Coronal mass ejection An unusually large coronal mass ejection emitted by the Sun barely missed the Earth by nine days, dubbed the Solar storm of 2012. If it hit, it would have caused up to US$2.6 trillion in damages to electrical equipment worldwide.
Sally Ride Sally Ride, the first American female astronaut, dies of pancreatic cancer at the age of 61. Her obituary acknowledges her 27-year relationship with a woman.
2012 Aurora, Colorado shooting James Holmes, the suspect of a mass shooting that killed 12 and injured 58 in Aurora, Colorado, makes his first court appearance.
Forest fires in Catalonia, Spain Forest fires in Catalonia, Spain kill four people, with fires also in France, Portugal and Romania.
Beijing After the heaviest rains in 60 years kill 37 in Beijing, 9 million microblog users criticise the government for the lack of warning and poor infrastructure.
Apple Talks between Apple and Samsung aimed at resolving patent law disputes deadlock over a dispute over the valuation of each other's patents.
Olympic torch The Olympic torch features in a special live section of the British soap "EastEnders" when actor Perry Fenwick, in character as Billy Mitchell, carries it through the fictional London borough of Walford as part of the 2012 Olympic torch relay.
Muslim Fighting between indigenous tribes and Muslim settlers in Assam, northeast India kills at least 19 people, causing 50,000 people to flee.
Syrian uprising (2011–present) The European Union tightens sanctions on Syria, adding 29 more names to the existing list of 170 Syrian individuals and companies.
Syria Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi declares that Syria has stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons and that it plans to use them in case of a foreign attack, but never against its own citizens.