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Worldwide current events
Sports events

Topics in the news

António Guterres

Iraqi government forces, allied militias, Peshmerga, and the CJTF-OIR launch an offensive to retake the city of Mosul from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
Former Prime Minister of Portugal António Guterres (pictured) is elected Secretary-General of the United Nations.
King of Thailand Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest-serving head of state, dies at the age of 88.
Bob Dylan is awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for "having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition".
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end the Colombian conflict.

October 20, 2016 (Thursday)

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October 19, 2016 (Wednesday)

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Disasters and accidents

2016 Pacific typhoon season
- The Philippine government places more than two dozen provinces on alert before Typhoon Haima makes landfall over Luzon. Category-3 Haima may have a “high humanitarian impact”, according to the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System. (Media Corp Press Today Online)
A natural gas explosion damages several buildings and injures 8 in downtown Portland, Oregon. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Law and crime

The Attorney General of Mexico issues an arrest warrant for the former Governor of Veracruz Javier Duarte for suspected involvement in organized crime and money laundering. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

United States presidential election, 2016
- Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will meet for the third and final presidential debate of the 2016 U.S. election at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. (The Telegraph)
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani reshuffles his cabinet, replacing culture, education and sports ministers. The new ministers will be designated to the parliament next week. (Mehr) (Tehran Times)

October 18, 2016 (Tuesday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Somalia
- Somali police say at least seven are dead after clashes as Somali and African Union troops pushed back al-Shabab extremists from Afgooye, a town near Mogadishu. (AP)
Clashes between Pygmy and Bantu tribes in Tanganyika region of Democratic Republic of Congo leave 20 people dead. (Africa News)

Disasters and accidents

At least 20 people are killed in a fire in a hospital in eastern India, in the city of Bhubaneswar, Odisha state. (BBC)
2016 Pacific typhoon season
- The death toll in Vietnam, from Typhoon Sarika, rises to at least 31 people. (Fox News)

International relations

UNESCO's executive board approves the "Occupied Palestine" resolution which reaffirms the cultural heritage of Palestine, especially East Jerusalem, and criticizes certain Israeli actions regarding the Palestinian territories. For the land in Jerusalem where the Al-Aqsa Mosque stands, the board uses only Islamic naming terms without also mentioning Jewish or Christian historical references. (AP), (BBC), (Haaretz)
War in Donbass
- German Chancellor Angela Merkel invites the presidents of Russia, Ukraine, and France to meet tomorrow in Berlin to discuss peace efforts in eastern Ukraine. (AP), (Reuters)

Science and technology

Applications of nanotechnology
- While attempting to create a nanotechnology-based, catalyst-mediated series of chemical reactions to turn carbon dioxide (CO
  2) (a greenhouse gas) into a usable fuel, scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory instead discover a single-step process using the surface area of tiny spikes of copper and carbon as a catalyst to turn carbon dioxide into ethanol (CH
  3CH
  2OH). The reaction may serve as a method to alleviate possible climate change by both decreasing CO
  2 in the atmosphere and by using the ethanol as an additive to fuels to increase efficiency and thereby decrease consumption. (Popular Mechanics), (The Oak Ridge National Laboratory)

October 17, 2016 (Monday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Iraqi Civil War
- Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announces the start of the Battle of Mosul, backed by the U.S.-led coalition, to retake ISIL-held Mosul, the self-declared caliphate's capital in Iraq. (Reuters), (Reuters²)
War in Afghanistan
- The Vice President of Afghanistan, Abdul Rashid Dostum, survives yet another assassination attempt. (Reuters)
Clashes between rival gangs in at least two prisons in Brazil, leave at least 18 people killed. (Reuters)
South Sudanese Civil War
- Clashes between government troops and rebels in South Sudan, leave at least 56 people killed. (The Chicago Tribune), (The Wire)

Disasters and accidents

2016 Pacific typhoon season
- Floods in Central Vietnam, triggered by Typhoon Sarika's heavy rains, kill at least 24 people with 4 others missing. Sarika has killed at least two people and displaced more than 150,000 in the Philippines. (AP)
Two buses collide near the city of Rahim Yar Khan, Pakistan, killing at least 30 people and injuring 69 others. (ITV News)
An explosion and fire in Ludwigshafen, at the largest production site of BASF in Germany, kills at least two people and injures six more with two people still missing. BASF is the world's biggest chemical producer. (Reuters)
A fire breaks out at a hospital in the East Indian city of Bhubaneswar, Odisha, killing at least 23 people. (BBC)

International relations

Yemeni Civil War
- The United Nations announces that the warring parties in Yemen have agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire starting October 19 at 23:59 AST (4:59 EDT). (AP), (Reuters)

Law and crime

Circuit Court Judge Debra Nelson in Seminole County, Florida, sentences Matthew Apperson, convicted by a jury last month of second-degree attempted murder, to 20 years in prison for shooting at George Zimmerman, who claims to have shot and killed Trayvon Martin in self defense. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

American investigative journalist James O'Keefe releases a series of videos allegedly showing conversations with, among others, Scott Foval, the former national field director of Americans United for Change, speaking about his hiring of people to sabotage rallies for Donald Trump by staging fights in them in a process Foval called "bird dogging". (Salon)

Science and technology

Shenzhou program
- China launches Shenzhou 11, the country's sixth manned spaceflight mission and the first one to the Tiangong-2 space laboratory, with two taikonauts on a 30-day mission. (Reuters), (AP)
NASA's Commercial Resupply Services
- Orbital ATK Antares 230 rocket launches carrying an unmanned resupply spacecraft, the Cygnus CRS OA-5 cargo ship, to the International Space Station from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The mission returns the Antares rocket to flight after an anomaly on October 28, 2014, caused an Antares-series rocket to explode seconds after liftoff. (Space.com), (NASA via You Tube)

October 16, 2016 (Sunday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Turkey–ISIL conflict
- A suicide bomber kills three police officers and wounds at least nine people in the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep during a police raid on a suspected ISIL safehouse. (Reuters)
Syrian Civil War
- Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army rebels seize control of the symbolic town of Dabiq, Aleppo Governorate, following clashes with ISIL militants. (NBC News)
War in Donbass
- A bomb placed in an elevator shaft kills Pro-Russian, high-ranking officer of the Donetsk People's Republic's special forces, Arseny Pavlov, also known as "Motorola", in Donetsk. (TASS), (The Kyiv Post)

Arts and culture

The Simpsons, the longest-running American, prime time, scripted television series, airs its 600th episode. (CNN)

Disasters and accidents

The collapse of a footbridge connecting the islands of Lembongan and Ceningan, near Bali, Indonesia, leaves 9 dead and 30 injured. (The New York Times)

International relations

Yemeni Crisis
- The United States and the United Kingdom call for, "within hours," an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Yemen to end the violence following last week's Saudi airstrikes, based on bad information, that killed around 140 people. (Reuters), (The Guardian)

Law and crime

An arsonist firebombs a Republican Party office in Hillsborough, North Carolina, and leaves a graffiti message reading, "Nazi Republicans get out of town or else." (CNN)

Politics and elections

Montenegrin parliamentary election, 2016
- With over 95 percent of votes counted, Prime Minister Milo Đukanović's Democratic Party of Socialists receives the most votes in this quadrennial election, but, by five seats, fails to gain an absolute majority. Djukanovic says he will seek a coalition with parties of national minorities. (Reuters)

Science and technology

ExoMars project
- The European Space Agency-Roscosmos operated Schiaparelli EDM lander successfully separates from the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter spacecraft, beginning a three-day descent to the surface of Mars. (Reuters)

Sports

Anthony Foley, coach of Irish rugby union team Munster, dies suddenly at the age of 42 in a hotel near Paris. Officials postpone Munster's European Rugby Champions Cup match against Racing 92. (BBC)

Religion

Pope Francis declares in Vatican 7 new saints: Those are José Sánchez del Río, Salomone Leclercq, José Gabriel del Rosario Brochero, Manuel González Garcá, Lodovico Pavoni and as the only woman; Elizabeth of the Trinity. (http://en.radiovaticana.va)

October 15, 2016 (Saturday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Iraqi Civil War (2014–present), 2016 October Baghdad attacks
- Attacks targeting a Shi'ite Muslim gathering, a police check-point, and the family of an anti-Islamic State Sunni paramilitary leader, kill at least 55 people in Iraq. (Reuters)
- ISIL claims responsibility as a response to take back launching of its stronghold Mosul by the Iraqi forces. (TeleSUR)
Russian border patrol officers open fire on a North Korean fishing vessel, leaving one fisherman dead, and eight others injured. (RT)
Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- Saudi Arabia accepts the finding of the Joint Incidents Assessment Team, a setup of coalition states to investigate complaints against coalitions conduct in Decisive Storm, that the October 8 coalition’s bombardment at a funeral ceremony in Sana'a, in which over 140 people were killed and more than 600 injured, was based on wrong information. (Arab News), (Samaa TV)
Syrian Civil War
- Turkish-backed rebels advance on the symbolic ISIL-controlled town of Dabiq, in northern Syria. ISIL believes Dabiq is the location where an apocalyptic battle will take place shortly before the end of the world. (BBC)
Yemeni Crisis (2011–present)
- For a third time in a week, Houthi forces in Yemen unsuccessfully fire upon the United States Navy's USS Mason while the ship is in international waters of the Red Sea. (NBC News)
Sinai insurgency
- Egyptian government airstrikes on jihadist targets in North Sinai Governorate, leave at least 100 terrorists killed and 40 others wounded. (Xinhua Net)

Arts and culture

A wildlife sanctuary for rescued elephants opens in Brazil. (BBC)

Business and economy

Google introduces a so-called "fact checking" feature on its news aggregate service to combat alleged political bias. (The Los Angeles Times)
The U.S. Transportation Department's emergency order banning Samsung Galaxy Note 7 from aircraft in the United States goes into effect. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

A stampede among Hindu pilgrims headed to Varanasi, India, kills at least 24 people and injures at least 20. (Reuters), (AP via The New York Times)
2016 Pacific typhoon season
- Typhoon Sarika (Karen) arrives at Luzon, Philippines, with the storm's future direction predicted to be toward Vietnam. (The Independent)
A pickup truck hurls off San Diego, California's Coronado Bridge, plummets some 60 feet, and crashes onto a park where hundreds of people had gathered for a motorcycle rally, killing four people in a vendor's booth and injuring eight others. (Reuters)

International relations

European migrant crisis
- Syrian child refugees previously settled in the Calais jungle legally immigrate into England. (The Guardian)
North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
- The United States Defense Department reports its Strategic Command systems detected a failed North Korean ballistic missile launch near the city of Kusong in North Pyongan Province. (CNN)
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin sign several agreements including a $12.9 billion defense and energy deal. Russian state oil major Rosneft pays for a controlling stake in both India's Essar Oil and port facilities that it already owns. (Reuters)

Law and crime

A gun battle that started when three armed men returned to a restaurant in Los Angeles, leaves 3 people dead and 12 others wounded. Police set up a dragnet for the suspects. (The Los Angeles Times)
Police in China detain 75 people in connection with a service that determined the female gender of unborn babies for the purpose of abortion. Authorities say that at least 300 people were involved in the illegal service in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang. Expectant parents wanting male children smuggled fetal blood samples to Hong Kong for gender testing. China ended its one-child policy last year. (BBC)
Judge Vivien Rose of London's High Court, finds in favor of Goldman Sachs, that the bank is not liable for the failure of highly speculative trades made by the sovereign wealth fund of Libya. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

Montreal Protocol
- The Obama administration agrees to an international limit on the use of hydrofluorocarbon gases in refrigeration and air conditioning. (BBC)

October 14, 2016 (Friday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Sinai insurgency
- A suspected ISIL attack on a security checkpoint in North Sinai Governorate, Egypt, leaves at least 12 Egyptian military personnel and 15 terrorists dead. (Reuters), (CNN)
Yemeni Civil War
- An explosion that targeted a funeral in Ma'rib for a top Yemeni army commander, kills five people, including the deceased's brother, and injures 15 more. (AP via Fox News), (The Indian Express)

Disasters and accidents

A bus crashes and catches fire carrying tourists returning from a China tour on the Gyeongbu Expressway near Ulsan, South Korea, leaving ten people killed and nine injured. (AP)

Health

Surgeons separate craniopagus conjoined twin boys in New York City. (BBC)

Law and crime

A London-based trader who traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Navinder Singh Sarao, accused of contributing to the 2010 Wall Street "flash crash" by placing bogus orders to spoof the market, fails in his legal bid to stop extradition and will now be sent to the United States to face trial where he is wanted by U.S. authorities on 22 criminal counts of wire fraud, commodities fraud, and market manipulation. A judge initially approved his extradition in March, and today his bid to launch an appeal against that decision was rejected, ending his 18-month legal fight. He will now be extradited within 28 days. (Reuters)
A retrial court finds Welsh footballer Ched Evans not guilty. He had previously been sentenced to five years imprisonment for rape in 2012. (BBC)
Volkswagen diesel emissions cheating scandal
- Volkswagen agrees to pay $175 million to United States lawyers suing the German automaker on behalf of the owners of 475,000 polluting vehicles. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

Death and funeral of Bhumibol Adulyadej
- Thailand declares today a government holiday for mourning King Bhumibol Adulyadej's death. (Reuters)
- Per Section 24 of the Constitution, Thailand formally confirms as the Regent pro tempore Prem Tinsulanonda, the President of the Privy Council and the former confidant of King Bhumibol Adulyadej. (The Bangkok Post), (The Irrawaddy)
Cuba–United States relations
- President Barack Obama issues an executive order on Cuba lifting monetary limits on the amount of Cuban products, including cigars and rum, which Americans can bring back for personal use, allowing Cubans and Americans to engage in joint medical research, and allowing Cubans to buy certain U.S. consumer goods online. (The New York Times), (The Miami Herald), (The Havana Times)

More October 2016 events...

Ongoing events
Business Panama Papers Volkswagen emissions scandal Yahoo! data breach Culture Nobel Peace Prize Disasters Atlantic hurricane season California wildfires Oklahoma earthquake swarms Pacific hurricane season Pacific typhoon season Southeast Asian haze Health Flint water crisis Zika virus pandemic Law Black Lives Matter protests Philippine Drug War Timor Gap PCA arbitration Political Aftermath of Brexit Austria presidential election Ethiopian protests European migrant crisis (timeline) Lebanese political deadlock South China Sea disputes United States presidential election Venezuelan protests Zimbabwe protests More details on ongoing conflicts below Sport 2016 ATP World Tour 2016 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 2016 Formula One season 2016 Major League Baseball season 2016 NFL season 2016–17 Premier League 2016 WTA Tour edit sidebar

Recent deaths
October 16: Anthony Foley 16: Kigeli V of Rwanda 16: Arsen Pavlov 14: Klim Churyumov 14: Jean Alexander 14: Pierre Étaix 14: Helen Kelly 13: Bhumibol Adulyadej 13: Dario Fo 13: Jim Prentice 9: Aaron Pryor 9: Kenneth P. Thompson 9: Andrzej Wajda 7: John Gleeson 7: Alistair Urquhart 7: Rebecca Wilson 5: Michal Kováč 5: Josh Samman 5: Rod Temperton (reported on this date) 3: Trịnh Thị Ngọ 2: Neville Marriner 1: Daphne Odjig September 30: Mike Towell 29: Miriam Defensor Santiago 29: Jamshid Amouzegar 28: Agnes Nixon 28: Shimon Peres 28: Max Walker 26: Herschell Gordon Lewis 25: José Fernández 25: David Padilla 25: Arnold Palmer 25: Jean Shepard 24: Mel Charles 24: Bill Mollison 24: Bill Nunn 24: Buckwheat Zydeco 23: Marcel Artelesa 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 Burma 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 September 25: Switzerland, Referendum October 2: Cape Verde, President 2: Colombia, Referendum 2: Hungary, Referendum 5: Curaçao, Estates 7: Morocco, House of Representatives 8: Georgia, Parliament 9: Lithuania, Seimas 15: Afghanistan, House of the People 16: Montenegro, Parliament Upcoming October 23: Lithuania, Seimas (2nd round) 29: Iceland, Althing 30: Moldova, President November 1: Palau, President, National Congress 6: Bulgaria, President, Referendum 6: Nicaragua, President, National Assembly 8: United States, President edit sidebar

Trials
Recently concluded Australia: Brett Peter Cowan, Craig Thomson, Robert Hughes, Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara Brazil: Mensalão scandal Canada: Luka Magnotta China: Ji Jianye, Li Chuncheng, Jiang Jiemin, Liao Shaohua, Ni Fake, Ling Jihua, Chen Baihuai, Zhou Yongkang, Gu Junshan, Yao Mugen, Guo Boxiong Egypt: Hosni Mubarak, Peter Greste, Mohamed Morsi Germany: Bernie Ecclestone, Uli Hoeness, Christian Wulff Iran: Mohammad Reza Rahimi Israel: Hussam Qawasmeh Jordan: Abu Qatada Philippines: Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Romania: Liviu Dragnea, Dan Diaconescu, Gheorghe Ștefan, Gabriel Sandu, Dorin Cocoş, Dumitru Nicolae Russia: Eston Kohver South Africa: Shrien Dewani, Oscar Pistorius Spain: Lionel Messi Turkey: Kenan Evren, Tahsin Şahinkaya United Kingdom: Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale, Kevin Hutchinson-Foster, Ray Wilkins, Liam Adams, R v Grillo and Grillo, Ian Watkins, William Roache, Dave Lee Travis, Nicholas Jacobs, Nigel Evans, Max Clifford, Stuart Hall, Dappy, Rebekah Brooks, Andy Coulson, Rolf Harris, Tulisa Contostavlos, Chris Denning, Ray Teret, Gary Glitter, Fred Talbot, Adam Johnson, Ched Evans United States: Abu Hamza al-Masri, Michael Grimm, Jesse Jackson Jr., Bob McDonnell, Vilma Bautista, Kermit Gosnell, Chris Brown, Justin Bieber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, James Eagan Holmes, Sheldon Silver, Javaris Crittenton, Dylan Quick International ECCC: Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan ICC: Germain Katanga ICTY: Radovan Karadžić Ongoing China: Bai Enpei, Guo Youming, Pan Yiyang, Wan Qingliang, Yang Weize, Zhu Zuoli Germany: Beate Zschäpe Indonesia: Mary Jane Veloso Iran: Babak Zanjani Netherlands: Geert Wilders Philippines: Andal Ampatuan, Jr., Leila de Lima, Jovito Palparan Romania: Darius Vâlcov, Dan Șova, Elena Udrea, Radu Mazăre, Gheorghe Nichita, Marian Vanghelie, Cătălin Voicu Russia: Alexei Navalny South Korea: MV Sewol crew members United States: Paul Anthony Ciancia, Dean Skelos, Etan Patz International ICTY: Ratko Mladić Upcoming China: Wu Changshun Estonia: Edgar Savisaar Libya: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi United Kingdom: Rolf Harris United States: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Aaron Hernandez, Graham Spanier, Tim Curley, Gary Schultz, Rick Perry, Bill Cosby International ICC: Laurent Gbagbo edit sidebar