What happened in 2016

51 events　World 3, Japan 1, North America 7, Europe 15, USSR / Russia 2, Asia 7, Middle East 7, Latin America 7, Africa 2

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Highlights of 2016

World3

  • JulPokémon Go releasedA game in which you walk around town and catch Pokémon using your smartphone's location. It launched in July, and people around the world went out walking.
  • Sep 8NASA 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.
  • Oct 3Hurricane Matthew makes landfall in Haiti as a category 4 hurricane, killing 842 and causing $2.8 billion in damages.

Japan1

  • Apr 14A series of major earthquakes strikes southwestern Japan, killing 277 people and injuring 2,809.

North America7

  • Apr 3The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung publish the "Panama Papers", a set of 11.5 million confidential documents from the Panamanian corporate Mossack Fonseca that provides detailed information on more than 214,000 offshore companies, including the identities of shareholders and directors including noted personalities and heads of state.
  • Apr 23American singer-songwriter Beyoncé releases her sixth studio album Lemonade.
  • May 28Harambe, a western lowland gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo, is shot and killed after a three-year-old boy enters his enclosure.
  • Jun 10Christina Grimmie is shot dead while signing autographs and taking pictures with her fans following a concert performance at the Plaza Live in Orlando, Florida.
  • Jun 12A gunman claiming allegiance to the Islamic State opens fire at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, killing 49 people and injuring 53 others.
  • Oct 7Three events that will play a significant role in the 2016 United States presidential election all take place on the same afternoon: (1) U.S. intelligence agencies publicly accuse the Russian government of using computer hacking to interfere with the U.S. election process; (2) The Washington Post releases a videotape showing candidate Donald Trump privately bragging about sexual improprieties; (3) WikiLeaks releases thousands of private emails from inside the political campaign of candidate Hillary Clinton.
  • Nov 82016 United States presidential election: Businessman and television personality Donald Trump is elected the 45th President of the United States in a surprise upset against his opponent, former Secretary of State and First Lady Hillary Clinton.

Europe15

  • Jan 10English singer, songwriter, musician, and actor David Bowie dies in his New York City apartment from liver cancer.
  • Jan 28The World Health Organization announces an outbreak of the Zika virus.
  • Mar 14The ESA and Roscosmos launch the joint ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter on a mission to Mars.
  • Mar 222016 Brussels bombings: Suicide bombing attacks at Brussels' Zaventem airport and Maalbeek metro station kill 35 people and injure 300 more.
  • MarAlphaGo beats a top Go playerA Go program built by Google's DeepMind (London) beat Korea's Lee Sedol 4–1 in Seoul. It had been said that it would take at least another ten years for AI to beat people at Go.
  • May 10The Eurovision Song Contest 2016 is held in Stockholm, Sweden, and is won by Ukrainian entrant Jamala with the song "1944".
  • Jun 1The Gotthard Base Tunnel, the world's longest and deepest railway tunnel, is opened following two decades of construction work.
  • Jun 10France hosts the UEFA Euro 2016 football tournament, which is won by Portugal.
  • Jun 23The United Kingdom votes in a referendum to leave the European Union, triggering the so-called Brexit.
  • Jul 13Theresa May is appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, following David Cameron's resignation due to the outcome of a referendum to leave the European Union.
  • Jul 142016 Nice truck attack: 86 people are killed and more than 400 others injured in a truck attack in Nice, France, during Bastille Day celebrations.
  • Aug 24An earthquake of magnitude 6.2 hits central Italy, killing 299 people.
  • Sep 3The US and China, together responsible for 40% of the world's carbon emissions, both formally join the Paris global climate agreement.
  • Dec 4A constitutional referendum is held in Italy, resulting in the resignation of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.
  • Dec 19Berlin 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.

USSR / Russia2

  • Dec 19Andrei Karlov, the Russian ambassador to Turkey, is assassinated by an off-duty Turkish police officer at an art exhibition in Ankara.
  • Dec 252016 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.

Asia7

  • Feb 6An earthquake of magnitude 6.6 strikes southern Taiwan, killing 117 people.
  • Feb 7North Korea launches a reconnaissance satellite named Kwangmyŏngsŏng-4 into space, it is condemned internationally as a long-range ballistic missile test.
  • Apr 12016 Nagorno-Karabakh clashes: Clashes occur along the Nagorno-Karabakh line of contact with the Artsakh Defense Army, backed by the Armenian Armed Forces, on one side and the Azerbaijani Armed Forces on the other. The US State Department estimates that a total of 350 people have been killed in the clashes, which have been defined as "the worst" since the 1994 ceasefire.
  • Sep 9The government of North Korea conducts its fifth and reportedly biggest nuclear test. World leaders condemn the act, with South Korea calling it "maniacal recklessness".
  • Nov 8The government of India announces the demonetisation of ₹1000 and ₹500 banknotes, causing prolonged cash shortages in the weeks that follow and significant disruption throughout the economy.
  • Dec 1Following 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.
  • Dec 9South Korean President Park Geun-hye is suspended after MPs vote to impeach her, following a political scandal.

Middle East7

  • Jan 3Following the fallout caused by the execution of Nimr al-Nimr, Saudi Arabia and several other countries end their diplomatic relations with Iran.
  • Jan 12Ten people are killed and 15 wounded in a bombing near the Blue Mosque in Istanbul.
  • May 19EgyptAir Flight 804 crashes into the Mediterranean Sea en route from Paris to Cairo, killing all 66 people on board.
  • Jun 282016 Atatürk Airport attack: ISIL is suspected to be responsible for attacking Atatürk Airport in Istanbul, Turkey, killing 44 people and injuring over 230 others.
  • Jul 15In Turkey, a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces that organized themselves as the Peace at Home Council, unsuccessfully stages a coup against the state institutions, resulting in the deaths of at least 240 people and triggering a series of unprecedented purges throughout the country.
  • Aug 3Emirates Flight 521 crashes at Dubai International Airport in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. 1 person was killed and 39 people were injured.
  • Beginning of the famine in Yemen.

Latin America7

  • Feb 12Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill sign an Ecumenical Declaration in the first such meeting between leaders of the Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches since their schism in 1054.
  • Apr 8Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation Amoris laetitia (dated March 19) is published in the Vatican; it appears to amend the Roman Catholic Church's position on the availability of sacraments to Catholics who have divorced and contracted a civil remarriage.
  • Apr 16An earthquake of magnitude 7.8 strikes northwestern Ecuador killing 676 people and injuring over 6,000. Widespread damage was caused across Manabí Province, with structures hundreds of kilometres away from the epicenter collapsing.
  • Aug 5The 2016 Summer Olympics are held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the first time in South America.
  • Aug 31The Brazilian Senate votes (61–20) to impeach the President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff. The Vice President of Brazil, Michel Temer, who had assumed the presidential powers and duties as Acting President of Brazil during Rousseff's suspension, takes office for the remainder of her term.
  • Nov 24The Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—People's Army sign a revised peace deal, slowing the Colombian conflict.
  • Nov 28LaMia Flight 2933 crashes into a mountain near Medellín, Colombia, killing 71 of the 77 people on board, including members of the Brazilian Chapecoense football squad.

Africa2

  • Jan 1630 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.
  • Sep 1An annular solar eclipse was visible from Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Mozambique and Madagascar.