From the Norwegian massacre to the Japanese tsunami, and from Osama bin Laden to Gaddafi, 2011 was a big year for news. Here we illustrate which of these stories attracted most interest in terms of visits to our website
The figures in brackets show the number of search engine referrals to the Guardian-Observer website that keywords relating to a news topic triggered for a particular month.
January
VINCENT TABAK ARRESTED (60,747), 20 JANUARY
The Dutchman, 32, is arrested for the murder of landscape architect Joanna Yeates, whose body was found in Bristol on Christmas Day last year. In October, Tabak is found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment.
WIKILEAKS INQUIRY (58,968), 4 JANUARY
The US Department of Justice announces plans to hold a congressional inquiry into WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange, following the organisation's release of thousands of classified US diplomatic cables.
PETE POSTLETHWAITE DIES (57,051), 2 JANUARY
FOOTBALL PUNDITS SHAMED (46,119), 25 JANUARY
Sky Sports sacks Andy Gray and Richard Keys resigns after the pair make off-camera, sexist remarks. They now work for radio station, talkSport.
CONGRESSWOMAN SHOT (45,834), 9 JANUARY
Gabrielle Giffords is shot in the head by a gunman in Arizona. Six bystanders are killed. Giffords survives and in May watches the final launch of the space shuttle, Endeavour, commanded by husband Mark Kelly. Jared Lee Loughner, 23, is charged with Giffords's attempted assassination.
February
CYCLONE STRIKES (81,708), 2 FEBRUARY
Tropical cyclone Yasi strikes Queensland, Australia, generating 9m waves and winds of up to 185 mph. A total of 400,000 people are evacuated from floodwaters and �2.2bn worth of damage is inflicted.
MUBARAK RESIGNS (66,813), 11 FEBRUARY
The demonstrations in Tahrir Square, Cairo, against the rule of Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's ruler since the 1980s, reach a peak in early February. Mubarak resigns, leaving the country in the hands of a military council.
EARTHQUAKE (63,525), 22 FEBRUARY
An earthquake of 6.3 magnitude strikes New Zealand's South Island, 10km from Christchurch. The city is badly damaged: 181 people die and �15bn damage is done.
FEBRUARY
�50m TORRES (35,256), 6 FEBRUARY
Fernando Torres makes his debut for Chelsea after leaving Liverpool. His fee, �50m, is a record for a transfer between British football clubs.
March
A magnitude 9.0 earthquake triggers a tsunami that devastates the north-east coast of Japan. More than 1,600 people die and an estimated �190bn damage is caused. Waves also damage the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, triggering explosions in three reactors. Tens of thousands flee.
LIBYA NO-FLY ZONE (176,079), 18 MARCH
The UN security council authorises a no-fly zone across Libya to prevent government planes from bombing civilians. Rebel control of the country slowly strengthens.
APPLE UNVEILS iPAD 2 (61,813), 2 MARCH
ELIZABETH TAYLOR DIES (43,668), 23 MARCH
SHEEN SACKED (42,576), 7 MARCH
Charlie Sheen, the highest paid actor on US television, is sacked from the TV series Two and a Half Men after an expletive-filled attack on the show's producer.
April
ROYAL WEDDING (234,372), 29 APRIL
US MONEY WOES (97,647), 8 APRIL
The US narrowly avoids government shutdown after Congress signs an agreement to remove $38bn of federal programme budgets. Failure to reach a deal would have resulted in the closure of all but the most essential government services.
SPACE FLIGHT ANNIVERSARY (74,262), 12 APRIL
The 50th anniversary of the flight of Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space, on 12 April 1961, is marked by celebrations across the world, including a party on board the International Space Station.
ACTRESS ELISABETH SLADEN DIES (42,540), 19 APRIL
May
BIN LADEN KILLED (144,810), 1 MAY
Al-Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden is shot dead by a team of US Navy and CIA agents at a compound near Pakistan's capital Islamabad. Bin Laden is later buried at sea.
JUDGMENT DAY? (84,483), 21 MAY
American Christian radio host Harold Camping announces that Judgment Day will take place on 21 May. On 23 May, he moves the date to 21 October. In October, he admits he has no idea when the end will come.
Cheryl Cole is dropped from the US version of The X Factor only a few weeks after filming of the TV talent show in America began.
Ryan Giggs is named in parliament as the Premier League footballer who had obtained a gagging order in relation to an alleged extra-marital affair with model Imogen Thomas.
STRAUSS-KAHN ARRESTED (52,284), 14 MAY
Head of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, is arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a housekeeper in a Manhattan hotel. Charges are later dropped but Strauss-Kahn is forced to resign his post.
SEVE BALLESTEROS DIES (25,008), 7 MAY
June
Author JK Rowling announces she is to launch Pottermore, a website dedicated to publishing new material about the world of Harry Potter.
RYAN DUNN, JACKASS STAR, DIES (249,945), 20 JUNE
OLYMPIC HEARTACHE (22,383), 17 JUNE
Two-thirds of applicants for tickets for London's 2012 Olympic games are left empty-handed in the face of a huge demand for seats.
July
AMY WINEHOUSE DIES (218,829), 23 JULY
REBEKAH BROOKS RESIGNS (95,151), 15 JULY
Rebekah Brooks resigns as chief executive of News International, following widespread criticism of her role in the controversy over phone hacking by News of the World journalists. On 10 July, NoW is closed down by News International.
NORWAY MASS KILLINGS (65,205), 22 JULY
Rightwing gunman Anders Behring Breivik murders 69 people at a summer camp in Tyrifjorden, Buskerud. Time-bombs set off by Breivik in Oslo kill a further eight.
ROYAL WEDDING II (38,061), 30 JULY
Zara Phillips, the queen's grand-daughter, marries English rugby player Mike Tindall.
BECKHAM BIRTH (32,658), 10 JULY
Victoria Beckham gives birth to a baby girl, Harper Seven.
August
ENGLISH RIOTS (486,822), 4 AUGUST
A peaceful protest march over the fatal shooting of Mark Duggan by police on 4 August leads to a riot in Tottenham. Rioting spreads across the country.
HURRICANE IRENE (168,468), 22 AUGUST
Hurricane Irene leaves a swath of flood and wind damage as its heads north through the Caribbean, the US east coast and Canada. The death toll reaches 56.
TRIPOLI FALLS (39,045), 24 AUGUST
Muammar Gaddafi and his forces lose the battle for control of Tripoli.
HUNGER STRIKE ENDS (23,070), 28 AUGUST
Anti-corruption campaigner Anna Hazare ends his 12-day, nationally televised, hunger strike in India.
September
TROY DAVIS EXECUTED (225,669), 21 SEPTEMBER
OCCUPY PROTEST (44,799), 17 SEPTEMBER
More than 100 demonstrators set up a camp of cardboard boxes and tents in Manhattan's financial district as part of the Occupy Wall Street protest against economic inequality and corporate greed.
DOWNTON ABBEY II (15,780), 18 SEPTEMBER
ITV screens the first episode of the second series of Downton Abbey.
October
iPHONE 5 HOPES DASHED (1,539,846), 5 OCTOBER
Hopes that Apple would launch a new version of the iPhone are dashed when the company reveals it would only be promoting an updated version of its iPhone 4.
GADDAFI KILLED (213,762), 20 OCTOBER
STEVE JOBS DIES (166,416), 5 OCTOBER
STONE ROSES REUNITE (59,169), 18 OCTOBER
The Manchester indie band announce they have reunited for a world tour in 2012.
LIAM FOX RESIGNS (38,115), 14 OCTOBER
JOHN TERRY INVESTIGATION (34,115), 23 OCTOBER
Police begin an investigation after the England captain is captured on video making an allegedly racist remark.
DALE FARM EVICTION (29,373), 12 OCTOBER
The High Court grants Basildon council an injunction to clear travellers from the Dale Farm site in Crays Hill, Essex.
OCCUPY LONDON (20,466), 15 OCTOBER
Hundreds pitch tents at three central London sites in demonstrations about social inequality in Britain.
November
GARY SPEED DIES (184,065), 27 NOVEMBER
FATAL CRASH (156,549), 4 NOVEMBER
Seven people are killed and 51 injured in a 34-car pile on the M5.
JACKSON DOCTOR GUILTY (22,071), 29 NOVEMBER
Dr Conrad Murray is sentenced to four years in prison for the involuntarily manslaughter of Michael Jackson.
December
HERMAN CAIN CALLS OFF CAMPAIGN (19,959), 3 DECEMBER
GROUP WIN X FACTOR (57,621), 11 DECEMBER
Girl group Little Mix claim the title.
CLARKSON COMPLAINTS (31,524), 5 DECEMBER
Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson prompts more than 30,000 complaints to the BBC following his appearance on The One Show in which he suggests that striking public sector workers should be "executed in front of their families".
PARTICLE BREAKTHROUGH (19,092), 13 DECEMBER
Physicists announce tentative evidence for the existence of the Higgs boson, a sub-atomic particle thought to underpin the microscopic workings of nature.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/18/2011-stories-made-year
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