- January 12
- Two US Navy patrol boats enter Iranian water near an island naval base; the boats and crew are seized by Iranian Revolutionary Guards. [1271.51]
- January 13
- Iran releases US Navy boats and crew that were picked up January 12 in Iranian waters. [1271.51]
- 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. [1234]
- The Republic of China (Taiwan) presidential election is won by Tsai Ing-wen of Democratic Progressive Party, with 56 percent of votes, winning 68 of 113 seats in parliament. [1272.31]
- Sanctions against Iran are lifted. [1272.17]
- January 20
- World Economic Forum meet at Davos, Switzerland. Theme: fourth industrial revolution. [1240.69]
- Pavel Filip is voted in as Prime Minister of Moldova. [1273.44]
- In Pakistan, four terrorists invade Bacha Khan University near Peshawar, killing 20. [1272.34]
- January 28
- The World Health Organization announces an outbreak of the Zika virus. [1234]
- Laurent Gbagbo goes on trial before the International Criminal Court at The Hague, first former head of state (Ivory Coast). [1274.45]
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- January 29
- Japan's central bank cuts interest rate on bank reserves to -0.1 percent. [1274.10]
- January 31
- In the People's Republic of China, police arrest bosses of Ezubao peer to peer lender. The Ponzi scheme had over 900,000 investors, losing 50 billion yuan (US$7.6 billion). [1274.41]
- February 1
- Parliament of Myanmar opens, with freely elected majority. [1274.35]
- February 7
- North Korea launches a long-range rocket into space, violating multiple UN treaties and prompting condemnation from around the world. [1234] [1275.33]
- February 12
- Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill sign an Ecumenical Declaration in the first such meeting between leaders of the Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches since their split in 1054. [1234]
- February 21
- In Bolivia, referendum on allowing President Evo Morales to run for fourth term: No 51.3 percent. [1277.28]
- February 26
- Irish general election: Fine Gael 50, Fianna Fail 44, Independent 23, Sinn Fein 23, Labour 7, 1271-PBP 6, Social Democrats 3, Green Party 2. Governing coalition had been Fine Gael and Labour with 113. [1278.49]
- February 29
- Argentina agrees in principle with holders of 85 percent of disputed debt to make US$14.65 billion payment. [1278.30]
- March 2
- Death of Berta Cáceres by hired hitmen in Honduras; Indigenous environmentalist (winner of Goldman prize for environmental defenders). [1630.5]
- March 9
- Kiribati presidential election won by Taaneti Mamau. [1279.38]
- March 14
- The ESA and Roscosmos launch the joint ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter on a mission to Mars. [1234]
- March 15
- Myanmar presidential election won by Htin Kyaw. [1280.43]
- March 17
- People's Republic of China establishes diplomatic ties with Gambia. [1281.46]
- March 21
- The International Criminal Court finds former Congolese Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity, the first time the ICC convicted someone of sexual violence. [1234]
- March 22
- Three coordinated bombings in Brussels, Belgium kill at least 32 and injure at least 250. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claims responsibility for the attacks. [1234] [1281.12] [1282.50]
- March 24
- Ex-Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžic is sentenced to 40 years in prison after being found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity committed during the Bosnian War. [1234]
- March 27
- Suicide bombing in Lahore, Pakistan, killing 74, injuring over 300. [1282.39]
- Syrian government forces recapture Palmyra from Daesh. [1282.49]
- March 30
- Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj and six ministers enter Tripoli to form government of Libya. [1283.12]
- April 2
- Clashes between Armenian and Azerbaijani military in Nagorno-Karabakh kill at least 193 people, which becomes the heaviest breach of the 1994 ceasefire. [1234] [1283.53]
- April 3
- The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung publish 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. [1234] [1283.59]
- April 5
- Iceland's Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson steps down as Prime Minister, following revelation that he did not reveal wealth in secret assets in Icelandic bank stocks. [1283.59]
- April 6
- Pfizer announces dropping its US$160 billion proposed purchase of Allergan. (Allergan investors lose US$13 billion in 48 hours as share price drops.) [1283.63]
- Netherlands referendum on Ukraine-EU trade deal: No 61 percent, Yes 38 percent. [1282.52] [1283.8]
- April 10
- Peru presidential election: Keiko Fujimari first with nearly 40 percent, to be runoff election versus Pedro Pablo Kuczynski on June 5. [1279.8] [1283.12] [1284.6]
- April 14
- Magnitude 6.2 earthquake in Kumamoto prefecture, Japan. [1248.67]
- April 16
- Magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Kumamoto prefecture, Japan; 40 dead. [1248.67]
- Magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Manabi and Esmeraldas provinces of Ecuador; about 525 dead. [1248.67]
- April 17
- Brazil Congress votes 367 to 137 to forward charges against President Dilma Rousseff for impeachment. [1248.10]
- April 25
- Saudi Arabia's deputy crown prince Muhammad bin Salman announces plans to end the kingdom's dependence on oil by 2030. [1247.41]
- April 26
- Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announces France will build six new submarines for Australia, at a cost of A$50 billion (US$38 billion). [1247.36]
- May 1
- People's Republic of China government extends value-added tax to all major service sectors. [1286.38]
- May 9
- Rodrigo Duterte wins presidential election in Philippines. [1279.37] [1287.15] [1291.8]
- May 11
- Bangladesh hangs Motiur Rahman Nizami, leader of the country's largest Islamist party, for atrocities committed during the war for independence from Pakistan in 1971. [1287.34]
- May 12
- Brazil Senate votes to open impeachment trial of President Dilma Rouseff, forcing her to step aside for 180 days. Vice President Michel Temer will serve as interim president. [1287.28]
- May 13
- Laos bans all timber exports. [1289.34]
- May 19
- EgyptAir Flight 804 crashes with 66 people on board over the Mediterranean en route from Paris to Cairo. [1234]
- May 20
- Inauguration of President Tsai Ing-wen of the Republic of China with Lin Chuan as Prime Minister. [1280.7] [1287.31]
- May 22
- Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogon replaces Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu with Binali Yildirim. [1288.43]
- May 23
- Alexander Van der Bellen of Green Party wins presidential run-off election in Austria, narrowly defeating Norbert Hofer of Freedom Party of Austria. [1288.45]
- May 30
- Former Chad President Hissène Habré is sentenced to life in prison for crimes against humanity committed during his tenure from 1982 to 1990, the first time an African Union-backed court convicts a former ruler of a country within its jurisdiction. [1234] [1244.42]
- June 1
- The Gotthard Base Tunnel, the world's longest and deepest railway tunnel, is opened following two decades of construction work. [1234]
- June 2
- The German Bundestag passes a resolution calling the Ottoman Empire's mass murder of over 1 million Armenians and other Christians in 1915-17 genocide. [1244.48]
- June 5
- Runoff presidential election in Peru, won by Pedro Pablo Kuczynski. [1243.35]
- June 12
- 49 people shot dead in Orlando night club Pulse. Lone suspect Omar Mateen is shot dead by police. [1245.14]
- June 16
- Death of Jo Cox, British Member of Parliament, age 41, shot by a 52-year old gardener. [1289.82]
- June 18
- Iraq regains control of Fallujah from Daesh. [1289.40]
- June 20
- Nigeria allows its naira currency to float on the market. [1245.8]
- June 23
- The United Kingdom votes 52 percent in a referendum to leave the European Union. [1234] [1296.7]
- Colombian government signs cease-fire agreement with rebel FARC in Havanna, Cuba. [1296.30]
- June 24
- Brazil government suspends 10 percent tariff on imports of beans, due to weather damage of the domestic harvest. [1296.29]
- British Prime Minister David Cameron announces his resignation, due to the country's unexpected vote to leave the European Union. [1296.49]
- June 26
- The new wider Panama Canal opens, as the first vessel officially sails through. Previously the biggest container ship could have capacity of 5000 standard containers. The new canal allows for ships with 13,000 containers. [1245.68]
- June 28
- Three men armed with guns and gombs attack Atatürk Airport in Istanbul, Turkey, killing 45 and injuring around 230. [1234] [1296.11]
- June 30
- Mondelez International offers US$23 billion to acquire Hershey. [1297.53]
- Inauguration of Rodrigo Duterte as President of the Philippines. [1297.30]
- July 1
- Latvia becomes the 35th member of the OECD. [1234]
- July 2
- General election in Australia, narrow victory for Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, winning 76 seats of 150-seat House of Representatives. [1298.32]
- July 3
- Boards of directors of National Bank of Abu Dhabi and First Gulf Bank agree to merger, creating bank with US$175 billion in assets. [1297.63]
- July 4
- NASA's Juno spacecraft enters orbit around Jupiter and begins a 20-month survey of the planet. [1234]
- July 7
- Danone agrees to pay US$12.5 billion to acquire White Wave Foods. [1297.53]
- July 10
- General election in Japan, victory for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. [1298.21]
- July 12
- The Philippines wins the arbitration case they filed at the Permanent Court of Arbitration regarding the legality of China's "Nine-Dash Line" claim over the South China Sea under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. [1234] [1295.35]
- July 13
- Home Secretary Theresa May becomes new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. [1298.32]
- July 14
- Tunisian-born Mahamed Lahouaiei Bouhlel drives a rented truck for 17km over a promenade in Nice, France, killing 84. [1295.40]
- July 15
- (to July 16) Overnight, an attempted military coup takes place in Turkey; hundreds dead, thousands are arrested, over 80,000 are purged from government. [1295.1] [1299]
- July 18
- Japan's SoftBank announces it will acquire Britain's ARM Holdings for 24 billion pounds (US$32 billion). [1295.44]
- In Germany, an Afghan refugee stabs and axes four passengers on a train and one on a platform. [1290.40]
- July 20
- The Turkish government declares a state of emergency for at least 3 months. [1295.14]
- July 22
- The final videocassette recorder is manufactured by the Japanese company Funai. [1234]
- In a shopping center in Munich, Germany, a German teenager of Iranian descent kills nine, injures over 30, then shoots himself. [1290.40]
- July 23
- In Kabul, Afghanistan, bombs kill 81 people, mainly Shia Muslims. [1290.31]
- July 24
- In Germany, a Syrian refugee blows up a backpack of explosives outside a concert, injuring 15. [1290.40]
- July 25
- Verizon announces it will pay US$4.8 billion to acquire Yahoo!'s core business. [1290.9]
- July 26
- In Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, two terrorists with knives enter small church, killing 85-year old priest and critically injuring another. [1290.39]
- A man breaks into a care home for disabled in Japan, stabbing over 40 in beds, killing 19. [1290.30]
- Solar Impulse 2 becomes the first solar-powered aircraft to circumnavigate the Earth. [1234]
- July 30
- Inauguration ceremony in Philippines for Rodrigo Duterte as new President. [1291.8]
- August 5
- (to August 21) The 2016 Summer Olympics are held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. [1234] [1291.24]
- August 7
- In Thailand, 61 percent vote in favor of a new constitution. [1291.26]
- August 11
- General election in Zambia, President Edgar Lungu is re-elected with 50.35 percent of vote. [1293.37]
- August 24
- Magnitude 6.2 earthquake strikes northeast of Rome, Italy, killing over 247 people. [1299.39]
- Turkey sends tanks, warplanes, special forces soldiers into neighbor Syria to fight Daesh in Jarablus. [1299.33]
- August 31
- The Brazilian Senate votes (61 to 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. [1234]
- September 3
- The US and China, together responsible for 40% of the world's carbon emissions, both formally join the Paris global climate agreement. [1234]
- September 8
- NASA launches OSIRIS-REx, its first asteroid sample return mission. The probe will visit Bennu and is expected to return with samples in 2023. [1234]
- September 9
- The government of North Korea conducts its fifth and reportedly biggest nuclear test. World leaders condemn the act, with the South calling it "maniacal recklessness". [1234]
- September 28
- Global CO2 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. [1234]
- 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. [1234]
- September 30
- Two paintings by Vincent Van Gogh with a combined value of US$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. [1234]
- October 2
- A plebiscite is held in Colombia on the proposed peace deal with FARC guerrillas. The vote result is 50.2% to 49.8% to reject the deal. [1644.14]
- October 13
- The Maldives announces its decision to withdraw from the Commonwealth of Nations. [1234]
- October 15
- 150 nations meet at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) summit in Rwanda and agree to phase out hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) as an amendment to the Montreal Protocol. [1234]
- November 24
- The Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People's Army sign a revised peace deal, bringing an end to the Colombian conflict. [1234] [1398.35]
- December 19
- Andrei Karlov, the Russian ambassador to Turkey, is assassinated in Ankara. [1234]
- December 22
- A study finds the VSV-EBOV vaccine against the Ebola virus between 70-100% effective, making it the first proven vaccine against the disease. [1234]
- December 23
- The United Nations Security Council adopts Resolution 2334 condemning "Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories occupied since 1967". [1234]
- December 25
- A Tupolev Tu-154 crashes near Sochi, Russia, killing all 92 people on board, including 64 members of the Alexandrov Ensemble. [1234]
- Year
- Top countries with deaths by gunshot: Brazil 43,200, USA 37,200, Mexico 15,400, Colombia 13,300, Venezuela 12,800, Guatemala 5,100. [1455.33]
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