ABSTRACT
In 2012, Iran was given an embargo by the European Union, whose representatives wanted to express their disapproval of Iran continuing to attempt to enrich uranium. As part of demonstrations brought on in part by the Arab Spring, the Yemeni presidency changed hands. Dmitri Medvedev and Vladimir Putin switched jobs as leaders in Russia. An auction brought $120 million for a rendering in pastel Edward Munch made of his famous painting The Scream. In India, 620 million people were left without power due to widespread blackouts, the largest power outage in history. With a mission to discover facts about Mars’s geology, climate, and environment, the Mars Science Laboratory’s rover Curiosity landed on the planet. Across the globe, numerous attacks occurred at US embassies and diplomatic missions; among these was an attack at the consulate in Benghazi, Libya, which resulted in the deaths of four American citizens including the Ambassador to Libya, J. Christopher Stevens. Hurricane Sandy ravaged much of the Eastern seaboard.
