2012 North Carolina Senate election, Detailed Results, Districts 26-50, District 50
The new 50th district lost Transylvania County but gained all of Haywood County. Incumbent Republican Jim Davis has represented the 50th district since 2011.


2012 North Carolina Tar Heels football team
The 2012 North Carolina Tar Heels football team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a member of Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by first-year head coach Larry Fedora and played their home games at Kenan Memorial Stadium. The Tar Heels finished the season 8–4 overall and 5–3 in ACC play to tie for first in the Coastal Division with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the Miami Hurricanes. Due to NCAA sanctions imposed in the wake of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill football scandal, North Carolina was ineligible for the conference title and banned for postseason play for the 2012 season.


2012 North Carolina Tar Heels football team, Sanctions from scandal
On March 12, 2012, the university was notified of penalties issued by the NCAA Committee on Infractions for violations discovered in the 2010 season. North Carolina was banned from all postseason play in 2012, including bowl games and the ACC Championship Game. Also, UNC was placed probation for three years and lost five scholarships per season for three seasons beginning with the recruiting class of 2013.


2012 North Carolina Tar Heels football team, Recruiting
National Signing Day was on February 1, 2012 and was the first chance for high school seniors to officially declare which university or college they will be attending for their college career. North Carolina had 23 high school seniors sign a National Letter of Intent to play football with them. Terrance Knox and Shakeel Rashad both graduated from high school early and enrolled at UNC in January 2012.


2012 North Carolina Tar Heels football team, Coaching staff
New football coach Larry Fedora officially took over as the head coach at UNC on January 1, 2012. He signed a 7-year contract worth more than $1.7 million annually. He takes over a team that is banned from a bowl game for the 2012–13 season.


2012 North Carolina Tar Heels football team, Game summaries, Elon
North Carolina started a new era under head coach Larry Fedora with the first shutout since beating Duke 38–0 to finish the 1999 season. The last time UNC scored 62 points was in the 1995 season against Ohio, which is only 3 points shy of the school record. Giovani Bernard scored 3 touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving, and one punt return), all before sitting out the entire second half of the game. Carolina also completed passes to 14 different receivers, including one reception by quarterback Bryn Renner. The Tar Heels also set a school and ACC record with 260 punt return yards during the game.


2012 North Carolina gubernatorial election
The 2012 North Carolina gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the 2012 United States presidential election, U.S. House election, statewide judicial election, Council of State election and various local elections.


2012 North Carolina gubernatorial election
The incumbent Democratic governor, Bev Perdue, was eligible to run for reelection. However, she announced on January 26, 2012, that she would not seek a second term in office. The Democratic nominee was the incumbent lieutenant governor, Walter H. Dalton, the Republican nominee was former mayor of Charlotte Pat McCrory, and the Libertarian nominee was Barbara Howe. McCrory won the election with almost 55 percent of the vote to Dalton's 43 percent, the largest margin of victory for a Republican in an open-seat race for governor since the Reconstruction Era. When he became the 74th governor of North Carolina in January 2013, the Republicans won complete control of state government for the first time since Reconstruction.


2012 North Carolina gubernatorial election
As of 2021, this is the last time a Republican was elected Governor of North Carolina. It was also the last time the state concurrently voted for a gubernatorial and presidential candidate of the same party, with Mitt Romney winning the state's electoral votes, and the last time a Republican candidate won Mecklenburg County in a statewide election.


2012 North Carolina gubernatorial election, Democratic primary, Debates
A series of televised debates between candidates Dalton, Etheridge and Faison, held April 16–18, was considered potentially pivotal, since "the governor’s race has so far attracted little attention, created little buzz and produced few political commercials" and "polls suggest there is still a large swath of Democratic voters who have yet to decide" for whom to vote. The first debate, conducted by WRAL-TV and broadcast statewide, featured few differences between the candidates, but Faison was seen as the aggressor.


2012 North Carolina gubernatorial election, Democratic primary, Debates
The second debate (conducted by UNC-TV) was more contentious, with Dalton criticizing Etheridge's support of a free trade agreement while he was in Congress, and Etheridge attacking Dalton over his attendance record on boards and commissions and his alleged failure to speak out against the actions of the majority-Republican legislature. In the final debate of the series, this one conducted by WNCN-TV and the North Carolina League of Women Voters, candidates were considered to be more "muted" in their criticisms of each other. All three spoke out strongly against a voter ID bill proposed by Republicans in the state legislature. Dalton emphasized modernizing the state's economy, Etheridge continued his themes of leadership and education, and Faison most sharply attacked Republicans and called for action on the state's unemployment problem.


2012 North Carolina gubernatorial election, General election, Debates
Dalton and McCrory met for their first televised debate at the studios of UNC-TV on October 3, 2012. Two debates were sponsored by the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters Educational Foundation, with the third and final debate sponsored by WRAL-TV and the Rocky Mount Chamber of Commerce. Howe was not invited to participate in any of the scheduled debates. The Associated Press characterized Dalton as going "on the offensive" against McCrory in the first debate. The final encounter between the two candidates, held Oct. 24 on the campus of North Carolina Wesleyan College, featured "more subdued disagreements over taxes, education, health care and mental health."


2012 North Carolina judicial election
One justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court and three judges of the North Carolina Court of Appeals were elected by North Carolina voters on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the elections for Governor and other offices. North Carolina judicial elections are non-partisan. Terms for seats on each court are eight years. In three of the four races, incumbents were re-elected to their seats, but incumbent Court of Appeals Judge Cressie Thigpen (who had never been elected but rather was appointed to fill a vacancy on the court) was defeated by Chris Dillon.


2012 North Carolina judicial election, Supreme Court
Associate Justice Paul Martin Newby ran for re-election. N.C. Court of Appeals Judge Sam J. Ervin IV challenged Newby in the general election.


2012 North Carolina judicial election, Supreme Court, Results
Newby won his second eight-year term on the North Carolina Supreme Court by taking 51.9 percent of the vote and defeating Ervin.


2012 North Carolina judicial election, Supreme Court, Results
Justice at Stake estimated that total spending by Newby, Ervin, and outside groups in this contest surpassed $4.4 million, breaking North Carolina records for spending in judicial elections. One group, Americans for Prosperity, spent $250,000 in support of Newby, more than the group had ever spent on any judicial election.


2012 North Carolina judicial election, Court of Appeals (Bryant seat)
Judge Wanda G. Bryant was the incumbent and ran for re-election. She was challenged by District Court Judge Marty McGee. Bryant won re-election with 56.5 percent of the vote.


2012 North Carolina judicial election, Court of Appeals (McGee seat)
Judge Linda McGee ran for re-election to a third full term. She was challenged by attorney David S. Robinson. McGee won re-election with 61.2 percent of the vote.


2012 North Carolina judicial election, Court of Appeals (Thigpen seat)
Judge Cressie Thigpen, who was appointed to fill the vacancy caused by former Judge Barbara Jackson's election to the Supreme Court, ran for a full term. He was challenged by attorney/bank executive Chris Dillon, who ran for a seat on the Court of Appeals in 2010. Dillon defeated Thigpen and won the seat with 52.8 percent of the vote.


2012 North Carolina lieutenant gubernatorial election
The 2012 North Carolina lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the other elections to the Council of State and the gubernatorial election. Primary elections were held May 8. The offices of Governor and Lieutenant Governor are elected independently. The incumbent, Lt. Gov. Walter H. Dalton, announced on Jan. 26, 2012 that he would run for Governor.


2012 North Carolina lieutenant gubernatorial election
In the general election, Republican Dan Forest won 50.08% of the vote, narrowly defeating Democrat Linda Coleman. The election result was in doubt for almost two weeks after Election Day, and was within the margin in which Coleman could ask for a recount, but she chose not to do so on Nov. 19.


2012 North Carolina lieutenant gubernatorial election
When he took office in January 2013, Forest became the state's first Republican lieutenant governor since Jim Gardner left office two decades earlier.


2012 North Carolina lieutenant gubernatorial election, Republican primary, Results
Under state law, if no candidate receives 40 percent of the vote in the primary, the second-place candidate can request a second primary (runoff). According to unofficial May 8 primary election results, Gurley came in second, and he announced that he would request such a runoff.


2012 North Dakota Republican presidential caucuses
The 2012 North Dakota Republican presidential caucuses were held on March 6, 2012. North Dakota has 28 delegates to the Republican National Convention; despite Rick Santorum's nominal win in the preference poll conducted during the caucuses, the majority of the delegates elected by the state party convention later in March said they supported Romney.


2012 North Dakota Republican presidential caucuses, Convention controversy
North Dakota Republican Party had its state convention from Friday March 30 to Sunday April 1 where twenty-five unbound National Convention delegates were elected. Rick Santorum had won the strawpoll at the Legislative Districts caucuses on Super Tuesday with a large margin to Ron Paul in second place and Mitt Romney in third place. The state party's national delegate nominating committee recommended a slate of delegates based on participation in the party. There was no requirement that the delegates personally support any particular candidate.


2012 North Dakota Republican presidential caucuses, Convention controversy
The slate was merely a means for the party's nominating committee to place names into nomination at the convention based on criteria that weighted previous participation in and financial support for the party. Additional names were nominated at the convention itself and the national delegates and alternates were elected by the state convention delegates. State Party rules only required that the national delegates chosen at the state convention caucus before or at the national convention and determine whether or how to reflect the previous strawpoll result.


2012 North Dakota Republican presidential caucuses, Convention controversy
In August, 2012, the national delegation caucused in Tampa, Florida, at the Republican National Convention, and allowed each national delegate to vote their own conscience. According to Santorum and Paul supporters the slate placed into nomination by the party's nominating committee should have lived up to the strawpoll result, but instead gave Romney a large majority of the delegates. This misunderstanding of state party rules and procedures lead former NDGOP Chairman Gary Emineth to call the vote undemocratic and a railroad job.


2012 North Dakota State Bison football team
The 2012 North Dakota State Bison football team represented North Dakota State University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by tenth-year head coach Craig Bohl and played their home games at the Fargodome in Fargo, North Dakota. North Dakota State entered the season as the defending NCAA Division I Football and Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) champions. In 2012, the Bison won their second straight MVFC title posting, a 7–1 conference record and 10–1 overall mark in the regular season. In the FCS playoffs they defeated South Dakota State, Wofford, Georgia Southern, and Sam Houston State to finish the season 14–1 and win their second consecutive national title.


2012 North Dakota elections
The state of North Dakota held a series of elections on November 6, 2012. In addition to selecting presidential electors, North Dakotan voters selected one of its two United States Senators and its lone United States Representative, as well as seven statewide executive officers and one Supreme Court Justice. Primary elections were held on June 12, 2012.


2012 North Dakota elections, United States President and Vice President
North Dakota voters chose three electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote. Voters selected the Republican challengers, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Congressman Paul Ryan, over the Democratic incumbent President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.


2012 North Dakota elections, United States Senator
Voters selected a senator to replace the retiring incumbent, Kent Conrad of the Democratic-NPL. Former Democratic-NPL Attorney General Heidi Heitkamp defeated U.S. Representative Rick Berg in a close race.


2012 North Dakota elections, United States House of Representatives
Voters selected a representative to the United States House of Representatives to replace incumbent Republican Rick Berg, who instead ran for the Senate. Republican Public Service Commissioner Kevin Cramer defeated former Democratic-NPL state representative Pam Gulleson.


2012 North Dakota elections, Governor
In the gubernatorial election, Republican incumbent Governor Jack Dalrymple, who had succeeded to the office when then-Governor John Hoeven resigned, won election to a first full term with his running mate, incumbent Lieutenant Governor Drew Wrigley.


2012 North Dakota elections, State Auditor
In the election for State Auditor, voters selected Republican incumbent Bob Peterson over Democratic-NPL state representative Scot Kelsh.


2012 North Dakota elections, State Treasurer
In the State Treasurer election, Republican incumbent Kelly Schmidt defeated the Democratic-NPL challenger, accountant Ross Mushik.


2012 North Dakota elections, Insurance Commissioner
In the race for Insurance Commissioner, voters selected Republican incumbent Adam Hamm over the Democratic-NPL challenger Tom Potter.


2012 North Dakota elections, Public Service Commissioner
Voters were given the opportunity to fill one of the three seats on the Public Service Commission, selecting Republican Randy Christmann over Democratic-NPL and Libertarian party candidates.


2012 North Dakota elections, Superintendent of Public Instruction
In the nonpartisan election for Superintendent of Public Instruction, voters awarded the position to Kirsten Baesler, who had been endorsed by the Republican Party, instead of Tracy Potter, who had been endorsed by the Democratic-NPL party.


2012 North Dakota elections, Justice of the Supreme Court
In the nonpartisan election for Justice of the North Dakota Supreme Court, Judge Daniel Crothers ran unopposed.


2012 North Dakota gubernatorial election
The 2012 North Dakota gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2012 to elect a Governor and Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota, concurrently with the 2012 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Governor Jack Dalrymple succeeded to the office when then-Governor John Hoeven resigned to take a seat in the U.S. Senate in 2010. Dalrymple, a member of the Republican Party, won election to a full term. Ryan Taylor was the Democratic nominee. Dalrymple prevailed with 63% of the vote.


2012 North Dakota gubernatorial election, Republican Party, Candidates
The North Dakota Republican Party selected incumbent Governor Jack Dalrymple as their nominee and incumbent Lieutenant Governor Drew Wrigley was his running mate. Dalrymple defeated Fargo architect Paul Sorum who later ran as an Independent.


2012 North Dakota gubernatorial election, Libertarian Party, Candidates
The Libertarian Party of North Dakota selected Roland Riemers, a real estate investor and a failed 2010 candidate for Grand Forks County Sheriff and failed 1996 candidate for president as their candidate.


2012 North Dakota gubernatorial election, Libertarian Party, Candidates
On July 5, 2012, it was announced that Riemers will not appear on the ballot because his running mate, Richard Ames, failed to file a page of his paperwork. On September 12, 2012 after being disqualified from appearing on the November ballot, Roland Riemers, a libertarian now running as an independent with Anthony Johns, said in a news release that he’d submitted more than 1,100 signatures to the secretary of state. The pair appears on the ballot certified by the secretary on Monday. Roland Riemers has filed a lawsuit to have the other candidates removed from the ballot.


2012 North Dakota gubernatorial election, Democratic-NPL Party, Candidates
The North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party selected rancher and North Dakota Senate Minority Leader Ryan Taylor as their nominee. Ellen Chaffee was his running mate.


2012 North East Lincolnshire Council election
The 2012 North East Lincolnshire Council election took place on 3 May 2012 to elect members of North East Lincolnshire Council in England. This was on the same day as other 2012 United Kingdom local elections.


2012 North East Lincolnshire Council election, Council make up
After the 2012 local election, the  political make up of the council was as follows:


2012 North East Lincolnshire Council election, Council make up
Labour won a majority of the seats on the authority for the first time since the 1999 local elections, making considerable gains from the Liberal Democrats who failed to win a single seat on the council at these elections. Labour gained a seat in Park ward - once seen as the safest Lib Dem ward on the council and only ever won by Lib Dem candidates since the creation of the authority. The Liberal Democrats were also reduced to just four seats - below their previous low point of just 5 seats after the 1999 local elections.


2012 North East Lincolnshire Council election, Council make up
The Conservatives won no wards within the Great Grimsby constituency on the authority - only the second time this had happened in the authority's history, the first being the inaugural elections in 1995. UKIP also won their first seat on the authority in Scartho, a seat that was considered safe for the Conservatives, having won it at every local election since 1999.


2012 North East Lincolnshire Council election, Council make up
UKIP also made considerable progress in many other wards which they would go on to win over the next few years, including Humberston & New Waltham, where at these elections, UKIP came little over 200 votes short of defeating Conservative councillor and Grimsby Town Football Club chairman John Fenty, a seat which UKIP would gain at a by-election in 2013 following the death of Fenty's fellow councillor, John Colebrook, and successfully held this seat when it was next up for election in 2014.


2012 North East Lincolnshire Council election, Ward results, East Marsh
Note: Jon-Paul Howarth theoretically holds his seat, as he was elected as a Liberal Democrat when the seat was last fought in 2008, but quit the party to sit as an Independent, and went on to defect to the Labour Party mid-term.


2012 North East Lincolnshire Council election, Ward results, Freshney
Note: Cliff Barber theoretically holds his seat, as he was elected as a Liberal Democrat when the seat was last fought in 2008, but defected to the Labour Party mid-term. Watkin is a former West Marsh councillor from 1999 to 2010.


2012 North East Lincolnshire Council election, Ward results, Heneage
Note: Ros James theoretically holds her seat, as she was elected as a Liberal Democrat when the seat was last fought in 2008, but defected to the Labour Party mid-term. Hocknell is a former councillor who represented the ward from 2003 to 2011.


2012 North East Lincolnshire Council election, Ward results, Immingham
Note: Swinburn is a former councillor who lost his seat the previous year after serving two terms as an Immingham councillor.


2012 North East Lincolnshire Council election, Ward results, Park
Note: This was the first time that Park had been won by any party other than the Liberal Democrats and to date remains Labour's only victory in the ward in a local election since North East Lincolnshire Council's creation.


2012 North East Lincolnshire Council election, Ward results, Scartho
Notes: This was the second occasion (the first being 1995 when Labour won all three seats) that the Conservatives failed to win a council seat in Scartho, and the first time UKIP won a seat on the authority. Dixon previously contested this ward as a Liberal Democrat in 2010 and 2011.


2012 North East Lincolnshire Council election, Ward results, South
Note: Ernie Brown previously contested Great Grimsby in the 2010 general election and the Scartho ward in 2011 as an Independent.


2012 North East Lincolnshire Council election, Ward results, Yarborough
Note: Hyldon-King previously represented Freshney from 1995 to 2003, and again from 2004 to 2008. Bonner previously represented this ward from 2007 to 2011.


2012 North Greenville Crusaders football team
The 2012 North Greenville Crusaders football team represents North Greenville University in the 2012 NCAA Division II football season. They are led by first year head coach Carroll McCray and play their home games at Younts Stadium. The team competes as a Division II Independent football team.


2012 North Hertfordshire District Council election
The 2012 North Hertfordshire District Council election took place on 3 May 2012 to elect 15 of the 49 members of North Hertfordshire District Council in England. This will be on the same day as other 2012 United Kingdom local elections.


2012 North Hertfordshire District Council election
After the election, the political make-up of the Council was 33 Conservative members (down 1), 10 Labour and Co-operative (up 3) and 6 Liberal Democrats (down 2).


2012 North Indian Ocean cyclone season
The 2012 North Indian Ocean cyclone season was a very inactive season. The season had a very late start, with the first system forming in October. During the season, only five systems formed, of which only two became cyclonic storms. Both the storms made landfall, and they, along with the deep depressions, were responsible for 128 deaths and economic losses worth at least $56.7 million (2012 USD). The season had no Severe Cyclonic Storms, Only the second time in History with 2005


2012 North Indian Ocean cyclone season
The scope of this article is limited to the Indian Ocean in the Northern Hemisphere, east of the Horn of Africa and west of the Malay Peninsula. There are two main seas in the North Indian Ocean — the Arabian Sea to the west of the Indian subcontinent, abbreviated ARB by the India Meteorological Department (IMD); and the Bay of Bengal to the east, abbreviated BOB by the IMD. The official Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre in this basin is the India Meteorological Department (IMD), while the Joint Typhoon Warning Center releases unofficial advisories.


2012 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Season summary
The first depression of the season developed out of the remnants of Severe Tropical Storm Gaemi on October 10, 2012, very late into the 2012 cyclone season, about 350 km (215 mi) southeast of Kolkata, West Bengal. and brought high winds and heavy rains to much of Bangladesh, causing extensive damage. The storm killed a total of 30 people. On October 23, the second depression of the season developed out of a persistent low in the Arabian Sea and soon became the first cyclonic storm of the season Murjan. Only two days later, the third depression of the season formed in southern Bay of Bengal and gradually strengthened into Cyclonic Storm Nilam. The cyclone made landfall over Southern India early on October 31 and dissipated on November 2.


2012 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Deep Depression BOB 01
On October 10, the IMD started to monitor a depression that had developed out of an area of convection, associated with the remnants of Severe Tropical Storm Gaemi about 350 km (215 mi) southeast of Kolkata, West Bengal. During that day the depression moved towards the north and crossed the Bangladesh coast near Hatiya early the next day. After the depression had made landfall, the IMD issued their final advisory on the depression as the system had weakened into an area of low pressure.


2012 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Deep Depression BOB 01
The storm brought high winds and heavy rains to much of Bangladesh, causing extensive damage. At least 1,500 mud, straw, and tin houses were destroyed and 30,000 more were damaged. Across the country, at least 43 people were killed. Additionally, a total of 106,585 people were affected. The most significant damage took place in Hatiya where seven people were killed and 1,000 homes were destroyed. Offshore, thousands of fishermen were caught off-guard by the storm and an estimated 1,500 were initially unaccounted for. However, this number was quickly reduced to around 60 the following day. According to the police chief of Bhola District, the storm was far stronger than forecast and no warnings for a major storm were made. In light of the damage wrought by the storm, Oxfam called for international aid to the country.


2012 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Cyclonic Storm Murjan
On October 23, the IMD reported that a depression had developed out of an area of low pressure about 800 km (495 mi) to the west of India's Amindivi Islands. The storm then tracked westwards and intensified into a Deep Depression by 18:00 UTC on the same day, followed by a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert issued by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center at 20:00 UTC. Late on October 24, the IMD upgraded depression ARB 01 to a cyclonic storm, officially naming it Murjan. Murjan became the first cyclonic storm of the season.


2012 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Cyclonic Storm Murjan
The cyclone continued tracking westward at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph). Microwave satellite imagery depicted that most of the convection remained to the south of the system. At that time, Murjan was tracking just south of a subtropical ridge in an environment with low vertical wind shear. The storm crossed the coast of Somalia by late 25 October and gradually weakened into a depression. The India Meteorological Department issued their final bulletin for Murjan at 0600 UTC of 26 October 2012.


2012 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Cyclonic Storm Murjan
There were reports of severe flooding in Bosaso city in Somalia. The storm brought strong winds and heavy but beneficial rains within the areas of Bari region (Bossasso, Ishkushban and Bandar Beyla) according to the Somalia Water and Land Information Management.


2012 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Cyclonic Storm Nilam
An area of convection crossed the Isthmus of Kra on 23 October and entered the Bay of Bengal from the Pacific Ocean. It slowly organized itself and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) issued a TCFA at 0330 UTC of 28 October. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) later upgraded the low-pressure area to a Depression on the same day, when the storm was located about 550 km (340 mi) east-northeast of Trincomalee, Sri Lanka. Early on 29th Cctober, BOB 02 was upgraded to a Deep Depression and was put under constant surveillance by the IMD.


2012 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Cyclonic Storm Nilam
Later that day, the JTWC initiated advisories on the system, designating it with 02B. The next day, BOB 02 further intensified into a cyclonic storm and was named Nilam by the IMD. The name Nilam was suggested by Pakistan, it is the Urdu word for Sapphire. The storm made landfall at peak intensity near Mahabalipuram on 31 October, and started weakening. Reporting that the storm reached a peak intensity of 55 knots (102 km/h; 63 mph) (1-min sustained winds), the JTWC issued their last advisory on the system. In the early hours of November 1, Nilam weakened into a Deep Depression. As it moved further inland into the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh, Nilam further weakened into a Depression. Nilam dissipated on November 2, over north interior Karnataka.


2012 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Cyclonic Storm Nilam
The storm brought torrential rains to Sri Lanka. The Puttalam – Mannar road was submerged under about a meter of water near Eluwankulama due to the overflowing of the Kala Oya river. According to the police, a 27-year-old woman was killed when a sand rock fell on her house during heavy rains at Habaraduwa in Galle District, . Rail services were temporarily suspended when electricity lines fell on the railway track. In Chennai, all schools and colleges were closed as 282 schools and 52 community hallwereve been converted into cyclone shelters. Danger signal 7 was hosted in Chennai, Ennore, Cuddalore and Nagapattinam ports of Tamil Nadu and in Puducherry, and danger signal 3 in Krishnapatnam, Vadarevu, Machilipatnam and Nizampatnam ports of Andhra Pradesh.


2012 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Deep Depression BOB 03
A area of low pressure formed in the Bay of Bengal on 12 November. It gradually drifted northwestwards and organized itself until on November 17, when the JTWC issued a TCFA on the system, reporting 30 knot winds at the center. About half an hour following the TCFA, the IMD upgraded the area of low pressure into a Depression, and further into a Deep Depression, the same evening. BOB 03 developed a well-defined LLCC with increasing deep convection located to the north of the system.


2012 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Deep Depression BOB 03
In an environment with weak to moderate vertical wind shear and high sea surface temperatures, the depression intensified further. The same night, the JTWC initiated advisories on the system, classifying it as a tropical storm with one minute sustained winds of 35 knots. On November 18, BOB 03 encountered strong wind shear from the south west that diminished most of its convection. Soon, the LLCC became fully exposed, as a result of the wind shear. Located just north of a subtropical ridge, BOB 03's inflow was affected by dry air that wrapped the center of the storm.


2012 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Deep Depression BOB 03
The following day, IMD reported the storm had weakened into a depression and was predicted to weaken further. At the same time, JTWC stopped tracking BOB 03, stating that the storm's wind speeds had diminished to below warning criteria. By 1800 UTC of 19 November 2012, IMD reported the storm had weakened into a well marked low-pressure area and issued their last bulletin for the system. The system later had a few bursts of convection, before dissipating completely off the coast of southern India, on November 20. Tirupathi city recorded a heavy rainfall of 181mm which was the highest in that region.


2012 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Deep Depression ARB 02
Under the influence of an active Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone, a low-pressure area formed over the Arabian Sea near 7.3°N and 70.7°E on 18 December. It slowly tracked westwards, organizing itself and intensifying into a Depression by 0900 UTC of 22 December. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) upgraded the storm into a Tropical Cyclone by 0300 UTC of 23 December, followed by Deep Depression status by the morning hours of the same day.


2012 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Systems, Deep Depression ARB 02
However the storm encountered strong vertical wind shear and colder sea surface temperatures on 24 December, causing its low-level circulation center to become fully exposed, prompting JTWC to issue its final advisory on the storm. Further weakening ensued as land interaction increased, and the IMD downgraded ARB 02 into a low-pressure area on 25 December.


2012 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Season effects
This is a table of all storms in the 2012 North Indian Ocean cyclone season. It mentions all of the season's storms and their names, durations, peak intensities (according to the IMD storm scale), damages, and death totals. Damage and death totals include the damage and deaths caused when that storm was a precursor wave or extratropical low, and all of the damage figures are in 2012 USD.


2012 North Korean floods
The 2012 North Korean floods began in mid-July 2012 when Tropical Storm Khanun affected parts of the country, killing at least 88 people and leaving more than 62,000 people homeless. Torrential rains on 29 and 30 July 2012 worsened the situation, causing additional damage and casualties and forcing the government to request international assistance. Severe rainfall also affected the southern region of North Korea in August, killing at least six.


2012 North Korean floods, Tropical Storm Khanun
Khanun made landfall in South Korea on 19 July and weakened as it moved over North Korea before dissipating over China. The government on 29 July increased the number of fatalities as a result of flooding caused by Khanun from 8 to 88, with an additional 134 injured. The biggest loss of human life was in two counties of South Pyongan province. At least 62,900 were made homeless by the flooding, while more than 30,000 hectares of land for growing crops were submerged and will add to growing fears of another looming famine in the country. Three hundred public buildings and 60 factories were damaged during the storm.


2012 North Korean floods, July 29-30 rains
Torrential rains hit North Korea again on 29 and 30 July, with approximately 442 millimeters (17.4 inches) of rain recorded in Pakchon County of North Phyongan Province during a 24-hour period from 6 a.m. local time 29 July. The rains worsened the flood situation caused by Khanun, destroying railways, roads, bridges and 'many' dwelling houses. The government said many residents in the affected region were left homeless, but no figures have yet been released about damage and casualties.


2012 North Korean floods, July 29-30 rains
The North Korean government has asked assistance from resident United Nations agencies, the Red Cross, and European Union Program Support Units. The North Korean government also supported two inter-agency assessment missions in South Pyongan and Kangwon provinces on 31 July.


2012 North Korean floods, July 29-30 rains
On 1 August, KCNA announced that North and South Pyongan provinces and Nyongwon county were severely affected by floods, landslides and thunderbolts, which destroyed 4,900 dwellings, submerged 8,530 homes and destroyed or submerged 200 public buildings and factories. KCNA also reported significant damage to coal mining and processing infrastructure in the area. Some 179,000 tonnes of coal were washed away, along with about 200 pieces of equipment at the Kaechon and Tokchon mining complexes. Railways serving the complexes were also damaged. State media reported at least 31 were killed by landslides and lightning, with 16 others missing.


2012 North Korean floods, July 29-30 rains
On 4 August, the North Korean government said the death toll from both Khanun and the torrential rains in late July had risen to 169, with around 400 others missing. It said 8,600 houses were destroyed and 44,000 houses were flooded, leaving more than 212,200 people homeless.


2012 North Korean floods, 17–20 August rains
Torrential rains hit North Korea again between late 17 August and early 20 August, causing at least six deaths and destroying more than 530 buildings in the southern region of the country. Three people were killed in North Hwanghae Province, three people were also killed in South Phyongan Province, and an unknown number of people were killed in South Hwanghae Province.


2012 North Korean floods, Typhoon Bolaven
In North Korea, heavy rains from the storm triggered significant flooding and many landslides in late August. In South Hamgyong Province, at least 100 homes were flooded by the storm. KCNA reported wind speeds of more than 108 km/h (67 mph) in North and South Hwanghae, South Hamgyong, South Pyongan and the city of Nampho, and waves as high as 1.11 m (3.6 ft) in the sea of Kimchaek. Widespread damage took place throughout the country as a result of the storm. At least 6,700 homes were destroyed and approximately 101,000 hectares (250,000 acres) of crop and rice fields were flooded. Additionally, 16,730 trees were downed and 880 public and industrial buildings were severely damaged. In all, at least 48 people were killed and 21,800 others were left homeless.


2012 North Korean floods, Typhoon Sanba
Torrential rains from South Korea on 17 September made a landfall that spread beyond the Korean DMZ Zone to North Korea.


2012 North Kosovo referendum
An advisory referendum on accepting the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo was held in the Serb-dominated regions of North Kosovo on 14 and 15 February 2012. The referendum was held in Zubin Potok, Zvečan and Kosovska Mitrovica on both days, while Leposavić voted on 15 February. The voting ran from 7:00 to 19:00 on both days. 15 February is also symbolically Serbia's Statehood Day. The result saw 99.74% of voters reject the writ of the Republic of Kosovo's institutions. The poll was rejected by the governments of both Serbia and Kosovo.


2012 North Kosovo referendum, Background
Though North Kosovo, as part of the Assembly of the Community of Municipalities of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, adheres to the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244, it opposed the unilateral 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence (the Kosovo Serb enclaves were under the de facto jurisdiction of the institutions of the Republic of Serbia, though this is disputed by the Kosovan Assembly). The referendum was announced on December 25, 2011, by Kosovska Mitrovica Mayor Krstimir Pantić, to ascertain local opinion about the writ of the Republic of Kosovo's institutions.


2012 North Kosovo referendum, Background
Both the European Union and Serbia were against the referendum. Kosovan Serbs feared that Serbia opposed the referendum in order to win support for accession to the EU, a condition of which is to resolve the Kosovo dispute. The notion was however rejected by Serbian President Boris Tadić and the Minister of State for Kosovo Oliver Ivanović. The parliament of Kosovo passed a motion declaring the referendum invalid.


2012 North Kosovo referendum, Background
Similarly, the Foreign Ministry of Albania expressed concern about holding a referendum, stating it was not legal and would not serve the interest of ethnic communities to socially, economically and politically integrate within Kosovo.


2012 North Kosovo referendum, Background
Milan Ivanović, the president of the Serbian National Council of Kosovo and Metohija, criticised Serbia proper for having failed in its Kosovo policy while sticking by the decision to democratically demonstrate the view of the Serbs of north Kosovo.


2012 North Kosovo referendum, Background, North Kosovo barricades
The Republic of Kosovo sought to impose its customs officials in the administrative border crossings with Serbia. Kosovar Serbs, seeking the removal of Republic of Kosovo customs officials, sought to erect roadblocks to make travel difficult for KFOR troops in the area that sought to maintain civil order.


2012 North Kosovo referendum, Question
Do you accept the institutions of the so-called Republic of Kosovo?Serbian: Да ли прихватате институције такозване Републике Косово?


2012 North Kosovo referendum, Election
The referendum was held in four municipalities with a Serbian majority in the north of Kosovo, with 35,500 eligible voters. Some of the voting papers were also in the Albanian language.


2012 North Kosovo referendum, Election
There were 82 voting stations: 13 in Kosovska Mitrovica, 11 in Zvečan, 25 in Zubin Potok, and 33 in Leposavić.


2012 North Kosovo referendum, Election
According to Ljuba Radović, referendum commission's spokesman, there currently was no information on whether ethnic Albanians will take part in the referendum, though three villages (Žaža, Boljetin and Lipa) in the Zvečan municipality, which are of a Kosovar Albanian majority, have said that they will not take part.


2012 North Kosovo referendum, Aftermath
On 1 March, the accession of Serbia to the European Union was given "candidate status" on the premise of progress over the Kosovo dispute (as well as other "reforms").


2012 North Lanarkshire Council election
Elections to North Lanarkshire Council were held on 3 May 2012 on the same day as the 31 other local authorities in Scotland. The election used the twenty wards created under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, with 70 Councillors being elected. Each ward elected either 3 or 4 members, using the STV electoral system.


2012 North Lanarkshire Council election
The election saw Labour retain their traditional position as the largest party on the Council as they gained 1 seat from 2007 and retained their overall majority. The Scottish National Party also increased their representation and remained in second place on the authority with 3 net gains. Both the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party and the Scottish Liberal Democrats were wiped out losing their single Council seats. Independents saw their seat numbers fall from 5 to 2 while former SNP Councillor, Alan O'Brien, was elected for the Cumbernauld Independent Councillors Alliance.


2012 North Lanarkshire Council election
Following the election the Labour Party again formed an administration.


2012 North Lanarkshire Council election, Election result
Note: "Votes" are the first preference votes. The net gain/loss and percentage changes relate to the result of the previous Scottish local elections on 3 May 2007. This may differ from other published sources showing gain/loss relative to seats held at dissolution of Scotland's councils.


2012 North Malaita by-election
A by-election was held in the North Malaita constituency in Solomon Islands on 1 August 2012. It was initially scheduled for the month of March, then delayed.


2012 North Malaita by-election
In the August 2010 general election, the seat was won by independent candidate Jimmy "Rasta" Lusibaea, a former warlord during the ethnic unrest of 1999-2003. He was appointed Minister for Fisheries by new Prime Minister Danny Philip. Lusibaea lost his seat on 30 November 2010 upon being sentenced to two years and nine months in gaol for assault and grievous bodily harm, for events committed during the unrest. On 20 January 2011, the Minister for Police, James Tora, remitted Lusibaea's sentence to one month, using his discretion as Minister under section 38 of the Correctional Service Act. Consequently, Lusibaea was no longer barred from occupying his seat, and resumed his functions in Parliament. On 17 October, the High Court ruled that the remit did not amount to a court-sanctioned reduction in sentence, and Lusibaea lost his seat once more, necessitating a by-election.


2012 North Malaita by-election
In early April 2012, the by-election having not yet been held, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Manasseh Maelanga explained that there was legal uncertainty as to whether Lusibaea could stand as a candidate. This was also affecting the scheduled by-election in East 'Are'are, in which MP Andrew Hanaria had lost his seat upon having been found to have bribed voters, but was seeking to stand for reelection. Maelanga stated that legal advice was being sought from the Attorney General, who was abroad, before a date for the two by-elections could be set.


2012 North Malaita by-election
On 20 June, a date was finally announced for the by-election. The ten candidates were as follows. They included a former MP for the constituency, Danny Fa'afunua; and Fredrick Kwanairara, the 28-year-old son of former North Malaita MP Daniel Enele Kwanairara. Jimmy Lusibaea was "barred from re-contesting the by-elections because he [was] still serving his sentence outside of prison", but his wife, Vika Lusibaea, stood in his place.


2012 North Malaita by-election
Vika Lusibaea won the seat by a large margin, becoming only the second ever woman to be elected to the National Parliament of Solomon Islands, following Hilda Kari in the 1990s. There was some slight controversy over her victory, critics drawing attention to the fact she was a Fiji-born naturalized citizen, and to her "limited literacy skills". The full results are as follows:


2012 North Queensland Cowboys season
The 2012 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 18th in the club's history. Coached by Neil Henry and co-captained by Johnathan Thurston and Matthew Scott, they competed in the National Rugby League's 2012 Telstra Premiership. They finished the regular season in 5th place and were knocked out in the second week of the finals by the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, for the second year in a row.


2012 North Queensland Cowboys season, Season summary
The Cowboys were aiming to build on its 7th place finish in 2011, after a near-wooden spoon 2010 season only prevented by the Melbourne Storm salary cap breach, with a strong 2012 season.


2012 North Queensland Cowboys season, Season summary
The season did not start well, with the Cowboys producing one of their worst performances in almost ten years as they lost 18-0 to the Gold Coast Titans at home, with a completion rate of only 35%, the worst on record. In Round 2, the Cowboys defeated the Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium, with Matthew Bowen scoring the match-winning try on his 30th birthday.


2012 North Queensland Cowboys season, Season summary
Despite the opening loss, the Cowboys went on to produce a consistent, never once dropping out of the top eight from Round 3 onwards. They records big victories over the Parramatta Eels in Round 3 (42-6), the Sydney Roosters in Round 7 (50-12), the St George Illawarra Dragons in Round 9 (30-6), the Canberra Raiders in Round 16 (40-18) and the Warriors in Round 23 (52-12). They ended the regular season on four game winning streak, finishing in 5th place, their highest finish since 2007.


2012 North Queensland Cowboys season, Season summary
In Week 1 of the finals, the Cowboys defeated the Brisbane Broncos 33-16, with Michael Morgan scoring a hat-trick, the first halfback to do so in a finals game. It was their third win over Brisbane in 2012. A week later they were eliminated by Manly in controversial circumstances.


2012 North Queensland Cowboys season, Season summary
Club legend Aaron Payne announced his retirement at the end of the 2012 season, he became a life member at the club after playing his 200th game for the Cowboys. Earlier in the season, Matthew Bowen became the first player to play 250 NRL games for North Queensland.


2012 North Queensland Cowboys season, Representatives
The following players have played a representative match in 2012


2012 North Rhine-Westphalia state election
The 2012 North Rhine-Westphalia state election was held on 13 May 2012 to elect the members of the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia. The incumbent minority government of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and The Greens led by Minister-President Hannelore Kraft was returned with a majority and continued in office. The seat count drastically increased from 181 in the previous election to 237.


2012 North Rhine-Westphalia state election, Background
Germany's largest state has often been described as a bellwether in recent years. The SPD governed continuously from 1966 until a CDU–FDP coalition took control in the 2005 state election. This defeat led Chancellor Gerhard Schröder to call a federal election, which he lost.


2012 North Rhine-Westphalia state election, Background
In the 2010 state election, the CDU held a 0.1% lead over the SPD, though both parties won 67 seats. The SPD and Greens emerged one seat short of a majority, while the CDU and FDP were 10 seats short. This was due to the new presence of The Left. After failed negotiations with The Left, the SPD and Greens formed a minority government with SPD leader Hannelore Kraft as Minister-President. The state budget was rejected by the Landtag on 14 March 2012. The government expected the FDP to abstain from the vote, allowing it to pass. However, the CDU, FDP, and Left all voted against the budget, and it was rejected. This led to the dissolution of the Landtag and a snap election.


2012 North Rhine-Westphalia state election, Campaign and issues
The SPD and Greens sought to win a majority; polls predicted they would make gains. The CDU nominated federal Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen as their lead candidate. He was criticised for refusing to state whether, if the CDU lost the election, he would continue to lead the state party or return to federal politics. Opinion polls showed that voters preferred Kraft as Minister-President by a wide margin. The CDU made tackling the state's €230 billion debt a key issue; at one point they used a giant inflatable "debt mountain" as a prop.


2012 North Rhine-Westphalia state election, Campaign and issues
The FDP had fallen out of six state elections since joining the federal government in 2009, but had managed to retain their seats with 8.2% of the vote in the Schleswig-Holstein state election a week before the North Rhine-Westphalia election.


2012 North Rhine-Westphalia state election, Campaign and issues
The Pirate Party ran on a loose platform of Internet freedom and grassroots democracy.


2012 North Rhine-Westphalia state election, Parties
The table below lists parties represented in the previous Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia.


2012 North Rhine-Westphalia state election, Opinion polling, Seat forecast
Analysts on election.de forecast the likely results of the 128 direct mandates. These seats traditionally have been held by either the CDU or SPD, with minor parties standing little chance of winning any.


2012 North Rhine-Westphalia state election, Election result
There was a major swing from the CDU to the SPD and to the Pirates, who entered their fourth state parliament in a row. The Greens stayed essentially level, while the FDP bucked the national trend, achieving a 2 point swing in their favour. This was attributed to the popular leadership of Christian Lindner. Lindner was elected FDP federal leader one year later, after their historic defeat in the 2013 German federal election. The Left lost over half their voteshare and lost their seats after just two years in the Landtag.


2012 North Rhine-Westphalia state election, Election result
The SPD won a landslide in the direct mandates, winning 99 seats to the CDU's 29. This led to a large number of overhang seats for the SPD and leveling seats for other parties, increasing the size of the Landtag from 181 to 237 seats.


2012 North Rhine-Westphalia state election, Election result
State CDU leader Norbert Röttgen resigned, but refused to become leader of the opposition in the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia, instead continuing to serve as Minister for the Environment. Because of that, in what was considered unceremonious and highly unusual move (ministers are normally given the courtesy of resigning by themselves even after scandals), Chancellor Merkel fired him under Article 64 of the German Basic Law three days after the election.


2012 North Texas Mean Green football team
The 2012 North Texas Mean Green football team represented the University of North Texas in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was led by second-year head coach Dan McCarney and played its home games at Apogee Stadium. It was the Mean Green's 12th and final season as members of the Sun Belt Conference (SBC); the school joined Conference USA on July 1, 2013. The team finished with a record of four wins and eight losses (4–8 overall, 3–5 in the SBC) to finish seventh in the conference.


2012 North Texas Mean Green football team
After the completion of the 2011 season, McCarney focused on continuing the momentum created during the team's last game against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders. 25 players signed letters of intent to play for the Mean Green, and the team's spring practice ended with an intrasquad scrimmage. The team announced its schedule in March 2012, which included five opponents that were bowl eligible in 2011. The season opened with a road loss to the LSU Tigers and a home opening win against the Texas Southern Tigers. The team began conference play with a loss to the Troy Trojans. The season reached its zenith when the Mean Green defeated the Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns in a nationally televised game on October 16, but the team only won one of its remaining five games to finish with its eighth straight losing season.


2012 North Texas Mean Green football team, Before the season, Previous season
During the 2011 season, the Mean Green played their home games at the new Apogee Stadium, averaging 18,864 spectators for each of the team's six home games. First year head coach Dan McCarney led the team to a 5–7 record, its best since 2004, finishing the season with a 59–7 victory over the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders. During the game, senior running back Lance Dunbar became the team's all-time leading rusher.


2012 North Texas Mean Green football team, Before the season, Recruiting class
25 players signed letters of intent to begin playing for North Texas in 2012.


2012 North Texas Mean Green football team, Before the season, Spring practice
Spring practice began on March 28 and included 15 practices and an intrasquad scrimmage planned to avoid conflicts with classes. Head Coach Dan McCarney supervised the annual Green and White football game that concluded the spring football schedule on April 21. The 2012 match featured the first and third string members comprising the Green Team and the second and fourth string members comprising the White team.


2012 North Texas Mean Green football team, Before the season, Spring practice
The White team was given a 20-point lead at the start of the contest; they would be unable to score the rest of the game. Quarterback Derek Thompson threw six passes with four completions for 162 yards in the first half. Wide receivers Ivan Delgado and Brelan Chancellor combined for five catches and three touchdowns. Delgado finished with 2 receptions for 114 yards and 1 touchdown while Chancellor had three receptions for 100 yards and 2 touchdowns.


2012 North Texas Mean Green football team, Before the season, Spring practice
Two rushes by running back Jeremy Brown for 52 and 25 yards gave the Green team the lead in the third quarter, bringing the score to 21–20. Ten minutes later, running back Antoinne Jackson rushed ten yards to increase the lead to 28–20. In the fourth quarter, Chancellor caught a 52-yard reception from quarterback Andrew McNulty. Antoinne Jimmerson ran 30 yards for his second rushing touchdown to make the final score 41–20.


2012 North Texas Mean Green football team, Schedule
The University of North Texas announced the official football game schedule for 2012 on March 1, 2012. Five of the Mean Green's 12 opponents in 2012 participated in a bowl game the previous season. Sports analyst Phil Steele rated the schedule as the 79th toughest out of 124 Football Bowl Subdivision teams.


2012 North Texas Mean Green football team, Media
All North Texas football games aired via the Mean Green Radio Network, with George Dunham providing play-by-play action and Hank Dickenson providing analysis. Mean Green Radio Network coverage was carried on KNTU 88.1 FM in Denton and on KHYI 95.3 FM in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. 2012 was the first year KHYI provided Mean Green football coverage. Both stations also streamed live online.


2012 North Texas Mean Green football team, Game summaries, Louisiana State
The first game for the Mean Green's season was scheduled against the LSU Tigers football team, who had last played in the 2012 BCS National Championship Game against the 2011 Alabama Crimson Tide football team at the end of the 2011 season, losing 21–0. In the week before the game, concerns over the path and effects of Tropical Storm Isaac forced local officials in Louisiana to consider contingency plans for the game. Although the Tigers were forced to alter their practice schedule leading up to the game, the contest was held as scheduled in Tiger Stadium. The Mean Green's two scoring drives were capped by touchdown passes of 80 and 15 yards from quarterback Derek Thompson to wide receiver Brelan Chancellor. The Tigers' 508 yards of total offense led the team to a 41–14 victory over the Mean Green in the season opener.


2012 North Texas Mean Green football team, Game summaries, Texas Southern
For their first home game of the 2012 season, the Mean Green defeated the Texas Southern University Tigers, a member of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) 34–7. The Tigers, who finished the 2011 season with a 4–7 record, were limited to 185 yards of total offense, while the Mean Green totaled 497 yards, most of which came from rushing. The game was the first home opening win for the Mean Green since the team defeated the SMU Mustangs football team during the 2006 season.


2012 North Texas Mean Green football team, Game summaries, Kansas State
For their next road game, the Mean Green played the Kansas State Wildcats, led by potential Heisman Trophy candidate Collin Klein. The two teams had last met during the 2010 season, when the Wildcats defeated the Mean Green 41–49 in the final game at Fouts Field. This time playing at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium, the Wildcats were favored to win by 28 points by spread bettors prior to the game. Each team scored two touchdowns by midway through the third quarter, but a blocked extra point attempt after North Texas' second score made the score 14-13.


2012 North Texas Mean Green football team, Game summaries, Kansas State
Kansas State answered with three unanswered touchdowns in the third and fourth quarter, bringing the score to 35-13 before North Texas scored its final touchdown with 2:31 left in the game. The final score was 35-13 in favor of the Wildcats. Mean Green quarterback Derek Thompson completed 25 of 28 passes in the game.


2012 North Texas Mean Green football team, Game summaries, Troy
For their first conference game of the season, the Mean Green faced the Troy Trojans, whom they had defeated the previous year 38–33. North Texas' defensive squad showed significant improvement, slowing a Troy offense led by Corey Robinson that had averaged over 500 yards a game to only two touchdowns. On offense, however, the team struggled to score points despite moving the ball. The Mean Green gained 422 yards of total offense, but kicker Zach Olen missed three field goals and quarterback Derek Thompson completed only 12 of 28 passes for 238 yards and one touchdown. The loss brought the Mean Green's season record to 1-3.


2012 North Texas Mean Green football team, Game summaries, Florida Atlantic
The Mean Green eked out a victory against first-year head coach Carl Pelini and the Florida Atlantic Owls at FAU Stadium, giving the team a 2-3 record through five games, its best start since the 2005 season. After North Texas gained a 17–0 lead midway through the third quarter, Florida Atlantic scored two straight touchdowns in less than two minutes of game time  to bring the score to 17–14. Midway through the fourth quarter, Mean Green kicker Zach Olen made a 28-yard field goal to bring the score to 20–14. North Texas held on to the lead, which was one point short of the points spread predicted prior to the beginning of the game. The Mean Green gained 56 rushing yards against an Owl defense that had allowed an average of 255 yards per game coming into the contest.


2012 North Texas Mean Green football team, Game summaries, Houston
The Mean Green faced the Cougars for the second time in as many years when they traveled to Houston for their final nonconference game of the season. Although Cougars lost their first game of the season to the Texas State Bobcats, the team's prolific offensive unit had recovered somewhat by the time they played the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs on September 8. In that game, the teams combined for a total of 209 plays, breaking an NCAA FBS record held by the Mean Green and the San Jose State Spartans since 1971. The Cougars scored two touchdowns and a field goal to earn a 17-point lead before the Mean Green scored its first points in the second quarter. Houston running back Charles Sims ran for a career-high 210 yards, and the Cougars won the contest with a score of 44-21.


2012 North Texas Mean Green football team, Game summaries, Louisiana Lafayette
The Mean Green's Tuesday evening home game against the Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns began at 8:00 p.m. in Denton. Louisiana scored first, and had gained a 20–6 lead by the middle of the third quarter. After North Texas scored two touchdowns and a field goal, followed by a field goal from the Ragin' Cajuns, the score was tied at 23–23. With 1:54 remaining in the game at their own 22-yard line, North Texas quarterback Derek Thompson threw a screen pass to running back Antoinne Jimmerson, who ran 78 yards for the game-winning touchdown. On the ensuing drive, Ragin' Cajun running back Effrem Reed fumbled the ball, which was recovered by North Texas. The Mean Green ran out the clock to win the contest. The game was televised on ESPN2. The broadcast had an estimated 366,000 viewers, earning a Nielsen rating of 0.3.


2012 North Texas Mean Green football team, Game summaries, Middle Tennessee
The Mean Green struggled on both sides of the ball against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders. Although the Mean Green gained 432 total yards with a balanced running and passing offense, it did not score any points until running back Antoinne Jimmerson ran two yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. By that time, the Blue Raiders had already scored 31 points, making the game out of reach for the Mean Green. Wide receiver Brelan Chancellor broke a collar bone in the first quarter of the game, and would miss the rest of the season.


2012 North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council election
Elections to North Tyneside Metropolitan Council took take place on 3 May 2012.


2012 North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council election
North Tyneside Council is elected "in thirds" which means one councillor from each three-member ward is elected each year with a fourth year when the mayoral election takes place.


2012 North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council election, Resulting Political Composition
Between October 2012 and November 2013, a Liberal Democrat candidate won a by-election and a Labour Councillor became Independent. The Council composition was therefore:


2012 North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council election, Wallsend
A further by-election was held in November 2012. Details can be found here.


2012 North Wales Crusaders season
This article details the North Wales Crusaders Rugby League Football Club's 2012 season. This was the club's first ever season after reforming after the former Super League club Crusaders Rugby League folded.


2012 North Wales Crusaders season
The club was founded in late 2011 and officially joined Championship 1, the third tier of rugby league in the United Kingdom, on 11 October 2011. Their name, which continues the Crusaders branding, was selected in a fan contest. Clive Griffiths was confirmed as North Wales Crusaders Head Coach on 23 November and started his search for players. The club held open trials for any new players to attend, as well as scouring the local amateur game and signing players from Super League academies.


2012 North Wales Crusaders season, 2012 Table
This table is correct as of 2 September 2012. Source:  and .


2012 North Wales Crusaders season, 2012 Table
Classification: 1st on competition points; 2nd on match points difference.


2012 North Wales Crusaders season, Stats, All players
List of players with appearance number. If two players made their debut during the same game shirt numbers will decide which player comes first.


2012 North Wales Crusaders season, 2012 Squad, Provisional squad
As part of the 'Operational Guidelines' set out by the Rugby Football League, North Wales Crusaders were instructed to submit a provisional squad of 30 players for Championship 1 2012. Due to the club recruiting players they weren't in a position to do so. Crusaders decided to let supporters apply to become part of the provisional squad whilst they continued to sign players.


2012 North Wales Crusaders season, End-of-season awards, Try of the Year
Nominations for 'Try of the year' were on the Official website after the final game.


2012 North Wales Crusaders season, End-of-season awards, Smash of the Year
Nominations for 'Smash of the year' were on the Official website after the final game.


2012 North Wales Crusaders season, End-of-season awards, Supporters club Player of the Year
Voted for by members of the Crusaders Rugby League Supporters Club.


2012 North West 200 Races
The 2012 Relentless International North West 200 was the 73rd running of the motorcycle road racing event which took place between 13–19 May 2012 at the circuit, known as "The Triangle", based around the towns of Portstewart, Coleraine and Portrush, in Northern Ireland. All practice sessions took place during the day and the event was extended to include races on the Thursday evening.


2012 North West 200 Races
The Northern Ireland First Minister, Peter Robinson, and Minister for Tourism, Arlene Foster joined Technical Director Mervyn Whyte along with many top riders at the launch of the event. Thursday night also included two races for the first time: a Superstock and newly introduced Supertwin race. Saturday saw a total of five races and all races except the Supertwin was held over six laps.


2012 North West 200 Races
BBC Northern Ireland continued as the official media partner of the event and provided extensive coverage to the North West 200 across all three platforms: on-line, television and radio.


2012 North West 200 Races, Results, Practice
During practice on Tuesday Alastair Seeley set the fastest times in both the Superbike and Supersport classes. Also during Tuesday practice session Martin Jessopp set a new fastest speed trap record of 208 mph (335 km/h).


2012 North West 200 Races, Results, Race Results, Race 1; 1000cc Superstock Race final standings
Fastest Lap: Alastair Seeley – Suzuki, 4 minutes, 49.008 seconds; 111.734 mph (179.818 km/h) on lap 6


2012 North West 200 Races, Results, Race Results, Race 2; 650cc Supertwins Race final standings
Fastest Lap: Ryan Farquhar – Kawasaki, 5 minutes, 21.356 seconds; 100.487 mph (161.718 km/h) on lap 2


2012 North West 200 Races, Results, Race Results, Race 3; 600cc Supersport Race final standings
Fastest Lap: William Dunlop – Honda, 4 minutes, 39.142 seconds; 115.683 mph (186.174 km/h) on lap 3


2012 North West 200 Races, Results, Race Results, Race 4; 1000cc Superbike (I) Race final standings
Fastest Lap: Alastair Seeley – Suzuki, 4 minutes, 25.570 seconds; 121.595 mph (195.688 km/h) on lap 4


2012 Northeast Conference Baseball Tournament
The 2012 Northeast Conference Baseball Tournament began on May 17 and ended on May 19, 2012 at Senator Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium in Norwich, CT. The league's top four teams competed in the double elimination tournament. Second seeded Sacred Heart won their second consecutive, and third overall, tournament championship and earned the Northeast Conference's automatic bid to the 2012 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.


2012 Northeast Conference Baseball Tournament, Seeding and format
The top four finishers were seeded one through four based on conference regular-season winning percentage. Bryant was ineligible for postseason play, as it completed its transition to Division I. Sacred Heart claimed the second seed over Central Connecticut by tiebreaker.


2012 Northeast Conference Baseball Tournament, All-Tournament Team, Most Valuable Player
Troy Scribner was named Tournament Most Valuable Player. Scribner was a junior pitcher and first baseman for Sacred Heart. Scribner allowed two runs on seven hits in a complete game victory over Central Connecticut in the first round.


2012 Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2012 Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament was held between March 1 and 7. All games were held on the campus sites of the higher seed. LIU Brooklyn won the championship, its fourth, and received the conferences automatic bid  to the 2012 NCAA Tournament. This is LIU's second NEC Tournament Championship in a row, having won it last year.


2012 Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Format
The top 8 teams in the standings will qualify for the tournament. The field will be re-seeded after the Quarterfinals so that the #1 seed will host the highest remaining seed, and #2 will host the lowest remaining seed. Bryant is in its final transition year and remains ineligible to participate in any post-season tournaments.


2012 Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Bracket
All games will be played at the venue of the higher seed.


2012 Northeast Grand Prix
The 2012 American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix was a multi-class sports car motor race held at Lime Rock Park on July 7, 2012. It was the fourth round of the 2012 American Le Mans Series season.


2012 Northeast Grand Prix, Qualifying, Qualifying results
Pole position winners in each class are marked in bold.


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


2012 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team
The 2012 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team represented Northern Arizona University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 15th-year head coach Jerome Souers and played their home games at the Walkup Skydome. They are a member of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 8–3, 6–2 in the Big Sky to finish in fourth place.


2012 Northern Colorado Bears football team
The 2012 Northern Colorado Bears football team represented the University of Northern Colorado in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Earnest Collins Jr. and played their home games at Nottingham Field. They are a member of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 5–6, 4–4 in Big Sky play to finish in a three way tie for fifth place.


2012 Northern Colorado Bears football team, Schedule
Despite Sacramento State also being a member of the Big Sky, their meeting on September 15 was considered a non-conference game.


2012 Northern Colorado Bears football team, Game summaries, Colorado Mesa
The win is the Bears first win since the final game of the 2010 season against Portland State, a span of 12 games. It is also just their second win in their last 21 games.


2012 Northern European Gymnastics Championships
The 2012 Northern European Gymnastics Championships was an artistic gymnastics competition held in the city of Glasgow in Scotland, United Kingdom. The event was held between 20 and 21 October at the Emirates Arena.


2012 Northern Illinois Huskies football team
The 2012 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Huskies competed in the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. They were led by second-year head coach Dave Doeren for the regular season and Rod Carey in the 2013 Orange Bowl. They played their home games at Huskie Stadium. They finished the season 12–2, 8–0 in MAC play to win MAC West Division Title. With their win over Kent State in the MAC Championship Game on November 30, NIU moved to 12–1, the most regular season wins in the program's 113-year history.


2012 Northern Illinois Huskies football team
Since the MAC was a non-automatic qualifying (non-AQ) conference, its conference champion had to finish 16th or higher in the BCS ranking and be ranked ahead of at least one AQ conference champion to qualify for a BCS game. With their MAC Championship, the Huskies moved to No. 15 in the final Bowl Championship Series rankings, while Big East champion Louisville was ranked No. 21. As a result, Northern Illinois received a BCS bid to the Orange Bowl against Florida State.


2012 Northern Illinois Huskies football team
It was the first major-bowl appearance in school history, as well as the first-ever major-bowl appearance for a MAC team. Head coach Doeren did not coach the Huskies in the Orange Bowl after accepting the head coaching job at North Carolina State. Co -offensive coordinator Rod Carey was named his successor, and coached the bowl game. The Huskies lost to Florida State 10–31.


2012 Northern Illinois Huskies football team
The season marked the Huskies' fifth consecutive trip to a bowl game.


2012 Northern Iowa Panthers football team
The 2012 Northern Iowa Panthers football team represented the University of Northern Iowa in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The team was coached by Mark Farley and played their home games in the UNI-Dome. They are a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. They finished the season 5–6, 4–4 in MVFC play to finish in a tie for sixth place.


2012 Northern Ireland Youth Soccer Tournament
The 2012 Northern Ireland Milk Cup is the 30th edition of the international football tournament which takes place annually in the north coast of Northern Ireland, and attracts competitors from across the globe. There are three sections to the tournament, the Elite Section (U19), the Premier Section (U17) and the Junior Section (U15).


2012 Northern Italy earthquakes
In May 2012, two major earthquakes struck Northern Italy, causing 27 deaths and widespread damage. The events are known in Italy as 2012 Emilia earthquakes, because they mainly affected the Emilia region.


2012 Northern Italy earthquakes
The first earthquake, registering magnitude 6.1, struck in the Emilia-Romagna region, about 36 kilometres (22 miles) north of the city of Bologna, on 20 May at 04:03 local time (02:03 UTC). The epicentre was between Finale Emilia, Bondeno and Sermide. Two aftershocks of magnitude 5.2 occurred, one approximately an hour after the main event and another approximately eleven hours after the main event. Seven people were killed.


2012 Northern Italy earthquakes
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck the same area nine days later, on 29 May, causing an additional twenty deaths and widespread damage, particularly to buildings already weakened by the 20 May earthquake. The epicentre was in Medolla: the quake itself occurred at a depth of about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi)


2012 Northern Italy earthquakes, Tectonic setting
The Po Plain, a foreland basin formed by the downflexing of the crust by the loading of the Apennine thrust sheets, overlies and mainly conceals the active front of the Northern Apennines fold and thrust belt, across which there is about one millimeter (0.04 in) per year of active shortening at present. Information from hydrocarbon exploration demonstrates that the area is underlain by a series of active thrust faults and related folds, some of which have been detected from anomalous drainage patterns. These blind thrust faults are roughly WNW-ESE trending, parallel to the mountain front, and dip shallowly towards the south-southwest. Several damaging historical earthquakes,  such as the 1570 Ferrara earthquake, have occurred in the area.


2012 Northern Italy earthquakes, Earthquake sequence
The 20 May earthquake sequence began with a magnitude 4.0 foreshock at 01:13 local time (23:13 UTC 19 May). Less than three hours later, at 04:04 local time (02:04 UTC) the biggest of these earthquakes occurred with magnitude 6.1 between Finale Emilia (province of Modena) and Sant'Agostino (province of Ferrara). This strong quake destroyed all the churches and many of the factories in the area. Seven people were killed. In San Carlo more than 350 families lost their houses. Within the next nine days, there were six aftershocks exceeding magnitude 5, 28 of magnitude 4–5 and 139 of magnitude 3–4. The mainshock could be felt as far away as Switzerland. The focal mechanism indicates that the earthquake was a result of thrust faulting, with a north–south direction of compression, on a fault plane trending west–east. This type of faulting is consistent with the regional tectonic setting.


2012 Northern Italy earthquakes, Earthquake sequence
On 29 May (about 09:00 CEST, 07:00 UTC), a magnitude 5.8 earthquake hit the same area. The hypocentre has been estimated at 5–10 kilometres (3–6 mi) below Mirandola. A series of two or three, according to different sources, strong aftershocks with magnitudes larger than 5 occurred at between 12:55 and 13:02 local time. The 09:00 shock and the 13:00 shocks were felt throughout Northern Italy, up to the Aosta province. The 09:00 earthquake could be felt in Austria, Switzerland, and Croatia, with reports of swaying buildings in Austria. The two large aftershocks at 12:55 and 13:02 could also be felt in Austria. This earthquake had a similar mechanism to the 20 May shock.


2012 Northern Italy earthquakes, Earthquake sequence
This earthquake, like the previous earthquake of 20 May, was distinctly felt in Trentino Alto Adige. It was especially felt on the upper floors of buildings both in Trento and Bolzano, and created some concern among residents.


2012 Northern Italy earthquakes, Earthquake sequence
On 6 June at 06:08 local time, a magnitude 4.5 earthquake hit 50 km further east with an epicenter off the coast of Ravenna in Romagna at a depth 25.6 km. The earthquake was felt strongly and distinctly in Ravenna and Rimini, then less in Pesaro and Ancona, and very slightly in the province of Modena, in areas already affected by earthquakes in recent days. This earthquake was generated by a fault other than that responsible for the earthquakes of 20 and 29 May in Emilia, although part of the same group of geological structures.


2012 Northern Italy earthquakes, Damage
Initial reports after the 20 May shock listed seven dead, including four workers at a factory in Ferrara, and about 5,000 people left homeless. At least 100 structures of historical significance have been damaged or destroyed. Many churches in towns around the epicentre suffered damage. One of the towers of Castello Estense, a moated medieval structure in the centre of Ferrara, was damaged in the earthquake. Half of a clock tower in Finale Emilia dating from the 13th century (known as the torre dei modenesi) fell down in the mainshock and the remaining part collapsed completely during an aftershock later that day. There was also significant damage to factories and agricultural land in the region.


2012 Northern Italy earthquakes, Damage
Production of Grana Padano and Parmigiano-Reggiano hard cheeses was badly affected; approximately 300,000 wheels, with an estimated value of €200 million, were destroyed.


2012 Northern Italy earthquakes, Damage
Five of the deaths were caused by the collapse of recently constructed factory buildings. Stefano Gresta, president of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, deemed it "unacceptable that modern constructions such as warehouses and industrial sheds have collapsed in an earthquake which was strong, but not exceptional". The area was not included in seismic hazard maps until 2003, when, after a reassessment, it was classified as "medium risk", with a 10% likelihood of such an earthquake in the next 450 years. A law introduced in 2006 imposed building standards appropriate for the seismic hazard classification, but few of the older buildings have been upgraded to meet these requirements.


2012 Northern Italy earthquakes, Damage
The 29 May magnitude 5.8 earthquake left 18 people dead, more than 350 injured, and more than 15,000 homeless. The 15th-century cathedral of Mirandola, already damaged on 20 May, collapsed after the 29 May shock. The earthquake was felt in most of Northern Italy, triggering evacuation of schools and other buildings. Some buildings in the Modena province and neighbouring areas, already damaged in the first earthquake, collapsed.


2012 Northern Italy earthquakes, Damage
After the main shock of 20 May, inspections were underway to determine which buildings were safe to reenter. The 29 May earthquake occurred during the daytime, when many people were working. As in the mainshock of 20 May, many of the dead in the 29 May earthquake were workers inside huge warehouses and factories. A local union representative has demanded an investigation to determine who was responsible for permitting the companies to resume operations.


2012 Northern Italy earthquakes, Damage
Both the 20 May and 29 May events caused damage to the neighbouring provinces of Bologna, Reggio Emilia, Rovigo and Mantua, where parts of the ducal palace were damaged.


2012 Northern Italy earthquakes, Damage
The earthquake of 3 June was felt throughout Northern Italy, has caused the collapse of the 18th century clock tower in Novi di Modena, already imperiled by the earthquake of recent days.


2012 Northern Italy earthquakes, Damage
The earthquake damage in Emilia "could exceed 4 billion" according to the vice-president of Confindustria Emilia-Romagna, Gaetano Maccaferri, who released these figures in testimony before the Senate Committee on Industry.


2012 Northern Mariana Islands Republican presidential caucuses
The 2012 Northern Mariana Islands Republican presidential caucuses for 2012 took place on March 10, 2012. Citizens of the Northern Mariana Islands send nine delegates to convention.


2012 Northern Mariana Islands Republican presidential caucuses
The caucus will elect six of the nine delegates to the Republican National Convention. Delegates from the Northern Mariana Islands are not technically required to support a certain candidate at the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa.


2012 Northern Mariana Islands Republican presidential caucuses
Matt Romney, son of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, arrived in the Northern Mariana Islands to campaign on behalf of his father in the run-up to the caucus. This is the first time in history that any U.S. presidential campaign had visited the Northern Mariana Islands.


2012 Northern Mariana Islands Republican presidential caucuses
Governor Benigno Fitial endorsed Romney for President at a luncheon with Romney's son and daughter-in-law on March 9, 2012.


2012 Northern Mariana Islands constitutional referendum
A constitutional referendum was held in the Northern Mariana Islands on 6 November 2012, alongside the election for the islands' representative to the United States House of Representatives. Voters were asked whether they approved of three proposed amendments to the constitution. All three were approved.


2012 Northern Mariana Islands constitutional referendum, Background
One of the three proposals was for the government to issue bonds to pay for the country's pension scheme, a proposal which had been rejected in a 2010 referendum. It would involve adding a new section to chapter X of the constitution:


2012 Northern Mariana Islands constitutional referendum, Background
Pension Obligation Bonds. Upon the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members of each house of the Legislature, the Commonwealth may issue pension obligation bonds, the cumulative amount of which shall not exceed the Commonwealth's actuarilly determined unfunded accrued liability to the Retirement Fund. The net proceeds of each bond issuance shall be deposited and invested along with other monies in a defined benefit plan trust fund administered by the Northern Mariana Islands Retirement Fund. The bonds issued under this section shall comply with Section 3 of this Article and shall be exempt from Section 4 of this Article.


2012 Northern Mariana Islands constitutional referendum, Background
The second amendment was to allow the Board of Regents to revise the mission statement of the Northern Marianas College, which would involve amending Section 2 (b) of Article XV.


2012 Northern Mariana Islands constitutional referendum, Background
The third amendment involved making the Attorney General an elected position, which would require amending Article III, section 11 of the constitution.


2012 Northern Mariana Islands constitutional referendum, Results
Do you approve of House Legislative Initiative 17-5 to add a new Section 10 to Article X of the Constitution of the Northern Mariana Islands to authorize the Commonwealth to issue pension obligation bonds and for other purposes?


2012 Northern Mariana Islands constitutional referendum, Results
Do you approve of Senate Legislative Initiative 17-12, HD1 to amend Section 2 (b) of Article XV 11 of the Constitution of the Northern Mariana Islands to authorize the Board of Regents to revise the mission statement of the Northern Marianas College?


2012 Northern Mariana Islands constitutional referendum, Results
Do you approve of House Legislative Initiative 17-2, HD3, HS2 to amend Article III, Section 11 of the Constitution of the Northern Mariana Islands to authorize the election of an Attorney General?


2012 Northern Mariana Islands general election
General elections were held in the Northern Mariana Islands in 2012 to elect three members of the Senate, the House of Representatives, municipal councils, the Board of Education and the Islands' representative of the US Congress, as well as to vote on three referendums and on whether judges should remain in post.


2012 Northern NSW State League Division 2
Lambton Jaffas were the Minor Premiers as well as Grand Final winners in 2012.


2012 Northern Pride RLFC season
2012 was the fifth competitive season for the Cairns based Skill360 Northern Pride Rugby League Football Club. They competed in the QRL state competition, the Intrust Super Cup. 12 clubs competed, with each club playing 22 matches (11 home and 11 away) over 25 weeks (In 2012 the Central Comets were renamed the CQ Capras).


2012 Northern Pride RLFC season
The Pride finished seventh, missing out on a finals appearance for the first time in their short history. At the end of the season, Head Coach David Maiden resigned, while fullback Chey Bird, who scored 572 points in 94 appearances for the Pride, retired along with former North Queensland Cowboys star Rod Jensen, who scored 36 tries in 69 games for the club, second on the Pride's all-time try scorer list.


2012 Northern Pride RLFC season, 2012 Televised Games
In 2012 games were televised in Queensland and shown live at 2.00pm (AEST) on Sunday afternoons (except during coverage of the London Olympics) by Channel 9, WIN Television (RTQ) and in remote areas on Imparja Television. The commentary team was Andrew Voss, Ben Ikin and Nick Curry. The first home game broadcast from Barlow Park, Cairns was Round 13, Sunday 10 June 2012 against traditional rivals Mackay Cutters. From Round 1 2012 the Pride began live streaming their home games free to members via their website ($5 for non-members). From Round 5 2012 away games were streamed through the website as well ($5).


2012 Northern Territory general election
The Northern Territory general election  was held on Saturday 25 August 2012, which elected all 25 members of the Legislative Assembly in the unicameral Northern Territory Parliament. The 11-year Labor Party government led by Chief Minister Paul Henderson was defeated in their attempt to win a fourth term against the opposition Country Liberal Party led by opposition leader Terry Mills with a swing of four seats, losing the normally safe Labor remote seats of Arafura, Arnhem, Daly and Stuart, whilst retaining their urban seats picked up at the 2001 election.


2012 Northern Territory general election, Results
Northern Territory general election, 25 August 2012Legislative Assembly << 2008–2016 >>


2012 Northern Territory general election, Results
Two safe Labor seats were uncontested at the previous election and therefore did not contribute to votes and results, all seats were contested at this election with the two previously uncontested Labor seats both won by the CLP.


2012 Northern Territory general election, Results, Seats changing hands
Members in italics did not re-contest their Legislative Assembly seats at this election.


2012 Northern Territory general election, Background
Historically, remote areas had voted Labor while the urban areas had voted CLP. The CLP had governed since the initial 1974 election until Labor led by Clare Martin surprisingly came to power with a one-seat majority government at the 2001 election, mainly by sweeping Darwin's more diverse northern suburbs. Labor won in a landslide at the 2005 election, winning the second-largest majority in the Territory's history and reducing the CLP to only four seats.


2012 Northern Territory general election, Background
Although Labor led by Henderson retained a one-seat majority government at the 2008 election on 13 Labor, 11 CLP, 1 independent with only 49.3 percent of the two-party preferred vote, Labor had won two seats uncontested by the CLP—all seats were contested again at the 2012 election. Labor, the CLP, the Northern Territory Greens, the First Nations Political Party and the Australian Sex Party were running endorsed candidates.


2012 Northern Territory general election, Background
A minority government was led by Henderson from mid-2009 when Alison Anderson resigned from the Labor Party to sit as an independent member of parliament. Anderson along with the existing independent Gerry Wood signed a letter to the speaker of parliament to push sittings forward, prompting CLP leader Mills to table a motion of no confidence on Monday 10 August 2009. Wood ended up voting with the government, defeating the motion of no confidence. Anderson joined the CLP in September 2011, resulting in 12 Labor, 12 CLP, 1 independent. Wood and Anderson retained their seats at the 2012 election.


2012 Northern Territory general election, Background
In October 2010, former CLP leader Jodeen Carney resigned in her seat, an Araluen by-election was held, the CLP retained the seat but suffered a 6.6-point two-party preferred swing.


2012 Northern Territory general election, Method
Like the Australian House of Representatives, members were elected through full-preference instant-runoff voting in single-member electorates. The election was conducted by the Northern Territory Electoral Commission, an independent body answerable to Parliament.


2012 Northern Territory general election, Method
In a change to polling in remote electorates, where most voting was previously conducted by mobile polling teams, for the first time there was full election day voting in major regional indigenous centres. As such, swings may be distorted. The conducting of a formal polling place could also alter the way voting takes places and increase the local turnout. Mobile polling teams were still used but they took many fewer votes than in the past. In addition, for the first time in the territory, there was an electronic feed of results, the last administration in Australia to go electronic.


2012 Northern Territory general election, Date
The Henderson Labor government introduced fixed four-year terms following the previous election.


2012 Northern Territory general election, Date
The Legislative Assembly was dissolved on 6 August 2012. The electoral roll was closed on 8 August and nominations on 10 August, prior to polling day on 25 August.


2012 Northern Territory general election, Date
The election was held on the same day as the Heffron state by-election in New South Wales.


2012 Northern Territory general election, Candidates
Sitting members are in bold. Successful candidates are highlighted in the relevant colour.


2012 Northern Territory general election, Electoral pendulum
The following pendulum is known as the Mackerras Pendulum, invented by psephologist Malcolm Mackerras. The pendulum works by lining up all of the seats held in the Legislative Assembly according to the percentage point margin they are held by on a two-party-preferred basis. This is also known as the swing required for the seat to change hands. Given a uniform swing to the opposition or government parties, the number of seats that change hands can be predicted. Results are notional calculations of the redistribution.


2012 Northern Territory general election, Electoral pendulum, Pre-election pendulum
Members listed in italics did not re-contest their seat at the election.


2012 Northwestern State Demons football team
The 2012 Northwestern State Demons football team represented Northwestern State University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Demons were led by fourth-year head coach Bradley Dale Peveto and played their home games at Harry Turpin Stadium. They were a member of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 4–7, 2–5 in Soutland play to finish in sixth place.


2012 Northwestern State Demons football team, Media
All games will air on the radio via the Demon Sports Network, found on KNWD and online at nsudemons.com.


2012 Northwestern State Demons football team, Game summaries, Texas Tech
Northwestern State opens the season with their second match against the Red Raiders. The previous match was in 2007, and Tech walked away with a 75–7 win.


2012 Northwestern State Demons football team, Game summaries, Arkansas-Monticello
Northwestern State heads home for the second game of the year where they play the Boll Weevils for the second time in school history. In the previous meeting in 2006 the Demons won 20–6.


2012 Northwestern Wildcats football team
The 2012 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University during the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Pat Fitzgerald, in his seventh season at Northwestern, was the team's head coach. The Wildcats home games were played at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois. They were members of the Legends Division of the Big Ten Conference. The Wildcats won their first bowl game since the 1949 Rose Bowl against California by defeating Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl 34–20. They finished the season 10–3 (5–3 Big Ten).


2012 Northwestern Wildcats football team, Previous season
In 2011 the Wildcats had a 6–7 record, ending the season with a 33–22 loss to Texas A&M in the 2011 Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas.


2012 Northwestern Wildcats football team, Preseason, Recruiting
Northwestern signed 21 recruits to letters-of-intent on National Signing Day on February 1, 2012.


2012 Northwestern Wildcats football team, Preseason, Transfers
Wide receiver Kyle Prater transferred to Northwestern from USC on January 28, 2012, after being injured during most of the 2011 season and redshirting in 2010. The Wildcats requested a waiver to allow Prater to play immediately in 2012, as he transferred to a school close to home in order to care for a family member. Sophomore running back Adonis Smith, who was thought to be a candidate for the starting running back job in 2012 after rushing for 266 yards in 2011, announced his intent to transfer from Northwestern on February 22. He decided to transfer to UNLV. Defensive back Quinn Evans transferred to Northwestern after graduating from Stanford in June 2012. After missing the entire 2011 season because of injury, he chose to attend Northwestern as a graduate student with a year of college football eligibility remaining.


2012 Northwestern Wildcats football team, Game summaries, Syracuse
The game got off to a slow start with some notable miscues on Northwestern's special teams play. All of which was quickly forgotten when Venric Mark scored an 82-yard touchdown on a punt return, the first return touchdown of his career. Northwestern continued to dominate offensively on the work of Mark and Kain Colter, taking a 35–13 lead in the middle of the 3rd quarter. The Orange then scored 4 straight touchdowns to lead 41–35 by attacking the young Northwestern secondary with deep passes to the outside. With under 3 minutes left and needing a score to win, Northwestern changed quarterbacks. Trevor Siemian came on to lead a 75-yard drive that scored the go-ahead touchdown. Northwestern survived to win and remain 7–0 in season openers under Pat Fitzgerald.


2012 Norwegian Air Force C-130 crash
On 15 March 2012, a C-130J Super Hercules military transport aircraft of the Royal Norwegian Air Force (Norwegian: Luftforsvaret) crashed into the western face of Mount Kebnekaise near Kiruna, Sweden. All five people on board were killed.


2012 Norwegian Air Force C-130 crash
Swedish air traffic control had given the crew a clearance that placed them outside controlled airspace and below the altitude of the surrounding terrain, a circumstance that went unnoticed to the crew. Contributing to the accident was the pilots' decision to configure the aircraft in tactical mode, despite not conducting a tactical operation. In this mode, the aircraft's terrain warning system was inhibited, meaning the pilots were not alerted to the risk of collision with terrain.


2012 Norwegian Air Force C-130 crash, Accident
The plane left Evenes Airport at 13:40 and was scheduled to arrive at Kiruna Airport at 14:30. The aircraft was participating in the "Cold Response" military exercise, which also involved forces from Germany, Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United States. The aircraft appeared to have flown straight onto the edge of the western wall of Kebnekaise, Sweden's highest mountain. According to a police spokesperson, the aircraft probably exploded after crashing, setting off an avalanche. Human remains were found in the avalanche area.