Your highlights of 2012 in drawings

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This has been a very busy year for news and big events, both nationally and internationally.

We have been asking you what story grabbed your attention in 2012 - and for your own unique depiction of it.

Here is a selection of your drawings sharing your memories from the past 12 months.

Nick Headland's portrayal of Felix Baumgartner's jump from the edge of space Nick Headland on Felix Baumgartner's jump: "This was a rare moment of true adventure and derring-do. I watched the whole two-hour ascent, streaming to the TV. The tension was almost unbearable, leading up to that amazing moment when he tipped up and fell into miles of nothingness."
Sarah Moorby Sarah Moorby on the Essex Lion: "I chose to draw that picture because I found it humorous that the BBC gave it so much airtime. It is normally something that maybe makes the front page of the local newspaper. I just remember it being a big deal for a few days, and thinking that it must be some elaborate hoax."
David Farrer's take on the London Olympics David Farrer on the Olympics: "I was worried before the Olympics started that the streets of London would be 'jammed' with Olympic traffic, but they weren't. In retrospect 2012 will be remembered for what is good about our lovely island that did itself proud. A cherished memory to be 'preserved'."
Renos Lavithis beautifully captures the spirit of London 2012 Renos Lavithis beautifully captures the spirit of London 2012 with this painting and says: "I was so impressed by the Olympic atmosphere that existed in London so I wanted to record it.
Linda Bestwick's picture of Kylie Minogue at the Diamond Jubilee concert Linda Bestwick captures one of the summer's big events in her work of art: "I did this pen-and-ink painting of Kylie Minogue at the Diamond Jubilee concert. There were so many highlights this year! I thoroughly enjoyed the concert and I just captured this one little moment in 2012."
Rich James' drawing shows how the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations were marked in Jordan Rich James on the Jubilee: "I've been living in Jordan for over a year and I've realized the international respect for the British monarchy. This was best symbolised at a party celebrating the Jubilee, attended by many Arab diplomats. It shows both the length of the Queen's reign and its international importance."
Jose Coto highlights the plight of Syria in his painting Jose Coto shows the plight of the Great Mosque in Aleppo, Syria: "I think it depicts the Syrian tragedy from a different perspective rarely shown in the news media. Syria is a magnificent country with a deep cultural heritage and seeing it ravaged like this is heart breaking."
Samantha David's take on the banning of battery cages Samantha David was thrilled to see new EU rules introduced on 1 January, stated that all laying hens must be kept in "enriched" cages with extra space to nest, scratch and roost. Samantha said: "The end of battery cages was the best news story of the year for me, and for chickens."
Stephanie Sampson's painting of one of the new homeless in Greece Stephanie Sampson on Greek troubles: "2012 will remain in my memory as a tragic and historic year for Greece, a turning point, when economic and political corruption was exposed and the harsh measures taken made most people here poorer. The portraits I painted on the streets of Athens represent the faces of the new poor and marginal who spilled out into the streets."
Nick Headland's take on George Osborne on the train Nick Headland on George Osborne's infamous train journey: "It's always fun seeing the high and mighty brought to the level of us all, that none of us are exempt. I carried the fantasy further and had George removed from First and sat in Standard with all the lazy stereotypes I could think of."
Gerald O'Connell drew this picture of a homeless man named Michael. Gerald O'Connell says: "I live in a deprived area in north-east London with a complex ethnic mix. It has become a magnet for homeless people. I help out at the local shelter and got to know a few of the homeless people well and started to draw them. I wanted to draw attention to them, real people with real stories."
Craig Hausman's take on youth unemployment Craig Hausman on youth unemployment: "Inspired by my friends, some of which are university graduates, who seem to find it impossible to find a job, and long queues at the job centre are becoming a frequent reality."
Patricia Patricia's sketch was inspired by her exams: "When I originally applied to Cambridge, I'd been under the misapprehension that we were graded on continuous assessment - but no, I quickly discovered that three years of study is assessed by a few three-hour exams written over a couple of days at the very end."
Giuseppe Boscherini's portrayal of the year of ups and downs Giuseppe Boscherini: "2012 was a year of ups and downs. I thought of illustrating this using a topographical metaphor of moments of high spirit, represented by the three peaks of happiness and moments of low morale represented by the three troughs or valleys of despair: a kind of Dantesque vision, if you will."

Were you able to recognise the stories above? Here are some more details and links to help remind you.

Austrian Felix Baumgartner became the first skydiver to go faster than the speed of sound. In October 2012, he reached a top speed of 833.9mph (1,342km/h).

Back down to earth and police were called to investigate sightings of a "lion" in Essex. Thirty-one officers took part in the search but were unable to find the elusive large cat.

This summer more than 11 million people travelled to Olympic and Paralympic events around the UK. Artists including Gary Barlow, Cliff Richard and Kylie entertained crowds at a concert to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

Events in Syria dominated the headlines throughout the year, with the divided nation at the centre of a bloody battle.

An EU ban on battery cages saw better conditions for egg-laying hens. The ban was introduced in January 2012.

The Eurozone Crisis continued to have an impact across the continent with Greece at the forefront of economic troubles.

George Osborne was forced to pay for an upgrade after sitting in a first-class train carriage with a standard-class ticket. The homeless charity Crisis claim unemployment, the housing market and welfare cuts are to blame for an increase in homelessness in England while youth unemployment is one of the biggest problems confronting societies.

UK universities have taken four of the six top slots in a global university "league table". However, this year saw a record fall in the number of people starting university courses in the UK.

And finally, here are some of 2012's ups and downs in pictures.

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