2016
2016 was designated as:
Events
January
- January 3 – Following the fallout caused by the execution of Nimr al-Nimr, Saudi Arabia and several other countries end their diplomatic relations with Iran.
- January 8 – JoaquÃÂn Guzmán, widely regarded as the world's most powerful drug trafficker, is recaptured following his escape from a maximum-security prison in Mexico.
- January 12 – Ten people are killed and 15 wounded in a bombing near the Blue Mosque in Istanbul.
- January 16
- The International Atomic Energy Agency announces that Iran has adequately dismantled its nuclear weapons program, allowing the United Nations to lift sanctions immediately.
- 30 people are killed and 56 injured in terrorist attacks in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, targeting a hotel and a nearby restaurant. A siege occurs and 176 hostages are released afterwards, by government forces.
- In the general election of the Republic of China (Taiwan), the Democratic Progressive Party, led by Tsai Ing-wen, secured a majority in the Legislative Yuan, resulting in the first majority by a non-KMT party and the first majority won by the DPP. Tsai became the 14th President for Taiwan, and also became the first female leader in China.
- January 28 – The World Health Organization announces an outbreak of the Zika virus.
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
- September 1 – An annular solar eclipse was visible from Gabon, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Mozambique and Madagascar.
- September 3 – The US and China, together responsible for 40% of the world's carbon emissions, both formally join the Paris global climate agreement.
- September 8 – NASA launches OSIRIS-REx, its first asteroid sample return mission. The probe visited Bennu from 2018 to 2021 and would return samples to Earth on September 24, 2023.
- September 9 – The government of North Korea conducts its fifth and reportedly biggest nuclear test. World leaders condemn the act, with South Korea calling it "maniacal recklessness".
- September 28
- International investigators conclude that Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down by a Buk missile that came from an area controlled by pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine.
- Global levels exceed 400 ppm at the time of year normally associated with minimum levels. A 400 ppm level is believed to be higher than anything experienced in human history.
- September 30 – Two paintings by Vincent van Gogh with a combined value of $100 million, Seascape at Scheveningen and Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen, are recovered after having been stolen on December 7, 2002, from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.
October
November
- November 1 â The number of people globally using mobile devices to access the internet overtakes those using desktop computers for the first time, having been preceded by the U.S. two years prior.
- November 2 â The Chicago Cubs win the World Series for the first time since 1908, ending the longest championship drought in North American sports history.
- November 6 – The government of India announces the demonetisation of certain banknotes, causing prolonged cash shortages in the weeks that follow and significant disruption throughout the economy.
- November 8 – 2016 United States presidential election: Businessman and television personality Donald Trump is elected the 45th President of the United States in a surprise victory against his opponent, former Secretary of State and First Lady Hillary Clinton.
- November 17 – MeÃÂimurska trikotaÃ
¾a ÃÂakovec, a large Croatian knitwear company based in ÃÂakovec, ceased to exist
- November 18 – The remains of Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos are buried in a private ceremony at the Libingan ng mga Bayani prompting protests throughout the Philippines.
- November 24 – The Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of ColombiaâÂÂPeople's Army sign a revised peace deal, slowing the Colombian conflict.
- November 28 – LaMia Flight 2933 crashes into a mountain near MedellÃÂn, Colombia, killing 71 of the 77 people on board, including members of the Brazilian Chapecoense football squad.
December
- December 1 – Following a mourning period of seven weeks after the death and funeral of Bhumibol Adulyadej, Vajiralongkorn formally succeeds his late father as the new King of Thailand.
- December 4 – A constitutional referendum is held in Italy, resulting in the resignation of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.
- December 9 – South Korean President Park Geun-hye is suspended after MPs vote to impeach her, following a political scandal.
- December 19
- Andrei Karlov, the Russian ambassador to Turkey, is assassinated by an off-duty Turkish police officer at an art exhibition in Ankara.
- Berlin truck attack: A truck is deliberately driven into the Christmas market next to the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church at Breitscheidplatz in Berlin, leaving 12 people dead and 56 others injured.
- December 22 – A study finds the VSV-EBOV vaccine against the Ebola virus between 70 and 100% effective, thus making it the first proven vaccine against the disease.
- December 23 – The United Nations Security Council adopts Resolution 2334 condemning "Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories occupied since 1967".
- December 25 – 2016 Russian Defence Ministry Tupolev Tu-154 crash: A Tupolev Tu-154 jetliner of the Russian Defence Ministry crashes into the Black Sea shortly after taking off from Sochi International Airport, Russia, while en route to Khmeimim Air Base, Syria. All 92 people on board, including 64 members of the Alexandrov Ensemble choir of the Russian Armed Forces, are killed.
- December 28 – The chemical elements 113, 115, 117 and 118 are officially named Nihonium, Moscovium, Tennessine and Oganesson.
- December 29 – The Helsinki District Court gives Jari Aarnio, the former head of anti-drugs police, to ten-year prison sentence for drug crimes as part of a rare police corruption scandal in Finland.
- December 31
- Withdrawal of the majority of U.S. troops from Afghanistan after 15 years of war.
- An extra leap second (23:59:60) is added to end of the year. The last time this occurred was in June 2015.
General
Births and deaths
Nobel Prizes
New English words
See also
References