2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Timeline of the race, Mid-March
On the Virgin Islands every caucus goer had six votes that he or her could cast for six different delegates. Every person wanting to be a delegate needed to pledge to a candidate or declare to be 'uncommitted' before the voting started. The six persons with the most votes became National Convention delegates. Only four persons ran as delegates pledge to Romney and they all got elected. The persons that ran as delegates pledge to Paul got a plurality of the votes, but only one of them was elected.


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Timeline of the race, Mid-March
Missouri began its process of selecting national delegates with its caucuses from March 17 to April 10. The February primary was non-binding and as such nothing more than a non-binding strawpoll. Santorum won The Louisiana delegation securing 10 delegates for himself, but the election process for the major part of the delegates started at the caucuses on April 28.


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Timeline of the race, Mid-March
As the first state with non-binding caucuses Wyoming elected delegates in the week of March 5. At the county conventions one delegate was elected as uncommitted, while eight delegates was committed to Romney, two to Santorum and one to Paul.


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Timeline of the race, Mid-March
By winning three primaries in the South, Santorum disrupted Gingrich's "Southern Strategy" and took the lead as the 'Not-Romney' candidate. Gingrich won one congressional district and secured only 25 delegates in March. Three days after the Louisiana primary he announced a new "National Convention strategy", which includes laying off one-third of the campaign staff and spending less time on the road campaigning. He was at this point running out of money, having more campaign debt than cash on hand.


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Timeline of the race, Mid-March
Romney maintained a solid lead over all other contenders by securing more than half of the delegates allocated or elected in the month of March. He carried all five territories and two states. And even though he did not secure the nomination in March he continued to be the clear and strong front-runner.


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Timeline of the race, Mid-March
Santorum cruised to victory in Louisiana on March 24, reinforcing the narrative of the race thus far that the underdog Santorum could take the fight to the much more deep-pocketed and organized Romney.


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Timeline of the race, Mid-March
† The state did not allocate any delegates at its primary election, they were elected later.


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Timeline of the race, April
In the last days of March, Romney received many endorsements as party leaders and establishment Republicans started to unite behind him. Most notable were the endorsement of former president George H. W. Bush and the endorsement of Paul Ryan, U.S. representative from Wisconsin and Chairman of the House Committee on the Budget.


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Timeline of the race, April
Ryan, and U.S. Senator from Wisconsin Ron Johnson, campaigned with Romney before the April 3 primaries. The Super PACs supporting Romney also helped him to win the state using more than US$3 million, almost four times more than spend by the Super PAC supporting Santorum in Wisconsin. Santorum only won three districts in Wisconsin with Romney winning the other five and all eight districts in Maryland along with the federal District of Columbia where Santorum was not even on the ballot.


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Timeline of the race, April
With momentum building for Romney, Santorum interrupted campaigning (as did Romney) for the Easter holiday to give his campaign staff a chance to be with their families. He used the opportunity to meet with "movement conservatives" to strategize. Former Family Research Council chief Gary Bauer, who was present at the sit-down with Santorum, called it a strategy meeting. Four days later, on April 10, 2012, Rick Santorum suspended his campaign without endorsing any other candidate. He was at this point running out of money, having more campaign debt than cash on hand.


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Timeline of the race, April
Santorum won eleven contests (six states that allocated delegates and five non-binding caucus states) and forty-two delegate allocating congressional districts. More than 3.2 million people voted for him and he secured a total of 202 delegates before suspending his campaign. He can show a plurality in six states and that secures him the opportunity of a place on the first ballot nominating the Republican candidate for president at the National Convention.


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Timeline of the race, April
With Santorum suspending his campaign, Gingrich saw a new hope of reasserting himself as the conservative alternative to Romney. His campaign had been scaling down since his March 24 defeat in the Louisiana primary and was $4.3 million in debt by the end of March. But now it began concentrating on the Delaware primary hoping a win there would be a game changer. The Adelson family that had already supported Gingrich heavily through the "Winning Our Future" super PAC gave another $5 million in late March bringing the PAC's cash on hand up to $5.8 million.


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Timeline of the race, April
But even with all the resources of the Gingrich campaign concentrated in Delaware he still lost the state with 29.4 percent to Romney. On May 2 he officially suspended his campaign. Gingrich won two contest (South Carolina and Georgia) nineteen delegate allocating congressional districts. More than 2.4 million people voted for him and he secured a total of 131 delegates before suspending his campaign. He could only show plurality in two states and was therefore not going to appear on the first ballot nominating the Republican candidate for president at the National Convention.


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Timeline of the race, April
Four states that didn't allocate delegates at their earlier caucuses had conventions in April. At the Wyoming state convention (April 12–14), just after Santorum had suspended his campaign, the state delegates united behind Romney and all 14 at-large delegates pledged to him. The same did not happen the same weekend at Colorado's state and district conventions. Santorum and Paul supporters came together to form the "Conservative Unity Slate" in an attempt to stop all the National Convention delegates from Colorado from supporting Romney. However, Romney won a narrow plurality in the state delegation despite this opposing slate.


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Timeline of the race, April
Missouri had its district conventions a week after (April 21). Santorum had carried every county at the nonbinding primary in February and many of his supporters threw their support to Romney who got half of the delegates. Paul won one out of the eight district conventions. Minnesota's district conventions were spread out over most of April and they were all but one won by Paul who secured a plurality in the state delegation even before the state convention in May.


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Timeline of the race, April
Romney won all eight primaries of the month and on April 25 the RNC declared Romney the presumptive nominee, putting resources behind him.


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Timeline of the race, May
On May 2, 2012, Newt Gingrich "mothballed" his campaign saying that a second term of president Obama would be disastrous. Gingrich mentioned Republican front-runner Mitt Romney during his press speech, but did not endorse him. He intended to officially endorse Mr. Romney at a "to-be-scheduled event" featuring both Republican leaders. "Today I am suspending the campaign, but suspending the campaign does not mean suspending citizenship," Gingrich said, with his wife Callista at his side.


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Timeline of the race, May
On May 7, 2012, after Romney visited him, Santorum urged his supporters to back Romney's campaign and said, "You can be sure that I will work with the governor to help him in this task to ensure he has a strong team that will support him in his conservative policy initiatives." "We both agree that President Obama must be defeated," Santorum, 53, said in an e-mailed statement last night, "[Romney] clearly understands that having pro-family initiatives are not only the morally and economically right thing to do, but that the family is the basic building block of our society."


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Timeline of the race, May
On May 14, Paul announced that he would halt campaigning in states that had not yet at that point held their primaries, citing a lack of money needed to do so. Instead, the Paul campaign sought more delegates in state conventions in states that already held primaries.


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Timeline of the race, May
Continuing on May 15, Romney won the primaries in Oregon and Nebraska with Paul second in Oregon and Santorum second in Nebraska. On May 22, Romney swept Kentucky and Arkansas primaries. He claimed to have exceeded the nominating threshold in Texas, May 29. In fourth, Ron Paul worked behind the scenes to secure delegates in local caucuses following state primary elections. He later surpassed Gingrich, but not Santorum, behind front-runner Romney.


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Timeline of the race, June
On June 5, California, New Jersey, South Dakota, and New Mexico added 264 delegates to the Romney count, bringing his total to 1,480 pledged delegates, exceeding the requisite 1,144 delegates for nomination at the Republican National Convention. Despite this, the following week 123 mostly Paul-aligned delegates, currently legally bound to support Romney at the convention, brought an ongoing federal lawsuit against the RNC and its chairman to instead be able to vote "in accordance with the free exercise of their conscience." Paul adviser Jesse Benton commented, "We have nothing to do with it and do not support it."


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Timeline of the race, June
Also in June, the three remaining states voting in primaries, Utah, Nebraska, and Montana, added the final 101 delegates to attend the Republican National Convention.


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Timeline of the race, July
On Saturday, July 14, the Nebraska State Republican Convention selected 32 at-large delegates to the Republican National Convention. In addition, three party leaders attend: Nebraska's National Committeeman, Nebraska's National Committeewoman, and chairman of the Nebraska Republican Party, who are unpledged delegates by virtue of their position. The prospective delegates indicated their presidential preference (and were bound to vote for that candidate for the first two ballots at the Republican National Convention). This was the last state Republican convention and Romney garnered support of 30 Nebraska delegates; and Ron Paul, the support of two Nebraska delegates.


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Timeline of the race, July
All 2,286 delegates were to be finalized before the vote at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida, August 27–31.


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Timeline of the race, August
On August 11, 2012, Romney announced the selection of Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin as his vice-presidential running mate. In front of the battleship USS Wisconsin in Virginia, Governor of Virginia Bob McDonnell introduced Romney to make his announcement to a cheering and supportive crowd. The announcement came two weeks before the Republican National Convention and led immediately into a bus tour to battleground states.


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Timeline of the race, August
Ron Paul led a rally in Tampa Bay, Florida, on Sunday, the day before the Republican National Convention was to begin. "No matter the outcome of the national convention, Constitutional Conservatism will benefit the nation", a Paul spokesperson said.


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Timeline of the race, August
Leading into the national convention, preliminary delegate counts {soft, firm} were: Romney{1,545, 1,399}; Paul{173,100}; Santorum{248,251}; Gingrich{142,143}; Others{1,3}; Available{147,63}; and Uncommitted{30,327}. These totals changed as delegates switched their support to Romney or Paul at the convention. A simple majority of 1,144 delegate votes were needed to win nomination.


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Timeline of the race, August
Within the first hours of convention, each state declared their delegation vote to the nation—Romney won the nomination with 2,061 delegate votes. Other candidates, including Bachmann, Santorum, and mainly Ron Paul, garnered 202 votes, with 23 delegates abstaining. The Romney-Ryan ticket was formalized.


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Timeline of the race, August
The final official votes for the Republican nominees for president and vice president took place at the Republican National Convention in Tampa Bay, Florida—the three-day convention from Tuesday, August 28, to Thursday, August 30. The 2012 Democratic National Convention followed in the first week of September in Charlotte, North Carolina.


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Schedule and process
The primary elections took place from January 3 to July 14 and allocated and elected 2,286 voting delegates and 2,125 alternate delegates in 56 delegations to the 2012 Republican National Convention in the week of August 27.


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Schedule and process
The total base number of delegates allocated to each of the 50 U.S. states is 10 at-large delegates, plus 3 delegates per congressional district. In addition, fixed numbers of at-large delegates are allocated to Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Northern Mariana Islands under the party's delegate selection rules. States are awarded bonus delegates based on the following factors:


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Schedule and process
The two Republican National Committee members from each state and territory and the chairperson of the state's Republican Party are delegates unless the state is penalized for violating the RNC's scheduling rules. The individual states decide whether these delegates are bound or unbound.


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Schedule and process
A candidate must have a plurality in five state delegations in order to be on the first ballot at national convention. For the purposes of these primaries, the five territories and D.C. are counted as states (Rule 27). This five-state rule is Rule No. 40 of the rules of the Republican Party as adopted by the 2008 Republican National Convention and amended by the Republican National Committee on August 6, 2010. It is the rule outlining the way the convention will nominate the Republican candidate for president.


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Schedule and process
(a) In making the nominations for President of the United States and Vice President of the United States and voting thereon, the roll of the states shall be called separately in each case; provided, however, that if there is only one candidate for nomination for Vice President of the United States who has demonstrated the support required by paragraph (b) of this rule, a motion to nominate for such office by acclamation shall be in order and no calling of the roll with respect to


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Schedule and process
such office shall be required. (b) Each candidate for nomination for President of the United States and Vice President of the United States shall demonstrate the support of a plurality of the delegates from each of five (5) or more states, severally, prior to the presentation of the name of that candidate for nomination. (c) The total time of the nominating speech and seconding speeches for any candidate for nomination for President of the United States or Vice President of the United States shall not exceed fifteen (15) minutes. (d)


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Schedule and process
When at the close of a roll call any candidate for nomination for President of the United States or Vice President of the United States has received a majority of the votes entitled to be cast in the convention, the chairman of the convention shall declare that the candidate has been nominated. (e) If no candidate shall have received such majority, the chairman of the convention shall direct the roll of the states be called again and shall repeat the calling of the roll until a candidate shall have received a majority of the votes entitled to be cast in the convention.


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Schedule and process
The primary election table below shows how and when the National Convention delegates are allocated and elected. This means it does not include straw polls, primary or other kinds. And it do not include the dates for different local conventions where delegates are already allocated are elected.


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Schedule and process
This is a sortable table — links provide quick paths to more information on the different state primaries:


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Schedule and process, Primary schedule
Delegate counts during the primaries. This is not the convention roll call and does not included the 117 unbound RNC delegates.


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Schedule and process, Delegate changes at the convention
Some of the state delegations made and announced their final decisions on Tuesday, the first full day of the Republican National Convention.


2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, Schedule and process, Delegate changes at the convention
Santorum and Gingrich released their delegates and encouraged them to vote for Romney, but Paul did not; his campaign instead tried to secure more delegate votes during the convention, and carried a dispute over Louisiana's delegates into the convention. Ron Paul later compromised to get 17 of Louisiana's delegates. Montana withheld announcing their support—Paul had hoped Montana would swing to him on the convention floor. However, just before the convention, the 26 Montana delegates united behind Romney.


2012 Republican Party vice presidential candidate selection
This article lists possible candidates for the Republican nomination for Vice President of the United States in the 2012 election. On May 29, 2012, former Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts won a majority of pledged delegates for the Republican nomination for President of the United States, and became the presumptive nominee.


2012 Republican Party vice presidential candidate selection
On August 11, 2012, Romney officially announced his selection of Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan as his running-mate to supporters via an iPhone app, though the selection of Ryan had already leaked to the press hours before the official announcement. Ryan was the first individual from Wisconsin to appear on a major party's national ticket, although third-party presidential candidate Robert La Follette won 16% of the popular vote in the 1924 election. The Romney-Ryan ticket ultimately lost in the general election to the Obama-Biden ticket, but the defeat did not harm either of their careers; from 2015 to 2019, Ryan served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives while Romney has been in the United States Senate since 2019.


2012 Republican Party vice presidential candidate selection, Selection process
Romney asked Beth Meyers, an aide, to head up the search team for selecting a vice presidential candidate. It was speculated that Romney might announce his running mate in July to create early enthusiasm and boost fundraising, but this proved untrue. Romney stated that he would select a pro-life vice presidential candidate.


2012 Republican Party vice presidential candidate selection, Short list
According to the book Double Down, Romney's campaign narrowed down his list of potential nominees for vice president to eleven individuals in April 2012:


2012 Republican Party vice presidential candidate selection, Short list
The list was later further narrowed down to five individuals: Christie, Pawlenty, Portman, Rubio, and Ryan. According to Double Down, many on Romney's campaign favored Ryan because he was "young, telegenic, Irish Catholic, with blue collar appeal," and could potentially help the campaign in his competitive home state. Romney also personally liked Ryan and felt comfortable campaigning with him. Christie was also strongly considered, but the vetting process raised several issues.


2012 Republican Party vice presidential candidate selection, Media speculation on possible vice presidential candidates
Political analyst Larry Sabato stated that Romney could pick a vice presidential running mate that would help electorally such as by delivering a swing state or a demographic group. Romney's associates suggested the VP pick was likely to be someone mild-mannered with high integrity and have a similar aptitude for analysis. Media speculation and analysis on vice presidential picks included:


2012 Republican Party vice presidential candidate selection, The announcement
Having returned from his overseas tour of the United Kingdom, Israel, and Poland, Romney planned a bus tour of Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida with his then-yet to be announced running mate. It was possible that Romney could have chosen to stall his announcement until at least August 12, the last day of the Summer Olympics, in order to attract greater media and voter attention while still allowing time for campaigning and fundraising before the Republican National Convention, which would begin on August 27.


2012 Republican Party vice presidential candidate selection, The announcement
On August 10, 2012, it was announced that Romney would introduce his running mate on August 11, 2012 in Norfolk, Virginia, after touring the USS Wisconsin, leading several news sources to speculate that his choice would be U.S. Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin. Shortly after 7 a.m. on August 11, the Romney campaign officially announced Ryan as its choice for vice president through its mobile app titled "Mitt's VP".


2012 Rhode Island Rams football team
The 2012 Rhode Island Rams football team represented the University of Rhode Island in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fourth year head coach Joe Trainer and played their home games at Meade Stadium. They were a member of the Colonial Athletic Association. They finished the season 0–11, 0–8 in CAA play to finish in last place.


2012 Rhode Island Rams football team
By finishing the season with zero wins, the Rams lost a school-record 13 straight contests dating back to the final two games of the 2011 season. It is also their first winless season since 1949 when they went 0–8.


2012 Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council election
The 2012 Rhondda Cynon Taf Council election took place on Thursday 3 May 2012 to elect members of Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council in Wales. This was the same day as other United Kingdom local elections. It was preceded by the 2008 election and the next full council election took place on 4 May 2017.


2012 Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council election, Election result
Labour remained in firm control of the council, after gaining an additional 16 seats. However, the leader of the council, Labour councillor Russell Roberts, lost his seat  to an Independent candidate (in the Tonyrefail East ward) by 34 votes.


2012 Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council election, Ward results, Brynna (1 seat)
Roger Turner, elected as an Independent in 2004 and 2008 stood as a Labour candidate.


2012 Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships
The 28th Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships was held in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia from May 29  to June 3, 2012.


2012 Rice Owls football team
The 2012 Rice Owls football team represented Rice University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by sixth year head coach David Bailiff and played their home games at Rice Stadium. They were a member of the West Division of Conference USA. They finished the season 7–6, 4–4 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for third place in the West Division. They were invited to the Armed Forces Bowl where they defeated Air Force.


2012 Rice Owls football team, Game summaries, UCLA
UCLA's Johnathan Franklin rushed for 214 yards and three touchdowns in this rout. UCLA dominated both in the air, with 303 yards passing compared to 184 yards for Rice, and on the ground, with 343 yards rushing compared to 174 for Rice. This was despite Rice having about 8+1⁄2 minutes more of possession than UCLA. Franklin's performance was 2 yards short of a career high. Quarterback Brett Hundley took the first snap of the game 72 yards for a touchdown. Rice was led by quarterback Taylor McHargue, who was 17 of 28 in passing for 179 yards and one interception; and had 129 yards rushing. In addition, Rice linebacker Cameron Nwosu set an NCAA record, blocking three PATs in the first half.


2012 Rice Owls football team, Game summaries, UCLA
1st quarter scoring: UCLA – Brett Hundley 72-yard run (K. Fairbairn kick blocked); UCLA – Jerry Johnson 11-yard pass from Hundley (Fairbairn kick blocked); UCLA - Franklin 74-yard run (Fairbairn kick); RICE – Luke Willson 8-yard pass from T. McHargue (Chris Boswell  kick); RICE - Boswell 53-yard field goal


2012 Rice Owls football team, Game summaries, UCLA
2nd quarter scoring: RICE - McHargue 1-yard run (Boswell  kick); UCLA – Devin Lucien 27-yard field goal; UCLA - Franklin 78-yard run (Fairbairn kick); RICE – Sam McGuffie 2-yard pass from McHargue (Boswell kick); UCLA – Damien Holmes 44-yard fumble recovery (Fairbairn kick blocked)


2012 Rice Owls football team, Game summaries, UCLA
4th quarter scoring: UCLA – Joseph Fauria 4-yard pass from Hundley (Hundley pass failed); UCLA - Franklin 22-yard run (David Allen pass from Hundley)


2012 Richmond Football Club season
The 2012 season marked the 105th season in which the Richmond Football Club participated in the AFL/VFL.


2012 Richmond Football Club season, 2011 off-season list changes, Trades
Note: All traded picks are indicative and do not reflect final selection position


2012 Richmond Football Club season, 2012 season, Pre-season
Note: Round 4 matches were conducted under normal AFL Premiership season rules and did not count towards the NAB Cup Ladder.


2012 Richmond Football Club season, Awards, League awards, Brownlow Medal tally
*Note: Trent Cotchin initially finished second just was awarded the Medal in 2016 when Jobe Watson relinquished his claim


2012 Richmond Kickers season
The 2012 Richmond Kickers season was the club's twentieth season of existence. It was the Kicker's sixth-consecutive year in the third-tier of American soccer, playing in the USL Professional Division for their second season.


2012 Richmond Kickers season
After a slow start for the first two-thirds of the regular season, a four-match winning streak catapulted the Kickers into the top half of the table, thus qualifying them for the playoffs, making it the ninth consecutive season that the Kickers made the playoffs of any league they were participating in. In the first round of the playoffs, Richmond lost 3–2 by the Wilmington Hammerheads thus ending their postseason ambitions.


2012 Richmond Kickers season
Richmond also reached the third round of the 2012 U.S. Open Cup, where in extra time, they lost to Major League Soccer side, D.C. United.


2012 Richmond Kickers season, Background
The 2011 campaign marked the Kickers' debut in the newly created USL Pro League, which assumed the role as the third division of American soccer. During the regular season, Richmond finished third in their division and third in the overall table, making it the first time since 2005 that the Kickers did not finish the regular season either as the regular season champion or finalist. In the playoffs, the Kickers were eliminated by Commissioner's Cup winners and eventual USL Pro champions, Orlando City.


2012 Richmond Kickers season, Background
Outside of league play, Richmond made one of their deepest runs in the U.S. Open Cup, the domestic knockout cup competition. The Kickers reached the semifinals of the tournament after knocking out two Major League Soccer clubs, Columbus Crew and Sporting Kansas City in the third round and quarterfinals, respectively. The last time Richmond reached the semifinals of the Open Cup was in 1995, when the Kickers won their lone U.S. Open Cup title.


2012 Richmond Kickers season, Background
Off the field, the Kicker organization posted their fourth highest average attendance in club history.


2012 Richmond Kickers season, Review, Offseason
On December 6, 2011, the Kickers signed Pittsburgh Riverhounds' Jason Yeisley on a free transfer.


2012 Richmond Kickers season, Review, Offseason
From January 20–22, the Kickers hosted their fourteenth player combine and had open tryouts.


2012 Richmond Kickers season, Review, Offseason
On January 30, 2012, the club announced their preseason schedule, which included fixtures against several local college soccer teams.


2012 Richmond Kickers season, Review, Preseason
The Kickers are expected to begin preseason training camp in February.


2012 Richmond Kickers season, Review, April
The Richmond Kickers opened the regular season with home and away fixtures against long-time rivals, Charleston Battery, and the defending USL Pro regular season and postseason champions, Orlando City, earning a win, a draw and two losses during the four-match span. Richmond's home opener was on April 7 against Charleston in front of a crowd of 5,009. The Kickers suffered a 2–1 home defeat to the Battery thanks to a pair of goals from Charleston's Jose Cuevas, who netted in the 41st and 67th minutes of the match.


2012 Richmond Kickers season, Review, April
The Kickers lone goal came from Stanley Nyazamba, who tallied for the home side in the 65th minute. The following weekend, the Kickers traveled south to Charleston, South Carolina to play the Battery at their home venue, Blackbaud Stadium. In front of a sold-out crowd of 4,729, the Kickers earned a last-minute, 2–1 victory over the Battery thanks to a goal from longtime defender, Sascha Görres. The Kickers' other goal came from Nyazamba, who netted his second of the campaign.


2012 Richmond Kickers season, Review, April
On April 21, the Kickers returned home to take on the defending USL Pro champions, Orlando City, who had been hot off a 2–0–0 start. In front of a crowd of 3,169; the Kickers were shutout at home by Orlando, as they suffered a second-straight home defeat, losing 2–0 in the process. City's two goals both came in the second half off a 61st-minute strike from Luke Boden, and an 89th minute penalty kick from Anthony Pulis. The return leg was the following weekend, where Richmond ended Orlando's six-matching winning streak (including last season), where the Kickers drew City 0–0 at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida.


2012 Richmond Raiders season
The 2012 Richmond Raiders season was the third season as a professional indoor football franchise and their first in the newly formed Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL). One of 6 teams competing in the PIFL for the 2012 season.


2012 Richmond Raiders season
The team played their home games under head coach James Fuller at the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Virginia. The Raiders earned a 10-2 record, placing tied for 1st in the league, qualifying for the playoffs. They were defeated in PIFL Cup I, 56-60 by the Albany Panthers.


2012 Richmond Spiders football team
The 2012 Richmond Spiders football team represented the University of Richmond in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Danny Rocco and played their home games at E. Claiborne Robins Stadium. They were a member of the Colonial Athletic Association. They finished the season 8–3, 6–2 in CAA. Due to Old Dominion (7–1 in CAA play) being ineligible for the conference title, the Spiders claimed a four way share of the CAA title. Despite the conference title, the Spiders were not invited to the FCS playoffs.


2012 Rio Quente Resorts Tennis Classic
The 2012 Rio Quente Resorts Tennis Classic was a professional tennis tournament played on hard courts. It was the first edition of the tournament which was part of the 2012 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Rio Quente, Brazil between 7 and 12 May 2012.


2012 Rio Quente Resorts Tennis Classic, Singles main draw entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2012 Rio Quente Resorts Tennis Classic – Doubles
Guido Andreozzi and Marcel Felder won the title defeating Thiago Alves and Augusto Laranja in the final 6–3, 6–3.


2012 Rio Quente Resorts Tennis Classic – Singles
Guilherme Clezar won the title defeating Paul Capdeville in the final 7–6(7–4), 6–3.


2012 Riyadh truck crash
The 2012 Riyadh truck crash occurred on 1 November 2012, when a truck carrying fuel crashed into an intersection flyover in the east of Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia. The lorry hit a bridge pylon on Khureis Road and the petrol it was carrying leaked into the surroundings, and then ignited. Al Ekhbariya television reported that the blast killed 23 people outright and injured 111, with the death toll expected to rise even higher; although the Saudi health ministry reported the injury total was closer to 135. An Agence France-Presse photographer on the scene described widespread damage, with charred bodies and machinery being hauled from the wreckage. Due to the force of the blast, another truck fell off of the flyover. Amateur video showed black smoke billowing into the sky, visible throughout the city.


2012 Riyadh truck crash
The scene of the crash was within close vicinity of Prince Nayef Arab University for Security Studies, as well as the headquarters of the Saudi Arabian National Guard, thus instigating the speculation of terrorist collusion or perpetration. However, a police spokesman stated that this was inexorably not the case, explaining "the truck driver was surprised by a road accident on its route, causing it to crash into one of the pillars of the bridge".


2012 Riyadh truck crash
The police also posited that due to it being the Eid al-Adha holiday, the casualty total was significantly less than it would have been during a normal day, because of vastly reduced traffic. The Riyadh Police also warned against congregating near the scene of the crash, as roughly 10,000 people took to doing so just an hour after the accident occurred.


2012 Riyadh truck crash
On 2 November, the Saudi health ministry stated that the death toll was confirmed to have risen to 26 through the night, including Saudis, Filipinos (the lorry driver's nationality), and victims of other nationalities. The crash is expected to cost more than 300 million riyals. According to Saudi Minister of Health Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Rabiah, 90 of the injured have been released from the hospital, but 43 are still under intensive medical care. The driver was arrested, but the charges against him are unknown.


2012 Road Race Showcase
The 2012 Road America Road Race Showcase was a multi-class sports car and GT motor race held at Road America in Wisconsin, United States on August 18, 2012. It was the seventh round of the 2012 American Le Mans Series season and the 45th race in the combined history of sportscar races associated with the Road America 500. The race was held over a four-hour period, during which 101 laps of the 6.5-kilometer circuit were completed for a race distance of 658 kilometers.


2012 Road Race Showcase
A year after Muscle Milk Pickett Racing team had beaten the Dyson Racing Team by less than 0.2 seconds, Dyson Racing Team beat the Muscle Milk team by less than 0.1 seconds, giving Dyson Racing Team its first victory at Road America. Lucas Luhr in the Muscle Milke HPD ARX-03a overtook Guy Smith's Lola B12/60 at the final corner of the race only for Smith to win the drag race to the finish line. It was Chris Dyson and Guy Smith's first victory at Road America. Dyson and Smith had overcome a rear of grid start after missing qualifying due to gearbox failure. Dyson Racing Team's second Lola-Mazda of Michael Marsal, Eric Lux and Tony Burgess finished in third place behind Luhr and Klaus Graf.


2012 Road Race Showcase
The season's first championship was decided in Prototype Challenge. When Alex Popow, Tom Kimber-Smith and Jon Bennett won the class in fifth position outright, CORE Autosport secured the teams championship in Prototype Challenge. Just ahead of them in fourth place were the P2 class winners, Conquest Endurance's Martin Plowman and David Heinemeier Hansson in their Morgan LMP2. It was their second class win, and the team's biggest victory to date.


2012 Road Race Showcase
Thirteenth outright was the best of the GTs. BMW Team RLL took their second win of the year with Bill Auberlen and Jörg Müller joining their BMW M3-equipped teammates as winners in 2012. Second was Porsche team Flying Lizard Motorsports of Jörg Bergmeister and Patrick Long with Extreme Speed Motorsports Ferrari of Scott Sharp and Johannes van Overbeek.


2012 Road Race Showcase
GT Challenge was claimed when the Alex Job Racing Porsche of Cooper MacNeil and Leh Keen crossed the line in 25th position.


2012 Road Race Showcase
31 of the 35 entries were running at the race's conclusion.


2012 Road Race Showcase, Race result
Class winners are in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of their class winner's distance are marked as Not Classified (NC).


2012 Roasso Kumamoto season
The 2012 Roasso Kumamoto season sees Roasso Kumamoto compete in J.League Division 2 for the fifth consecutive season. Roasso Kumamoto are also competing in the 2012 Emperor's Cup.


2012 Robert Morris Colonials football team
The 2012 Robert Morris Colonials football team represented Robert Morris University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 19th-year head coach Joe Walton and played their home games at Joe Walton Stadium. They are a member of the Northeast Conference. They finished the season 4–7, 3–5 in NEC play to finish in a tie for sixth place.


2012 Robocup 2D Soccer Simulation League
The 2012 RoboCup 2D Soccer Simulation League was a simulated soccer competition contested in the 16th Annual RoboCup International Symposium, held in Mexico City, Mexico, in June 2012.


2012 Robocup 2D Soccer Simulation League, Format
The first stage was disputed by 18 teams divided into two groups of five teams and two groups of four teams. There were three rounds of groups. In the round 0, the three lowest ranked teams were eliminated. In the round 1, the ten lowest ranked teams were eliminated. Round 2 and 3, four teams of each round were eliminated. The four teams classified from the round 3 disputed the semifinals in two matches for each. The final and 3rd place matches were disputed in a unique game for each.


2012 Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council election
The 2012 Rochdale Council election took place on 3 May 2012 to elect members of Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council in the North West, England. This was on the same day as other 2012 United Kingdom local elections. The Labour Party won 17 of the 20 seats with 53% of the vote, with the other three going to the Conservative Party with 27% of the vote. The Liberal Democrats lost all 11 of their seats up for re-election with 15% of the vote. This election marked the return to the council of former Leaders Richard Farnell and Allen Brett. It also produced Rochdale's youngest ever councillor in Liam O'Rourke.


2012 Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council election
These results also led to the resignation of local Liberal Democrat leader Wera Hobhouse.


2012 Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council election, Ward results, Littleborough Lakeside ward
In 2008 Peter Evans stood in this ward as a Liberal Democrat.


2012 Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council election, Ward results, Milkstone & Deeplish ward
In 2008, Mohammad Sharif stood in this ward for the Liberal Democrats.


2012 Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council election, Ward results, North Middleton ward
Maureen Rowbothan stood for the ward in 2008 as a Labour candidate.


2012 Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council election, Ward results, Smallbridge & Firgrove ward
Jean Ashworth stood for the ward in 2008 as a Liberal Democrat.


2012 Rochester Knighthawks season
The Rochester Knighthawks were a lacrosse team based in Rochester, New York, that played in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The 2012 season was the 18th in franchise history. After a 7-9 season, the Knighthawks came on strong in the playoffs and won their third NLL Championship, defeating the Edmonton Rush 9-6.


2012 Rochester Knighthawks season, Regular season, Conference standings
x: Clinched playoff berth; c: Clinched playoff berth by crossing over to another division; y: Clinched division; z: Clinched best regular season record; GP: Games PlayedW: Wins; L: Losses; GB: Games back; PCT: Win percentage; Home: Record at Home; Road: Record on the Road; GF: Goals scored; GA: Goals allowedDifferential: Difference between goals scored and allowed; GF/GP: Average number of goals scored per game; GA/GP: Average number of goals allowed per game


2012 Rochester Knighthawks season, Transactions, Dispersal Draft
The Knighthawks chose the following players in the Boston Blazers dispersal draft:


2012 Rochester Knighthawks season, Transactions, Entry draft
The 2011 NLL Entry Draft took place on September 21, 2011. The Knighthawks selected the following players:


2012 Rochester Rhinos season
The 2012 Rochester Rhinos season will be the club's seventeenth season of existence. It is the Rhinos' second-consecutive year in the third tier of American soccer, playing in the USL Professional Division for their second season.


2012 Rochester Rhinos season, Background
After the split of several USL clubs to create the North American Soccer League, United Soccer Leagues restructured its top division, and created the USL Pro, which received third-tier sanctioning from U.S. Soccer. The Rhinos, who had played in the second division of American soccer for their entire existence, opted to join the USL Pro, and thus play in the third tier.


2012 Rochester Rhinos season, Background
On the field, the Rhinos won their division, and boasted the fourth best overall record, making it the second straight year Rochester were division champions. For the third straight season, however, Rochester was eliminated in the first round of the respective league's playoffs.


2012 Rochester Rhinos season, Background
Outside of the USL Pro Division, the Rhinos were eliminated in the third round of the 2012 U.S. Open Cup by the MLS side Philadelphia Union. The Rhinos also played a School Day friendly against NPSL team FC Buffalo.


2012 Rochford District Council election
The 2012 Rochford Council election took place on 3 May 2012 to elect members of the Rochford Council in England. They were held on the same day as other United Kingdom elections.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season
Roger Federer's 2012 tennis season officially began on 2 January with the start of the 2012 ATP World Tour. Federer began the year with a semifinals finish at the Australian Open after a four-set loss to archrival Rafael Nadal. He recovered from his loss with three consecutive titles at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, and the BNP Paribas Open. He won his fourth title at the Mutua Madrid Open on blue clay, becoming the only person to win a title on blue clay in ATP history. By doing so, he regained the #2 ranking from Rafael Nadal At the French Open, Federer played four tough matches before he was ousted by Djokovic in the semifinals.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season
The highlight of Federer's season came at the 2012 Wimbledon Championships, where he made a dramatic comeback at two sets down in the third round Julien Benneteau and carried momentum from his win to win a seventh Wimbledon title over native British favorite Andy Murray, in the process tying Pete Sampras's record of Wimbledon titles and clinching his record-setting seventeenth Grand Slam. His win at Wimbledon also saw him return to the World No. 1 ranking, and saw him breaking Sampras's record of weeks at World No. 1. Federer went on to win his first Olympic singles medal at the 2012 London Olympics, winning silver.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season
Federer then won his third Masters 1000 title of the season and his twenty-first overall at the Western & Southern Open. He was upset in the quarterfinals of the US Open by Tomáš Berdych. Federer finished his season at the ATP World Tour Finals, where he lost to Djokovic in a tight final. Federer ended his season with six calendar titles, a Grand Slam title, 3 Masters 1000 titles and an Olympic silver medal. Federer also represented Switzerland in the Davis Cup, and helped Switzerland to advance to the 2013 Davis Cup World Group.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season
The 2012 season was a return to form for Federer. He had his most match wins (71) since 2006, and his highest winning percentage (86%) and number of titles won (6) since 2007. The two most significant accomplishments of his season included winning a record seventeenth Grand Slam title (his first since the 2010 Australian Open) and returning to World No. 1.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Early hard court season and Australian Open, Qatar Open
Federer began his ATP World Tour season at the Qatar Open, where he was defending his title. After straight-set victories over 2011 finalist Nikolay Davydenko and qualifier Grega Žemlja, Federer won a hard-fought, error-prone match over eighth-seeded Andreas Seppi. Federer was scheduled to play Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in a rematch of the previous year's semifinal, but was forced to withdraw due to a back spasm problem. This marked only the second time in Federer's career (after the 2008 Paris Masters) that he withdrew from a tournament because of injury.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Early hard court season and Australian Open, Australian Open
Federer next traveled to Melbourne for the first Grand Slam of the season, the Australian Open. The Swiss advanced through the first four rounds without the loss of a set, starting his campaign by defeating qualifier Alexander Kudryavtsev, receiving a walkover into the third round when Andreas Beck withdrew with a lower back injury prior to their second round match, and beating Ivo Karlović to improve to a 10–1 head-to-head record against the Croat.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Early hard court season and Australian Open, Australian Open
Federer then faced Australian teenager Bernard Tomic and downed him in less than two hours to extend his record streak of Grand Slam quarterfinals consecutive appearances to 31. In the quarterfinals, Federer faced world no. 11 Juan Martín del Potro in his 1000th career match. It was their first meeting in a major tournament since Del Potro defeated Federer in five sets in the 2009 US Open men's final. As the tight match slowly progressed, Federer took control and flew by del Potro in straight sets.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Early hard court season and Australian Open, Australian Open
With his win, Federer becomes the first player at age 30 and over to reach the Australian Open semifinals since Andre Agassi, and extends his match winning streak (started in September 2011) to 24 consecutive victories. Federer played world no. 2 and archrival Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. He opened up the match by winning the first set, but ultimately lost momentum and dropped the next three sets after a failed attempt to get back in the match by taking the third set, committing 63 unforced errors. Federer's loss to Nadal saw his winning streak of 24 consecutive matches end and his record against Nadal slip to 9–18.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Early hard court season and Australian Open, Rotterdam Open
Federer went to the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam for the first time since he won in 2005. He faced Frenchman Nicolas Mahut in the first round and defeated him in straight sets. He then received a walkover against Mikhail Youzhny, and then defeated Jarkko Nieminen in the quarterfinals in two tight sets. In the semifinals, Federer dropped his opening set to an aggressive Nikolay Davydenko, but rallied to win the match in three sets. He beat Juan Martín del Potro in the final to clinch his second title in Rotterdam.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Early hard court season and Australian Open, Dubai Tennis Championships
Federer next played in the Dubai Tennis Championships. He played Frenchman Michaël Llodra in the first round and defeated him in straight sets after a tight second set went to a tiebreak. He then faced Feliciano López and, after a slow start, defeated him in straight sets. He next played Mikhail Youzhny and flew to a straight-sets victory after dropping only fourteen points on serve. In the semifinals, he defeated Juan Martín del Potro in two tight tiebreaks. He beat Andy Murray in the final to clinch his fifth title in Dubai, his second consecutive title, and his second title of the year. He also finished the tournament without dropping a set.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Early hard court season and Australian Open, Indian Wells Masters
Immediately following his win at Dubai, Federer began his trip to the United States with an appearance at the BNP Paribas Showdown, playing an exhibition match against Andy Roddick. After two very tight sets, Federer was defeated by Roddick in the second-set tiebreak.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Early hard court season and Australian Open, Indian Wells Masters
Federer next participated in the Indian Wells Masters in Indian Wells, California. Federer had come down with flu-like symptoms prior to his opening match due to a virus that had spread around the players at the beginning of the tournament. After receiving a bye into the second round, he faced American qualifier Denis Kudla, and dispatched him in straight sets. He next faced young up-and-coming Canadian Milos Raonic. Raonic grabbed a tight first set after winning the set tiebreaker, but Federer came back strong with two break points in the second set to level the match.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Early hard court season and Australian Open, Indian Wells Masters
Federer found a break point late in the third set and held to secure a close three-set win over Raonic. Still recovering from his illness, Federer played Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci, who had received a walkover from the third round, the day after his match with Raonic. Bellucci took advantage of a shaky Federer to win the first set, but Federer found his rhythm and fought back to win the next two sets and the match with two crucial break points, one of which was also match point.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Early hard court season and Australian Open, Indian Wells Masters
Federer then played Juan Martín del Potro for the fourth time in the season in the quarterfinals. After winning three break points throughout the match, Federer defeated del Potro in 69 minutes, earning his 250th career Masters 1000 win. He then faced archrival Rafael Nadal, whom he had last played in his loss in the Australian Open semifinals. Rain delays kept the two rivals off the court for a few hours, but when they began playing, Federer got off to a fast start, securing two break points to win the set with ease.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Early hard court season and Australian Open, Indian Wells Masters
He then capitalized on two more break points to give himself a big lead. After fending off a late comeback by Nadal and waiting out a short rain delay after drawing match point, Federer sealed the match with an ace, recording his tenth career win over Nadal. In the final, Federer met American John Isner, who had beaten him in their last meeting in the Davis Cup, and defeated him in straight sets, clinching a record-tying 19th Masters 1000 title.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Early hard court season and Australian Open, Miami Masters
Federer next played at the Miami Masters. Federer opened in the second round against wildcard American Ryan Harrison after taking a bye in the first round. Federer controlled much of the match and avoided a late comeback by Harrison to win in straight sets after a second set tiebreak. He next played perennial rival Andy Roddick in the third round. Federer dropped the first set tiebreak, but came back strong with three break points in the second set.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Early hard court season and Australian Open, Miami Masters
The third set saw Roddick save four break points in the second game and pull momentum from Federer, who gave up a break in the next game. Federer's serve faltered, and Roddick held his next four service games to win the match and defeat Federer for only the third time in his career, the first time since he last defeated Federer at the 2008 Miami Masters. This loss ended Federer's 16-match winning streak.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Clay court season and French Open, Madrid Open
Federer started off his clay court season with the Madrid Open. He received a bye to the second round, where he faced Milos Raonic. After dropping the first set, Federer saved seven break points in the next two sets to hold off Raonic and win the match in the third-set tiebreak. Federer then played Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the third round, and flew to a win in less than an hour, winning in straight sets. In the quarterfinals, Federer defeated Spaniard David Ferrer in straight sets, losing only six points on his serve, and extended his undefeated record against Ferrer.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Clay court season and French Open, Madrid Open
He defeated Janko Tipsarević in the semifinals in straight sets in just over an hour, and also extended an undefeated record against him. In clinching a spot in the final, Federer broke Ivan Lendl's record for the most combined Championship Masters Series finals, which includes his finals appearances at Masters 1000 events, and stands alone at 32 finals reached. In his 104th career final, he defeated Tomáš Berdych in three sets after dropping the first set. With his win, he regained the world no. 2 ranking from Spaniard Rafael Nadal. He also won his third Madrid Masters title and tied Nadal's record of 20 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Clay court season and French Open, Italian Open
Federer next played at the Italian Open in Rome. He received a bye into the second round where he met and comfortably beat Carlos Berlocq of Argentina in straight sets. In the third round, he played 2001 champion Juan Carlos Ferrero and defeated him in three sets after Ferrero had won the second set by converting a break. Federer then faced hometown favorite Andreas Seppi in the quarterfinals, but defeated him by a comfortable margin, dropping only three games en route to a straight sets win. Federer next lost to first-seeded Novak Djokovic in the semifinal in straight sets, after failing to gain enough momentum to overcome Djokovic in the second-set tiebreak. As Nadal ultimately won the tournament, Federer dropped to world No. 3 rank.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Clay court season and French Open, French Open
Federer concluded his clay court season with the French Open in Paris, his 50th career major championship. He played German Tobias Kamke in the first round, and won in straight sets. With his win, Federer recorded his 50th match win at the French Open and tied Jimmy Connors' record for most career Grand Slam match wins at 233 wins. He next played Adrian Ungur of Belgium, and defeated him in four sets after dropping a third-set tiebreak on a backhand error. With this win, Federer broke Connors' record for the most career Grand Slam match wins, earning his 234th win.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Clay court season and French Open, French Open
He next played against Frenchman Nicolas Mahut, who took the second set from Federer before Federer rallied to win the match in four sets. Federer then faced David Goffin, who made his Grand Slam debut as a lucky loser, the seventh to reach the fourth round at a Grand Slam. After dropping the first set because of unforced errors, Federer fought back and won the next three sets to reach his thirty-second consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal. He next faced Juan Martín del Potro for the fifth time in the season.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Clay court season and French Open, French Open
After del Potro broke Federer in the first set and won a set tiebreak to take a two set lead, Federer capitalized on a waning del Potro to win the next three sets and take the match in three hours and fourteen minutes. Federer advanced to his thirty-first Grand Slam semifinal with his seventh career win from two sets down and his third at the French Open. He next played first-seeded Novak Djokovic. In a match with constant breaks of serve, Federer lost in straight sets because of inconsistent play and copious errors, which included failing to convert on an early second-set lead.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Grass court season, Wimbledon, and the Olympics, Halle Open
Federer began his 2012 grass court season at the Halle Open in Halle, where he was a five-time champion and was the second seed. He received a bye in the first round, and defeated Florian Mayer in the second round, firing 11 aces to kick-start his grass court season with a straight sets win. Federer then played Canadian Milos Raonic in the quarterfinals, and, after losing a first set tiebreak, won in a third set tiebreak to secure three consecutive wins against Raonic. In the semifinals, he cruised past Mikhail Youzhny, dropping only five games en route to a win in one hour. However, Federer succumbed in the final to an inspired Tommy Haas in straight sets due to untimely errors.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Grass court season, Wimbledon, and the Olympics, Wimbledon
Federer finished his grass court season at the Wimbledon Championships, where he was the third seed and a six-time champion. He was bidding to equal Pete Sampras' record of seven Wimbledon titles won. Federer faced Spaniard Albert Ramos in the first round, and swept past him in less than an hour and a half, dropping only three games en route to his straight sets victory. He next played Italian Fabio Fognini, and dispatched him in similar fashion, winning in straight sets after losing only six games.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Grass court season, Wimbledon, and the Olympics, Wimbledon
The match was attended by The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, both of whom met Federer following his win. In the third round, Federer faced Frenchman Julien Benneteau, whom he had lost to in their last encounter at the 2009 Paris Masters. He found himself down two sets to love after Benneteau's brilliant play won a break point in the first set and a tiebreak in the second set. However, Federer steeled himself and won the third set in less than half an hour.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Grass court season, Wimbledon, and the Olympics, Wimbledon
He then held off a comeback by Benneteau in a fourth-set tiebreak to level the match at two sets all. Federer broke Benneteau in the fifth set and held his lead to close the match out in three and a half hours. Federer's win over Benneteau marked the second time in the season and the eighth time in Federer's career that he came back from two sets down to win the match. Federer played Belgian Xavier Malisse in the fourth round, and recorded his 850th match win over four sets.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Grass court season, Wimbledon, and the Olympics, Wimbledon
Federer was down a break in the first set but broke Malisse back to force a tiebreak, which he won handily. After dropping only one game en route to winning the second set. Federer found his serve broken in the third set, which allowed Malisse to take a set off of Federer. Federer then broke Malisse in the middle of the fourth set to secure the lead, which he held to win the match in just over two hours. He faced Mikhail Youzhny, whom he has an undefeated record against, in the quarterfinals. In a match attended by The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Rod Laver, and Andre Agassi and his wife Steffi Graf, Federer steamrollered over Youzhny in just over one and a half hours, dropping only five games in his victory.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Grass court season, Wimbledon, and the Olympics, Wimbledon
He played Novak Djokovic in the semifinal for the second consecutive Grand Slam, and managed to hold a break in the middle of the first set to jump out to a one set lead. Djokovic struck back with a break in the opening game of the second set, and held the lead to even out the game. In the third set, after Federer and Djokovic traded mistakes and missed opportunities, Federer found two set points, and converted his second to take a two sets to one lead.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Grass court season, Wimbledon, and the Olympics, Wimbledon
Federer made a strong start to the fourth set, winning the first three games and serving with great accuracy. He ultimately clinched the match in one of his service games, winning in two hours and twenty minutes. In his record eighth final appearance at the All-England Club, Federer won in four sets against hometown favorite Andy Murray, securing his seventh Wimbledon title and tying William Renshaw's and Pete Sampras' record of most Wimbledon titles won.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Grass court season, Wimbledon, and the Olympics, Wimbledon
Federer fought back from a one set love deficit, created by Murray when he closed up the set after breaking Federer's serve late in the set. Federer and Murray both held serve in the second set until Federer converted a set point in the final game of the set by breaking Murray's serve. After the players started the third set, play was suspended after a rain delay forced the Centre Court roof to be closed. After play resumed, Federer dominated play, winning a crucial break point in a game that stretched out for 20 minutes and saw 26 points played.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Grass court season, Wimbledon, and the Olympics, Wimbledon
Federer held the break to win the set and take the lead. The fourth set also saw Federer outserve Murray and win the only break point of the set to eventually win the match after three hours and fourteen minutes. Federer was the oldest finalist since Jimmy Connors in 1984 and the oldest winner since Arthur Ashe in 1975. With his win, Federer also extended his record of most Grand Slams won to seventeen and regained the World No. 1 ranking, which he last held two years ago. Federer's return to World No. 1 also sees him tying, and ultimately surpassing, Pete Sampras' career record of 286 weeks as World No. 1.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Grass court season, Wimbledon, and the Olympics, Summer Olympics
Federer next played at the 2012 Summer Olympics, representing Switzerland in the men's singles and doubles tennis tournaments.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Grass court season, Wimbledon, and the Olympics, Summer Olympics
In the singles tournament, Federer first played Colombian Alejandro Falla, who took him to five sets at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships. Federer took the first set with ease, but lost a few match points and his serve late in the second set, allowing Falla to make a comeback and level the match at one set all. Federer regained control over the match, however, and closed out the third set to advance to the second round. Federer then played Frenchman Julien Benneteau, who had also taken him to five sets at the 2012 Wimbledon Championships just over a month ago.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Grass court season, Wimbledon, and the Olympics, Summer Olympics
Contrary to their previous matchup, Federer faced no challenge from Benneteau, and flew past him to a straight-sets win in less than an hour. Federer next played Uzbek Denis Istomin in the third round, and clinched a tight first set after a short rain delay. He then took command in the second set and defeated Istomin. In the quarterfinals, Federer faced American John Isner, and secured the first set after a break of Isner's serve allowed him to serve for the set.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Grass court season, Wimbledon, and the Olympics, Summer Olympics
Federer then battled with Isner to reach a tiebreak in the second-set, which ended when a return of Isner's serve clipped the top of the net and dribbled over to win the match. In the semifinals, Federer faced Juan Martín del Potro for the sixth time this season. He found himself in a one-set deficit after del Potro broke him in the middle of the first set and held to win the set.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Grass court season, Wimbledon, and the Olympics, Summer Olympics
Federer, however, fought back in the second set, and after losing two opportunities to serve for the set, won the tiebreak with an ace on his second set point. Federer and del Potro then began a third set which saw del Potro creating a one-game lead and Federer matching it in his service games. Federer managed to break del Potro after twenty games, but was unable to convert the break, and del Potro broke back to continue the pattern. Eventually, Federer engineered another break at seventeen games all, and held serve to win the match on his second match point. The match, which stretched over four hours and twenty-six minutes, broke the record for the longest best-of-three-sets system match in the Open Era, surpassing the 4 hours and 3 minutes in Rafael Nadal’s victory over Novak Djokovic in the 2009 Madrid Masters.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Grass court season, Wimbledon, and the Olympics, Summer Olympics
Federer, who secured his first Olympic medal and Switzerland's first medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics with his semifinal win, played Briton Andy Murray in the final. Federer was unable to find a way to control the match, and saw his serve broken five times en route to a loss in straight sets, which resulted in earning him a silver medal. The match was a nightmarish match for Federer, where he won just seven games and scored a minuscule ten points on his own second serve.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Grass court season, Wimbledon, and the Olympics, Summer Olympics
It was Federer's worst ever loss on grass, and overall second worst in a best of five sets match, next only to 2008 French Open final to Rafael Nadal. Federer’s finals finish, along with World No. 2 Novak Djokovic's semifinals finish, guaranteed that he would retain his World No. 1 ranking.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Grass court season, Wimbledon, and the Olympics, Summer Olympics
In the doubles tournament, Federer teamed up with Stanislas Wawrinka to defend their gold medal from the 2008 Summer Olympics. They first faced the Japanese duo of Kei Nishikori and Go Soeda, and dropped the first set tiebreak to them. However, Federer and Wawrinka rallied to win the next two sets and the match, successfully beginning their medal defense. The pair next played Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram of Israel, and grabbed a one-set lead after winning the first set in less than half an hour. However, they were edged by Erlich and Ram in the second-set tiebreak, and fared poorly in the third set, giving up a break of serve which ultimately lost them the match.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, US Open Series and US Open
Federer was scheduled to open this season's US Open Series by participating in the Rogers Cup in Toronto, but he withdrew from the tournament, citing a need for rest.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, US Open Series and US Open, Cincinnati Masters
Federer opened his US Open Series at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, where he finished in the quarterfinals last year. Federer first faced Alex Bogomolov, Jr. of Russia, and found little trouble in his first match, dropping only five games en route to a win in one hour. In the third round Federer faced Australian Bernard Tomic, defeating the 19-year-old while only dropping six games. Federer next faced American Mardy Fish in a rematch of the 2010 Cincinnati final. His quarterfinal against Fish was a high quality match with Federer closing it out in a second-set tiebreaker.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, US Open Series and US Open, Cincinnati Masters
His semifinal match was an all Swiss affair as he faced friend and doubles partner Stan Wawrinka. Wawrinka pressed Federer to a tiebreaker but ultimately succumbed to the world number 1 in straight sets. With his victory over Wawrinka, Federer secured the number ranking going into the US Open. He faced world number 2 Novak Djokovic in the final, and started the match strong, winning six straight games to open with a one-set lead in 20 minutes. He then played a tight second set with Djokovic, and won the set and the match in a tiebreaker. With his win, Federer won his record fifth title at Cincinnati and did so without losing a serve or dropping a set for the entire tournament.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, US Open Series and US Open, US Open
Federer next played at the US Open in Flushing Meadows, where he finished in the semifinals last year. Federer faced American Donald Young in the first round and defeated him in straight sets in just over an hour and a half. He next faced German Björn Phau, and faced little resistance, breaking Phau five times en route to a straight-sets victory in exactly an hour and a half. Federer then played Fernando Verdasco of Spain, and won again in straight sets, winning in just over two hours.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, US Open Series and US Open, US Open
He was scheduled to play American Mardy Fish in the fourth round, but Fish withdrew, citing health concerns. Federer played Tomáš Berdych in the quarterfinal, and dropped the first two sets before regaining some momentum and winning the third set. However, Berdych forced a break of Federer's serve, and served out the match, handing Federer his first loss in eight matches. Federer's loss also ended his eight consecutive semifinal appearances at the US Open since 2004.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Asian Swing, Shanghai Masters
Federer's first post-US Open tournament was the Shanghai Masters. Federer received a bye into the second round, where he played Lu Yen-hsun and won the match in straight sets after securing one break point in each set. In the third round, Federer faced off against compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka. He dropped the first set to Wawrinka, but won a crucial second-set tiebreak and finished the match by winning six straight games in the third set. Federer's win over Wawrinka guaranteed him the world No. 1 ranking for a 300th week.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Asian Swing, Shanghai Masters
Federer's next match in the quarterfinals, against Marin Čilić, saw him taking control of the match from the start, winning in straight sets in just over eighty minutes. Federer next played Andy Murray in the semifinals, but a few anomalies in his service gave breaks of serve to Murray in the first and second sets, resulting in a straight sets loss.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, European Indoor Season, Swiss Indoors
Federer's next tournament was the 2012 Swiss Indoors, where he was seeded first and was a two-time defending champion. He played Benjamin Becker in the first round, and won in straight sets after overcoming Becker in a tight first set. He then faced Thomaz Bellucci in the second round, and won the first set before dropping a tight second set tiebreak. He then fought off a comeback by Bellucci, and won the match with a break of Bellucci's serve in just over two hours.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, European Indoor Season, Swiss Indoors
Federer played Benoît Paire of France in the quarterfinals, and swept past him in straight sets, dropping only one point on serve en route to a win in less than an hour. In a tougher semifinal, Federer dispatched Paul-Henri Mathieu in straight sets, advancing to his ninth Basel final and equalling John McEnroe's 875 career match wins. Federer played Juan Martín del Potro in the final, and found himself one set down after del Potro broke his serve in the middle of the first set.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, European Indoor Season, Swiss Indoors
Federer fought back in the second set, saving a break point late in the set to force a tiebreak, which he won. However, he was not able to keep his seven-match win streak against del Potro, dropping the match in a third-set tiebreak after failing to convert break points earlier in the set.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, European Indoor Season, Paris Masters
Federer was scheduled to play at the BNP Paribas Masters, where he was the defending champion, but elected to withdraw, citing a need to rest ahead of the World Tour Finals. Federer's withdrawal, coupled with his loss in the final of the Swiss Indoors, led to the loss of his World No. 1 year-end ranking to Novak Djokovic.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, European Indoor Season, ATP World Tour Finals
Federer next played at his eleventh ATP World Tour Finals, where he was the two-time defending champion. He was drawn into Group B, which included David Ferrer of Spain, Juan Martín del Potro of Argentina, and Janko Tipsarević of Serbia. He first faced Tipsarević, and dropped only eight points on serve en route to defeating him in straight sets in an hour and nine minutes. With his win over Tipsarević, Federer recorded his fortieth ATP World Tour Finals win, surpassing Ivan Lendl's record of ATP World Tour Finals win.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, European Indoor Season, ATP World Tour Finals
Federer then played Ferrer, and beat him in a tight second-set tiebreak after Federer clinched the first set on a break of Ferrer's serve. Federer's win marked his fourteenth consecutive win over Ferrer and also qualified him for the semifinals. Federer played del Potro to wrap up the round robin, and found himself one set down after del Potro clinched a first-set tiebreak. Federer broke del Potro early in the second set, and held the lead to level the match at one set all.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, European Indoor Season, ATP World Tour Finals
However, del Potro responded by breaking him early in the third set, and Federer's unforced errors ultimately cost him the game and the match. Federer's loss meant that his streak of 12 matches won at the ATP World Tour Finals was broken. Even with the loss, Federer finished first in the group, and advanced to the semifinals, where he faced Andy Murray, who he had last played at the Shanghai Rolex Masters. Murray started out strong, breaking Federer in the first game of the set, but Federer recovered by breaking Murray later in the set.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, European Indoor Season, ATP World Tour Finals
The first set eventually went to a tiebreak, and Federer found himself with two set points, converting the second to take a one-set lead. Federer then flew through the second set, breaking Murray twice en route to winning the match in just over an hour and a half. With his win, Federer advanced to his eighth final, where he played Novak Djokovic. Federer held an early lead in the first set, but Djokovic managed to level the set and ended up pulling out to a one-set lead after winning a very tight first-set tiebreak.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, European Indoor Season, ATP World Tour Finals
In the second set, Djokovic was able to convert a decisive break point on Federer's serve late in the set and he subsequently served out the match to win his second end of season Championship. The loss denied Federer a chance to tie Ivan Lendl's record of three consecutive ATP World Tour Finals titles. Federer's loss also cost him a chance at tying John McEnroe's record of 77 career titles won.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Davis Cup
Federer returned to Switzerland to represent his country for their first-round Davis Cup meeting with the United States. He played his first rubber at Fribourg against John Isner after Mardy Fish had beaten his compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka in the first rubber. After taking the first set, Federer struggled to capitalize on break points and lost the next three sets to Isner, giving the Americans a 2–0 advantage. He next played with Wawrinka in the doubles rubber against top doubles player Mike Bryan and Fish.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Davis Cup
Federer and Wawrinka won a tight first set, but were run over by Bryan and Fish in the next three sets, losing the rubber and the match-up. The Americans advanced to the quarterfinals, while Switzerland was relegated to the World Group Play-offs. Federer was scheduled to play Mardy Fish in the first of the reverse singles rubbers, but Federer and Fish were taken off the schedule, as the Americans had already won the match-up.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Davis Cup
Federer represented Switzerland in the World Group Play-offs against the Netherlands in Amsterdam. Federer played Thiemo de Bakker in his first singles rubber, and he won the match in straight sets, giving Switzerland its first point. After compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka secured a four-set victory over Robin Haase in the second singles rubber, Federer and Wawrinka teamed up to play the doubles rubber against Haase and Jean-Julien Rojer. Because of strong play by Haase and Rojer, Federer and Wawrinka found themselves in a two-set to love deficit, but they fought to win the third set.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Year summary, Davis Cup
However, Haase and Rojer continued to break the Swiss pair's serves and won an upset in four sets, preventing Switzerland from clinching the match-up on the second day of play. Federer then played Haase in the first of the reverse singles rubbers, and found little trouble in winning the match in straight sets, fending off various opportunities for Haase to break his serve. Federer's win clinched the match-up, which meant that Switzerland would play in the World Group in 2013.


2012 Roger Federer tennis season, Yearly records, Head-to-head matchups
Roger Federer had a 71–12 (85.5%) match win-loss record for the 2012 season. His record against players who were part of the ATP Rankings Top Ten at the time of their meetings stands at 16–9 (64.0%). The following list is ordered by number of wins:


2012 Rogers Cup
The 2012 Rogers Cup (known as such for sponsorship reasons) was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 123rd edition (for the men) and the 111th (for the women) of the Canadian Open, and was part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 of the 2012 ATP World Tour, and of the WTA Premier 5 tournaments of the 2012 WTA Tour. The women's and legends' events were held at the Uniprix Stadium in Montreal, from August 4 to August 13 and the men's event at the Rexall Centre in Toronto, from August 4 to August 12.


2012 Rogers Cup, ATP singles main draw entrants, Seeds
The following players were seeded in the main singles draw, following the ATP Rankings of July 30, 2012:


2012 Rogers Cup, ATP singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wild cards into the main singles draw:


2012 Rogers Cup, ATP singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received entry from the singles qualifying draw:


2012 Rogers Cup, ATP doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw:


2012 Rogers Cup, WTA singles main draw entrants, Seeds
The following players were seeded in the main singles draw, following the WTA Rankings of July 30, 2012:


2012 Rogers Cup, WTA singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wild cards into the main singles draw:


2012 Rogers Cup, WTA singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received entry from the singles qualifying draw:


2012 Rogers Cup, WTA doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw:


2012 Rogers Cup, Finals, Men's doubles
Bob Bryan /  Mike Bryan  defeated  Marcel Granollers /  Marc López, 6–1, 4–6, [12–10]


2012 Rogers Cup, Finals, Women's doubles
Klaudia Jans-Ignacik /  Kristina Mladenovic  defeated  Nadia Petrova /  Katarina Srebotnik, 7–5, 2–6, [10–7]


2012 Rogers Cup – Men's Doubles
Michaël Llodra and Nenad Zimonjić were the defending champions, but Llodra chose not to compete this year. Zimonjić played alongside Paul Hanley, but they lost to Bob and Mike Bryan in the quarterfinals, who won the tournament in the end against Marcel Granollers and Marc López 6–1, 4–6, [12–10].


2012 Rogers Cup – Men's Singles
Defending champion Novak Djokovic successfully defended his title, defeating Richard Gasquet in the final, 6–3, 6–2, to win the Men's Singles title at the 2012 Canadian Open.


2012 Rogers Cup – Women's Doubles
Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond were the defending champions but lost to Nadia Petrova and Katarina Srebotnik in the semifinals 6–4, 6–4. Klaudia Jans-Ignacik and Kristina Mladenovic won the title by defeating Nadia Petrova and Katarina Srebotnik 7–5, 2–6, [10–7] in the final.


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


2012 Rogers Cup – Women's Singles
Serena Williams was the defending champion, but chose not to compete this year.


2012 Rogers Cup – Women's Singles
Petra Kvitová won the title, defeating Li Na in the final 7–5, 2–6, 6–3.


2012 Rolex Sports Car Series
The 2012 Rolex Sports Car Series season was the thirteenth running of the Grand American Road Racing Association's premier series. It began with the 24 Hours of Daytona on January 28–29.


2012 Rolex Sports Car Series, Schedule
The schedule was announced on November 9, 2011. It consists of thirteen rounds. Twelve were announced that day. The final round at Lime Rock was announced November 14.


2012 Rolex Sports Car Series, Daytona Prototype changes
On May 13, 2011, Grand Am announced that various changes would be made to the Daytona Prototypes for the 2012 season:


2012 Rolex Sports Car Series, North American Endurance Championship
The 2012 season marks the start of a three-race "endurance championship" featuring the 24 Hours of Daytona, the Six Hours of Watkins Glen, and the new race at Indianapolis. In Daytona, there are points in 6, 12, 18 and 24 hours. In Watkins Glen 3 and 6 with double points, and quadruple points in Indianapolis at the end of the race.


2012 Roma Open
The 2012 Roma Open was a professional tennis tournament played on clay courts. It was the eleventh edition of the tournament which was part of the 2012 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Rome, Italy between 7 and 12 May 2012.


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


2012 Roma Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received entry as a special exempt into the singles main draw:


2012 Roma Open – Doubles
Juan Sebastián Cabal and Robert Farah were the defending champions but decided not to participate. Jamie Delgado and Ken Skupski won the title defeating Adrián Menéndez and Walter Trusendi in the final 6–1, 6–4.


2012 Roma Open – Singles
Simone Bolelli was the defending champion, but he lost in the semifinals to Gilles Müller, 3–6, 7–5, 6–7(1–7). Jerzy Janowicz won the title defeating Gilles Müller in the final 7–6(7–3), 6–3.


2012 Romanian constitutional crisis
The 2012 Romanian constitutional crisis was a major political and constitutional conflict between President Traian Băsescu and Prime Minister Victor Ponta of Romania. A dispute arose between the two regarding the representation of Romania to the European Council reunion of June 28, 2012. The dispute degenerated in civil disobedience and conflicting views between political parties. On 12 December 2012, Băsescu and Ponta signed an agreement on institutional cohabitation, effectively ending the crisis.


2012 Romanian constitutional crisis, Background
President Traian Băsescu and Prime Minister Victor Ponta became locked in a constitutional judicial conflict over Romania's representation at the June 28, 2012 meeting of the European Council. President Traian Băsescu submitted a complaint to Romania's Constitutional Court in point of the conflict with Government concerning the representation on the European Council. Ponta declared to the Romanian press agency Mediafax that misconception claimed by President Băsescu to the Constitutional Court is between Presidency and Parliament, and Court judges can only determine the existence of a conflict, that can not be solved only by amending the Constitution.


2012 Romanian constitutional crisis, Background
Parliament plenary adopted on June 12, 2012, with 249 votes in favor, 30 against and two abstentions, a political declaration recommending that at European Council meeting on June 28 Romania to be represented by Premier Victor Ponta, not by President Traian Băsescu. That decision triggered a fierce conflict between the two Palaces. As of 2012, President Traian Băsescu sent to Premier Victor Ponta a letter which drew attention that participation in the European Council without a mandate from the President legally equalizes with ownership of a constitutional prerogatives of the President. At a press conference, Ponta broke the letter, ironically replying this gesture.


2012 Romanian constitutional crisis, Background
On June 27, Constitutional Court decides that the President is required to attend the European Council in Brussels. Ponta respond in a way that nobody expected. Government takes in authority the Official Monitor, delaying publication of the Constitutional Court decision, regarding participation in European Council and making the presence of Victor Ponta in Brussels to be legal.


2012 Romanian constitutional crisis, Background, Plagiarism controversy
Victor Ponta obtained his PhD in law from the University of Bucharest, in July 2003, with a thesis entitled "International Criminal Court". Scientific advisor of this piece of work was Adrian Năstase, then Prime Minister in office, who serves a 1-year sentence in prison since 2012.


2012 Romanian constitutional crisis, Background, Plagiarism controversy
On June 18, 2012, online edition of  Nature magazine published the news that Victor Ponta, "Prime Minister of Romania, has been accused of copying large sections of his 2003 PhD thesis in law from previous publications, without proper reference". The charge was made on the basis of documents compiled by an anonymous whistleblower. "Ponta obtained his doctorate from the University of Bucharest while he was Secretary of State in Năstase I Cabinet, who was his doctoral thesis supervisor", the author writes.


2012 Romanian constitutional crisis, Background, Plagiarism controversy
Concomitantly, imputation of plagiarism was also published by German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Karl Peter Schwarz, a journalist from the newspaper and author of the inquiry published by him, commented on the subject in an interview on June 20, 2012, in which showed that the case would be worse than plagiarists politicians in Germany and Hungary, whereas the latter "didn't copy whole pages of the thesis, as he did". News from Nature, about plagiarism, were resumed by Romanian and international press, in România Liberă, Hotnews.ro, Financial Times Deutschland, The Guardian, weekly Die Zeit, Il Messaggero (Italy), El Mundo (Spain), The Hindu (India), Le Monde, BBC.


2012 Romanian constitutional crisis, Background, Plagiarism controversy
A document published by TVR presents the passages of thesis copied in parallel with source texts. It appears that much of the work was copied, word for word, from the following works:


2012 Romanian constitutional crisis, Background, Plagiarism controversy
Members of the National Council for the Recognition of Degrees, Diplomas and Certificates decided, after examining the thesis of PM Ponta, that he had plagiarized 85 pages of the work, although in the press had conveyed numbers from 30 to about 130 pages plagiarized from these works.


2012 Romanian constitutional crisis, Background, Plagiarism controversy
A detailed analysis in parallel of the texts conducted by journalists from România Liberă indicated not only a taking over of the informative parts, but also of the authors' personal assessments, of the rhetorical questions put by them, of the references to older texts of the same author, and orthography mistakes. The doctoral thesis was subsequently published in book form, with a preface signed by even I. Diaconu (author of one of the three plagiarized works), having Daniela Coman as co-author. Other sources indicate author's preface as Adrian Năstase.


2012 Romanian constitutional crisis, Background, Plagiarism controversy
On the other hand, National Ethics Council decided on July 18, 2012 that Ponta didn't plagiarize.


2012 Romanian constitutional crisis, Background, Plagiarism controversy
(...) council was regenerated by former interim minister Liviu Pop, so that the result of an analysis simulation of the work can be controlled.


2012 Romanian constitutional crisis, Background, Plagiarism controversy
On July 20, 2012, Ethics Committee of the University of Bucharest decided that Victor Ponta deliberately plagiarized, finding passages copied on 115 pages of the 297 (namely the thesis excluding Năstase's preface and appendices). On the same day, Nature magazine related about contradictory verdicts of Government Ethics Commission and Ethics Committee of the University.


2012 Romanian constitutional crisis, Background, Diesel fuel dossier
President Traian Băsescu and former Minister of Regional Development and Tourism, Elena Udrea, were intercepted in the dossier of former head of National Agency for Fiscal Administration, Sorin Blejnar. President Băsescu spoke on the phone with Blejnar about Rompetrol problem, but also about the situation of a company that has contracts with the State. Elena Udrea also had four discussions with Blejnar, in that they fixed appointments.


2012 Romanian constitutional crisis, Background, Diesel fuel dossier
The phone of former head of the IRS was heard by prosecutors in the case of diesel fuel imports in Brașov, in that the former head of NAFA was indicted by DIICOT prosecutors for favoring the offender.


2012 Romanian constitutional crisis, Background, Diesel fuel dossier
Sorin Blejnar called in September 2010 the President Traian Băsescu, to inform him about a construction company, which has won numerous contracts with the State and which has debts. The company belongs to some PDL friends. Likewise, President demanded explanations about Rompetrol and told Blejnar to find solutions together with the Minister of Justice.


2012 Romanian constitutional crisis, Background, Diesel fuel dossier
The Presidential Administration recognized the interceptions in DIICOT dossier. According to the Presidency, talks between President Băsescu and former head of NAFA focused on the recovery of Rompetrol company's debts to the State, given that combating tax evasion and collection of receivables from the state budget made the object of a CSAT decision of 28 June 2010.


2012 Romanian constitutional crisis, Background, Diesel fuel dossier
The judicial inspection of the Superior Council of Magistracy initiated an investigation to see if the DIICOT case prosecutor in the Dossier "Diesel fuel" complied with the procedure when introduced interceptions with President Traian Băsescu in the dossier devoid of classifying them and to investigate a possible leak from Brașov Court.


2012 Romanian constitutional crisis, Background, SCM scandal
On January 4, 2013, there were held elections for the offices of President and Vice-President of the Superior Council of Magistracy. The prosecutor Oana Schmidt Hăineală was chosen as president of the SCM, after being heard by the members of SCM, with his rival, the judge Mircea Aron. The conduct of elections triggered disputes and controversies between Superior Council of Magistracy and National Union of Judges in Romania, that roughly criticized the elections, whereon it considers untransparent and unprofessional. Likewise, the Magistrates Association in Romania expressed dissatisfaction with the appointment of Oana Hăineală as head of the SCM.


2012 Romanian constitutional crisis, Background, SCM scandal
As a release of the situation, the Department for judges of the Superior Council of Magistracy demanded the resignation of honor of Oana Schmidt Hăineală as president of SCM and, simultaneously, asked judges Alina Ghica and Cristi Danileț to relinquish the nomination for Vice-President of the Council.


2012 Romanian constitutional crisis, Background, Corruption scandal
In a report on justice in Romania, drawn up by the European Commission on January 30, 2013, appear three ministers investigated for corruption. According to a European official, two of ministers referred to in the CVM report are Liviu Dragnea and Varujan Vosganian. According to Prime Minister Victor Ponta, the third one is Relu Fenechiu. Dragnea is being investigated for alleged involvement in fraud in the referendum regarding the dismissal of President Traian Băsescu. Fenechiu was prosecuted, in the summer of 2012, in Transformer dossier, in which he's charged with complicity in abuse of office.


2012 Romanian constitutional crisis, Background, Corruption scandal
Likewise, the European Commission Report on the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism records that there's intimidation and harassment against individuals in state institutions, like National Integrity Agency, Constitutional Court, High Court of Cassation and Superior Council of Magistracy. "The judicial independence doesn't exist", affirmed Mark Gray, European Commission spokesman.


2012 Romanian constitutional crisis, Beginning of crisis
Traian Băsescu's troubles began on June 18. Hidroelectrica, a state-owned energy company announced that it was insolvent. It was a move that Ponta hit the "smart guys", which have signed contracts with all governments (right- or left-wing) to buy cheap energy from Hidroelectrica. On the same day, Victor Ponta became embroiled in a plagiarism scandal: Nature magazine claimed that the Premier copied his dissertation in 2003.


2012 Romanian constitutional crisis, Beginning of crisis
On June 20, former PSD leader and premier and Ponta's political mentor Adrian Năstase was sentenced to two years of imprisonment after conviction in a corruption trial due to his alleged involvement in the dossier "Quality Trophy". The same evening, as police arrived at his home to escort him to prison, Năstase shot himself in an apparent suicide attempt and was transported to Floreasca Hospital. A week later, Adrian Năstase was transferred to Rahova Prison Hospital.


2012 Romanian constitutional crisis, Beginning of crisis
On June 25, the Romanian Senate decided to alter the functioning of the Constitutional Court law, such that the court will not be able to rule on Parliament decisions, thus facilitating the procedure for suspension of the President. In the following days, the Chamber of Deputies approved the referendum law amendment, which established that the President can be dismissed easily, only half the votes of those who come to the polls. Until that point, the law stipulated that the President is dismissed only if the proposal was passed by majority of voters registered on electoral lists. On June 27, the Pure uninominal law, initiated by Victor Ponta and Crin Antonescu, is declared unconstitutional. On the same day, PDL attack to the Constitutional Court the referendum law and the Constitutional Court Law amending.


2012 Romanian constitutional crisis, Beginning of crisis
In press occurs rumors about filing a penal complaint at Parquet against Victor Ponta by Traian Băsescu, as the Prime Minister to be, then suspended from office. President denies this version, but accuses Ponta that represents illegitimate Romania in Brussels. National Council for Titles, Diplomas and Certificates establishes that Victor Ponta plagiarized in his PhD thesis. Council claims that 85 pages are copied and called for the title of doctor withdrawal. But, before the verdict, Interim Minister of Education, Liviu Pop, dissolved the National Council for Titles, Diplomas and Certificates, such that the decision was void.


2012 Romanian constitutional crisis, Beginning of crisis
On July 3, the Romanian Parliament, at proposal of majority represented by USL, vote dismissal of President of the Senate, PDL leader Vasile Blaga, President of the Chamber of Deputies, PDL member Roberta Anastase and Ombudsman. Through an Emergency Ordinance, government restricts the attributions of the Constitutional Court, restoring them to the 2010 status quo.


2012 Romanian constitutional crisis, President's suspension
Băsescu was suspended as President of Romania, by Parliament, with 256 votes in favor and 114 against. There were two abstentions. After announcing the results, Parliament proposed that the presidential impeachment referendum to be held on July 29, 2012, proposal approved by the plenary with 242 votes in favor. Suspended president notified the Constitutional Court, calling for a constitutional legal conflict between president and Parliament. "I do not defend the seat, but I want to defend the office", President explained. Therewith, he reiterated accusations against USL and its leaders, accusing them of lying and wanted to subordinate the justice.