The News of 2013.

January:

February:

American scientists use a 3D printer to create a living lab-grown ear from collagen and animal ear cell cultures, it is hoped that in the future a similar technique can be used for transplantation on human patients
Benedict XVI resigns as pope, the first to do so since Gregory XII in 1415 and the first voluntarily since Celestine V in 1294
The House of Commons votes 400 to 175 in favour of the legalisation of same-sex marriage
UK loses AAA credit rating for first time since 1978
Cardinal Keith O’Brien, Britain’s most senior Roman Catholic cleric, resigns as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh due to allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour towards priests in the 1980s

March:

Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina is elected the 266th pope, taking the name Francis
The European Union agrees a €10 billion economic bailout of Cyprus
David Cameron says talks between himself and other political party leaders concerning the recommendations of the Leveson report have broken down

April:

A bomb is detonated by Islamic terrorists at the Boston Marathon killing 3 and injuring 264 others
Ding dong, Margaret Thatcher dies aged 87

May:

British Army Fusilier Lee Rigby is murdered in Woolwich by Islamic terrorists
Sir Alex Ferguson announces his retirement after the end of the Premier League season, with David Moyes announced as his successor
The Conservative Patty publish a draft European Union Bill aimed at holding a referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU
MPs vote 366-161 in favour of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill

June:

Former CIA employee Edward Snowden discloses information concerning a US government mass surveillance program to news publications and flees the country, later granted temporary asylum in Russia
The House of Lords vote in favour of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, paving the way for gay marriage in the UK

July:

Croatia becomes the 28th member of the EU
Andy Murray becomes the first British man to win the Wimbledon Men’s Singles title since Fred Perry in 1936, beating Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 in the final
Same sex marriage becomes legal in England and Wales after the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill receives Royal Ascent
Home Office “Go Home” vans begin to tour areas of London with high immigrant populations
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge gives birth to Prince George, who becomes third in line to the throne

August:

MPs vote 285-272 against military attacks on Syria
The worlds first lab-grown burger, produced from bovine stem cells, is cooked and eaten at a news conference in London
Sewage workers from Thames Water remove a fifteen ton “fatberg” from a sewer beneath London, after the mass caused a 95% blockage

September:

Al-Shabaab Islamic militants attack Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, killing at least 62 civilians and wounding over 170
UKIP withdraws the party whip from MEP Godfrey Bloom after he referred to female activists as “sluts” during the party’s annual conference

October:

The National Crime Agency is launched, a new body designed to tackle Britain’s most serious crimes
British physicist Peter Higgs is awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his theory of the Higgs boson
The UK government publishes a draft Royal Charter aimed at underpinning self-regulation of the press, the proposals are greeted with concerns about press freedom by the industry

November:

Moldovan cargo ship MV Rhosus ports in Beirut carrying 2750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate. After inspection, the Rhosus is deemed unseaworthy and forbidden to set sail; later the cargo is brought ashore where it remains for six years, whereupon the ammonium nitrate erupts in a massive explosion in August 2020
Paul Walker dies in a car accident aged 40

December:

Alan Turing is given a posthumous royal pardon for his 1952 conviction of homosexuality

Other:

Frozen earns $1.3 billion globally, making it the highest grossing film of the year
Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines is the best selling single of the year