use by journalists of Israel's justifications for targeting homes and other civilian structures. Tadros further criticized the use of terms such as "Hamas school". According to her, "Hamas" is used as an adjective by Israel as justification for targeting civilian infrastructure.


2012 Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip, Media coverage, Images
The Arab news site Alarab Net released a photo on 18 November which depicted three bloodied children and their mother lying on a floor, who were allegedly massacred in Gaza. Inciting a flurry of comments on Facebook, they turned out to be Syrian massacre photos from 19 October reused to depict a "Gaza tragedy".


2012 Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip, Media coverage, Images
On 19 November, BBC Gaza correspondent Jon Donnison retweeted a photograph of a dead or injured child titled "Pain in Gaza", with his own comment "heartbreaking". It was soon shown that the photo was apparently taken in Syria and is dated to 28 October 2012, before the beginning of the events in Gaza. Donnison apologized for the incident.


2012 Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip, Media coverage, Images
Pro -Palestinian activists co-opted another photograph on Twitter, identifying an injured infant held by a rescue worker as a "young injured Palestinian child". However, Facebook and Twitter users recognized it as that of an Israeli baby wounded by a Hamas rocket attack; "Kiryat Malachi" was printed on the rescue worker's vest.


2012 Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip, Media coverage, Images
Photographs of a distraught Palestinian man, Jihad al-Masharawi, a BBC journalist, carrying the body of his 11-month-old son, Omar, wrapped in a white shroud were printed in newspapers worldwide and widely distributed on social media. Masharawi, the BBC Middle East bureau chief, and at least two human rights organizations initially blamed Israel for the incident, and the infant's death quickly became a powerful symbol of the conflict. However, in March 2013, the report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the eight-day conflict stated that Omar was most likely the victim of "what appeared to be a Palestinian rocket that fell short of Israel."


2012 Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip, Media coverage, Video
BBC News and CNN broadcast Reuters footage of an apparently injured Palestinian man being carried away by a group of people. But the BBC's footage later showed the man walking around on his own. CNN said that Reuters did not know the source of that film, while the BBC News responded that to the best of their knowledge, the events were not staged, and that the footage had been cut from a longer reel that showed the man lying on the sidewalk, being lifted and receiving treatment, and then walking away having recovered. The BBC said that it had taken steps to ensure that any re-broadcast would make this sequence of events clear to its audience.


2012 Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip, Media coverage, Video
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) expressed concern for the use of footage by the IDF which suggested the agency's complicity in "terrorist activities" targeting Israel.


2012 Istanbul rally to commemorate the Khojaly massacre
A rally commemorating the twentieth anniversary of the 1992 massacre of Azerbaijani civilians by Armenian and CIS forces (of former Soviet republics) took place in Istanbul on 26 February 2012. It was the largest campaign within "Justice for Khojaly" framework. The demonstration with slogan "We are all from Khojaly" (Azerbaijani: "Hamımız Xocalılıyıq", Turkish: "Hepimiz Hocalılıyız") started in front of Galatasaray High School and lasted several hours in Taksim Square (Istanbul, Turkey) with around 200,000 participants.


2012 Istanbul rally to commemorate the Khojaly massacre
The rally however took a very racist tone as many members of the crowd displayed anti-Armenian slogans containing hate speech and chanted violent threats towards Armenians.


2012 Istanbul rally to commemorate the Khojaly massacre, "Justice for Khojaly" campaign
"Justice for Khojaly", or "JFK" for short, is an International Awareness Campaign, initiated on 8 May 2008 under the motto of "Justice for Khojaly, Freedom for Karabakh" The website of the JFK campaign allows internet users to sign a petition to world leaders "to recognize the Khojaly Massacre as a crime against humanity and to fight injustice in the world". The petition has been signed by more than 143,500 users online as of 27 December 2012. In total, around 1 million people joined this campaign


2012 Istanbul rally to commemorate the Khojaly massacre, Demonstration
Around 200,000 participants for the 20th anniversary remembrance of the Khojaly Massacre victims, dozens of youth and student organizations, public unions, Turkish organizations and movements participated in the rally. The number of participants was expected to be in the tens of thousands including Azerbaijanis and Turks, while more than 200 000 people of other ethnic backgrounds also joined the rally. The resolution of the rally was read during the protest urging the  organizers of the Khojaly Massacre to be punished according to international law. The Istanbul police dispatched heavy security to the French Cultural Center on İstiklal Avenue, where demonstrators were marching, fearing possible attacks on the building. The participants were mainly Turks and their aim was to show solidarity with the Azerbaijani people.


2012 Istanbul rally to commemorate the Khojaly massacre, Demonstration
The rally was attended by nationalist organizations and political parties such as the Nationalist Movement Party, Ulku Ocaklari, and the Alperen Ocaklari (a youth branch of the far right Islamic Great Union Party). Security was increased around the Greek and French consulates whilst the road leading towards the Agos newspaper office was blocked off. Attendance estimates ranged from 20,000 to 100,000 by the organizers.


2012 Istanbul rally to commemorate the Khojaly massacre, Demonstration
Istanbul governor Hüseyin Avni Mutlu attended the rally, and it was addressed by the Turkish Interior Minister İdris Naim Şahin who said: There has never been a stage for such a courageous, honoured, determined, peaceful and brotherly meeting. I salute you! Welcome, shall your unity be everlasting! Various slogans included, "We are all from Khojaly", "Stop Armenian aggression", "Do not forget Turkic people genocide by Armenian gangs in southern Azerbaijan", "One nation, two countries, Justice for Khojaly! ", and "Stop Armenian lies".


2012 Istanbul rally to commemorate the Khojaly massacre, Demonstration, Racist slogans
Some elements of the crowd displayed anti-Armenian slogans containing hate speech and chanted violent threats towards Armenians. The anti-Armenian chants and slogans used by elements of the crowd included: "You are all Armenian, you are all bastards", "Bastards of Hrant cannot scare us", "Today Taksim, Tomorrow Yerevan, we can come suddenly at night", and "Let Armenia be gone". Some chants supported Ogun Samast, the convicted assassin of ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.


2012 Istanbul rally to commemorate the Khojaly massacre, Demonstration, Racist slogans
Students at the Süleyman Demirel University in Isparta reportedly chanted Mount Ağrı will become your grave.


2012 Istanbul rally to commemorate the Khojaly massacre, Reactions
The Armenian National Committee of America condemned the rally and urged the United States Ambassador to Turkey, Francis Ricciardone, to immediately condemn the demonstration. The Agos bilingual Turkish Armenian newspaper similarly condemned the demonstrations and organized a demonstration on 4 March calling for 'an end to racism' and 'brotherhood for all peoples'.


2012 Istanbul rally to commemorate the Khojaly massacre, Reactions
The Union of Socialist Azerbaijanis of Turkey issued a statement noting that the events surrounding the Khojali demonstrations should not be used "as a tool to deny the Armenian genocide". A union member claimed in the Taraf newspaper "that the government of Azerbaijan had subsidized the travel costs for some of the participants in the demonstration at a cost of about US$ 2 million".


2012 Istanbul rally to commemorate the Khojaly massacre, Reactions
On February 27, the head of Parliament's Human Rights Commission, Ayhan Sefer Ustun, called on Turkey's prosecutors to take action against protesters who held up racist signs at the rally. He told journalists that the hateful messages "completely devalued" the commemorative nature of the event.


2012 Istanbul rally to commemorate the Khojaly massacre, Reactions
The European Union raised concerns regarding the anti-Armenian slogans. A statement by the European Commission urged Turkey and its media to adopt a code of ethics on respect to religious minorities and the necessity to adopt new legislation to prosecute the incitement of hatred.


2012 Istanbul rally to commemorate the Khojaly massacre, Arrests
On 18 April 2012 the police in Istanbul arrested nine people in connection with the protests. They were released after stating that just before the demonstrations they were handed the offending banners by people unknown to them.


2012 Istanbul suicide bombing
The 2012 Instanbul suicide bombing occurred at a police station in the Sultangazi district of Istanbul, Turkey. The suicide bomber was İbrahim Çuhadar, a member of the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP-C). On 11 September 2012, he went to the police station and attempted to enter, then detonated the explosives at the entrance of the station after the police refused him entrance. As a result of the explosion, the attacker and a police officer died and seven others were injured.


2012 Istanbul suicide bombing, Background
On 20 July 2012, a gunfire was opened on the police from a taxi that did not comply with the stop warning of the police teams located at the entrance of the Gazi neighborhood in the Sultangazi district of Istanbul. Following the clash with the police, those in the taxi demanded that the taxi leave the area by placing a gun on the driver's head. Proceeding about 100 meters, the taxi stopped after crashing into the sidewalk. The male passenger in the vehicle was caught at the scene and the female one trying to escape was injured in Gaziosmanpaşa.


2012 Istanbul suicide bombing, Background
It was determined that these people were Hasan Selim Gönen and Sultan Işıklı, members of the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP-C). Gönen died on 21 July in the hospital where he was being treated. After the death of Hasan Selim Gönen, the information that DHKP-C was preparing for action against the police stations was reported to the press.


2012 Istanbul suicide bombing, Attack
At 11:00 AM (UTC+03:00) local time on 11 September 2012, the attacker who came to The 75th Anniversary Police Station in Sultangazi crossed the guard cabin at the gate of the police station and the 50-meter pathway between the garden entrance and the police station entrance. After climbing the stairs at the entrance of the police station, he reached the x-ray device at the entrance door. There he threw a grenade inside of the station, but it did not explode. Then, the police officer Bülent Özkan tried to stop and push the attacker out of the police station.


2012 Istanbul suicide bombing, Attack
Meanwhile, the assailant detonated the explosives he was carrying. According to the statement of the police officer who was on duty at the door, the sound of two gunshots were heard twice from the building after the suspect entered. It was stated that these gunshots occurred when the police officer Özkan, who later died from his injuries, shot his gun twice just before the explosion.


2012 Istanbul suicide bombing, Aftermath
At the time of the attack, the police officer Özkan, who had sustained serious injuries, died on the road to the hospital. A total of 7 people were injured, including 4 police officers and 3 civilians. The wounded were treated at Bağcılar State Hospital, Okmeydanı Training and Research Hospital and Bezmiâlem Vakıf University Medical Faculty Hospital. After the explosion, a hole was formed in the entrance of the building after the partial collapse of the entrance gate. The windows of the armored vehicles outside the building were broken.


2012 Istanbul suicide bombing, Investigation
In the examination made after the incident, it was determined that the attacker was İbrahim Çuhadar, a member of the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP-C), born in Alaca, Çorum, in 1973. Çuhadar had previously spent 8 months in Sincan F-type prison on the grounds that he was a member of DHKP-C. Çuhadar's body was taken from the Forensic Medicine Institute on 14 September and buried in the Gazi Cemetery in Sultangazi on 16 September. In the examinations carried out, it was determined that the explosive wrapped around Çuhadar's body was a pressure-acting and piece-effect plastic explosive.


2012 Istanbul suicide bombing, Investigation
After the attack, DHKP-C took responsibility for the attack with a statement on a website linked to DHKP-C. In the statement, which included Çuhadar's photograph, the organization explained the rationale for this attack and said "Hasan Selim Gönen was killed by the police officers of this police station. The Gazi police station was not a randomly selected police station." In a photograph dated 30 August 2012 published on the website at midnight the same day, Çuhadar was seen wrapping the explosives used in the attack around his body.


2012 Istanbul suicide bombing, Reactions
By releasing a written statement after the attack, President Abdullah Gül condemned the attack, which he stated to be carried out by the organizations he described as "terrorist groups pursuing outdated ideologies". Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan wished healing to the wounded and patience to the relatives of the police officer who died in the attack. Sabri Başköy, Governor of Çorum, where Çuhadar's birth certificate was registered, stated that although Çuhadar was born in Alaca, he left the village for Ankara with his family 30–35 years ago, and had no connection with Çorum since then.


2012 Istanbul suicide bombing, Reactions
Celal Çuhadır, the headman of Tutluca, also stated that the attacker was registered in the population of his own village and added that neither he nor the villagers knew him and condemned the attack. Speaking at the funeral of Özkan, who lost his life in the attack, Istanbul Governor Hüseyin Avni Mutlu and Istanbul Police Chief Hüseyin Çapkın condemned the attack. Çapkın said at the funeral, "We are 40 thousand people who are chiefs and officers to ensure the peace and security of Istanbul. We are all a Bülent."


2012 Italian Athletics Championships
The 2012 Italian Athletics Championships was the 102nd edition of the Italian Athletics Championships and were held in Brixen on 6-8 July 2012.


2012 Italian Athletics Indoor Championships
2012 Italian Athletics Indoor Championships was the 43rd edition of the Italian Athletics Indoor Championships and were held in Ancona.


2012 Italian Figure Skating Championships
The 2012 Italian Figure Skating Championships (Italian: Campionati Italiani Assoluti 2012 Pattinaggio Di Figura Su Ghiaccio) was held in Courmayeur from December 15 through 18, 2011. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, ice dancing, and synchronized skating on the senior and junior levels. The results may be used to choose the teams to the 2012 World Championships, 2012 European Championships, and 2012 World Junior Championships.


2012 Italian Formula Three Championship
The 2012 Italian Formula Three Championship was the 48th and the last Italian Formula Three Championship season. It was the first split in European and Italian series. The European Championship began on 31 March in Valencia, while the Italian Championship commenced on 9 June at Mugello. They finished together on 21 October at Monza.


2012 Italian Grand Prix
The 2012 Italian Grand Prix (formally known as the Formula 1 Gran Premio Santander d'Italia 2012) was a Formula One motor race that took place at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Monza, Italy on 9 September 2012. It was the thirteenth race of the 2012 season, and the final race in Europe before the teams returned to Asia for the Singapore Grand Prix.


2012 Italian Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton qualified on pole, ahead of teammate Jenson Button. The result gave McLaren their sixty-second front-row lock-out, breaking the previous record set by Williams. Hamilton won the race by four seconds from Sergio Pérez, with Fernando Alonso completing the podium.


2012 Italian Grand Prix, Report, Background
Tyre supplier Pirelli brought its silver-banded hard compound tyre as the harder "prime" tyre and the white-banded medium compound tyre as the softer "option" tyre.


2012 Italian Grand Prix, Report, Background, Circuit changes
The drag reduction system zones used in 2011 were shortened for the 2012 race. The first DRS zone, located on the straight between the second Lesmo corner and the Variante Ascari, was shortened by fifty meters, while the DRS zone on the front straight was shortened by five meters.


2012 Italian Grand Prix, Report, Background, Driver penalties
Lotus driver Romain Grosjean did not participate in the race due to receiving a one-race ban for his involvement in the first-lap incident at the Belgian Grand Prix that saw four cars crash heavily at the La Source hairpin. Grosjean was replaced by the team's testing and reserve driver, Jérôme d'Ambrosio.


2012 Italian Grand Prix, Report, Background, Driver penalties
Pastor Maldonado received two five-place grid penalties. the first for jumping the start of the Belgian Grand Prix and the second for causing an avoidable accident with Timo Glock after Grosjean's accident.


2012 Italian Grand Prix, Report, Background, Driver penalties
Paul di Resta was also demoted five places for an unscheduled gearbox change on Saturday morning, his second gearbox penalty of the season.


2012 Italian Grand Prix, Report, Background, Driver changes
Ma Qinghua became the first Chinese driver to take part in a Grand Prix weekend when he drove Narain Karthikeyan's HRT F112 in the first free practice session on Friday morning. Valtteri Bottas drove Bruno Senna's Williams FW34 in the same session, while Jules Bianchi took Paul di Resta's place at Force India.


2012 Italian Grand Prix, Report, Free practice
Mercedes AMG driver Michael Schumacher was fastest in the first practice session, three-tenths of a second quicker than Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg. For Lotus, Jérôme d'Ambrosio finished the session fifteenth, over a second and a half slower than Schumacher and sixth-tenths down on teammate Kimi Räikkönen. Ma Qinghua was the slowest runner after ninety minutes, nearly six seconds slower than Schumacher, and within two seconds of teammate Pedro de la Rosa. At the end of the session, both Fernando Alonso and Pastor Maldonado were observed to stop on the circuit with technical problems.


2012 Italian Grand Prix, Report, Free practice
Lewis Hamilton was the fastest driver in the second session, narrowly edging out Button and Alonso, the latter of whom had another disrupted session with a series of technical problems surrounding the gearbox and brakes that limited his time on the circuit. Having set the fastest time in the morning session, Schumacher finished tenth following a series of off-track excursions. He was highly-critical of the speed bumps placed around the Variante della Roggia chicane, claiming they were a safety hazard that could result in serious injury if a driver hit them at speed.


2012 Italian Grand Prix, Report, Free practice
Hamilton was once again fastest in the third session, just one thousandth of a second ahead of Alonso. Paul di Resta finished the session third, while Sebastian Vettel suffered a loss of power on his final lap and pulled over at the Roggia chicane. The Red Bull RB8 was consistently one of the slowest cars through the speed trap, evidenced by the way neither Red Bull driver featured in the top ten runners in any of the free practice sessions, with the exception of Mark Webber, who set the ninth-fastest time of the first session.


2012 Italian Grand Prix, Report, Race
Felipe Massa made a great start to pass Jenson Button for second place. He pulled alongside pole sitter Lewis Hamilton going into the first chicane, but Hamilton had the inside line and was able to stay ahead. Fernando Alonso was able to make his way up from 10th to 7th place by the end of the first lap, and passed Kimi Räikkönen for 6th going into the first chicane on the second lap.


2012 Italian Grand Prix, Report, Race
On lap 4, Sebastian Vettel passed Michael Schumacher under braking into the first chicane for 4th place. One lap later, Bruno Senna attempted to pass Nico Rosberg around the outside into the first chicane. Senna turned into Rosberg, they banged wheels, and Senna went straight through the chicane to take 11th. Fernando Alonso was able to pass Schumacher coming out of the Parabolica on lap 7.


2012 Italian Grand Prix, Report, Race
On lap 8, Bruno Senna tried to pass Paul di Resta on the outside going into the second chicane. Di Resta moved over, forcing Senna onto the gravel. Senna went straight through the chicane and back onto the racing line right in front of Mark Webber, who dodged around him as they entered the first Lesmo corner. On the next lap, Jean-Éric Vergne had a right rear suspension failure under braking into the first chicane. He spun and slid sideways over one of the curbs, launching his car into the air over the chicane.


2012 Italian Grand Prix, Report, Race
Jenson Button retook 2nd place from Felipe Massa in the 2nd chicane on lap 19. Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel pitted at the same time on lap 21, and came out right behind Massa with only a car's length separating each of the three. Lewis Hamilton pitted on lap 24, allowing Sergio Pérez, who hadn't pitted yet, to take the lead from 2nd.


2012 Italian Grand Prix, Report, Race
On lap 26, Fernando Alonso tried to go around the outside of Sebastian Vettel through Curva Grande. Vettel moved to the outside, pushing Alonso off the track and onto the gravel. The move was similar to a move Vettel pulled on Alonso the year before, but this time Vettel was given a drive-through penalty. Alonso was able to pass Vettel on lap 29, and the drive-through on lap 35 put Vettel in 9th place behind Webber.


2012 Italian Grand Prix, Report, Race
Lewis Hamilton retook the lead from Sergio Pérez on lap 29. Pérez pitted on the next lap and came back out in 8th place. Jenson Button retired on lap 34 following a sudden loss of fuel pressure. This moved Felipe Massa back up to 2nd with Fernando Alonso and Sergio Pérez gaining on him. Massa was passed by Alonso on lap 40, and then by Pérez three laps later. Pérez quickly chased down Alonso and passed him on lap 46.


2012 Italian Grand Prix, Report, Race
Sebastian Vettel retired on lap 47 with a failed alternator. On lap 51, Mark Webber clipped the curb on the exit of the Ascari chicane and spun. He fell out of the point-scoring positions and retired due to severely flat-spotted tires.


2012 Italian Grand Prix, Report, Race
Lewis Hamilton won the race, with Sergio Pérez, who started 12th, in second and quickly catching him. Fernando Alonso completed the podium, having started 10th.


2012 Italian Open (tennis)
The 2012 Italian Open (also known as the 2012 Rome Masters and sponsored title 2012 Internazionali BNL d'Italia) was a tennis tournament, being played on outdoor clay courts at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy. It was the 69th edition of the Italian Open and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2012 ATP World Tour and a Premier 5 event on the 2012 WTA Tour. It took place from 14 to 21 May 2012, because rain delayed the Men's final to Monday.


2012 Italian Open (tennis), ATP doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw:


2012 Italian Open (tennis), WTA doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw:


2012 Italian Open – Men's Doubles
John Isner and Sam Querrey were the defending champions but lost in the first round to Jürgen Melzer and Philipp Petzschner. Marcel Granollers and Marc López won the title defeating Łukasz Kubot and Janko Tipsarević 6–3, 6–2 in the final.


2012 Italian Open – Men's Singles
Rafael Nadal defeated the defending champion Novak Djokovic  in the final, 7–5, 6–3, to win the Men's Singles title at the 2012 Italian Open. It was his record-extending sixth Italian Open title.


2012 Italian Open – Men's Singles, Seeds
The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round.


2012 Italian Open – Men's Singles, Seeds
Click on the seed number of a player to go to their draw section.


2012 Italian Open – Women's Doubles
Peng Shuai and Zheng Jie were the defending champions but decided not to defend the title together. Peng chose to play with Sabine Lisicki while Zheng played with Hsieh Su-wei. Both lost in the first round. Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci won the title by defeating Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina 6–2, 7–5 in the final.


2012 Italian Open – Women's Doubles, Seeds
The top four seeds receive a bye into the second round.


2012 Italian Open – Women's Singles
Maria Sharapova was the defending champion, and she successfully defended her title, defeating Li Na in the final, 4–6, 6–4, 7–6(7–5). She did so after coming back from a set and a double break deficit in the second set, and saving a match point in the third set, in the final.


2012 Italian Open – Women's Singles, Seeds
The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round.


2012 Italian Open – Women's Singles, Seeds
Click on the seed number of a player to go to their draw section.


2012 Italian centre-left primary election
The 2012 Italian centre-left primary election determined the leader of the coalition Italy. Common Good, who will stand as common candidate for the office of Prime Minister in the subsequent general election, which took place on 24–25 February 2013. It was won with 61% of the votes by Pier Luigi Bersani, who defeated Matteo Renzi in the run-off.


2012 Italian centre-left primary election
The coalition, launched on 13 October 2012, comprises the Democratic Party (PD), Left Ecology Freedom (SEL) and the Italian Socialist Party (PSI).


2012 Italian centre-left primary election
Alliance for Italy (ApI), though officially still member of the centrist coalition New Pole for Italy, decided to take part in the contest, fielding a candidate from its own ranks.


2012 Italian centre-left primary election, Background and rules
After a heated debate inside the PD, the primary election was announced by its leader Pier Luigi Bersani, on 8 June 2012, during a national direction of the party, even before the official coalition formation. Several bosses of the party openly opposed the decision, stating that Bersani was to be declared the coalition leader outright and deeming the primary process counterproductive for the party.


2012 Italian centre-left primary election, Background and rules
Defying the internal opposition, on 14 July, Bersani confirmed the decision, which was approved by the party's national assembly, and announced his intention to run. On 31 July Bersani presented a "Charter of Values" that every candidate must accept in order to take part to the election. The charter was soon endorsed by Nichi Vendola, leader of SEL, who, as widely expected, later said he would run too.


2012 Italian centre-left primary election, Background and rules
On 13 September Matteo Renzi (PD), mayor of Florence, officially announced his bid to become the coalition leader. The announcement came after a lengthy struggle, with his candidacy hotly contested by the PD governing body, since the party charter clearly states that the party leader (in this case Bersani) is automatically the party candidate for Prime Minister, so barring any other PD member from running in the primaries. Anyway, in the wake of a grassroots campaign in support of a broader contest, and with Bersani's own consent, the party statute was expressly modified to allow multiple candidatures.


2012 Italian centre-left primary election, Background and rules
On 13 October the centre-left coalition, named Italy. Common Good was officially formed, with the signature by the leaders of the coalition partners (Bersani for the PD, Vendola for SEL, and Riccardo Nencini for the PSI) of the common political platform (named Pact of Democrats and Progressives), largely based on the charter presented by Bersani two months before. The charter was somewhat controversial, since it lacked any reference to Mario Monti, despite the PD being a key supporter of his government; this was viewed as a concession to Nichi Vendola's SEL, which on the contrary staunchly opposes Monti.


2012 Italian centre-left primary election, Background and rules
The convention set the election rules too, fixing the first run on 25 November and, in case no candidate had secured more than 50% of the vote, a run-off on 2 December between the two front-runners. Many of the rules were soon contested by Renzi, who lambasted them for having been conceived to reduce turnout and thus favoring Bersani. On the other hand, Bersani defended the rules, explaining that they had the purpose to prevent raiding from right-wing supporters.


2012 Italian centre-left primary election, Candidates
Other possible candidates included Giuseppe Civati, PD, and Valdo Spini, ex-PSI. The PSI chose not to field a candidate and supported Bersani instead.


2012 Italian centre-left primary election, Candidates
The left-wing party Italy of Values (IdV), former coalition partner with the PD in the past general election, was excluded from the coalition mainly because of the attacks made by the party leader Antonio Di Pietro against the President of the Italian Republic Giorgio Napolitano about his strong support of the Monti Cabinet and his alleged implication in the State-Mafia negotiation of 1992-93. Nevertheless, the party unofficially backed Bersani in the contest.


2012 Italian centre-left primary election, Campaign, First Round
Unlike the previous centre-left primaries, which resulted in Romano Prodi's overwhelming victory over the radical left candidate (later President of the Chamber of Deputies) Fausto Bertinotti, this time the race was considered much more competitive, primarily because of Renzi's presence on the ballot.


2012 Italian centre-left primary election, Campaign, First Round
In fact, PD Secretary Pierluigi Bersani entered the campaign as a clear favorite, being able to cluster around himself the solid support of almost the whole party (he was endorsed by about the 90% of the over 300 PD MPs) and the highly influential CGIL.


2012 Italian centre-left primary election, Campaign, First Round
His leadership, however, was soon challenged by mayor Renzi, who already in 2011 had become the leader of a grassroots movement (defined Rottamazione, Scrappage) that called for a radical renewal of the party governing boards, considered responsible for the collapse of both Prodi governments and, more in general, the inability to counter Silvio Berlusconi's appeal and policies over the previous 20 years.


2012 Italian centre-left primary election, Campaign, First Round
Renzi's relatively young age and continuous attacks on several prominent party leaders (especially on former PM Massimo D'Alema, that ignited a heated squabble) helped him gain the label of "anti-establishment" candidate, and, in a climate of general deep discontent towards the whole political class, this resulted in a dramatic increase in popularity across the whole political spectrum. On the other hand, his political stances, based on a centrist platform and open to a moderate liberalism (with frequent remarks to Tony Blair's New Labour), alienated many leftists and led to the charge of trying to win the primaries by relying mostly on the support of right-wing electors.


2012 Italian centre-left primary election, Campaign, First Round
Governor Nichi Vendola carried out a radical, left-wing campaign centered on the consequences of the 2008–2012 global recession, openly endorsing the stances of the Occupy movement, with frequent attacks to the global financial system and the Monti Cabinet, seen as an emanation of the same lobbies that caused the crisis and keep strangling the poorer classes; while remaining committed to the idea of a federal Europe and to public debt reduction, he advocated a strong reduction in military expenses and a higher taxation on the richest (often citing François Hollande's fiscal reform).


2012 Italian centre-left primary election, Campaign, First Round
Civil rights, and in particular LGBT rights promotion was another key issue for Vendola, who is the most prominent openly gay Italian politician; during the campaign, he hit the headlines stating his will to marry his current partner and build a family. However, Vendola's campaign started in earnest only at the beginning of November, when he was acquitted in a corruption trial; if found guilty, he promised he would have left politics immediately.


2012 Italian centre-left primary election, Campaign, First Round
Puppato and Tabacci, unanimously considered underdogs, were left with little media coverage and generally neglected. Puppato, who as mayor of Montebelluna gained popularity for her environmentalist battles, belonged to the "green" faction of the PD and campaigned on sustainable development and green economy promotion; moreover, being the only woman to contest the race, she raised the issue of discrimination against women, particularly stressing the gender pay gap and the rise of domestic violence. Tabacci, whose candidacy was aimed at representing the moderate values in the primaries, emphasized honesty and responsibility in politics, gaining widespread respect for his coherence and moral integrity, even from the far left.


2012 Italian centre-left primary election, Campaign, First Round
Secretary Pier Luigi Bersani countered Renzi's calls for Rottamazione with pledges to a deep but milder renewal in the party.


2012 Italian centre-left primary election, Campaign, First Round
He mounted up a campaign based on a mainstream social democratic platform, building his own image of reformist - during his tenure as minister in the Prodi II Cabinet, he became famous for his liberalization efforts, popularly called Lenzuolate - but firmly anchored to the values of the left; he was depicted as the "used safe", an experienced yet efficient politician, the only candidate capable of keeping together the coalition and with the standing needed to deal with the other European leaders.


2012 Italian centre-left primary election, Campaign, First Round
Right from the start, being the PD by far the largest party in the coalition, the media reduced (somewhat forcedly) the contest to a race between Bersani and Renzi, with the former constantly leading in the polls by a comfortable margin but still below the 50% threshold needed to avoid the run-off. Trying to close the gap, Renzi toured all 108 Provinces of Italy with a camper, and repeatedly asked for a relaxation of the rules, since an increase in the turnout seemed to go to Renzi's advantage.


2012 Italian centre-left primary election, Campaign, First Round
The electoral committee soon received many offers by all main TV channels to organize a debate among all candidates. In the end, the debate was held on 12 November and aired live in prime-time by Sky TG24 and Cielo, both belonging to the private television platform Sky Italia; this caused controversy, mainly because Italian public network RAI repeatedly demanded to host the event but was turned down. The debate, that was widely considered a success, being watched by over 1.5 million viewers, was narrowly won by Renzi, but the polls did not show any significant improvement in his numbers. Calls from both Vendola and Renzi to hold another public debate were denied by Bersani.


2012 Italian centre-left primary election, Campaign, First Round
On election day, little more than 3 million people cast their vote, a sharp decline in turnout if compared to the previous primaries but well beyond the rosiest prospects nonetheless. As widely expected, Bersani gained a plurality but not an absolute majority, with Renzi coming distant second.


2012 Italian centre-left primary election, Campaign, First Round
Renzi came first in his native Tuscany, Umbria and Marche, widely known as the "reddest" regions of Italy, and was highly competitive in the rich North-West; on the other hand, Bersani won all major cities (with the exception of Renzi's Florence) and prevailed overwhelmingly in the South, where Renzi often yielded the second place to Vendola. The leader of SEL had disappointing results, coming third overall with only 15% of the votes and narrowly losing his own region to Bersani.


2012 Italian centre-left primary election, Campaign, Second Round, Vendola's endorsement
Vendola, leader of the leftist component of the coalition, soon declared his personal support for Bersani, initially only informally, later joining the PD Secretary in a common electoral rally in Naples; Vendola's widely expected endorsement ostensibly tilted the balance in Bersani's favor.


2012 Italian centre-left primary election, Campaign, Second Round, Renzi's last attack over the rules
Renzi countered by reviving the long-drawn-out strife over the rules, publicly inviting those who had not voted in the first round to register and take part to the run-off, though this was forbidden by the electoral committee.


2012 Italian centre-left primary election, Campaign, Second Round, Renzi's last attack over the rules
As a matter of fact, the rules were somewhat ambiguous on that point, stating that those willing to vote in the second round had to justify their absence on the first, but an initially rather lenient interpretation was later reversed for a much stricter one, much to Renzi's chagrin, who openly denounced the attempt to rig the elections by the establishment-controlled electoral committee.


2012 Italian centre-left primary election, Campaign, Second Round, Renzi's last attack over the rules
Bersani replied by officially charging his opponent with trying to raid the vote. All candidates who had been eliminated in the first round soon joined Bersani in his protests. Seeing that the attack over the rules had substantially backfired on him, on the last day of campaign Renzi gave up, promising to respect in any case the outcome of the vote.


2012 Italian centre-left primary election, Campaign, Second Round, Renzi's last attack over the rules
In the end, over 120,000 more people applied to register, but only little more than 7,000 were actually allowed to vote.


2012 Italian centre-left primary election, Campaign, Second Round, The second debate
A second TV debate between the two candidates was held on 28 November, this time aired by Rai 1, the oldest and most popular Italian TV channel, again live and in prime-time. The debate lasted little less than two hours, hosted by TG1 leading anchorwoman Monica Maggioni, who posed questions drafted by the newsroom and posted by the audience in the TG1 website over the previous days. The debate featured hook-ups with electoral committees of both candidates, who too had the opportunity to ask questions.


2012 Italian centre-left primary election, Campaign, Second Round, The second debate
Like the previous debate, the contest was dominated by fair-play, with no cheap shots and leaving alone the quarrel about the rules. Again, Renzi seemed more at ease with the quick TV pace and emerged as the clear winner, but Bersani held out, keeping his lead in the polls.


2012 Italian centre-left primary election, Campaign, Second Round, Election results
On 2 December Bersani won the run-off with around 61% of the vote, a higher margin than expected. Bersani again swept the South, that voted en masse for him, and swung to his column Umbria and Marche, thus leaving to Renzi only Tuscany. With Bersani's victory becoming apparent soon after the closing of the polls, Renzi quickly conceded, thanking his supporters and calling for party unity.


2012 Italian local elections
The 2012 Italian local elections were held on 6–7 May, with a second round on 20–21 May. In Italy, direct elections were held in 948 municipalities: in each municipality (comune) were chosen mayor and members of the City Council. Of the 948 municipalities, 28 were provincial capitals and only 176 had a population higher than 15,000 inhabitants (10,000 for Sicily).


2012 Italian local elections
Citizens living in Italy who were 18 or over on election day were entitled to vote in the local council elections. The deadline for voters to register to vote in the 6–7 May elections was midday on Tuesday 3 April 2012.


2012 Italian local elections
For the first time there weren't provincial elections around Italy because they were abolished by the Law n.3660 of 4 December 2011. Instead of a president, the provincial government would be entrusted to a Special Commissioner.


2012 Italian local elections
Other elections were taken on 10–11 June with a second round on 24–25 June in 65 municipalities of Sardinia: important cities like Alghero and Oristano chose their mayors and councils.


2012 Italian local elections
Total voter turnout on the first round was of 66.9%, lower than that of 2007; 667 municipalities in the first round had a mayor elected (except Sicily).


2012 Italian local elections, Voting System
All mayoral elections in Italy in cities with a population higher than 15,000 use the same voting system. Under this system voters express a direct choice for the mayor or an indirect choice voting for the party of the candidate's coalition. If no candidate receives at least 50% of votes, the top two candidates go to a second round after two weeks. This gives a result whereby the winning candidate may be able to claim majority support, although it is not guaranteed.


2012 Italian local elections, Voting System
The election of the City Council is based on a direct choice for the candidate with a preference vote: the candidate with the majority of the preferences is elected. The number of the seats for each party is determined proportionally.


2012 Italian local elections, Results, Coalition results
Majority of each coalition in 142 municipalities (comuni) with a population higher than 15,000:


2012 Italian motorcycle Grand Prix
The 2012 Italian motorcycle Grand Prix was the ninth round of the 2012 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 13–15 July 2012 at the Mugello Circuit.


2012 Italian motorcycle Grand Prix, Championship standings after the race (MotoGP)
Below are the standings for the top five riders and constructors after round nine has concluded.


2012 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament
The 2012 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament was an under-18 ice hockey tournament held in Břeclav, Czech Republic, and Piešťany, Slovakia, on August 13–18, 2012. As in the previous two years, the venues were Alcaplast Arena in Břeclav and Patrícia Ice Arena 37 in Piešťany.


2012 Ivy League Baseball Championship Series
The 2012 Ivy League Baseball Championship Series took place at Hoy Field in Ithaca, NY on May 5 and 6. The series matched the regular season champions of each of the league's two divisions. Cornell, the winner of the series, claimed the Ivy League's automatic berth in the 2012 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.


2012 Ivy League Baseball Championship Series
Cornell won the series, which required all three games, on an 11th inning walk-off home run by Chris Cruz. It was the Big Red's first Ivy League baseball championship since the league began sponsoring baseball in 1993. It was also the first baseball championship for Cornell since 1977, when they claimed the EIBL title.


2012 Ivy League Baseball Championship Series
Dartmouth has appeared in the Ivy League Championship Series every year since 2008, winning in 2009 and 2010.


2012 J.League Cup
The 2012 J.League Cup, also known as the 2012 Yamazaki Nabisco Cup for sponsoring purposes, was the 37th edition of the most prestigious Japanese soccer league cup tournament and the 20th edition under the current J.League Cup format.


2012 J.League Cup
Kashima Antlers became the winners for two straight years and qualify for the 2013 Suruga Bank Championship.


2012 J.League Cup, Format
Teams from the J.League Division 1 will take part in the tournament. FC Tokyo, Gamba Osaka, Kashiwa Reysol and Nagoya Grampus were given a bye to the quarter-finals due to qualification in the 2012 AFC Champions League. The remaining 14 teams started from the group stage, where they were divided into two groups of seven. The group winners and the runners-up of each group qualified for the quarter-final along with the four teams which qualified for the AFC Champions League.


2012 J.League Cup Final
2012 J.League Cup Final was the 20th final of the J.League Cup competition. The final was played at National Stadium in Tokyo on November 3, 2012. Kashima Antlers won the championship.


2012 J.League Division 1
The 2012 J.League Division 1 season was the 47th season of Japanese top-flight football and 20th since the establishment of the J.League. The season started on March 10 and finished on December 1.


2012 J.League Division 1
Sanfrecce Hiroshima won the 2012 J.League Division 1 championship on 24 November and advanced to the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup as the host team, entering the qualifying play-off round. This was their first title in the J.League era and first league title since 1970, marking their sixth title overall.


2012 J.League Division 1
Additionally, this was the first time since 1966 that clubs from the traditional regions of Kantō, Tōkai or Kansai – the corridor from Tokyo to Osaka – did not make the top two, and this time it was a team from Tōhoku, Vegalta Sendai, who finished in second place despite leading the table most of the season.


2012 J.League Division 1, Clubs
Ventforet Kofu, Avispa Fukuoka and Montedio Yamagata were relegated at the end of the 2011 season after finishing in the bottom three places of the table. Avispa Fukuoka and Ventforet Kofu returned to J2 after only one season in the top flight, while Montedio Yamagata were relegated after three seasons in J1.


2012 J.League Division 1, Clubs
The three relegated teams were replaced by 2011 J.League Division 2 champions FC Tokyo, runners-up Sagan Tosu and third-placed team Consadole Sapporo. FC Tokyo made an immediate return to the top division, while Consadole Sapporo ended a three-year absence. In the end, Sagan Tosu reached J1 after thirteen seasons in the second division.


2012 J.League Division 1, Attendances
Updated to games played on 1 December 2012Source: Notes:† Team played previous season in J2.


2012 J.League Division 2
The 2012 J.League Division 2 season is the 41st season of the second-tier club football in Japan and the 14th season since the establishment of J2 League. The season started on March 4 and will finish on November 11, followed by the promotion playoffs among the 3rd to 6th placed clubs (see the article).


2012 J.League Division 2
Ventforet Kofu became champions and returned to J1 immediately after one season at J2. Shonan Bellmare finished second and also won the automatic promotion along with Kofu, returning to the J1 after two years of absence. Oita Trinita finished sixth, but won the promotion playoffs by defeating 3rd-placed Kyoto Sanga at the semifinal and 5th-placed JEF United Chiba at the final thus returning to the J1 after three years of absence.


2012 J.League Division 2
For the first time ever, relegation to the third-tier JFL was implemented, and Machida Zelvia became the unlucky first team to suffer that fate by finishing in bottom place only one season after entering the professional divisions.


2012 J.League Division 2, Promotions and relegations, Promotions to Division 1
Rather than 3 spots for automatic promotions to J.League Division 1 (J1) until the previous season, there are only 2 spots for automatic promotions from this season, and the 3rd promoting club will be determined by a play-off called Play-off for Promotion to J1 (J1昇格プレーオフ) held by 4 clubs (3rd – 6th placed clubs in the standings in the league matches). The regulation is:


2012 J.League Division 2, Promotions and relegations, Promotions to Division 1
On 28 September, it was announced that the following clubs did not meet the criteria, mainly in regards to the stadiam's size, which are required to J1 clubs to maintain, thus will not be promoted to J1, or participating promotion playoffs even if finishing in the appropriate standing at the end of the regular season:


2012 J.League Division 2, Promotions and relegations, Relegations to JFL
In 2008, J.League and Japan Football Association planned that at most 3 clubs in J2 are to relegate to Japan Football League (JFL) every season after the number of J2 clubs reached 22.


2012 J.League Division 2, Promotions and relegations, Relegations to JFL
In January 2012, since the number of J2 clubs reached 22 from this season, J.League determined the regulation of the relegations from J2 to JFL that at most 2 clubs in J2 will relegate to JFL every season. The regulation is:


2012 J.League Division 2, Attendances
Updated to games played on 11 November 2012Source: Notes:† Team played previous season in J1.‡ Team played previous season in JFL.


2012 J.League Division 2, Promotion Playoffs to Division 1
The schedule was as follows. The format would be changed if one or more of the involved clubs could not meet the promotion criteria to Division 1.


2012 J.League Division 2, Promotion Playoffs to Division 1
If the score tied by 90 minutes, the winner would be determined by the league standings.


2012 JAF Grand Prix
The 2012 JAF Grand Prix Fuji Sprint Cup was the final racing event for both the 2012 Super GT season and the 2012 Formula Nippon season. It took place over November 17 and November 18, 2012.


2012 JAF Grand Prix, Background
Due to commitments in the 2012 Guia Race of Macau, André Couto was replaced in the #19 Lexus Team WedsSport Bandoh by Marino Franchitti. In GT300, due to Hideki Yamauchi racing in the 2012 Macau Grand Prix Formula Three, his seat in the #87 JLOC Lamborghini Gallardo was replaced by Yuya Sakamoto, who had competed in five races in the #85 JLOC entry in 2012. The #27 LMP Motorsport Ferrari F430 GTC was the only team that competed at Motegi that did not enter at Fuji, while the #86 JLOC entry returned after last racing in the 2012 41st International Pokka 1000km.


2012 JAF Grand Prix, Background
There were no driver changes in Formula Nippon. It was also the last event that the series name Formula Nippon would be used, as for 2013 it will be renamed to the Japanese Championship Super Formula.


2012 JAF Grand Prix, Background
Unlike the eight points-scoring races in Super GT, the Fuji Sprint Cup was run under slightly different rules.


2012 JAF Grand Prix, Background, East versus West
There was one final intranational competition. All Japanese drivers, including those in support races, were divided into East and West teams according to the prefectures of their birth; visiting international drivers were randomly assigned to one team by the organizers. The race results of 8 races (4 in Super GT, 1 each in other events), plus bonus points added from sales events outside the circuit would determine the winning team. An extra bonus would be issued to all drivers and supporters on that team.


2012 JAF Grand Prix, GT300 Race 1 results
The first GT300 race was held on Saturday November 17.


2012 JAF Grand Prix, GT500 Race 1 results
The first GT500 race was held on Saturday November 17. Due to heavy rain, the race was halted after 11 of the scheduled 22 laps.


2012 JAF Grand Prix, Formula Nippon results
The Formula Nippon race was held on Sunday November 18.


2012 JAF Grand Prix, GT300 Race 2 results
The second GT300 race was held on Sunday November 18.


2012 JAF Grand Prix, GT500 Race 2 results
The second GT500 race was held on Sunday November 18.


2012 JK Racing Asia Series season
The 2012 JK Racing Asia Series season is the ninth season of the former Formula BMW Pacific series, and the second under its new name of the JK Racing Asia Series. The championship began on 27 May at Sepang and will finish on 28 October in New Delhi after sixteen races held at five meetings.


2012 JPMorgan Chase trading loss
In April and May 2012, large trading losses occurred at JPMorgan's Chief Investment Office, based on transactions booked through its London branch. The unit was run by Chief Investment Officer Ina Drew, who later stepped down. A series of derivative transactions involving credit default swaps (CDS) were entered, reportedly as part of the bank's "hedging" strategy. Trader Bruno Iksil, nicknamed the London Whale, accumulated outsized CDS positions in the market. An estimated trading loss of $2 billion was announced. However, the loss amounted to more than $6 billion for JP Morgan Chase.


2012 JPMorgan Chase trading loss
These events gave rise to a number of investigations to examine the firm's risk management systems and internal controls. JPMorgan Chase agreed to pay $920 million in fines. JPMorgan Chase cut chief executive Jamie Dimon's 2012 pay in half, to $11.5 million from $23 million, due to the $6 billion trading loss.


2012 JPMorgan Chase trading loss, Background
In February 2012, hedge fund insiders such as Boaz Weinstein of Saba Capital Management became aware that the market in credit default swaps was possibly being affected by aggressive trading activities. The source of the unusual activity turned out to be Bruno Iksil, a trader for JPMorgan Chase & Co. Market-moving trades by the bank's Chief Investment Office had first been uncovered in June 2011 by Dan Alderson, a reporter at trade journal Creditflux, which reported on anomalies in CDX HY index tranche pricing dynamics caused by Iksil's trading activity.


2012 JPMorgan Chase trading loss, Background
The same journal reported on further tranche trading activity by the JP Morgan unit two months later. By 2012, heavy opposing bets to his positions had been made by traders, including another branch of JPMorgan, who purchased the derivatives that JPMorgan was selling in high volume. JPMorgan denied the first news reports, with Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon calling it a "tempest in a teapot." Major losses of $2 billion were reported by the firm in May 2012 in relation to these trades.


2012 JPMorgan Chase trading loss, Background
On July 13, 2012, the total loss was updated to $5.8 billion with the addition of a $4.4 billion loss in the second quarter and subsequent recalculation of a loss of $1.4 billion for the first quarter. A spokesman for the firm claimed that projected total losses could be more than $7 billion. The disclosure, which resulted in headlines in the media, did not disclose the exact nature of the trading involved, which remained in progress as of May 16, 2012, as JPMorgan's losses mounted and other traders sought to profit or avoid losses resulting from JPMorgan's positions.


2012 JPMorgan Chase trading loss, Background
As of June 28, 2012, JPMorgan's positions were continuing to produce losses which could total as much as $9 billion under worst-case scenarios. The trades were possibly related to CDX IG 9, a credit default swap index based on the default risk of major U.S. corporations that has been described as a "derivative of a derivative". On the company's emergency conference call, JPMorgan Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon said the strategy was "flawed, complex, poorly reviewed, poorly executed, and poorly monitored". The episode is being investigated by the Federal Reserve, the SEC, and the FBI.


2012 JPMorgan Chase trading loss, Trades
On February 2, 2012, at the Harbor Investment Conference, speaking to an audience of investors, Boaz Weinstein recommended buying the Markit CDX North America Investment Grade Series 9 10-Year Index, CDX IG 9. This is a derivative that measures the spread (difference in interest rates) between the interest rates of investment-grade worthy companies and the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR). This was a derivative which Weinstein had noticed to be losing value in a manner and to a degree which seemed to diverge from market expectations. It turned out that JPMorgan was shorting the index by making huge trades.


2012 JPMorgan Chase trading loss, Trades
JPMorgan's bet was that credit markets would strengthen; the index is based on 121 investment grade bonds issued by North American corporations. Investors who followed Weinstein's tip did poorly during the early months of 2012 as JPMorgan strongly supported its position. However, by May, after investors became concerned about the implications of the European financial crisis, the situation reversed and JPMorgan suffered large losses. In addition to Weinstein's Saba Capital Management, Blue Mountain Capital, BlueCrest Capital, Lucidus Capital Partners, CQS, III, and Hutchin Hill are hedge funds which are known to have benefited from taking the other side of the trade to JPMorgan. A separate unit of JPMorgan was also on the winning side.


2012 JPMorgan Chase trading loss, Trades
The $6.2 billion loss came from three positions that partially offset one another. It occurred when the world's financial markets were in relative calm. Had quality spread curves twisted or worldwide economic distress been more pronounced the loss could have been much higher.


2012 JPMorgan Chase trading loss, Trades
The Financial Times "Alphaville" analysis suggests that these positions were not volatile enough to account for the full losses reported. They suggest that other positions are likely involved as well.


2012 JPMorgan Chase trading loss, Investigation
The internal investigation concluded in July 2012. It involved more than 1,000 people across the firm and outside law firm WilmerHale. A report issued in January 2013 made the following "key observations"


2012 JPMorgan Chase trading loss, Investigation
In July 2017, U.S. prosecutors dropped criminal charges against two derivative traders from France and Spain after unsuccessful efforts to extradite them from their countries.


2012 JPMorgan Chase trading loss, JPM organizational structure, risk systems, accounting and internal control
The trades occurred within the Chief Investment Office (CIO), where staff were reportedly "faithfully executing strategies demanded by the bank's risk management model". This unit is reported to have very wide latitude in otherwise unsupervised trading. The company had been without a treasurer for five months during the time of the trades and had a relatively inexperienced executive, Irvin Goldman, in charge of risk management in the CIO.


2012 JPMorgan Chase trading loss, JPM organizational structure, risk systems, accounting and internal control
The trades took place in a unit of JPMorgan that reported directly to Chairman & CEO Jamie Dimon. In Congressional testimony it came out that Dimon wanted to be responsible for what information was revealed, and information was withheld from the regulators. There had been a series of violations of the Sarbanes–Oxley regulations requiring certain protections.


2012 JPMorgan Chase trading loss, JPM organizational structure, risk systems, accounting and internal control
On May 10, 2012, Dimon announced that there was a loss of at least $2 billion through "egregious mistakes" in trading.


2012 JPMorgan Chase trading loss, Impact on Volcker Rule implementation
The Volcker Rule, part of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, bans high-risk trading inside commercial banking and lending institutions. The Volcker rule is sometimes referred to as "a modern Glass-Steagall firewall that separates core banking system from higher-risk, hedge fund-style proprietary trading". The rule's implementation had been repeatedly delayed however, with analysts predicting implementation in 2014 and lobbyists simultaneously pushing to delay it longer. The final version of the Volcker Rule was passed on December 10, 2013, which was implemented in July 2015.


2012 JPMorgan Chase trading loss, Lobby efforts and government relations
Bloomberg News and Robert Schmidt identified several people at JPM involved in the lobbying and its government relations response.


2012 JSM Challenger of Champaign–Urbana
The 2012 JSM Challenger of Champaign–Urbana was a professional tennis tournament played on hard courts. It was the eleventh edition of the tournament which was part of the 2012 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Champaign, United States between 12 and 18 November 2012.


2012 JSM Challenger of Champaign–Urbana, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2012 JSM Challenger of Champaign–Urbana – Doubles
Rik de Voest and Izak van der Merwe were the defending champions but de Voest decided not to participate. van der Merwe played alongside Jean Andersen and lost in the final to Devin Britton and Austin Krajicek 3–6, 3–6.


2012 JSM Challenger of Champaign–Urbana – Singles
Alex Kuznetsov was the defending champion. Tim Smyczek defeated Jack Sock 2–6, 7–6(7–1), 7–5 in the final to win the title.


2012 Jackson State Tigers football team
The 2012 Jackson State Tigers football team represented Jackson State University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Tigers were led by seventh-year head coach Rick Comegy and played their home games at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium. They were a member of the East Division Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). They finished with an overall record of seven wins and five losses (7–5, 7–2 SWAC)  and lost to Arkansas–Pine Bluff in the SWAC Championship Game.


2012 Jackson State Tigers football team, Media
Jackson State games were broadcast on 95.5 Hallelujah FM. All Jackson State games were also streamed online via Yahoo.


2012 Jacksonville Dolphins football team
The 2012 Jacksonville Dolphins football team represented Jacksonville University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by sixth-year head coach Kerwin Bell and played their home games at D. B. Milne Field. They are a member of the Pioneer Football League. They finished the season 7–4, 5–3 in PFL play to finish in a tie for fourth place.


2012 Jacksonville Jaguars season
The 2012 Jacksonville Jaguars season was the franchise's 18th season in the National Football League. It was the first under the new ownership of Shahid Khan and the first season for head coach Mike Mularkey. The Jaguars entered the season hoping to improve on their 5–11 record from 2011 and return to the playoffs for the first time since 2007, but did not and were eliminated from postseason contention. This season marked the third time in the last five seasons in which the Jaguars finished fourth in the AFC South.


2012 Jacksonville Jaguars season
The Jaguars finished with a 2–14 record, not only tying the Kansas City Chiefs for the league's worst record of 2012, but it would also be the worst in franchise history until the team went 1–15 in 2020. Their 1–7 record at home was also their worst home record in team history.


2012 Jacksonville Jaguars season, Roster changes, Draft, Undrafted rookie free agents
The following is a list of notable rookie free agents signed after the 2012 NFL Draft:


2012 Jacksonville Jaguars season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 1: at Minnesota Vikings
at Mall of America Field at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota


2012 Jacksonville Sharks season
The 2012 Jacksonville Sharks season was the third season for the franchise in the Arena Football League (AFL), coming off of their victory in ArenaBowl XXIV. The team was coached by Les Moss and played their home games at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena. With a 10–8 record in the regular season, the Sharks won their third consecutive division championship. However, they were denied an opportunity at an ArenaBowl championship repeat when they were defeated 89–34 in the American Conference Championship game by the Philadelphia Soul.


2012 Jacksonville Sharks season, Schedule, Regular season
The Sharks had a bye week in week 1 and began the season on the road in week 2 against the Kansas City Command on March 16. Their first home game was on March 24 against the Georgia Force. They traveled to Pittsburgh to face the Pittsburgh Power on July 20 in their final regular season game.


2012 Jacksonville State Gamecocks football team
The 2012 Jacksonville State Gamecocks football team represented Jacksonville State University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 13th-year head coach Jack Crowe and played their home games at JSU Stadium. They were a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC). They finished the season 6–5 overall and 5–3 in OVC play to place fourth in the conference.


2012 Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Music Awards Presentation
The 2012 Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Music Awards Presentation (Chinese: 2012年度十大勁歌金曲頒獎典禮) was held on January 13, 2013. It is part of the Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Music Awards Presentation series.


2012 Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Music Awards Presentation, Top 10 song awards
The top 10 songs (十大勁歌金曲) of 2012 are as follows.


2012 Jakarta gubernatorial election
A gubernatorial election was held in Jakarta on 11 July 2012, with a second round run-off on 20 September 2012 to elect the Governor of Jakarta for the next five-year term. Incumbent governor Fauzi Bowo was running for a second successive term.


2012 Jakarta gubernatorial election
The first round resulted with two top-voted candidates, Joko Widodo and Fauzi Bowo to advance to the runoff as neither received majority of votes in the first round. Quick count results released in mass media after the second round voting indicated that Joko Widodo is projected to win the runoff with 54% of popular votes. Fauzi Bowo later conceded and congratulated Joko on 17.00 WIB. Official results were announced on 29 September. Widodo won the election with 53.82% of votes against Bowo's 46.18%.


2012 Jakarta gubernatorial election, Candidates
Under regulations, only political parties having 15 seats or more in the regional parliament (DPRD) can put forward a candidate. Political parties with fewer seats can put forward a candidate only if they have acquired support from other political parties. Independent candidates are able to run if they have gathered at least 407,340 signatures from local residents, which will be verified by the local election committee.


2012 Jakarta gubernatorial election, Candidates
Parties endorsing Noerdin and Nur Wahid in the first round later gave their support to Fauzi in the second round.


2012 Jakarta gubernatorial election, Campaign and issues
While the campaign for the elections had been mostly peaceful, there were a wide range of issues carried into the campaign. Notable ones including traffic management, flood control, accusation of money politics by some candidates, electoral roll irregularities, and smear campaign dominated the campaign.


2012 Jakarta gubernatorial election, Campaign and issues, Traffic management
Traffic has long become the main issue for many Jakartans. Traffic jams up to 3–5 hours happens during weekdays rush hour and frustrate many locals. Public transportation was also heavily lamented due to poor service and maintenance. All candidates in the race brought forward this issue and promised various approaches to this problem.


2012 Jakarta gubernatorial election, Campaign and issues, Money politics
Money politics is a problem that has marred the democratic process in Indonesia ever since the transition to democracy. There have been many cases of candidates giving money or other incentives to the electorate to influence their voting intention. In the first round of this election, anti-corruption NGO, Indonesia Corruption Watch found at least 27 cases of money politics during the campaign. The campaign of incumbent governor Fauzi Bowo was the main offender with 12 cases, followed by Alex Noerdin's campaign with 6 cases. The electoral commission was also deemed failed to avoid these cases to happen regularly.


2012 Jakarta gubernatorial election, Campaign and issues, Electoral roll irregularities
The electoral roll (Daftar Pemilih Tetap) had created much controversy since it was made public. The roll which approved by the electoral commission on June 2, was rejected by all candidates except the incumbent governor. Irregularities include double registrations, inclusion of deceased voters, fake names, or redundancy. Since then, all five candidates appealed the electoral commission to revise the electoral roll, and if necessary, postpone the election. The electoral commission mostly kept silent on this issue and promised to do some revision on the roll. The revision process was controversially ineffective and was heavily criticized. The head of the commission was reprimanded for this issue.


2012 Jakarta gubernatorial election, Results, First round
Preliminary results released by several media after first round of elections showed Joko Widodo leading with 43% of votes, followed by Fauzi Bowo with 33%, Hidayat Nur Wahid with 11%, Faisal Basri with 5%, Alex Noerdin with 4%, and Hendarji Supanji with 2%. Official results were released on 19 July. The result has shocked every single pollsters, as most have predicted Gov. Fauzi to win the election in a landslide and without having to go for a runoff.


2012 Jakarta gubernatorial election, Results, Second round
Quick count results released in mass media after the second round voting indicated that Joko Widodo is projected to win with 54% of popular votes. Fauzi Bowo congratulated Joko at 17.00 WIB. Official second round results were released on 29 September.


2012 Jalisco Open
The 2012 Jalisco Open was a professional tennis tournament played on hard courts. It was the second edition of the tournament which was part of the 2012 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Guadalajara, Mexico between 12 and 18 March 2012.


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


2012 Jalisco Open – Doubles
Vasek Pospisil and Bobby Reynolds were the defending champions but Reynolds decided not to participate. Pospisil played alongside Rajeev Ram. James Cerretani and Adil Shamasdin won the final 7–6(7–5), 6–1 against Tomasz Bednarek and Olivier Charroin.


2012 Jalisco Open – Singles
Paul Capdeville was the defending champion. Thiago Alves won the title by defeating Paolo Lorenzi 6–3, 7–6(7–4) in the final.


2012 Jalisco gubernatorial election
The 2012 gubernatorial election in the Mexican state of Jalisco was held on Sunday, July 1, 2012. Incumbent Jalisco Governor Emilio González Márquez of the National Action Party (PAN) is retiring due to mandatory term limits, which limit all Mexican state governors to one, six-year term in office. The Jalisco gubernatorial election coincided with the 2012 Mexican presidential and general elections.


2012 Jalisco gubernatorial election, Polling
A poll conducted by El Universal in May 2012 showed PRI candidate Jorge Aristóteles Sandoval leading his three opponents in the race.


2012 Jamaican local elections
The 2012 Jamaican Local Government elections were held on 26 March 2012 in Jamaica. Directly elected were 228 divisional councillors and the mayor of the municipality of Portmore. Each of the 13 parish councils and parish capital mayoral positions were allocated to a political party. The election was contested mainly between Jamaica's two major political parties, the Portia Simpson-Miller-led People's National Party (PNP), the opposition, and the Andrew Holness-led Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), which currently forms Jamaica's government.


2012 Jamaican local elections
Councillor candidates are nominated by political parties in the electoral divisions and are voted on and directly elected by the electorate. The mayor of Portmore is also directly elected. Control of the parish councils depends on the party which controls the majority of the divisions within the parish. The post of mayor of the capital town of the parish is awarded to the party which controls the parish council. The party will then appoint one of its councillors in the parish to be mayor of the town.


2012 Jamaican local elections
In the case that neither party holds a majority in a parish council, an elected independent or third party candidate will make the decision of which of the tied political parties should be awarded the mayorship of the capital of the parish. In the case that no independent or third party candidates were elected, the mayorship will be dependent on which party received the higher popular vote in the parish.


2012 Jamaican local elections, Background
With local government elections constitutionally due every three years, these elections were due on 5 December 2010. The elections were delayed several times before finally being called by the newly elected PNP government.


2012 Jamaican local elections, Background
These elections followed the 2011 general elections in which the PNP was returned to governance.


2012 Jamaican local elections, Results
The People's National Party secured a landslide victory by winning 151 divisions to the Jamaica Labour Party's 75, in addition to the mayorship of Portmore. The results saw the PNP holding majorities in 12 of the 13 parish councils, with the 13th council, Trelawny, being tied by the two major political parties with one elected independent candidate. It was decided by the independent candidate that the mayorship of Falmouth, the capital of Trelawny, would be awarded to the PNP with the JLP receiving the deputy mayor position.


2012 Jamaican local elections, Results, Councillor election, Parish councils
The party which controls each of the 13 parish councils and appoints a mayor for the capital of the parish is the party which wins the majority of divisions in the parish. In the case that neither party holds a majority in a parish council, an elected independent or third party candidate will make the decision of which of the tied political parties should be awarded the mayorship of the capital of the parish. In the case that no independent or third party candidates were elected, the mayorship will be dependent on which party received the higher popular vote in the parish.


2012 Jamaican local elections, Results, Councillor election, Portmore mayoral election
The Mayor of Portmore is the chairman of the Portmore Municipal Council, the legislative body for the city. The Mayor is directly elected based on popular vote and is tasked with setting the policies and by-laws that will affect the city, as it relates to: road maintenance, parks, property taxes, etc...


2012 Jamaican local elections, Results, Councillor election, Portmore mayoral election
Despite being within the Saint Catherine, due to its population; Portmore was granted city status and 'independence' from the Saint Catherine Parish Council.


2012 James Madison Dukes football team
The 2012 James Madison Dukes football team represented James Madison University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 14th year head coach Mickey Matthews and played their home games at Bridgeforth Stadium and Zane Showker Field. They are a member of the Colonial Athletic Association. They finished the season 7–4, 5–3 in CAA play to finish in sixth place.


2012 Japan Championships in Athletics
The 96th Japan Championships in Athletics (第96回日本陸上競技選手権大会, Dai 96 kai Nihon Rikujō Kyōgi Sensyuken Taikai) were held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka. Organised by JAAF, the three-day competition took place from June 8–10 and served as the national championships in track and field for the Japan. The competition was for the qualifying trial for the Japan team at the 2012 Summer Olympics.


2012 Japan Championships in Athletics
During the competition, 2 new national records and 4 new championship records were set in the events. Two women athletes, Tomomi Abiko set a new Japanese record in the pole vault, and Yuki Ebihara broke her own national record in the javelin. Koji Murofushi won the hummer throw's national champions for eighteen consecutive years. Yuzo Kanemaru won 400m eight years in a row. Chisato Fukushima won both the 100 m and 200m races two years in a row. For the Most Valuable Player of the Championships, Genki Dean and Yuki Ebihara were selected.


2012 Japan Football League
The 2012 Japan Football League (Japanese: 第14回日本フットボールリーグ, Hepburn: Dai Jūyon-kai Nihon Futtobōru Rīgu) was the fourteenth season of the Japan Football League, the third tier of the Japanese football league system. It has started on March 11, and finished on November 18.


2012 Japan Football League, Clubs
The league intended to run the season in the usual 18-team format, but after the withdrawal of Arte Takasaki in January no replacement team was invited so in 2012 JFL features only 17 teams.


2012 Japan Football League, Clubs
Subsequently, only one club will be directly relegated and one take part in pro/rele playoffs to bring the number of JFL clubs back to 18.


2012 Japan Football League, Clubs
During the season, on 23 July, Nagano Parceiro were approved as J. League associate members, though they are not eligible for promotion until the completion of the renovation of their home stadium which is expected in 2016.


2012 Japan Football League, Clubs
On 28 September 2012, J. League Organization made an announcement for club licenses for 2013, and only Nagasaki was granted conditional J2 license.


2012 Japan Football League, Clubs
On 16 October 2012, it was reported that Sagawa Shiga F.C. had notified JFL organization about their intention of withdrawal from JFL as of the end of this season. On 17 October 2012, JFL Committee has approved the request from Sagawa Shiga F.C. for its withdrawal from JFL as of the end of the season.


2012 Japan Football League, Change in rules, Relegation to regional leagues
Because of withdrawals by Arte Takasaki and Sagawa Shiga, no clubs will be relegated automatically as of the end of the season. The bottom finished (17th placed) club will play a play-off against the 3rd placed club of the 2012 Regional League promotion series.


2012 Japan Football League, Attendance
Updated to games played on 18 November 2012Source: Japan Football League: , Notes:† Team played previous season in Regional Leagues.


2012 Japan Football League, Promotions and relegations after the regular season
V-Varen Nagasaki were automatically promoted to J2 while Machida Zelvia became the first ever team to be relegated from J. League, returning to the JFL after only one season.


2012 Japan Football League, Promotions and relegations after the regular season
SC Sagamihara and Fukushima United were promoted to JFL as the winner and runner-up of the Regional League promotion series, respectively. Third-placed Norbritz Hokkaido faced Tochigi Uva in a playoff series. Both games were played in Tochigi to prevent snow in Hokkaido from potentially postponing an away game. After two games, the series were tied 2–2, but Tochigi Uva won the penalty shootout 4–1, retaining their spot in JFL for the 2013 season.


2012 Japan Football League, Promotions and relegations after the regular season, Playoffs with Regional Promotion Series
Tochigi Uva won the series 4–1 on penalty kicks and remained in JFL.


2012 Japan Golf Tour
The 2012 Japan Golf Tour season was played from 12 April to 2 December. The season will consist of 25 official money events in Japan as well as the four majors and the four World Golf Championships.


2012 Japan Golf Tour, Tournament hosted
The table below shows the 2012 schedule. The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of Japan Golf Tour events he had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for Japan Golf Tour members (does not include the four major golf championships and the World Golf Championships). All tournaments are played in Japan.


2012 Japan Series
The 2012 Konami Japan Series was the 63rd edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) championship series known colloquially as the Japan Series. The best-of-seven playoff was won by the Central League champion Yomiuri Giants in six games over the Pacific League champion Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. It was the Giants' 22nd Japan Series title, second in the last four years. The series began on Saturday, October 27, 2012 and ended on Saturday, November 3, 2012 at the Tokyo Dome in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Giants starting pitcher Tetsuya Utsumi, who was the winning pitcher in Games 1 and 5, was named the Japan Series Most Valuable Player (MVP). Giants players Shinnosuke Abe, Hisayoshi Chono and John Bowker were also recognized with Outstanding Player awards.


2012 Japan Series, Game summaries, Game 1
After three scoreless innings, the Giants scored the first run of the series in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI single off the bat of catcher Shinnosuke Abe. Later in the same inning, former Major League Baseball (MLB) player John Bowker hit a two-out, three-run home run to put the Giants up 4–0. Fighters' starter Mitsuo Yoshikawa was taken out of the game following the inning. He gave up four runs on seven hits. The next inning, the Giants added two runs to their total with RBIs from Abe and outfielder Yoshinobu Takahashi.


2012 Japan Series, Game summaries, Game 1
After a scoreless sixth inning, Bowker struck again in the seventh. He hit a double to right field with the bases loaded, driving in two more runs. Bowker finished the game with five RBIs, one shy of tying the Japan Series record. All eight of the Giants' starting position players finished the game with at least one hit.


2012 Japan Series, Game summaries, Game 1
The 2012 season was Bowker's first season playing in NPB. He performed poorly during the 69 regular season games in which he appeared, hitting three home runs, ten RBIs and a .196 batting average. In August and September, Bowker was sent away to play on the Giants farm team; however, he was brought back near the end of the regular season. He made his NPB postseason debut in Game 3 of the final stage of the Central League Climax Series. After going 2-for-4 in that game, he played in the three remaining games of the series recording a hit in each.


2012 Japan Series, Game summaries, Game 1
Giants' starter Tetsuya Utsumi kept the Fighters scoreless through the seven innings he pitched. He struck out eight and allowed only two hits with no walks; however, he did hit two batters. The Fighters managed to avoid a shutout when outfielder Daikan Yoh hit a solo home run off of Giants pitcher Dicky Gonzalez.


2012 Japan Series, Game summaries, Game 2
Second-year pitcher Hirokazu Sawamura started Game 2 for the Giants, marking his first Japan Series appearance. In the first pitch of the night, Sawamura hit Daikan Yoh. After recording two outs, Sawamura hit a second batter, outfielder Sho Nakata. He retired the next batter and finished the inning without allowing any runs. After being hit, Yoh continued to play; however, Nakata was removed from the game after the fourth inning to be taken to a hospital for X-rays on his hand. No bones were broken and Nakata returned for Game 3. Fighters starter Masaru Takeda took the mound in the bottom half of the inning and gave up a lead-off, solo home run to outfielder Hisayoshi Chono. It was the 12th lead-off home run in Japan Series history.


2012 Japan Series, Game summaries, Game 2
Chono's lead-off home run proved to be the difference in the game. After the first inning, Takeda allowed only three more hits over five scoreless innings. He struck out a total of ten batters. Sawamura went on to pitch through eight scoreless innings, allowing only three hits and striking out seven. With two outs in the ninth inning, the Fighters had a chance to score after Giants reliever Tetsuya Yamaguchi allowed two singles. Yamaguchi was replaced by Scott Mathieson who threw one pitch to Tomohiro Nioka to record an out and secure the Giants' win. Mathieson's save was the first one-pitch save and the sixth one-batter save in Japan Series history. Also, for only the second time in Japan Series history, no walks were allowed by any pitcher used by either team in the game.


2012 Japan Series, Game summaries, Game 3
In Game 3, the Fighters found themselves starting their potential three-game homestand down two-games-to-none. Fighters designated hitter Atsunori Inaba got the scoring started in the second inning with a solo home run, giving the Fighters their first lead of the series. Shortstop Makoto Kaneko added to the lead with an RBI single later in the inning. The scoring continued for the Fighters in the third. Giants starter D. J. Houlton was quickly replaced after walking two batters and then allowing Inaba and third baseman Eiichi Koyano to collect back-to-back RBI hits. The next batter, first baseman Micah Hoffpauir, batted in another run before the end of the third inning.


2012 Japan Series, Game summaries, Game 3
Fighters starter Brian Wolfe pitched through five innings allowing five hits, striking out three, walking three and hitting a batter. He allowed two runs, both in the fifth inning. For the bottom of the fifth, Shinnosuke Abe was replaced at catcher. Abe felt discomfort in his leg when he attempted to get on base during the top of the inning. Because of this injury, the Giants captain was missing from the line up for Game 4 and Game 5.


2012 Japan Series, Game summaries, Game 3
With the Fighters up 6-2, the Giants threatened to score in the top of the eighth inning. They loaded the bases with three consecutive no-out singles off of Fighters reliever Hirotoshi Masui. Masui forced the next two batters to pop out and ground out before allowing an RBI single. He escaped the inning with only one run scored when he got the next batter to fly out. The Fighters' entire starting lineup finished the game with at least one hit. Their total of 12 hits surpassed their total of eight hits from Games 1 and 2 combined.


2012 Japan Series, Game summaries, Game 4
Game 4 started as a pitcher's duel between Fighters pitcher Masaru Nakamura and Giants pitcher Ryosuke Miyaguni. Both young starters took a scoreless game through seven innings before being relieved. Nakamura allowed five hits, struck out three and walked none, while Miyaguni allowed three hits, striking out four and walking two. The game went into extra innings and remained scoreless until the bottom of the 12th. Eiichi Koyano led off the bottom of the 12th with a single. He was thrown out at second by Giants reliever Kentaro Nishimura on Takuya Nakashima's sacrifice bunt attempt.


2012 Japan Series, Game summaries, Game 4
Next, Shota Ono bunted and again Nishimura fielded the ball; however, second baseman Daisuke Fujimura, then covering first base, could not handle Nishimura's throw. Fujimura's error left runners safe on first and second. With only one out, Yuji Iiyama was given the go-ahead to hit instead of laying down another sacrifice bunt. Iiyama hit a walkoff double to drive the game-winning run home.


2012 Japan Series, Game summaries, Game 5
John Bowker had another memorable night in Game 5. His two-run home run in the second inning put the Giants up 2–0. The Fighters cut the deficit in half in bottom of the inning. Fighters starter Mitsuo Yoshikawa continued to struggle to get batters out in the third. After giving up three more RBIs, Yoshikawa was relieved by Kazuhito Tadano after just 22⁄3 innings.


2012 Japan Series, Game summaries, Game 5
Giants backup catcher Ken Kato was at the center of a controversial call the next inning. With a runner on first base, Kato was preparing to lay down a sacrifice bunt. After Tadano's first pitch, Kato dropped to the ground holding his head, apparently indicating that he had been hit. Home plate umpire Koichi Yanada awarded Kato first base and ejected Tadano for a dangerous pitch. He was the first player in Japan Series history to be removed from a game for a dangerous pitch.


2012 Japan Series, Game summaries, Game 5
Replays clearly showed, however, that the pitch did not hit Kato, who sold the umpire on a hit by pitch in a move similar to simulation in football, flopping in basketball, or embellishment in ice hockey, all of which are punishable in their respective sports. The game taking place in Hokkaido, Fighters fans booed intensely during Kato's remaining two at-bats later in the game. Fighters manager Hideki Kuriyama ran onto the field and argued with Yanada that Kato had not been hit, but the call stood. In the top half of the fifth inning, a pitch hit Hisayoshi Chono on the knee and he had to leave the game.


2012 Japan Series, Game summaries, Game 5
Tetsuya Utsumi earned his second win of the series with a strong, eight-inning outing. He allowed two runs on seven hits and struck out seven without walking a batter. The Giants continued to score throughout the game, eventually routing the Fighters 10–2.


2012 Japan Series, Game summaries, Game 6
The Giants took a quick lead in Game 6 with outfielder Kenji Yano's bases-loaded single which produced two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Fighters starter Masaru Takeda was quickly pulled from the game after the second inning in which he allowed a third Giants run off of Hisayoshi Chono's solo home run, his second of the series. Heading into the top of the sixth inning, the Fighters were down 3–0 when Sho Nakata hit a three-run home run to tie the game.


2012 Japan Series, Game summaries, Game 6
The tie was broken, however, in the bottom of the seventh. Chono led off the inning with a walk and was quickly advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Tetsuya Matsumoto. Two batters later, Shinnosuke Abe hit a single up the middle of the field to earn what proved to be the game-winning RBI. Abe returned to the Giants roster for Game 6 after missing the previous two games because of discomfort in his right leg. Scott Mathieson then threw a scoreless eighth and Tetsuya Yamaguchi earned the save by keeping the Fighters from capitalizing on a hit and a walk in the ninth.


2012 Japan Sevens
The 2012 Japan Sevens was the first edition of the tournament since 2001 and the seventh tournament of the 2011–12 IRB Sevens World Series. The host stadium was the Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium.


2012 Japan Sevens
Australia won the title by defeating Samoa 28–26 in the final.


2012 Japan Sevens, Format
The teams were divided into pools of four teams, who played a round-robin within the pool. Points were awarded in each pool on a different schedule from most rugby tournaments—3 for a win, 2 for a draw, 1 for a loss. The six pool winners and the two top second-place finishers advanced to the Cup competition, the Plate competition was contested by the losing quarterfinalists from the Cup. The Bowl was contested by the four remaining second-place finishers and the top four third-place finishers while the Shield was contested by the remaining eight entrants.


2012 Japan Super Series
The 2012 Japan Super Series was the ninth super series tournament of the 2012 BWF Super Series in badminton. The tournament was held in Tokyo, Japan, from 18–23 September 2012 and had a total purse of $200,000. Draw was released on 4 September 2012. China withdrew all its players from this tournament because of safety fears.


2012 Japan national football team
The Japan national football team in 2012, managed by head coach Alberto Zaccheroni, competed against international exhibition matches both at home and abroad and later in the third and fourth rounds of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification.


2012 Japan women's national football team
This page records the details of the Japan women's national football team in 2012.


2012 Japanese Formula 3 Championship
The 2012 Japanese Formula 3 Championship was an open wheel motor racing series held for Formula 3 cars based in Japan. It was the 34th edition of the Japanese Formula 3 Championship. It commenced on 14 April at Suzuka and ended on 14 October at Fuji Speedway after 15 races held at seven race meetings.


2012 Japanese Formula 3 Championship
Ryō Hirakawa of the RSS team has dominated the championship and won the title.


2012 Japanese Grand Prix
The 2012 Japanese Grand Prix (formally known as the 2012 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race that took place at the Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture, Japan on 7 October 2012 at 15:00 local time. The race was the fifteenth round of the 2012 season, and marked the 38th running of the Japanese Grand Prix.


2012 Japanese Grand Prix
Sebastian Vettel started the race from pole position for the fourth successive year at Suzuka, eventually leading the race from start to finish, winning by 20 seconds over Felipe Massa – who achieved his first podium since the 2010 Korean Grand Prix – in second place. Kamui Kobayashi achieved his first and only Formula One podium, the first for a Japanese driver since Takuma Sato in 2004, and the first for a Japanese driver at their home Grand Prix since Aguri Suzuki in 1990. It was the last podium for Sauber. The race was also Vettel's second career grand slam (leading every single lap from pole position and finishing with the fastest lap of the race). His first was the 2011 Indian Grand Prix.


2012 Japanese Grand Prix, Report, Background
Michael Schumacher received a ten-place grid penalty for causing an avoidable accident with Jean-Éric Vergne during the Singapore Grand Prix, while Jenson Button and Nico Hülkenberg were both demoted five places for making unscheduled gearbox changes.


2012 Japanese Grand Prix, Report, Background
Entering the Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso of Ferrari led the Drivers' Championship on a total of 194 points, 29 points clear of the second-placed Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel. Lotus driver Kimi Räikkönen was third in the standings, and 16 points adrift of Vettel, despite not having won a race in 2012. McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton's championship hopes were becoming increasingly slim as he lay 50 points behind Alonso in fourth place, albeit 10 points ahead of the second Red Bull of Mark Webber and 23 ahead of his own teammate, Jenson Button. Red Bull led the Constructors' Championship on 297 points, 36 ahead of nearest challengers McLaren, 52 ahead of Ferrari and 66 ahead of Lotus with six rounds remaining. Mercedes had lost a large amount of ground as they had just 136 points.


2012 Japanese Grand Prix, Report, Background
Tyre supplier Pirelli brought its silver-banded hard compound tyre as the harder "prime" tyre and the yellow-banded soft compound tyre as the softer "option" tyre, as opposed to the previous year where the medium compound was used as the "prime" tyre.


2012 Japanese Grand Prix, Report, Background
In the week leading up to the race it was announced, amidst many rumours, that Lewis Hamilton would leave McLaren (who he had been contracted with since age 13) when his contract expired at the end of the season, and join Mercedes for the following three years. After his three podium finishes for the Sauber team, it was announced that Sergio Pérez would be Hamilton's replacement, and accompany Button, at McLaren. After losing his seat at Mercedes, Michael Schumacher announced his second retirement from Formula One on the Thursday before the race.


2012 Japanese Grand Prix, Report, Practice
Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton set the first and second fastest times respectively during the first session for McLaren. The Red Bull of Mark Webber finished the session with the third fastest time, three tenths slower than Button's quickest time. His teammate, Sebastian Vettel, finished the session down in seventeenth place. The Mercedes of Nico Rosberg set the fourth fastest time of the session, despite having to abandon his car out on track at the Esses with one minute remaining.


2012 Japanese Grand Prix, Report, Practice
Championship leader, Fernando Alonso, was eleventh, ahead of Sergio Pérez and both Lotus cars, who had just introduced their new Double DRS to their car. Williams' reserve driver Valtteri Bottas filled in for Bruno Senna and finished the session eighteenth; Giedo van der Garde did the same for Heikki Kovalainen at Caterham and set the twenty-third fastest time. There were no incidents damaging any of the cars during the session; the most notable things to happen were Michael Schumacher and Timo Glock running across the gravel at Degner, and Romain Grosjean running wide at Spoon.


2012 Japanese Grand Prix, Report, Qualifying
The Force India of Paul di Resta was the first car out on track for the first part of the qualifying session, initially using the harder compound prime tyres. The Sauber team also adopted that tactic, and their driver, Sergio Pérez, ran wide at the end of the Esses and bounded across the gravel before wrestling the car back to track. Later in the session, after Sebastian Vettel provisionally set the fastest time on prime tyres as well, Bruno Senna, in his Williams, was impeded by the Toro Rosso of Jean-Éric Vergne.