Financial Times Sunday 73 – News of the Year by Buccaneer

Reference to the inquiry into Horizon IT scandal, which has led to sentences being quashed for more than 900 sub-postmasters.

Charles and Camilla faced protests from anti-monarchist politicians during their visit to Australia.

Leo Messi captained Argentina to victory in the Copa America football tournament in July.

Ended up being the other way round with Republican Trump set to replace Democrat Biden in January.

Julian Assange, the Australian founder of Wikileaks, was released from Belmarsh prison in June following a plea bargain with the US Department of Justice.

Giovanni Pernice, one of the professional dancers on Strictly Come Dancing, left the show this year after accusations of bullying.

Reference to Stormy Daniels the adult film star who accused Trump of making hush money payments.

Kamala Harris became Democrat presidential nominee after questions were raised over Joe Biden’s fitness to run.

Actors Donald Sutherland and Timothy West were among the stars we lost this year.

French Prime Minister Michel Barnier was forced to resign following the collapse of the French government last month.

Gary Lineker announced he will be stepping down as presenter of Match of the Day at the end of this football season.

Taylor Swift has spent most of 2024 on her ongoing Eras world tour and released an album, The Tortured Poets Department. Billie Eilish also released an album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, and appeared on Cbeebies. Canadian rapper Drake was involved in a feud with rival Kendrick Lamar and released several songs referring to it.

The Code was the name of the winning entry from Switzerland in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

India won the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup this year, defeating South Africa in the final.

Gareth Southgate stepped down as England men’s football manager while Louise Haigh was forced to resign from her position as Transport Secretary in the new Labour government.

Actor Dame Maggie Smith died aged 89 in September. The other Maggie referred to is the character in the Simpsons cartoon TV series.

Leo Varadkar resigned as Irish Taoiseach after losing two referendums on women’s rights. Meanwhile in Northern Ireland, Jeffrey Donaldson was forced to resign as leader of the DUP for historical sex offences.

Oxford University Press named ‘brain rot’ its word of the year for 2024.

Boxer Iron Mike Tyson, now aged 58, returned to the ring 22 years after retiring, in a defeat to YouTube-star-turned-pro-boxer Jake Paul. Meanwhile, Kemi Badenoch won the contest to become new leader of the Conservative party.

Labour leader Keir Starmer published 10 pledges as part of his successful campaign to become Prime Minister.

90s rock band Oasis announced their comeback this year with a tour planned for 2025.

The unit of electromagnetic induction, named after Danish chemist and physicist Hans Christian Ørsted, a pioneer in electromagnetism. Danish company Ørsted is the world’s biggest manufacturer of wind turbines but I’m not aware of anything especially newsworthy they have done this year.

There were a number of riots across the UK earlier this year following a fatal knife attack on a children’s party in Southport.

Brazil’s supreme court blocked X/Twitter in Brazil for failure to comply with legal requirements, after Elon Musk reinstated far-right accounts linked to attacks on federal government buildings in 2023.

Teenage darts star Luke Littler is into the quarter-finals of the current PDC World Championship.

Reference to disgraced BBC newsreader Huw Edwards, who was forced to resign earlier this year and is now facing criminal charges for sex offences.

Jürgen Klopp stepped down as manager of Liverpool football club at the end of last season in May after nine years in the job. Sad day for Liverpool fans, of which I am one, but his replacement, Dutch manager Arne Slot, is currently doing very well indeed so it’s not all bad news!