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Reina nightclub

An attack on a nightclub (pictured) in Istanbul, Turkey, during New Year's celebrations, kills at least 39 people and injures more than 70 others.
American actress, screenwriter, and author Carrie Fisher dies at the age of 60, and her mother, actress and singer Debbie Reynolds, dies one day later at the age of 84.
English singer, songwriter, and record producer George Michael dies at the age of 53.
A Tupolev Tu-154 crashes near Sochi, Russia, killing all 92 people on board, including 64 members of the Alexandrov Ensemble.

January 7, 2017 (Saturday)

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January 6, 2017 (Friday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- Russian military intervention in Syria
  - Russia begins to withdraw its forces from Syria, with its aircraft carrier battle group being the first to leave. The United Nations says the ceasefire is "largely holding". (BBC)
2017 Ivorian coup d'état attempt
- Republican Forces of Côte d'Ivoire soldiers launched mutinies in three cities across Ivory Coast on January 6. The Defense Minister Alain Donwahi said talks are ongoing with the soldiers, and calling for all troops to return to their barracks. (Reuters), (AP)

Business and economy

The Limited announces the closing of all of its brick-and-mortar stores and will begin operating only online after January 8. (Dayton Daily News)

Law and crime

2017 Fort Lauderdale airport shooting
- An arriving passenger from Alaska removes his checked-baggage pistol and kills at least five people and injures another eight at Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport in Florida. (NBC News), (CNN)
Members of the Brazilian Primeiro Comando da Capital prison gang kill 31 inmates in the Monte Cristo prison in the state of Roraima. This action was revenge for an earlier massacre in a prison in Amazonas that killed 56 inmates. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

2016 United States election interference by Russia
- A declassified U.S. intelligence report claims that Vladimir Putin ordered a campaign to influence the U.S. presidential election against Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton. (Fox News)

January 5, 2017 (Thursday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Kurdish–Turkish conflict
- A shootout in İzmir kills two gunmen while another one escapes. During the shootout a car bomb explodes, killing a police officer and court employee. (The Guardian)

Business and economy

Following a start-of-year hike to the price of gas, widespread riots and looting mostly targeting gas stations, supermarkets and department stores take place in several cities in Mexico. Over 250 people are said to have been arrested so far while blockades to PEMEX installations potentially lead to critical situations in some states. (Reuters)
Sears Holdings announces that 108 Kmart and 42 Sears stores will close in the United States in 2017, affecting retailers in 40 states. The company also announced it is selling its trademark Craftsman tool brand to Stanley Black & Decker for $900 million. (USA Today), (Bloomberg)

Politics and elections

Obamacare repeal efforts
- Paul Ryan announces that the Republican party will, as part of its efforts to repeal Obamacare, seek to stop using federal money to fund Planned Parenthood. (CNN)

Science and technology

List of organs of the human body
- Scientists classify the mesentery as an organ, making it the 79th human organ. It connects the intestines to the abdominal cavity. (Science Alert), (The Huffington Post)

Sports

In ice hockey, the United States defeats Canada to win the gold medal at the 2017 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. (The New York Times)

January 4, 2017 (Wednesday)

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Disasters and accidents

2017 Brooklyn train crash
- A commuter train from the Long Island Rail Road derails during the morning rush hour in Brooklyn, New York, injuring 103 people. (CBS)

Politics and elections

Presidential transition of Donald Trump
- President-elect Donald Trump fills in more of his White House staff. (The Hill):
  - Trump nominates Katie Walsh, former Republican National Committee (RNC) chief of staff, as Deputy White House Chief of Staff.
  - Trump nominates Joe Hagin, former Deputy Chief of Staff for President George W. Bush, as Deputy White House chief of staff for operations.
  - Trump nominates Rajiv Shah, former RNC Deputy Research Director, as White House research director.
  - Trump nominates Rick Dearborn, United States Attorney General designee and Senator Jeff Sessions' former chief of staff, as head of the White House legislative affairs office.
  - Trump nominates Omarosa, former contestant on The Apprentice, as an assistant to the president and director of communications for the Office of Public Liaison. (USA Today)
  - Trump nominates Wall Street lawyer Jay Clayton to head the Securities and Exchange Commission. (The Washington Post)

Law and crime

Crime in Chicago, Racism in the United States
- Chicago Police arrest four African-American suspects after they stream a video on Facebook showing themselves torturing and scalping a bound and gagged, kidnapped, white man with a mental disorder. The four suspects will face elevated hate crime charges. (The Guardian), (AP)

Science and technology

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announces the selection of two new Discovery Program space exploration missions: Lucy, a mission to several Jupiter trojan asteroids, and Psyche, a mission to the asteroid 16 Psyche, which is believed to be the exposed core of an early protoplanet. Both missions are scheduled for launch in the early 2020s. (NASA) (Spaceflight101)

January 3, 2017 (Tuesday)

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Business and economy

Ford announces that it has cancelled plans to build a $1.6 billion plant in Mexico, long criticized by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, and will invest $700 million in its Michigan plant in Flat Rock, potentially creating 700 new jobs from the investment and expansion of the plant. (CNN), (Fox News)
The U.S. Commerce Department announces that construction spending increased 0.9 percent to $1.18 trillion in November 2016, the highest level since April 2006. (CNBC)

Law and crime

Former Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang, who is on trial for corruption, pleads not guilty to three charges of bribery and misconduct relating to a penthouse he leased in Shenzhen. (AFP, Reuters via The Straits Times), (BBC News), (South China Morning Post)
2017 Kidapawan jail siege
- More than 100 prisoners escape in the Philippines after armed suspected Muslim rebels storm a prison in Kidapawan. A prison guard dies. (ABC Australia), (Aljazeera)

Politics and elections

Presidential transition of Donald Trump
- U.S. President-elect Donald Trump says that Robert Lighthizer will be the country's chief trade negotiator. (Reuters)
115th United States Congress
- The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives cancels plans approved on Monday, following widespread criticism, including a tweet by President-elect Trump, that would have weakened the House's independent ethics watchdog, the Office of Congressional Ethics. (CNN) (Washington Post)
- The House GOP caucus overwhelmingly re-elects Paul Ryan to another term as House Speaker. (AP via KYTV) (Politico)
The Grand National Assembly of Turkey votes to extend a state of emergency imposed after last year's attempted coup for another three months. (AP)

Sports

The English rugby league club the Bradford Bulls goes into liquidation after years of financial problems. (BBC)

January 2, 2017 (Monday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

2017 Istanbul nightclub attack
- The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant claims responsibility for the attack in what it claims is a response to Turkey's actions in neighbouring Syria. (The Washington Post)
January 2017 Baghdad bombings
- A series of attacks kill at least 70 people and injure more than 100 others in mostly Shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad, Iraq. (The Huffington Post)

Disasters and accidents

In Texas, four children die with an additional six others injured after they are poisoned by phosgene gas sprayed in an inappropriate attempted use as a pesticide. (Fox News)
A wildfire destroys at least 100 homes in Valparaíso, Chile, causing the evacuation of about 400 people. The Chilean Ministry of the Interior and Public Security reports that at least 19 people suffered from minor injuries. (AAP via SBS), (Reuters)
A powerful storm system hits the southern United States, resulting in four deaths in Alabama and severe damage across several states. (AP)
A traffic collision between a minivan and a pickup truck in the Ban Bueng District of Chonburi Province, Thailand kills at least 25 people and leaves 2 others injured. Authorities investigate the cause of the accident. (Al Jazeera), (CNN)

Law and crime

2017 Manaus prison riot
- Prisoners kill at least 56 people in a prison riot in Manaus, Brazil. (Reuters)

January 1, 2017 (Sunday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

2017 Istanbul nightclub attack
- A Gunman opens fire in a nightclub in Istanbul, on the European coast of the Bosphorus, killing at least 39 people with an additional 69 wounded. (BBC), (AP via ABC News Australia), (Fox News)
A suicide car bomb explosion and gunmen attack in Iraqi al-Qadisiya town situated in west of Najaf, kills at least 7 people and injures more than 17 others. Yesterday, 29 people were killed in a bomb explosion at a busy market in Iraq’s capital Baghdad. ISIS claims responsibility. (Reuters), (Tasnim News Agency)
A gunman shoots dead Burundi's environment minister Emmanuel Niyonkuru in the nation's capital, Bujumbura. (FRANCE 24)

Disasters and accidents

A ferry catches fire en route to Indonesia's Thousand Islands, killing at least 23 people and injuring 17 others. (The Melbourne Age)

International relations

North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
- Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, claims that the country is close to developing an intercontinental ballistic missile. (Reuters)
Syrian Civil War
- The United Nations Security Council unanimously votes in favor of the Russian and Turkey-backed ceasefire currently in effect in Syria. (Al-Jazeera)
United Nations Secretary-General selection, 2016
- Portugal's António Guterres begins his term as United Nations Secretary-General, replacing South Korea's Ban Ki-moon. (India Today), (Al Jazeera), (AP)
United Nations Security Council election, 2016
- Bolivia, Ethiopia, Italy, Kazakhstan, and Sweden begin their terms on the United Nations Security Council, replacing Angola, Malaysia, New Zealand, Spain, and Venezuela. (Inter Press Service News)
Foreign relations of the Gambia, Gambian presidential election, 2016
- Gambian President Yahya Jammeh accuses the West African regional bloc, ECOWAS, of "declaring war" after it said it was putting forces on alert in case he refused to step down at the end of his mandate on January 19. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Campinas massacre
- A gunman shoots dead at least 11 people, including his former wife, and then himself in a murder–suicide at a New Year's Eve party in the southeast Brazilian city of Campinas. Several others reportedly remain in critical condition. (Reuters)
Spanish and Moroccan authorities clash with migrants on the Moroccan-Spanish border along Ceuta, as they attempt to climb and rush the border fence. (Express UK)
Police arrest Anthony K. Boisvert after a foot chase in Lebanon, New Hampshire, charging him in the setting a fire which destroyed an abandoned building on January 2016, and two other fires, one which destroyed the historic First Baptist Church on December 2016 and stabbing two at a condominium complex December 29. (The New Hampshire Union Leader)
Authorities seek three men after they rob $6 million on New Year's Eve from the offices of high-end jewelry designer Gregg Ruth in New York City. (ABC NYC)

Politics and elections

The Church of Norway officially ceases to be the state church of Norway after almost 500 years. (The Christian Daily)
Quirino Ordaz Coppel is sworn in as Governor of the Mexican state of Sinaloa. (Periódico Zócalo)

More December 2016 events...

Ongoing events
Business Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena bankruptcy Disasters Flint water crisis UK and Ireland windstorm season Law Philippine Drug War Timor Gap PCA hearings Political Brexit aftermath European migrant crisis (timeline) Polish protests Presidential transition of Donald Trump South China Sea disputes More details on ongoing conflicts below Sport 2016 NFL season 2016–17 Bundesliga 2016–17 La Liga 2016–17 NBA season 2016–17 NHL season 2016–17 Premier League 2016–17 Serie A edit sidebar

Recent deaths
January 2017 6: Ricardo Piglia 6: Om Puri 6: Tilikum 5: Jill Saward 4: Georges Prêtre 4: Milt Schmidt 2: John Berger 2: Albert Brewer 1: Tony Atkinson 1: Derek Parfit December 2016 31: William Christopher 31: David Meltzer 30: Allan Williams 30: Tyrus Wong 29: LaVell Edwards 29: F. Ross Johnson 28: Gregorio Conrado Álvarez 28: Anthony Cronin 28: Michel Déon 28: Debbie Reynolds 27: Carrie Fisher 27: Ratnasiri Wickremanayake 26: George S. Irving 26: Seth J. McKee 26: Barbara Tarbuck 25: George Michael 25: Vera Rubin 24: Richard Adams 24: Rick Parfitt 24: Liz Smith 22: Franca Sozzani 20: Michèle Morgan 19: Lionel Blue 19: Dick Latessa 18: Zsa Zsa Gabor 18: China Machado 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 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 December 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 Cambodia: Sam Rainsy 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 Spain: Lionel Messi United Kingdom: Chris Denning, Adam Johnson, Ched Evans United States: Bob McDonnell, Paul Anthony Ciancia International ICTY: Radovan Karadžić Ongoing 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 South Korea: Park Geun-hye and Choi Soon-sil Spain: Gürtel case, Spanish Royal House, Bárcenas affair United States: Etan Patz United Kingdom: Rolf Harris International ICC: Laurent Gbagbo ICTY: Ratko Mladić Upcoming China: Wu Changshun Egypt: Mohamed Morsi Estonia: Edgar Savisaar Libya: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi United States: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Graham Spanier, Tim Curley, Gary Schultz, Rick Perry, Bill Cosby edit sidebar