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Bill English

The Russian ambassador to Turkey, Andrei Karlov, is assassinated in Ankara.
Muhammad V of Kelantan becomes Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.
Bill English (pictured) becomes Prime Minister of New Zealand.
A bombing at St. Peter and St. Paul's Church in Cairo, Egypt, kills at least 25 people and injures 49 others.
A church collapses in Uyo, Nigeria, killing at least 23 people.

December 20, 2016 (Tuesday)

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December 19, 2016 (Monday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Assassination of Andrei Karlov
- The Russian ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov is killed in a gun attack at an art gallery in Ankara. Russia calls the assassin, 22-year old police officer, Mevlüt Mert Altıntaş, a "terrorist". Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu goes to Moscow for a planned trilateral meeting on Syria, saying "the incident will not impact relations between Turkey and Russia". (Reuters) (Daily Mirror UK), (New York Times) (Sputnik)
2016 Berlin Christmas market truck attack
- Twelve are killed and more than 50 others are injured as a truck rams into a packed Christmas market in Breitscheidplatz, Berlin, Germany. A suspect has been arrested in connection with the attack. (Aljazeera)(Reuters)

Business and economy

Regulators in the European Union initiate a "public consultation" on Big Data looking at whether more regulation or supervision of the collection of high volumes of information on individuals is appropriate. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

Companies shut down production in Beijing and cars are taken off the road after a red alert for smog is issued in northern China. Dozens of cities have closed schools due to the smog. (AP)

Law and crime

Polish protesters block the parliament in order to prevent the possibility of legalizing restrictions on press freedom. (The Washington Post)
A court in Paris finds International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde guilty of negligence in a 404 million euro "misuse of public funds" case. The court ruled that Lagarde won't be fined, won't serve any jail time, or receive a criminal record. The IMF Executive Board "looks forward to continuing to work with" her. (The New York Times) (CNN) (Fortune) (The Daily Telegraph)
Three people are shot by an unknown gunman at an Islamic center near the Zürich Hauptbahnhof train station. A manhunt is underway for the suspect. (GlobalNews)

Politics and elections

United States presidential election, 2016
- Amidst a concerted effort to persuade electors to choose another candidate, Donald Trump earns the required Electoral College votes to be selected as the next President of the United States. (The Telegraph) (New York Times)
- Four Democratic Party Washington electors break ranks and do not vote for Hillary Clinton who won the state in November. Three voted for former Secretary of State Colin Powell, and one cast a vote for Faith Spotted Eagle. It is the first time in four decades that the state’s electors have broken from the popular vote for president. (The Seattle Times)
Protesters mass in the Democratic Republic of the Congo capital Kinshasa. (Reuters)

Science and technology

ALPHA, an CERN experiment, has observed for the first time the spectrum of antihydrogen. CERN

December 18, 2016 (Sunday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War, Aleppo offensive (November–December 2016)
- Rebels attack and burn several buses en route to evacuate ill and injured people from the besieged Syrian villages of Al-Fu'ah and Kafriya. (The Guardian)
Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)
- December 2016 Aden suicide bombings
  - An explosion outside a military camp in southern Yemen kills at least 49 people and injures many more. The explosion is believed to have been caused by a suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest. (AP), (BBC)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- A rock throwing 19-year old Palestinian is killed by IDF troops amid clashes in the West Bank village of Beit Rima. (Daily Sabah)(Haaretz)
2016 Al-Karak attack
- Unknown militants stage a number of attacks across the city of Al-Karak in Jordan, killing five people and injuring at least 10 others. (Al Jazeera)

Arts and culture

Stephanie Del Valle of Puerto Rico is named as Miss World 2016. (The Telegraph)

Disasters and accidents

At least 49 people die in Irkutsk, Russia after consuming hawthorn-scented bath essence as if it were alcohol. The product has been found to contain methanol. (The New York Times) (BBC News)
2016 Indonesian Air Force Lockheed C-130 Hercules crash
- An Indonesian military Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport plane crashes in Papua province killing all 13 people on board. (AP via Star Tribune)

International relations

Gambian presidential election, 2016
- Leaders from the West African bloc ECOWAS and from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation plead with Gambian long-time President Yahya Jammeh who lost in the recently held elections to step aside or face consequences. (Al-Jazeera) (Quartz)

Politics and elections

Ivorian parliamentary election, 2016
- Côte d'Ivoire votes. (The Voice of America)

December 17, 2016 (Saturday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

2016 Kayseri bombing
- At least 13 people are killed and 56 others are wounded in a car bomb attack on a bus carrying off-duty soldiers in Kayseri Province, central Turkey. (BBC) (The Guardian)

Business and economy

The President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro suspends plans to eliminate the 100 bolívar note from circulation, in a country where much of the population lives on cash, without bank accounts. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

Tsunami warnings are issued for the Pacific region, including Indonesia and the Solomon Islands, following a 7.9 magnitude earthquake east of Papua New Guinea. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center later reports the threat has largely passed. (Reuters) (Television New Zealand)
2016–17 North American winter
- Two people are killed and at least 15 are hospitalized following a 55-vehicle accident, involving a gas tanker explosion, on Interstate 95 in Baltimore, Maryland, as cold air causes rain and wet roads to freeze across the Eastern U.S. Three other deaths are reported from other accidents in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. area. At least six people have been killed in total on icy roads. (AP) (The Baltimore Sun) (The Washington Post), (AAP via SBS)

International relations

China–United States relations
- The Chinese Defense Ministry says it is in talks with the United States about returning an underwater drone taken Thursday from the South China Sea. The Pentagon says the drone, used for gathering weather and temperature data, is not armed. (Reuters) (USA Today)

Science and technology

Ethiopia officially opens the Omo River Gibe III hydroelectric dam, one of the biggest in Africa, that is predicted to double the country’s electricity output. Critics are concerned about this dam's impact on locals, on the environment, including Kenya's Lake Turkana, and on neighboring countries. (AP) (The Indian Express)

December 16, 2016 (Friday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Aleppo offensive (November–December 2016)
- Evacuations following the failed ceasefire are once again disrupted by the Syrian forces for reasons withheld. An estimate of 8000 people, mostly civilians, successfully fled the remains of the city. (The New York Times)
Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present)
- An attack on a border post near Burkina Faso's border with Mali, leaves at least 12 Burkinabe troops dead and two others missing. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

Nine people die in Vancouver, British Columbia from overdoses of fentanyl. (The Globe and Mail), (BBC)
- 13 total deaths were reported in the province in a single day. (CTV News) (The Globe and Mail)
Scientists discover that the Totten Glacier is experiencing rapid basal melt, with deep warm water entering underneath the glacier at the rate of 220,000 cubic meters per second. (The Washington Post)

International relations

China–United States relations, Spratly Islands dispute
- China's People's Liberation Army Navy seizes an underwater drone deployed by USNS Bowditch in the South China Sea; the United States files a formal diplomatic protest and a demand for its return. (Reuters)
Israel–United States relations
- President-elect Donald Trump nominates his middle-eastern affairs advisor and former bankruptcy lawyer David Friedman as the next United States Ambassador to Israel. (CNN)

Law and crime

A riot breaks out inside the G4S-run HM Prison Birmingham in Winson Green, Birmingham, United Kingdom. At least one inmate has been badly injured. The Ministry of Justice says riot police have regained control of the prison. (BBC) (The Guardian)
Flint water crisis
- A Federal appeals court upholds the November 10 lower court order that Michigan must deliver bottled water or provide in-home filtration to all qualified residents affected by lead contamination in the city of Flint. (Reuters) (Detroit Free Press)

Politics and elections

Protests, with looting, erupt in several Venezuelan states as citizens lack cash for gas, groceries, and Christmas gifts, since the highly used, but now worthless, 100-bolívar notes were removed from circulation, and the substitute 500-bolívar notes are not available because of delays in bank deliveries. (Reuters) (Webindia123.com)
Crowds blocked all Polish parliament exits protesting the Polish ruling Law and Justice Party's allegedly illegal 2017 budget that was approved in a vote outside of the assembly's main chamber. Earlier, the opposition Civic Platform Party stopped parliamentary proceedings on the budget because of new rules on media access. Police have beaten several protesters. According to opposition Civic Platform MP Agnieszka Pomaska, ruling party Law and Justice leader Jarosław Kaczyński snatched her phone. (Reuters) (Reuters²) (RT) (Interia)

December 15, 2016 (Thursday)

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International relations

War in Donbass
- The European Union extends its main Ukraine-related economic sanctions against Russia for six months until mid-2017. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Barack Obama citizenship conspiracy theories
- Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio holds a press conference showing findings from 2 different forensic experts of "9 points of forgery" alleging President Obama's long form birth certificate was forged and also claims to have found the birth certificate used to make the forgery. (USA Today) (Newsmax)

Charleston church shooting
- Dylann Roof is convicted of the racially motivated murder of nine black churchgoers in the U.S. city of Charleston, South Carolina. (New York Post)

Politics and elections

Romanian legislative election, 2016
- Romania's centre-left Social Democratic Party won 45% of the seats in both houses of parliament in Sunday's election, and with the expected participation of the liberal centre-right Alliance of Liberals and Democrats Party in the coalition government, will hold an outright majority of 250 seats in the 465-seat assembly. (Reuters) (Romania-Insider.com)

Science and technology

A Pegasus rocket successfully deploys the CYGNSS hurricane observation satellite constellation for NASA. (NASA) (SpaceFlight 101)

December 14, 2016 (Wednesday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Aleppo offensive (November–December 2016)
- Shelling breaks the ceasefire in Aleppo causing disruption to the evacuation of rebels and civilians. (CNN) (The Star via Reuters)
- Fighting resumes in Aleppo after the ceasefire collapses. (BBC)
Military intervention against ISIL
- A U.S. airstrike in Al-Raqqah, Syria, kills four ISIL leaders, two of which were confirmed to have roles in the November 2015 Paris Attacks. (USA via MSN)

Business and economy

Merger talks between two giant Denmark oil and gas corporations have reached an impasse over valuation, it is thought DONG Energy may look for suitors other than Maersk. (Reuters)
The Federal Reserve System raises the benchmark interest rate in the United States to a level between 0.5 and 0.75%. This is the second time in a decade that the Federal Reserve has increased interest rates. (New York Times)

International relations

Spratly Islands dispute
- Satellite images show anti-aircraft guns and missile defence systems being built on artificial islands in the South China Sea; China had previously committed to not militarising its controversial developments in the region. (BBC News)

Law and crime

Yahoo! data breaches
- Yahoo! announces that ID information about more than 1 billion accounts may have been hacked in August 2013. This is separate from the company's earlier disclosure of a data breach of 500,000 accounts in 2014. (The New York Times) (Business Insider)
The Committee to Protect Journalists reports a record 259 journalists, 81 in Turkey, are jailed worldwide as of December 1. (CNN) (The New York Times)

Politics and elections

Philippine Drug War
- The Philippines cabinet of Rodrigo Duterte, through former journalist Martin Andanar, criticizes the Western media's coverage of the Philippine Drug War, particularly that of The New York Times, and urges them to cover the purge more effectively. (The New York Times)
- President Rodrigo Duterte admits in a speech to a group of businessmen that he "personally" killed suspected criminals when he served as Davao City's mayor. (INQUIRER.net) (The Guardian) (NBC News)

More December 2016 events...

Ongoing events
Business Indian currency demonetisation Trans-Pacific Partnership Yahoo! data breaches Disasters Flint water crisis Oklahoma earthquake swarms UK and Ireland windstorm season Law Black Lives Matter protests Dakota Access Pipeline protests Philippine Drug War Timor Gap PCA hearings Political Brexit aftermath Ethiopian protests European migrant crisis (timeline) South China Sea disputes More details on ongoing conflicts below Sport 2016–17 NBA season 2016–17 NHL season 2016 NFL season 2016–17 Premier League 2016-17 La Liga edit sidebar

Recent deaths
December 19: Lionel Blue 18: Zsa Zsa Gabor 17: Lawrence Colburn 17: Henry Heimlich 15: Craig Sager 13: Thomas Schelling 13: Alan Thicke 12: E. R. Braithwaite 12: Anne Deveson 12: Shirley Hazzard 12: Javier Echevarría Rodríguez 12: Walter Swinburn 10: Ken Hechler 10: Bill Dineen 10: A. A. Gill 8: John Glenn 8: Joseph Mascolo 8: Peter van Straaten 7: Warren Allmand 7: Paul Elvstrøm 7: Junaid Jamshed 7: Greg Lake 6: Rashaan Salaam 6: Peter Vaughan 5: Jayalalithaa 3: Rémy Pflimlin 2: Sammy Lee 1: Don Calfa 1: Joe McKnight November 29: Luis Alberto Monge 29: Ray Columbus 28: Mark Taimanov 28: Van Williams 25: Margaret Rhodes 25: Ron Glass 25: Trevor Goddard 25: Fidel Castro 25: Thomas Taylor 24: Dave Ferriss 24: Florence Henderson edit sidebar

Ongoing conflicts
Africa Algeria and Tunisia Maghreb insurgency ISIL insurgency in Tunisia Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria Boko Haram insurgency Central African Republic Civil war Democratic Republic of the Congo Kivu conflict ADF insurgency Ituri conflict Lord's Resistance Army insurgency Libya Civil war Mali Northern Mali conflict Somalia Civil war South Sudan Ethnic violence (South Sudanese Civil War) Sudan War in Darfur South Kordofan conflict Sudanese nomadic conflicts Americas Mexico Mexican War on Drugs Peru Internal conflict in Peru Asia Afghanistan Afghanistan War China Xinjiang conflict India Naxalite–Maoist insurgency Insurgency in Northeast India India and Pakistan Kashmir conflict Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines Moro conflict Cross border attacks in Sabah Indonesia and Papua New Guinea Papua conflict Myanmar Internal conflict in Myanmar Pakistan War in North-West Pakistan Balochistan conflict Philippines CPP-NPA-NDF rebellion Thailand South Thailand insurgency Europe Armenia and Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Georgia Abkhaz–Georgian conflict Georgian–Ossetian conflict Russia Chechen–Russian conflict North Caucasus insurgency Ukraine War in Donbass Russian military intervention in Ukraine Middle East Egypt Sinai insurgency Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria Arab–Israeli conflict Iran Iran–PJAK conflict Iraq American-led intervention in Iraq Iranian intervention in Iraq Iraq and Syria (map) Military intervention against ISIL Israel and Lebanon Israeli–Lebanese conflict Israel and Palestine Gaza–Israel conflict Israeli–Palestinian conflict Syria American-led intervention in Syria Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War Turkish military intervention in Syria Syrian Civil War spillover in Lebanon Turkey Turkey–PKK conflict Turkey–ISIL conflict Yemen Yemeni Civil War Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen Al-Qaeda insurgency edit sidebar

Elections and Referendums
Recent November 24: Grenada, Referendum 26: Kuwait, National Assembly 27: Switzerland, Referendum December 1: Gambia, President 4: Austria, President (2nd round) 4: Italy, Constitutional referendum 4: Uzbekistan, President 7: Ghana, President, Parliament 11: Kyrgyzstan, Referendum 11: Macedonia, Assembly of the Republic 11: Romania, Chamber of Deputies, Senate 15: Turks and Caicos, House of Assembly 18: Côte d'Ivoire, National Assembly edit sidebar

Trials
Recently concluded Australia: Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara China: Wan Qingliang, Ling Jihua, Zhoi Bin, Guo Boxiong Iran: Babak Zanjani Netherlands: Geert Wilders Philippines: Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Nur Misuari, Joel Villanueva Romania: Liviu Dragnea, Gheorghe Ștefan, Gabriel Sandu, Dorin Cocoş, Dumitru Nicolae South Korea: Park Geun-hye and Choi Soon-sil Spain: Lionel Messi United Kingdom: Chris Denning, Adam Johnson, Ched Evans United States: Bob McDonnell, Paul Anthony Ciancia, Dean Skelos International ICTY: Radovan Karadžić Ongoing Cambodia: Sam Rainsy China: Bai Enpei, Pan Yiyang, Yang Weize Germany: Beate Zschäpe Indonesia: Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, Mary Jane Veloso Pakistan: Waseem Azeem, Mufti Abdul Qawi Philippines: Andal Ampatuan, Jr., Leila de Lima, Rodrigo Duterte, Jovito Palparan Romania: Darius Vâlcov, Dan Șova, Elena Udrea, Radu Mazăre, Gheorghe Nichita, Marian Vanghelie, Cătălin Voicu Russia: Alexei Navalny United States: Etan Patz International ICC: Laurent Gbagbo ICTY: Ratko Mladić Upcoming China: Wu Changshun Egypt: Mohamed Morsi Estonia: Edgar Savisaar Libya: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi United Kingdom: Rolf Harris United States: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Graham Spanier, Tim Curley, Gary Schultz, Rick Perry, Bill Cosby edit sidebar