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	More October 2016 events...

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Worldwide current events
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Model of the Schiaparelli lander

At least 70 people are killed and around 600 others injured in a train derailment in Cameroon.
Numerous media outlets, social networks, and retailers go offline in parts of North America and Europe during a large-scale denial-of-service cyberattack.
The ESA–Roscosmos ExoMars mission's Trace Gas Orbiter enters orbit around Mars, but contact is lost with the Schiaparelli lander (model pictured) during its descent to the planet's surface.
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.

October 26, 2016 (Wednesday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Somalia (2009–present)
- A militant group affiliated with ISIL seizes the significant coastal town of Qandala in the autonomous Puntland region. (Reuters)
War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- Taliban insurgents kill 26 civilians in Ghor Province, Afghanistan. (The New York Times)

International relations

Gambia says it will join South Africa and Burundi in withdrawing from the International Criminal Court, accusing the court of ignoring Western war crimes. (BBC)
NATO–Russia relations
- Russia withdraws a request to refuel three of its warships, including the flagship of the Russian Navy, Admiral Kuznetsov, en route to Syria, at the Spanish port of Ceuta following NATO pressure on the Spanish government to not allow the warships to dock. (BBC)

October 25, 2016 (Tuesday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

2016 Quetta police station attack
- Gunmen attack a Pakistani police training academy in the southwestern city of Quetta, leaving at least 59 people dead and 117 others injured. ISIL - Khorasan Province claims responsibility for the attack. (Reuters), (AP via Yahoo!), (Al Jazeera Media Network) (BBC), (Dawn), (CNN)
War in Somalia (2009–present)
- A militant from Al-Shabaab shoots dead an intelligence officer in Mogadishu. (Reuters)
A shooting in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, leaves two security officers dead. (Reuters)
Al-Shabaab claims responsibility for an attack on a hotel in Kenya, killing at least 12 people. (BBC), (Reuters)
2016 Uri attack
- Pakistan-based terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba claims responsibility for the attack on the Uri military camp in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. (The Times of India)

Arts and culture

Paul Beatty becomes the first American author to win the Man Booker Prize for his novel The Sellout. (ABC)
The Catholic Church announces that cremated remains must be kept in consecrated land, rather than scattered about or kept at home. The Church first permitted cremation in 1963, but currently, strongly favors burial. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

Illegally stored explosives cause an explosion in a house in northwestern China that kills at least 14 people and injures 147 others in the town of Xinmin in Shaanxi province. (Reuters)
A fire breaks out in the ICU ward and Maternity ward of Hospital Sultanah Aminah, Johor, Malaysia, killing six patients and injured two others. All of the patients killed were dependent on ventilators in the ICU ward. (Mediacorp News Group)
An accident on board the Thunder River Rapids Ride at Dreamworld on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, leaves four people dead. (News Limited)

Law and crime

Ontario Provincial Police charge a former Canadian nurse, Elizabeth Tracy Mae Wettlaufer, in Woodstock, Ontario, with killing eight elderly patients between August 2007 and August 2014 at two Caressant Care Nursing and Retirement Homes facilities. (CBC)
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco approves German automaker Volkswagen $14.7 billion settlement with federal and California regulators and the owners of the 475,000 polluting diesel vehicles over diesel emissions cheating scandal. Volkswagen still faces billions of dollars more in fines and litigation. (Reuters)

October 24, 2016 (Monday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- ISIL recaptures the western Iraqi town of Ar-Rutbah, which it previously withdrew from in May. (Al Jazeera)

Business and economy

U.S. discount brokerage TD Ameritrade agrees to buy Scottrade for $2.7 billion. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

2016 French Fairchild Metroliner crash
- A twin-prop Fairchild Metroliner Mark III light aircraft crashes shortly after takeoff from Malta International Airport, killing all five French nationals on board. Malta officials say that the aircraft was part of a French customs surveillance operation tracing routes of illicit trafficking, of humans and drugs on Libyan coasts, and that the flight was heading for the Libyan city of Misrata. (The Independent), (The Guardian)

International relations

France clears the Calais Jungle, relocating six thousand migrants. (AP)

Law and crime

Wendy Demchick-Alloy, a Montgomery County court judge in Norristown, sentences former Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane to serve 10 to 23 months in county jail for leaking confidential grand jury information and then lying about it to investigators. Specifically, she was convicted on August 15 on charges of perjury, false swearing, obstruction of justice, official oppression, and conspiracy. (Reuters)

October 23, 2016 (Sunday)

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Armed conflict and attacks

Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)
- Saudi Arabian-led air raids on the Yemeni capital Sana'a resume after a truce ends. (The Daily Mail)
Naxalite–Maoist insurgency
- Indian police kill at least 24 Maoist rebels during a raid in eastern Orissa State. (BBC)

Disaster and accidents

A gas explosion in the Russian city of Ryazan kills at least three people and injures 13 others. (RT)
A collision between a tour bus and a tractor-trailer kills at least 13 people, and injures 31 others in Desert Hot Springs, California, United States. (The Los Angeles Times)

Law and crime

Two explosions in a park in the Japanese city of Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, kill at least one person and injure three others. Local media report that a 72-year-old ex-military officer is responsible for the blasts. A fire the same day destroyed the suspect's house. (The Guardian), (BBC)

Politics and elections

Aftermath of Brexit, UK Independence Party leadership election, November 2016
- Suzanne Evans, former UK Independence Party (UKIP) deputy chairman, and Paul Nuttall, President of the Initiative for Direct Democracy in Europe and Member of the European Parliament, each announce their candidacy for the UKIP leadership position, now held on interim basis by Nigel Farage. Other confirmed candidates are Bill Etheridge, Raheem Kassam, and Peter Whittle. (BBC)
Lithuanian parliamentary election, 2016
- Voters head to the polls in second round elections in constituencies where no candidate won over 50 percent on October 9 with the Lithuanian Peasant and Greens Union winning a plurality of seats. (Reuters), (AP)
2015–16 Spanish government formation
- The Socialist Workers' Party, following the party's 139–96 vote approving this action, say they will abstain from voting against acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy when he puts his People's Party coalition government to parliament this week, thereby ending the 10-month deadlock. (The New York Times), (Reuters)

October 22, 2016 (Saturday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Iraqi Civil War (2014–present), Battle of Mosul (2016)
- The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant executes at least 284 people in Mosul. (CNN), (RT)

Disasters and accidents

2016 Eséka train derailment
- The death toll from the October 21 crash of a Camrail train rises to at least 73 people with another 600 wounded. (AP via Fox News), (NPR)

International relations

Philippines–United States relations
- Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay states that the United States remains our "closest friend," but that the Philippines wants to break away and forge closer ties with other nations. (Reuters)

Law and crime

At least 174 inmates escape in Arcahaie, Haiti, leaving one guard dead. Authorities seek the fugitives with support from UN peacekeepers. (Reuters)
October 2016 Dyn cyberattack
- Security analysts state that the October 21 denial-of-service attacks on Internet performance management company Dyn was perpetrated using Mirai malware-created botnets that used consumer internet of things (IoT) smart devices, such as digital video recorders, cable set-top boxes, routers, etc. Technology experts warn that the security included with IoT is weak, or sometimes even nonexistent. (USA Today), (UPI)

Sports

2018 FIFA World Cup
- A public poll on the internet in Russia selects the cartoon wolf Zabivaka as the official mascot of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, which the country will host in June and July 2018. (Xinhua), (FIFA)
In rugby union, the New Zealand All Blacks win a record 18th consecutive test match, defeating the Australian Wallabies 37–10 at Eden Park, Kingsland, Auckland, New Zealand. (ABC News Australia)
Major League Baseball
- The Chicago Cubs defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers and win the National League Championship Series 4–2, advancing to the World Series for the first time since 1945. (AP via ESPN), (CNN)

October 21, 2016 (Friday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- ISIL militants launch attacks on government buildings, police stations, and a power station in the city of Kirkuk, Iraqi Kurdistan, killing dozens of people. (BBC)

Arts and culture

Per Wästberg, a member of the Swedish Academy, says that songwriter and artist Bob Dylan has not yet indicated whether he intends to accept the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature. (BBC), (The Guardian)

Business and economy

British American Tobacco offers to buy out U.S. cigarette maker Reynolds American Inc in a $47 billion takeover that would create the world's biggest listed tobacco company. (Reuters)
AT&T reportedly agrees in principle to buy Time Warner for about $85 billion. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

A magnitude 6.6 earthquake hits Tottori Prefecture in western Japan. Local media report that there are 14 injuries in Kurayoshi. Tottori is Japan's least populous prefecture. (Bloomberg), (BNO News)
A chemical spill at the MGP Ingredients plant in Atchison, Kansas, United States, injures 26 people and leads to evacuations. The spill of sodium hypochlorite and sulfuric acid produces a toxic fog. (The Kansas City Star)
Authorities evacuate London City Airport after a chemical incident, but, after some remediation, police later declare the airport safe. (CNN)
2016 Eséka train derailment
- A passenger train derails in central Cameroon, killing at least 53 people and injuring 575 others. (Africa News), (Reuters)
A Mil Mi-8 helicopter crashes and leaves at least 19 dead and three others injured on the Yamal Peninsula in Russia's Extreme North. (Radio Free Europe)

International relations

South Africa formally begins the process of withdrawing from the International Criminal Court amid a dispute over the country's refusal to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir at last year's African Union summit in Johannesburg. (BBC)

Law and crime

The pursuit of a car jacking suspect in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States, leaves four police officers injured and hospitalized. (The Albuquerque Journal)
October 2016 Dyn cyberattack
- A series of cyberattacks utilizing distributed denial-of-service attacks, targeting networks operated by DNS provider Dyn, makes major Internet platforms and services unavailable to large swaths of users in Europe and North America. Affected companies include Amazon, Twitter, Spotify, Reddit, PayPal, Netflix, and Airbnb. (The Wall Street Journal)
2014 Iguala mass kidnapping
- After two years on the run, Mexican officials arrest the former police chief of a Mexican city, Felipe Flores, capturing him in Iguala in the southern state of Guerrero. The city is where 43 students disappeared in September 2014. The police arrested the students and then handed them over to a drug cartel who killed them and incinerated their bodies. (BBC)

Science and technology

The Tennessee Valley Authority completes the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant, the first U.S. nuclear reactor to enter commercial operation in 20 years. (CNN)

October 20, 2016 (Thursday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Turkish military intervention in the Syrian Civil War
- Turkish jets hit Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militia with 26 airstrikes in three recently-captured-from-ISIL villages west of al-Bab and northeast of Aleppo. The Turkish General Staff says between 160 and 200 have been killed, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports 11 dead and dozens of people wounded. (Reuters), (USA Today)

Disasters and accidents

2016 Pacific typhoon season
- Typhoon Haima, the second tropical cyclone to hit the Philippines in less than a week, kills at least seven people and causes flooding, landslides, and power outages before heading out to sea. (AP via The New York Times), (The Epoch Times), (BBC)

International relations

Philippines–United States relations
- Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte says he plans to cut ties with his country's former colonial ruler, the United States, while strengthening ties with China. (The Guardian)
Canada–European Union relations
- The European Union calls an emergency two-day meeting about the planned EU-Canada free trade agreement, approved by all 28 EU member governments but held up by the "non" vote in Walloonia, one of Belgium's five sub-federal administrations. (NASDAQ), (Reuters), (The New York Times)
South Africa will notify the United Nations that the country is withdrawing from the International Criminal Court (ICC). This separation would take effect one year from when notice is formally received by the U.N. Secretary-General. Last week, Burundi's parliament voted to leave the ICC, but the required paperwork has not yet reached the U.N. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Brazilian prosecutors file homicide charges against 21 people employed by the companies Samarco, Vale, and BHP Billiton for the November 2015 iron ore mine dam burst in the state of Minas Gerais that killed 19 people and polluted waterways. (BBC)
Following his October 5 arrest, U.S. federal prosecutors in Baltimore charge Harold T. Martin III, a former National Security Agency contractor, for violating the Espionage Act, specifically, with felony theft of government property. Prosecutors state that, over a 20-year time period, Martin stole at least 50 terabytes of data and "six full bankers boxes" of classified and other documents. The prosecutors state that Martin had an “arsenal” of weapons in his home. (The Washington Post)

Science and technology

The journal Scientific Reports publishes research from a team, led by Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum's Stephen Poropat, reporting the discovery of a new Australian dinosaur species, Savannasaurus elliottorum, using fossils first found in 2005 at Winton, Queensland, Australia. (The Verge)

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 2016 clown sightings 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 Formula One season 2016–17 NBA season 2016–17 NHL season 2016 NFL season 2016–17 Premier League 2016 World Series 2016 WTA Tour edit sidebar

Recent deaths
October 25: Bob Hoover 25: Carlos Alberto Torres 24: Jorge Batlle Ibáñez 24: Bobby Vee 23: Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani 23: Pete Burns 23: Tom Hayden 23: Jimmy Perry 22: Steve Dillon 21: Kevin Meaney 21: Raine Spencer, Countess Spencer 20: Simone Schaller 20: Junko Tabei 19: Yvette Chauviré 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: Delia Davin 13: Dario Fo 13: Jim Prentice 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 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 23: Lithuania, Seimas (2nd round) Upcoming October 29: Iceland, Althing 30: Ivory Coast, Referendum 30: Moldova, President November 1: Palau, President, National Congress 6: Bulgaria, President, Referendum 6: Nicaragua, President, National Assembly 8: United States, President, Senate, House of Representatives 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