The year 2012 began on a sad note with the Costa Concordia disaster on Jan 13. The ill-fated Italian cruise ship, which carried 3,229 passengers and 1,023 crew members on board, had partially sunk after hitting a rock in the Tyrrhenian Sea.

[CHECK OUT BEST PHOTOS OF THE YEAR 2012] 

Singer Whitney Houston, who was named the most-awarded female artist of all times by Guinness World Records, passed away in February at the age of 48, shocking music lovers around the world. Houston had six Grammys, 30 Billboard awards and 22 American Music Awards to her credit

The crisis in Syria in the first half of the year and Hurricane Sandy that hit the Northeast part of the United States just a few days before the Presidential elections are among the other events that shocked the world.

[CHECK OUT BEST PHOTOS OF THE YEAR 2012]

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