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The execution in Saudi Arabia of the prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr on 2nd January, alongside 46 others convicted of terrorism offences, prompts widespread protests in Shia communities across the Middle East. The following day Saudi Arabia breaks off diplomatic relations with Iran.
On 5th January police find the bodies of former Eastenders actress Sian Blake and her two children, who went missing on 13th December 2015. Her partner Arthur Simpson-Kent is arrested at Heathrow Airport in February after being extradited from Ghana and admits murdering his family in June. He is sentenced to life imprisonment on 5th October.
On 6th January North Korea announces that it had successfully carried out an underground hydrogen bomb test, its fourth since 2006.
On 7th January French police shoot dead a man, Sallah Ali, who was trying to attack a police station in Goutte d'Or, near Montmartre on the anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo attacks.
The head of Cologne's police, Wolfgang Albers, is suspended from his post on 8th January "to restore public trust in the police" following sex attacks on women on New Year's Eve.
Justin Bieber sets a UK singles chart record by occupying the number one, two and three spots with his songs.
Former BBC disc jockey Ed "Stewpot" Stewart dies, aged 74, in hospital in Bournemouth on 9th January, a few days after having stroke.
David Bowie dies of cancer on 10th January, two days after his 69th birthday.
On 12th January junior doctors in England go on strike for 24 hours in a dispute over a new contract.
On the same day 12 people are killed in a suicide bomb attack near the Blue Mosque in Istanbul.
Alan Rickman, known for films including the Harry Potter series, Die Hard, Sense And Sensibility, Truly Madly Deeply and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, dies on 14th January at the age of 69.
On the same day Islamic State terrorists attack central Jakarta. Eight people - four of the attackers and four civilians - are killed, and 23 injured.
28 people are killed and a further 56 injured after Islamist militants attack the Splendid Hotel in Ouagadougou on Friday, 15th January.
Tsai Ing-wen is elected Taiwan's first female president on 16th January.
A man, who had been left brain dead after taking part in an experimental drug trial for the Portuguese pharmaceutical company Bial, dies in hospital in Rennes on 17th January. He was one of six people who fell critically ill after taking part in the trial.
On Wednesday, 20th January 22 people are killed and 20 injured in a terrorist attack at Bacha Khan University in Charsadda.
The Eagles' guitarist Glenn Frey dies on Monday, 18th January, aged 67, from complications arising from rheumatoid arthritis, colitis and pneumonia.
On 23rd January Google agrees to pay £130m in back taxes to the UK government, following a six-year inquiry by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.
The former Conservative Party chairman Cecil Parkinson dies of cancer on 22nd January, aged 84.
Colin Vearncombe, better known as Black, who had a global hit in 1987 with Wonderful Life, dies on 26th January following a car accident near Cork Airport on 10th January.
Frank Finlay, who starred in the Three Musketeer films and played Iago opposite Laurence Olivier in Othello, dies on 30th January, aged 89.
Sir Terry Wogan dies of cancer on 31st January, aged 77.

On 1st February the director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Margaret Chan, declares a global emergency in response to the spread of the Zika virus in Latin America.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake strikes the Taiwan city of Tainan on Friday, 5th February, causing widespread damage and 117 deaths.
The founder of soul group Earth, Wind & Fire, Maurice White, dies on 4th February, aged 74.
Margaret Forster, best known for her novels Georgy Girl and Diary Of An Ordinary Woman, dies on 8th February, aged 77.
On 9th February two passenger trains collide head-on on a single-line track near Bad Aibling, a spa town south-east of Munich. 11 people are killed and 85 injured.
The four members of British indie band Viola Beach (Jack Dakin, Kris Leonard, Tomas Lowe and River Reeves) and their manager, Craig Tarry, die in a car crash near Stockholm on 13th February.
On 14th February a Virgin Atlantic flight to New York (VS025) is hit by a laser beam after take-off from London Heathrow Airport. The pilots turn back as a "precautionary measure".
Nikita Kamaev, the former head of Russia's anti-doping agency, dies of a heart attack on 14th February, two months after resigning.
On Wednesday, 17th February 28 people are killed and 61 injured in an explosion targeting a military convoy in central Ankara.
Harper Lee, author of To Kill A Mockingbird, dies on 19th February, aged 89.
Umberto Eco, best known for his novel The Name Of The Rose, dies on the same day, aged 84.
Mars recalls chocolate products in 55 countries on 23rd February after a customer in Germany found pieces of red plastic in a Snickers bar bought on 8th January.
Didcot Power Station collapses on Tuesday, 23rd February while workers are preparing it for demolition, leaving four dead and five injured.
On 25th February the BBC Trust publishes in full the report by Dame Janet Smith DBE of her inquiry into the BBC’s culture and practices during the decades that Jimmy Savile and Stuart Hall worked for the corporation. BBC director general Tony Hall announces that the BBC had "parted company" with DJ Tony Blackburn because he "fell short of the standards of evidence that such an inquiry demanded".
Three brothers (Arshid, Basharat and Bannaras Hussain), who had been found guilty of grooming, sexually assaulting and raping girls in Rotherham, are jailed on 26th February for between 19 and 35 years.
Gianni Infantino is elected President of FIFA on the same day.
Spotlight wins the Oscar for Best Picture at the 88th Academy Awards ceremony on 28th February.

Tony Warren, the writer who created Coronation Street, dies on 1st March, aged 79.
On 2nd March US astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko land in Kazakhstan after almost a year in space.
On the same day ex-England and Sunderland footballer Adam Johnson is found guilty of one count of sexual activity with a girl aged 15. On 24th March he is sentenced to in jail.
Jason Lawrance, who raped five women and attacked two more after meeting them on internet dating site Match.com is jailed for life on 3rd March.
Jerry Hall and Rupert Murdoch get married in a civil ceremony at Spencer House in London on 4th March.
Ray Tomlinson, who is credited with the invention of e-mail, dies on 5th March at the age of 74.
Former First Lady Nancy Reagan dies of congestive heart failure on 6th March, aged 94.
On 7th March Maria Sharapova announces that she had failed a drugs test after losing to Serena Williams at the Australian Open in January.
The Beatles' producer Sir George Martin dies on 8th March, aged 90.
Keith Emerson, of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, dies of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on 10th March, aged 71.
Author and art historian Anita Brookner, best known for her Booker Prize-winning novel Hotel du Lac, dies on the same day at the age of 87.
A car bomb explodes in central Ankara on 13th March, killing 37 people.
A terrorism suspect, Mohamed Belkaid, is shot dead during a police raid in the suburb of Forest in Brussels on Tuesday, 15th March. In another raid on Friday, 18th March in the district of Molenbeek police wound and arrest Salah Abdeslam, a 'wanted man' for the jihadist terror attacks in Paris on 13th November 2015.
Sylvia Anderson, the voice of Thunderbirds' Lady Penelope, dies on 16th March, aged 88.
Magician Paul Daniels dies on 17th March, aged 77, after being diagnosed with a brain tumour. Lyn Paul posts a message on Facebook: "So sad to hear about Paul Daniels. I'll never forget you playing on Ryan's bike!!! Thinking of Debbie and the family and sending so much love. Sleep well Paul. Love Lyn, Alan and Ryan xx"
Iain Duncan Smith resigns as Work and Pensions Secretary on 18th March over "indefensible" government proposals to cut disability benefits.
On 19th March a FlyDubai Boeing 737-800 crashes in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don killing all 62 people on board.
Barry Hines, author of A Kestrel For A Knave, dies on 20th March, aged 76.
US President Barack Obama arrives in Cuba on 21st March for a historic visit - the first sitting US president to visit since the 1959 revolution. On Good Friday (25th March) The Rolling Stones give a free concert in Havana.
31 people are killed and dozens injured in two terrorist attacks in Brussels on 22nd March. Twin blasts hit Zaventem Airport at 8.00am, killing 11 and injuring 81, followed by another explosion at Maelbeek metro station at 9.19am, where 20 people are killed.
Netherlands, Ajax and Barcelona footballer Johan Cruyff dies of cancer on 24th March, aged 68.
Ex-Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic is sentenced to 40 years in jail on the same day after being found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity during the 1992-95 war.
The preliminary result for the second referendum on the New Zealand Flag is declared on 24th March, with a majority (56.61%) of people voting against changing it.
The last print edition of the Independent newspaper is published on Saturday, 26th March.
At least 72 people are killed and over 340 injured by a suicide bomber in Gulshan-e-Iqbal park in Lahore on Easter Sunday (27th March).
Comedian Ronnie Corbett dies on 31st March, aged 85. Iraqi-born British architect Dame Zaha Hadid dies of a heart attack on the same day, aged 65.

On Sunday, 3rd April the first news reports are published relating to confidential documents leaked from the secretive Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. The so called 'Panama Papers', first leaked to the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung in early 2015, reveal how the rich and powerful use tax havens to hide their wealth. Among those implicated is Iceland's prime minister Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson, who steps down from office on 6th April.
Dame Judi Dench wins a record eighth Olivier Award on 3rd April, honoured on this occasion as best supporting actress for her role as Paulina in The Winter's Tale.
On Wednesday, 6th April the French National Assembly passes legislation by a vote of 64 to 12 which makes it illegal to pay for sex, simultaneously removing fines and jail sentences for sex workers for public soliciting.
Country singer Merle Haggard dies on the same day, aged 79.
On 8th April Bruce Springsteen cancels a concert he was scheduled to play in Greensboro, North Carolina two days later. He issues a statement condemning a recently-introduced state law (HB2) that rolled back protection for gay and transgender people. Bryan Adams and Ringo Starr take the same stance on anti-LGBT laws, Adams cancelling his show at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi and Starr cancelling his show in Cary, North Carolina.
On 9th April a massive explosion and blaze sparked by fireworks destroys the 500-year-old Puttingal Devi temple in Paravur, near Kollam, causing 113 deaths and injuring 350.
On the same day, in an attempt to quell the public controversy surrounding his family's tax affairs (in particular allegations about his late father's offshore investment fund), David Cameron publishes a summary of his tax returns dating back to 2009-10. His disclosure prompts other leading UK politicians to follow suit.
The playwright Arnold Wesker dies on Tuesday, 12th April, aged 83.
The city of Kumamoto in Japan is hit by two earthquakes, one on Thursday, 14th April (magnitude 6.4), which kills nine people, and another on Saturday, 16th April (magnitude 7.3), which kills and injures many more.
A 7.8-magnitude earthquake hits Ecuador on 16th April, killing at least 673 people and injuring 27,732.
Pope Francis visits the Moria detention camp for migrants on the Greek island of Lesbos on 16th April, describing the situation as "the worst humanitarian disaster since the Second World War."
Comedian Victoria Wood, who first came to fame on the TV talent show New Faces in 1974, dies of cancer on 20th April, aged 62.
On the same day Mitsubishi Motors admits falsifying fuel economy test data for 625,000 vehicles sold in Japan.
Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her ninetieth birthday on 21st April.
Prince, who became a global superstar in the 1980s, with albums such as 1999, Purple Rain and Sign O' The Times, is found dead at his Paisley Park home in Minnesota on the same day, aged 57.
Billy Paul, best known for his 1972 hit Me And Mrs. Jones, dies of pancreatic cancer on 24th April, aged 80.
High Street retailer BHS files for administration on 25th April, putting 164 shops and almost 11,000 jobs at risk.
On 26th and 27th April junior doctors employed by the NHS hold two one-day 'all-out' strikes. The strikes affect A&E, maternity and intensive care for the first time.
On 26th April, at the end of the longest inquest in British legal history, a jury in Warrington finds that the ninety-six football fans who died as a result of a crush in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster were unlawfully killed.

The driver of a self-driving Tesla Model S, Joshua Brown, dies in a crash on 7th May. The car’s sensors system failed to distinguish a large white 18-wheel truck and trailer crossing the highway.
Former advertising executive Bill Backer. the creative brain behind Coca-Cola's famous 'hilltop' commercial and many others, dies on 13th May, aged 89.
Tony Barrow, the press officer for The Beatles who coined the term the 'Fab Four' and who was later Lyn Paul's manager, dies on 14th May, aged 80. Lyn expresses her sadness in a Tweet: "So sad to hear about the passing of Tony Barrow. Sending love and hugs to Corinne and the family. xxxx"
An EgyptAir Airbus A320-232 (Flight MS804) from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport to Cairo International Airport crashes into the Mediterranean Sea on 19th May, killing the 56 passengers, 7 crew and 3 security personnel on board. An investigation by France's civil aviation accident bureau reveals that the most likely cause of the crash was a fire in the cockpit.
Carla Lane, who wrote the TV sitcoms The Liver Birds (1969–78), Butterflies (1978–83) and Bread (1986–91), dies on 31st May, aged 87.

The 57 km (35-mile) twin-bore Gotthard Base Tunnel, providing a new high-speed railway link through the Swiss Alps, opens on 1st June. The tunnel, running up to 2.3 km below the surface between Bodio in the south and Erstfeld in the north, is the world's longest and deepest railway tunnel.
Muhammad Ali dies on 3rd June, aged 74. Dave Swarbrick (Fairport Convention) dies on the same day, aged 75.
The playwright Sir Peter Shaffer, whose West End and Broadway hits included Equus, Amadeus and The Royal Hunt Of The Sun, dies on 6th June, aged 90.
On 12th June 49 people are killed and 53 wounded in a mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. The gunman, Omar Mateen, is shot and killed by officers from the Orlando Police Department (OPD) after a three-hour standoff.
The late broadcaster and MP Sir Clement Freud is accused of child abuse in an ITV documentary Exposure, broadcast on 14th June.
Jo Cox, Labour MP for Batley and Spen, is shot and stabbed to death in Birstall, West Yorkshire on Thursday, 15th June.
On the same day lawyers for the Crown Prosecution Service announce that Sir Cliff Richard will face no further action over allegations of historical sex abuse, following a 22-month police investigation. South Yorkshire Police apologise "wholeheartedly" for the "initial handling of the media interest" in its investigation.
The 10-storey Switch House extension to the Tate Modern art gallery opens to the public on 16th June, following a launch event on Tuesday 13th June.
On 17th June Rick Astley tops the UK album chart with his comeback album 50, 29 years after he last topped the chart in 1987.
Finding Dory, the sequel to Finding Nemo, takes $136.2m (£93.3m) on its opening weekend, making it the most successful launch for an animated film in US box office history.
A referendum on Britain's membership of the EU is held on 23rd June, with 52% voting to leave and 48% voting to remain.
On the same day a jury in Los Angeles rules that Jimmy Page and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin did not plagiarise the opening chords of the rock epic Stairway To Heaven from the US band Spirit.
On 24th June British Prime Minister David Cameron announces he will resign his post following the vote to leave the European Union.
The People's Party (PP) wins the most seats in the Spanish general election held on Sunday, 26th June but fails to win an overall majority.
On 28th June Labour MPs pass a motion of no-confidence in party leader Jeremy Corbyn by 172 votes to 40.
Terrorists attack Istanbul's Ataturk international Airport on 28th June, killing 45 people and injuring 240 more.

On 1st July Austria's constitutional court annuls the result of the presidential election held on 22nd May, in which Alexander Van der Bellen narrowly beat far-right candidate Norbert Hofer. Another election is held on 4th December, which Van der Bellen wins by a wider margin.
On the same day members of the Royal Troon golf club vote in favour of allowing women to join the club as members, avoiding a potential controversy that could have overshadowed the 2016 Open Championship.
29 people are killed on 1st July when gunmen attack the Holey Artisan Bakery cafe in Dhaka, including 20 hostages (18 foreigners and 2 locals), 2 police officers, 5 gunmen and 2 bakery staff.
Caroline Aherne, the comedian, actress and writer best known for The Royle Family, The Mrs. Merton Show and The Fast Show, dies of throat cancer on 2nd July, aged 52.
On 3rd July, just after midnight, a lorry packed with explosives is detonated in the Karrada district of Baghdad, killing over 300 people and injuring hundreds more.
Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black man known locally as "CD Man", is shot several times at close range on 5th July while being held down on the ground by two white police officers in Baton Rouge. On 17th July, in the aftermath of this killing, Gavin Eugene Long shoots six police officers in Baton Rouge, killing three of them. Long is shot dead by a SWAT (Special Weapons And Tactics) officer in a shootout with police.
On 6th July Sir John Chilcot announces the publication of his Iraq Inquiry Report, which concludes that Tony Blair had overstated the threat posed by Saddam Hussein, had sent ill-prepared troops into battle in the US-led invasion of Iraq and had "wholly inadequate" plans for the aftermath.
On the same day Oscar Pistorius is sentenced to six years in prison for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013. On 24th November 2017 the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein increases his sentence to 13 years and five months, less time already served.
Five police officers are killed and nine others injured in Dallas on 7th July when a gunman opens fire on them during a march protesting against the shooting of black men by police. The gunman, Micah Johnson, is later killed in a stand-off with Dallas police.
The Royal Mail issues 10 new stamps on 7th July, celebrating the 50-year music career of Pink Floyd.
The Queen's Birthday Honours List, published on 10th July, includes a Knighthood for Rod Stewart, a Damehood for Penelope Wilton and an honour for astronaut Major Tim Peake, who becomes a Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George for services to space research and scientific education.
Theresa May is announced as the new Leader of the Conservative Party on 11th July, following victories in the first and second rounds of voting amongst Tory MPs and the withdrawal of her only remaining opponent Andrea Leadsom.
On 12th July two trains collide on a single-track section of the Bari–Barletta railway between Corato and Andria. 23 people are killed and 54 injured.
On the evening of 14th July a lorry is deliberately driven into a crowd celebrating Bastille Day on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, killing 86 people. The driver of the lorry continues for 2km before being shot dead by police.
On 18th July German police shoot dead a 17-year-old Afghan asylum-seeker, Muhammad Riyad, who had attacked and injured five people with an axe and knife on a train near Würzburg.
Nine people are killed and 36 wounded in Munich on 22nd July when a lone gunman, who later shot himself dead, opens fire in the vicinity of the Olympia shopping mall.
On 22nd July an Antonov An-32 Indian military plane with 29 people on board goes missing over the Bay of Bengal.
Two Islamic State "soldiers" wielding knives are shot dead by French police on Tuesday, 26th July after the men had burst into a church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, killed the priest (Father Jacques Hamel) and held hostage two nuns and a parishioner.
Pedro Pablo Kuczynski is sworn in as President of Peru on 28th July, having won a desperately close run-off election on 5th June against his bitter rival, Keiko Fujimori.
Following nearly two months of previews, J.K. Rowling's two-part play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child officially opens at the Palace Theatre in London on 30th July. The script of the play is released on the same night, with thousands of people queuing outside bookshops to buy it.
On the same day 35 Kurdish fighters try to storm a military base and are killed by the Turkish army.

Soul singer Ruby Winters, best known for her 1977 hit I Will, dies on 7th August, aged 74.
Tourist destinations in Thailand are targeted in a series of bomb blasts on 11th and 12th August. In total, at least four people are killed and 36 injured.
Kenny Baker, who starred as R2-D2 in six Star Wars films, dies on 13th August, aged 81.
On 20th August a suicide bomber targets a Kurdish wedding in Gaziantep, Turkey, killing 57 people and injuring 66.
A 6.2-magnitude earthquake hits central Italy on 24th August. killing at least 299 people.
After being placed into administration in March, British Home Stores closes its last-remaining 22 shops on Sunday, 28th August, bringing to an end 88 years of High Street trading.
Gene Wilder, known for his roles in the films The Producers, Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory and Young Frankenstein, dies on 29th August, aged 83.
On 31st August the Brazilian Senate decides by a vote of 61–20 to remove President Dilma Rousseff from office, finding her guilty of breaking budgetary laws.

New rules came into force in the UK on 1st September requiring all BBC iPlayer users to own a TV licence, regardless of whether or not they watch BBC programmes live.
On Friday, 2nd September, in an interview with The Guardian, the Bishop of Grantham Nicholas Chamberlain becomes the first Church of England bishop to say that he is gay and in a relationship.
On Saturday, 3rd September China's National People's Congress Standing Committee ratifies the Paris global climate agreement.
Mother Teresa is proclaimed a saint by Pope Francis in a ceremony at the Vatican on 4th September.
Keith Vaz, the Labour MP for Leicester East, steps down as Chairman of the Home Affairs Committee on 6th September, following newspaper claims he paid for the services of two male sex workers.
North Korea conducts its fifth and biggest nuclear test on Friday, 9th September
A new plastic £5 note is launched in England and Wales on Tuesday, 13th September.
The playwright Edward Albee, whose plays included Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? and Breakfast At Tiffany's (adapted from the novel by Truman Capote), dies on Friday, 16th September, aged 88.
Four militants attack an army base in Indian-administered Kashmir on Sunday, 18th September, killing 18 soldiers.
Five players from the Cuban national volleyball team are sent to jail on Tuesday, 20th September after being convicted of rape by a Finnish court.
Protestors take to the streets in the US city of Charlotte following the fatal shooting of a 43-year-old black man, Keith Lamont Scott. by a black police officer. On 22nd September, after two nights of unrest, the Governor of North Carolina declares a state of emergency.
Jeremy Corbyn is re-elected leader of the Labour party on 24th September, comfortably beating his challenger Owen Smith with 61.8% of the vote.
US golfer Arnold Palmer dies on 25th September, aged 87.
The former Prime Minister and President of Israel, Shimon Peres, dies on 28th September, aged 93.

The British conductor Sir Neville Marriner, founder of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, dies on 2nd October, aged 92.
In a referendum held on 2nd October Colombians narrowly reject a peace deal between the government and former rebel group FARC that took over four years to negotiate and would have ended a 52-year-old war.
On 4th October Hurricane Matthew strikes Haiti, causing widespread destruction and killing hundreds before moving on to Cuba, Grand Bahama and the southeastern United States.
Songwriter Rod Temperton, who wrote hits for Heatwave (Always And Forever, Boogie Nights), George Benson (Give Me The Night, Love X Love) and Michael Jackson (Rock With You, Off The Wall and Thrillerl), dies of cancer on 5th October, aged 66.
On 11th October Samsung announces that the company would cease production of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones after a manufacturing defect in the phones' batteries had caused some of them to catch fire.
King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, the world's longest-reigning monarch, dies on 13th October. The Thai government declares a year-long official mourning period.
On the same day it is announced that the Nobel Prize in Literature for 2016 is to be awarded to Bob Dylan. A Tweet from singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash sums up the surprise: "Holy mother of god. Bob Dylan wins the Nobel Prize.”
Jean Alexander, who played Coronation Street's Hilda Ogden and Auntie Wainwright in Last Of The Summer Wine, dies on 14th October, aged 90.
Footballer Ched Evans, who had been found guilty of rape at Caernarfon Crown Court in 2012, is found 'not guilty' of the same charge on 14th October after a retrial at Cardiff Crown Court.
The 600th episode of The Simpsons, Treehouse Of Horror XXVII, is broadcast in the USA on 16th October. Guest stars are Drew Carey (as himself) and Donald Fagen (as himself).
On 21st October the undercover journalist Mazher Mahmood, known as the 'Fake Sheikh', is jailed for 15 months for tampering with evidence in the collapsed drugs trial of pop star Tulisa Contostavlos.
Jimmy Perry, who wrote the popular TV sitcoms Dad's Army, It Ain't Half Hot Mum and Hi-de-Hi!, dies on 23rd October, aged 93. Dead Or Alive singer Pete Burns dies of a heart attack on the same day, aged 57.
Bobby Vee, known for hits such as Rubber Ball, Take Good Care Of My Baby and The Night Has A Thousand Eyes, dies of Alzheimer's disease on 24th October, aged 73.
On the same day French authorities begin the evacuation of migrants and refugees from the 'Jungle' camp in Calais.
Central Italy is hit by two earthquakes on 26th October, followed by a third and stronger 6.6-magnitude quake north of Norcia on 30th October. More than 15,000 people are left homeless.
Elvis Presley breaks the record for the most UK number one albums by a solo artist on 28th October when The Wonder Of You, an album featuring his original vocal performances accompanied by music from The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, tops the UK album chart.
On the same day an employment tribunal in London rules that Uber taxi drivers have the right to be classed as workers rather than self-employed.
The EU and Canada sign a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) at a summit in Brussels on 30th October.

On 3rd November the High Court rules that Parliament must vote on whether the UK can start the process of leaving the European Union, thereby preventing the UK government from triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty without consulting MPs.
Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist Leonard Cohen dies on Monday, 7th November, aged 82. Broadcaster Sir Jimmy Young dies on the same day, aged 95.
Donald Trump wins the US presidential election held on 8th November, despite winning 2.8 million fewer votes overall than his Democrat rival Hillary Clinton.
Seven people die in a tram crash in Croydon on 9th November. An investigation finds that the tram had been travelling at 43.5mph in a 12mph zone.
At least 52 people are killed and more than 100 injured in a suicide bomb attack at the Shah Noorani shrine in Khuzadar (Balochistan) on 12th November.
10,000 prison officers in England and Wales return to work on 15th November after a High Court injunction ordered them to end a 24-hour protest.
On 23rd November serial killer Stephen Port is found guilty of murdering four gay men, all of whom he had poisoned with lethal doses of a date rape drug. On 25th September he is sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison.
Andrew Sachs, best known as Manuel in Fawlty Towers, dies on 23rd November, aged 86, after a four-year battle with dementia.
The former Prime Minister and President of Cuba, Fidel Castro, dies on 25th November, aged 90.
A chartered plane (Flight LMI 2933) carrying the Chapecoense football team crashes into a mountainside near Medellin in Colombia on 28th November after running out of fuel. Six people survive the crash but 71 players, technical staff, sports journalists and crew on board are killed.
Paul Nuttall is elected as leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) on the same day.

Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn is proclaimed King of Thailand on 1st December.
On Friday, 2nd December a fire breaks out during a rave at a converted warehouse in Oakland, California. 36 people lose their lives.
Greg Lake, a founding member of the progressive rock bands King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer, who also had a solo hit in 1975 with I Believe In Father Christmas, dies on 7th December, aged 69.
On the same day the Prime Minister of Italy Matteo Renzi hands in his resignation, three days after losing a key constitutional referendum vote.
On 10th December a twin bomb attack outside a football stadium in Istanbul kills 44 people.
Larry Steinbachek, who co-founded Bronski Beat with Steve Bronski and Jimmy Somerville in 1983, dies of cancer on 16th December, aged 56.
Zsa Zsa Gabor dies on 18th December, aged 99.
On Monday, 19th December FIFA fines all four home nations (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) for commemorating Armistice Day by displaying poppies during World Cup qualifying matches on 11th and 12th November.
A 101-year-old man, Ralph Clarke, is jailed for 13 years on 19th December for committing child sex offences in the 1970s and 80s. He is thought to be the oldest person convicted in British legal history.
On the same day a Turkish policeman, Mevlut Mert Altintas, shoots and kills Russia's ambassador to Turkey, Andrei Karlov, in protest at Russia's support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
A hijacked lorry ploughs through the market at Breitscheidplatz, near west Berlin's main shopping street on 19th December, killing 12 people and wounding 49 others. The hijacker, Anis Amri, is shot dead by Italian police in Milan on 23rd December.
The hijacking of an Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A320 with 118 people on board ends peacefully at Malta International Airport on 23rd December when the two hijackers surrender.
Rick Parfitt of Status Quo dies on Christmas Eve, aged 68. Liz Smith, best known for her roles in The Vicar Of Dibley and The Royle Family, and Richard Adams, the author of Watership Down, die on the same day.
George Michael dies on Christmas Day, aged 53.
A Tu-154 Russian military plane bound for Latakia in Syria crashes into the Black Sea on Christmas Day, killing all 92 people on board, among them 64 members of the Alexandrov military music ensemble who were to perform for Russian troops.
Carrie Fisher, best known for her role as Princess Leia in Star Wars, dies on 27th December, aged 60, four days after suffering a cardiac arrest while on a flight from London to Los Angeles. Her mother, Debbie Reynolds, best known for her role as Kathy Selden in Singin' In The Rain, dies of a severe stroke the following day, aged 84.
On Thursday, 29th December thirty-five diplomats from Russia's Washington embassy and its consulate in San Francisco are declared "persona non grata". They and their families are given 72 hours to leave the USA.
The New Year Honours list includes Damehoods for Jessica Ennis-Hill and Patricia Routeledge and Knighthoods for Ray Davies, Ken Dodd, Mo Farah and Andy Murray.

• Dua Lipa
  
• Post Malone
  
• Rag 'n' Bone Man
  
• Kevin Simm
  
• Zayn
  
  

• Adele
  Send My Love (To Your New Lover)
  
• James Arthur
  Say You Won't Let Go
  
• Jonas Blue & Dakota
  Fast Car
  
• Jonas Blue featuring JP Cooper
  Perfect Strangers
  
• Chainsmokers featuring Daya
  Don't Let Me Down
  
• Chainsmokers featuring Halsey
  Closer
  
• Clean Bandit
  Rockabye
  
• Clean Bandit featuring Louisa Johnson
  Tears
  
• Coldplay
  Hymn For The Weekend
  
• Craig David
  When The Bassline Drops
  
• DJ Snake featuring Justin Bieber
  Let Me Love You
  
• Drake featuring Wizkid & Kyla
  One Dance
  
• Lukas Graham
  7 Years
  
• Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj
  Side To Side
  
• Calvin Harris
  My Way
  
• Zara Larsson
  Lush Life
  
• Little Mix
  Shout Out To My Ex
  
• Major Lazer featuring Justin Bieber and MØ
  Cold Water
  
• Shawn Mendes
  Stitches
  
• Mike Posner
  I Took A Pill In Ibiza
  
• Rihanna featuring Drake
  Work
  
• Calum Scott
  Dancing On My Own
  
• Sia
  Cheap Thrills
  
• Sia featuring Kendrick Lamar
  The Greatest
  
• Justin Timberlake
  Can't Stop The Feeling
  
• The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk
  Starboy
  
• Zayn
  Pillowtalk
  
  

• ABC
  The Lexicon Of Love II
  
• All Saints
  Red Flag
  
• James Arthur
  Back From The Edge
  
• Rick Astley
  50
  
• Katy B
  Honey
  
• Michael Ball & Alfie Boe
  Together
  
• Bastille
  Wild World
  
• Beyoncé
  Lemonade
  
• Biffy Clyro
  Ellipsis
  
• Blink 182
  California
  
• Blossoms
  Blossoms
  
• David Bowie
  Blackstar
  
• Michael Bublé
  Nobody But Me
  
• Basia Bulat
  Good Advice
  
• Kate Bush
  Before The Dawn
  
• Mary Chapin Carpenter
  The Things That We Are Made Of
  
• Christine & The Queens
  Chaleur Humaine
  
• Eric Clapton
  I Still Do
  
• Petula Clark
  From Now On
  
• Leonard Cohen
  You Want It Darker
  
• Craig David
  Following My Intuition
  
• Neil Diamond
  Acoustic Christmas
  
• Divine Comedy
  Foreverland
  
• Drake
  Views
  
• Drive-By Truckers
  American Band
  
• Bob Dylan
  Fallen Angels
  
• Brian Eno
  The Ship
  
• Jack Garratt
  Phase
  
• Barry Gibb
  In The Now
  
• Lukas Graham
  Lukas Graham
  
• Ariana Grande
  Dangerous Woman
  
• Green Day
  Revolution Radio
  
• PJ Harvey
  The Hope Six Demolition Project
  
• Iggy Pop
  Post Pop Depression
  
• James
  Girl At The End Of The World
  
• Elton John
  Wonderful Crazy Night
  
• Aled Jones
  One Voice
  
• Norah Jones
  Day Breaks
  
• Ronan Keating
  Time Of My Life
  
• The Killers
  Don't Waste Your Wishes
  
• Elle King
  Love Stuff
  
• Kings Of Leon
  Walls
  
• Michael Kiwanuka
  Love & Hate
  
• Lady Gaga
  Joanne
  
• The Last Shadow Puppets
  Everything You've Come To Expect
  
• John Legend
  Darkness And Light
  
• Little Mix
  Glory Days
  
• The Lumineers
  Cleopatra
  
• Loretta Lynn
  Full Circle
  
• Madness
  Can't Touch Us Now
  
• Bruno Mars
  24K Magic
  
• Meat Loaf
  Braver Than We Are
  
• Katie Melua
  In Winter
  
• Van Morrison
  Keep Me Singing
  
• Olly Murs
  24
  
• Willie Nelson
  For The Good Times
  
• The 1975
  I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It
  
• Frank Ocean
  Blonde
  
• Dolly Parton
  Pure & Simple
  
• Passenger
  Young As The Morning Old As The Sea
  
• Pet Shop Boys
  Super
  
• Elvis Presley
  The Wonder Of You
  
• John Prine
  For Better, Or Worse
  
• Radiohead
  A Moon Shaped Pool
  
• Bonnie Raitt
  Dig In Deep
  
• Cliff Richard
  Just... Fabulous Rock 'n' Roll
  
• Rihanna
  Anti
  
• The Rolling Stones
  Blue & Lonesome
  
• Emeli Sande
  Long Live The Angels
  
• Santana
  IV
  
• She & Him
  Christmas Party
  
• The Shires
  My Universe
  
• Paul Simon
  Stranger To Stranger
  
• Britney Spears
  Glory
  
• Bruce Springsteen
  Chapter And Verse
  
• Status Quo
  Acoustic II - That's A Fact
  
• Barbra Streisand
  Encore - Movie Partners Sing Broadway
  
• Teddy Thompson and Kelly Jones
  Little Windows
  
• Travis
  Everything At Once
  
• KT Tunstall
  Kin
  
• Various Artists
  Fly (Songs Inspired By The Film Eddie The Eagle)
  
• Viola Beach
  Viola Beach
  
• Ward Thomas
  Cartwheels
  
• Kanye West
  The Life Of Pablo
  
• Lucinda Williams
  The Ghosts Of Highway 20
  
• Robbie Williams
  The Heavy Entertainment Show
  
• Zayn
  Mind Of Mine
  
  

• Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie
  
• Allied
  
• Alvin And The Chipmunks: The Road Trip
  
• American Honey
  
• The Assassin
  
• Bad Moms
  
• Bad Santa 2
  
• Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice
  
• The BFG
  
• The Big Short
  
• A Bigger Splash
  
• Bridget Jones's Baby
  
• Café Society (Woody Allen)
  
• Captain America: Civil War
  
• Dad's Army
  
• The Danish Girl
  
• David Brent: Life On The Road
  
• Deadpool
  
• Doctor Strange
  
• Eddie The Eagle
  
• Eye In The Sky
  
• Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them
  
• Finding Dory
  
• Florence Foster Jenkins
  
• Ghostbusters
  
• The Girl On The Train
  
• Grimsby
  
• High-Rise
  
• How To Be Single
  
• I Saw The Light [Hank Williams]
  
• Inferno
  
• Jason Bourne
  
• Julieta
  
• The Jungle Book
  
• Kung Fu Panda 3
  
• Love & Friendship
  
• Mapplethorpe: Look At The Pictures
  
• Midnight Special
  
• Miles Ahead [Miles Davis]
  
• Moana
  
• Money Monster
  
• My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2
  
• Pride And Prejudice And Zombies
  
• The Revenant
  
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
  
• Room
  
• The Secret Life Of Pets
  
• Son Of Saul
  
• Spotlight
  
• Star Trek Beyond
  
• A Street Cat Named Bob
  
• Suicide Squad
  
• Swallows And Amazons
  
• Sully
  
• Trolls
  
• X-Men: Apocalypse
  
• Youth
  
• Zoolander 2
  
• Zootropolis
  
  

Tony Award for Best Musical:
Hamilton

Olivier Award
for Best New Musical:
Kinky Boots

• The Apprentice (Series 12)
  
• Benidorm (Series 8)
  
• Better Call Saul (Season 2)
  
• The Big Bang Theory (Season 10)
  
• BoJack Horseman (Season 3)
  
• Boomers (Series 2)
  
• Camping
  
• Cold Feet (Series 6)
  
• Crashing
  
• The Crown (Season 1)
  
• Death In Paradise (Series 5)
  
• Doctor Thorne
  
• Flowers
  
• Friday Night Dinner (Series 4)
  
• Game Of Thrones (Season 6)
  
• Gogglebox (Series 7 and 8)
  
• The Good Place (Season 1)
  
• Grace And Frankie (Season 2)
  
• The Great British Bake Off (Series 7)
  
• Happy Valley (Series 2)
  
• I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here! (Series 16)
  
• Inside No. 9 (Series 3)
  
• The Jump
  
• Kim's Convenience (Canada: Season 1)
  
• Line Of Duty (Series 3)
  
• Love Island (Series 2)
  
• Mum
  
• Naked Attraction (Series 1)
  
• The Night Manager
  
• Planet Earth II
  
• RuPaul's Drag Race (Season 8)
  
• Strictly Come Dancing (Series 14)
  
• Top Gear (Series 23 - Chris Evans / Matt LeBlanc)
  
• The Tracey Ullman Show
  
• Two Doors Down (Series 1 and 2)
  
• Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Season 2)
  
• Vera (Series 6)
  
• Versailles
  
• Vet On The Hill
  
• The Voice UK (Series 5 - Boy George / Paloma Faith)
  
• War & Peace
  
• Who Do You Think You Are? (Series 13)
  
• The X Factor (Series 13)
  
  

BBC Sport

BBC
Sports Personality
of the Year:
Andy Murray

Darts: Gary Anderson defeats Adrian Lewis 7-5 to retain the PDC World Championship title at Alexandra Palace.
Scott Waites regains the BDO World Championship title with a crushing 7-1 win over Jeff Smithin in the final at Lakeside, Frimley Green.

Snooker: Ronnie O'Sullivan beats Barry Hawkins 10-1 to win The Masters for the sixth time.
Mark Selby beats Ding Junhui in the final of the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield (18-14). Defending champion Stuart Bingham is knocked out in the first round, losing 10-9 to Ali Carter.
Selby also defeats Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final of the UK Championship (10-7), becoming only the sixth player to secure the World Championship and UK titles in the same calendar year.

Tennis: Angelique Kerber beats Serena Williams 6-4 3-6 6-4 in the women's singles final at the Australian Open, the first German to win a major singles title since Steffi Graf at the 1999 French Open.
Novak Djokovic wins the men's singles title, defeating Andy Murray in straight sets (6–1, 7–5, 7–6).
Djokovic completes his collection of Grand Slam singles titles at the French Open, defeating Andy Murray in the final in four sets (3–6, 6–1, 6–2, 6–4). Garbiñe Muguruza defeats Serena Williams in the women's singles final at Roland Garros (7–5, 6–4).
Having lost two Grand Slam finals in a row, Serena Williams finally equals Steffi Graf's record of 22 singles titles, beating Angelique Kerber in the final at Wimbledon (7–5, 6–3).
Andy Murray wins the Wimbledon men's singles title for the second time, beating Milos Raonic in the final 6-4 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-2).
Angelique Kerber wins her second Grand Slam singles title at the US Open, beating Karolina Pliskova in women's singles final 6-3 4-6 6-4.
Stan Wawrinka beats Novak Djokovic to win the men's singles final 6-7 (1-7) 6-4 7-5 6-3.
Argentina beat Croatia to win the Davis Cup for the first time.

Cricket: Ben Stokes hits a 163-ball double century in the Second Test against South Africa, the fastest by an England batsman and the second quickest in history. England score a seven-wicket win over South Africa in the Third Test to secure a Test series victory, with Stuart Broad taking 6-17. South Africa fight back to win the Fourth Test by 280 runs and win the One Day International series, 3-2.
The West Indies beat England in the World Twenty20 final. Carlos Brathwaite hits four consecutive sixes in the final over.
England win the three-match Test series against Sri Lanka 2–0, the One Day International series 3–0 and win a one-off Twenty20 International match by 8 wickets.
The England vs. Pakistan Test series ends in a 2–2 draw. England win the ODI series 4–1, and the one-off T20I match is won by Pakistan by 9 wickets.
India win the 5-match Test series against England 4-0, scoring the team's highest-ever total in Test cricket (759 runs for 7 wickets declared) in the final Test in Chennai. The Fifth Test victory extends India's run of consecutive Test matches without defeat to eighteen.

Horse Racing: Don Cossack, trained by Gordon Elliott and ridden by Bryan Cooper, wins the Cheltenham Gold Cup by four-and-a-half lengths.
Rule The World, ridden by David Mullins, wins the Grand National.
The Epsom Derby is won by the Aga Khan's Harzand, ridden by Pat Smullen.

Rugby Union: England win the Six Nations Championship, securing their first 'Grand Slam' in 13 years with a 31-21 victory over France.

Rowing: the University of Cambridge crew wins the 162nd men's Boat Race by five seconds; the Oxford crew wins the women's Boat Race, making it four wins in a row.

Golf: Danny Willett becomes the first Briton to win The Masters since Nick Faldo won at Augusta in 1996. Defending champion Jordan Spieth led by five shots as he approached the 10th hole but dropped six shots in three holes to finish tied for second place with England's Lee Westwood.
Dustin Johnson wins the US Open at Oakmont. He shoots a final round of 68 to finish five under but his score amended to four under when he is penalised a shot for making his ball move on the fifth green, despite being initially absolved of any wrongdoing.
Henrik Stenson wins The Open at Royal Troon by three shots, hitting an eight-under-par 63 in the final round to record a tournament record 20-under total.
Jimmy Walker wins US PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club, Springfield with a score of 14 under par, one shot ahead of the 2015 champion Jason Day.
The United States team wins the Ryder Cup for the first time since 2008, beating Europe 17-11 at Hazeltine.

Football: Leicester City defy the odds to win the Premier League.
The FA Cup final is a repeat of the 1990 Final - Manchester United vs. Crystal Palace. United win 2-1.
Portugal beat France 1-0 in the Euro 2016 final, winning a major international football trophy for the first time despite the loss of captain Cristiano Ronaldo.

Cycling: Chris Froome wins the Tour de France for the third time.

Olympics: for the second successive Games, and the 17th time overall, the United States top the medals table with 43 golds. US swimmer Michael Phelps wins five gold medals, taking his overall tally of Olympic medals to 23 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze medals. US gymnast Simone Biles wins four gold medals - three individual gold medals (in the all-around, vault and floor events) and one as a member of the US women's gymnastics team.
Team GB finish second in the medals table, followed by China, Russia and Germany.
Jamaica's Usain Bolt completes an unprecedented Olympic 'triple triple' by winning individual gold medals in the men's 100m and 200m races and team gold in the men's 4x100m relay.
Mo Farah completes an Olympic 'double double', successfully defending his Olympic 5,000m and 10,000m titles.
Three-time gold medalist Jason Kenny wins another three gold medals to equal Sir Chris Hoy's British record of six Olympic golds.
Laura Trott becomes Britain's most successful female Olympian by winning a fourth gold medal in the omnium.
Sir Bradley Wiggins becomes the first Briton to win eight Olympic medals with victory in the team pursuit.
Andy Murray becomes the first-ever player to defend an Olympic individual tennis title by winning gold in the men's singles.
Alistair Brownlee becomes the first man to retain the Olympic triathlon title, finishing ahead of brother Jonny Brownlee, who claimed the silver.
Nicola Adams wins the flyweight boxing gold, becoming the first Briton to retain an Olympic boxing crown since middleweight Harry Mallin in 1924.
Gymnast Max Whitlock wins in the floor exercise and the pommel horse, GB's first double gold in a single day since rower Hugh Edwards in 1932.
Jack Laugher and Chris Mears claim GB's first ever diving Olympic gold by winning the men's 3m synchronised springboard.
Justin Rose wins the first Olympic golf gold in 112 years.
Nick Skelton wins an individual gold medal in show jumping, 16 years after retiring with a neck broken in two places.

Motor Racing: Nico Rosberg wins the Formula 1 World Drivers' Championship, beating three-time champion Lewis Hamilton by five points; Mercedes win the Constructors' Championship. On 2nd December Rosberg announces his retirement from F1.

Man Booker Prize

Winner:
Paul Beatty
The Sellout

Deborah Levy
Hot Milk

Graeme Macrae Burnet
His Bloody Project

Ottessa Moshfegh
Eileen

David Szalay
All That Man Is

Madeleine Thien
Do Not Say We Have Nothing

Baileys Women’s Prize
for Fiction

Winner:
Lisa McInerney
The Glorious Heresies

Cynthia Bond,
Ruby

Anne Enright,
The Green Road

Elizabeth McKenzie,
The Portable Veblen

Hannah Rothschild,
The Improbability Of Love

Hanya Yanagihara,
A Little Life