2014–2016 Oromo protests, Background and causes, Drought and floods
In 2014, both rainy seasons in Ethiopia saw irregular rainfall. In 2015, due to an extremely strong El Niño event, both rainy seasons in Ethiopia almost did not happen at all. That resulted in an acute drought in particular in the Highlands of Ethiopia, crops and pastures dried up and herds were dying. It was considered to be the worst drought in 50 years. The drought did hit particularly hard in Amhara Region and Oromia Region.


2014–2016 Oromo protests, Background and causes, Drought and floods
After 18 months of severe drought with almost nothing left over to eat for drought-affected people, very strong torrential rains that started in April 2016 did worsen the situation until October 2016. The flooding displaced people for months in exactly the same regions, that were most affected by the long drought. Ethiopia is a multi-ethnic state. UNICEF experience in Ethiopia has shown such droughts and floods often result in humanitarian shocks and tensions between ethnic groups.


2014–2016 Oromo protests, Background and causes, Rural discontent
The country has been experiencing rapid economic growth since the 2000s and is one of the world's fastest-growing economies and is Africa’s second-most populous country. But while economic development and growth and industrialization are supported a lot by the authoritarian government, often the needs of the rural population remain unconsidered, the freedom and civil rights of farmers and pastoralists in particular are often neglected. They are left behind.


2014–2016 Oromo protests, Protests
The November and December 2015 protests in the Oromia Region that resulted in the killings of over 100 people by government forces. The 2015 protests were later followed by a police crackdown and the arrests of hundreds of opposition members.


2014–2016 Oromo protests, Protests
According to diplomatic, NGO, and opposition sources, hundreds of thousands of people marched in more than 200 towns and cities in the vast Oromia State, in protest at "the government's draconian and ever-escalating repression." This resulted in at least 148 people being killed on 5 and 6 August.


2014–2016 Oromo protests, Protests
On 2 October 2016, more protests occurred where an estimated two million people were attending the annual Irreechaa festival in Bishoftu in the Oromia region. The festival is attended by Oromos from all walks of life to celebrate life and nature. An anti-government protest disrupted the event, with some claiming they involved peacefully chanting slogans against the Oromo Peoples' Democratic Organization, while others claim stones and bottles were thrown. People died in a stampede as a result of police using tear gas, rubber bullets and baton charges, falling into a deep ditch and being crushed, or drowning in a lake.


2014–2016 Oromo protests, Protests
While the Oromia regional government confirmed the deaths of 52 people, rights groups, the opposition leader, and local reports claim various numbers up to nearly 300 people dead. On August 6th, hundreds of protesters marched on Meskel Square in Addis Ababa and shouted "we want our freedom" and "free our political prisoners". Dozens of protesters were arrested by Addis Ababa's police.


2014–2016 Oromo protests, Protests, Kaliti Prison
23 imprisoned Oromo protesters died in Kaliti Prison after a fire broke out, wherein 21 died from carbon monoxide poisoning and 2 were killed by security force after an attempt to escape.


2014–2016 Oromo protests, Protests, Protest spread to Amhara
Protests in the Oromia region spread to Amhara Region in the summer of 2016In July 2016, the Anti-terrorism task force detained members of the Wolqayt Amhara Identity Committee (WAIC), a legally registered organisation. Soon after, protests erupted in many areas of the Amhara Region, the historic ethnic center of the Ethiopian state and home to the spectacular monolithic rock-cut churches of Lalibela and medieval castles of Gondar that attract tourists from all over. One of the biggest demonstrations took place was on August 1st, 2016 in Gondar city.


2014–2016 Oromo protests, Protests, Protest spread to Amhara
Hundreds of thousands of people held a peaceful demonstration over the arrest of the WAIC members, government repression and protest Federal government encroachment in regional affairs. Protesters carried placards expressing solidarity with the Oromo people. As they marched, they were heard to be chanting in Amharic "በኦሮምያ የሚፈሰዉ ደም ደማችን ነዉ"  which translates to “the pouring of blood in Oromia is our blood”  and “the killings of our brothers in Oromia needs to stop”. They also drew attention to the dispute over the administration of Wolqayt Tsegede. A region that is currently part of the Tigray state despite its citizens identifying as ethnic Amhara.


2014–2016 Oromo protests, Protests, Protest spread to Amhara
Further demonstrations soon followed in the Amhara Region. Many protests spiraled into violence as security forces fired live bullets on protesters. On 5 August 2016, 50 student protesters were killed while protesting in the populous city of Bahir Dar, the capital of the Amhara Region and a major tourist destination. Evidence collected by Ethiopian Human Rights Project has so far shown that major protests took place in 6 of the 11 zones in the Amhara Region. The zones included North Gondar, South Gondar, Bahir Dar Special, Agew Awi, East Gojam and West Gojam zones. Anti


2014–2016 Oromo protests, Protests, Protest spread to Amhara
-government street demonstrations and "stay at home" protests took place in small wereda towns and in some cases in rural kebeles across the six zones. The protests that were ignited in the historic town of Gondar, quickly spread to Debarq, Debre Tabor, Metema, Ambagiorgis, Wereta, Simada, Gayint, Bahir Dar, Finote Selam, Burre, Enjibara, Dangila, Chagni, Tilili, Birsheleqo, Quarit, Dembecha, Amanuel, Debre Markos and other towns.


2014–2016 Oromo protests, Protests, Protest spread to Amhara
After the growing discontent in Amhara Region and Oromia Region the Israeli Foreign Ministry issued a travel warning on 1 September 2016. The Amhara Region included in the warning includes the city of Gondar, a popular site for many Israeli tourists and an area where many Ethiopian Jews originated. The warning was announced a day after the Prime Minister of Ethiopia Hailemariam Desalegn's announcement on the state owned media EBC and gave direct order for the Ethiopia Army forces to use any force necessary to bring order to the region. The protesters continued and several flower farms were burned down in Amhara Region and clashes between security forces and local protesters continued.


2014–2016 Oromo protests, Protests, Protest spread to Amhara
The Ethiopian Government declared a state of emergency on 8 October 2016. On 16 October 2016, the government announced, restrictions and prohibitions on Internet usage, postings on Facebook, crossing the wrists above the head, diplomatic travel, fire arms and the viewing of media that the government deems to be “terrorist media”. There were also curfews in both regions from 18:00 to 06:00 to prevent further violence. The government crackdown was tough.


2014–2016 Oromo protests, Protests, Protest spread to Amhara
Maina Kiai, a U.N. rights rapporteur, said "The scale of this violence and the shocking number of deaths make it clear that this is a calculated campaign to eliminate opposition movements and silence dissenting voices,”. The Human Rights Watch estimated that at least 400 people were killed in protests over the next several months.


2014–2016 Oromo protests, Protests, Protest spread to Amhara
As a continuation of the Amhara protest, two years later several protests were held in Northern Wollo. In January 2018, Ethiopian security forces killed seven people and wounded several others in the town of Woldia, 500 km north of Addis Ababa along the main road to Mekele. Nigussu Tilahun, the head of the Amhara region’s communications bureau at the time, confirmed lives were lost but did not say how many.


2014–2016 Oromo protests, Protests, Protest spread to Amhara
A huge crowd of people were parading through the streets of the town for the annual Timket festival, an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian celebration of Epiphany when a group of young men protested because the federal police forces prohibited them from making round dancing and chanting. A witness said police had fired into the crowd and the crowd began running in all directions.


2014–2016 Oromo protests, Protests, Protest spread to Amhara
The United Nations High Commission for Human Rights (UNHRC) condemned the incident in Woldia, stating that the incident “reportedly took place when the security forces tried to stop people from chanting anti-government songs and allegedly opened fire on them", and that "protesters reportedly later blocked roads and destroyed a number of properties.” This comes just two weeks after Ethiopia’s ruling coalition, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, officially announced its intention to undertake reforms following protests that began in 2016.


2014–2016 Oromo protests, Protests, Protest spread to Amhara
Seven people have also been killed in the northern town of Kobo after security forces fired on a crowd who were reportedly protesting the killings in Woldia. A ten-year-old boy and two members of the defence forces were among those killed. Many more were injured in the incident. Protesters gathered around the town’s police station to condemn the security forces' brutality at a religious ceremony in Woldia their not being held accountable in a court of law.


2014–2016 Oromo protests, Protests, Protest spread to Amhara
Later on, thousands demonstrated, opposing the killings of innocent people at Timket festival in Woldia and calling for an end to police beatings, with protests reported in Habru districts of Mersa, Robit, Gobiye, all of the towns crossed by the main all-weather road from Addis Ababa to Mekele. In Mersa, around 10 people were shot dead.


2014–2016 Oromo protests, Reactions, Domestic
The Ethiopian government denied violence was being committed by the country's security forces, naming regional rivals Eritrea and Egypt as fomenting the ongoing unrest.


2014–2016 Oromo protests, Reactions, International
The United States Embassy in Addis Ababa released a statement of concern.


2014–2016 Oromo protests, Reactions, International
Legislation was authored by US Congressman Chris Smith, to protect civilians in Ethiopia as well as promote democracy and good governance. The legislation also "calls on the Secretary of State to improve the oversight and accountability of U.S. assistance in Ethiopia". Rep. Smith was joined by U.S. Representative Mike Coffman as well as victims of torture at the hands of the Ethiopian Government Seenaa Jimjimo, Tewondrose Tirfe and Guya Abaguya Deki, during a press conference to announce this legislation.


2014–2016 Oromo protests, Reactions, International
In May 2017, Prince Zeid bin Ra'ad, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said he would open an investigation into the human rights abuses perpetrated during the protests.


2014–2016 in SFL numbered events
Super Fight League has scheduled several fights cards throughout 2014 to 2016:


2014–2016 in SFL numbered events, Event summaries, SFL - Warriors
SFL Warriors took place on March 30, 2014 in Mumbai, India. As with the previous events, it was streamed on YouTube, on TEN Sports in India and on the Fight Network in Canada.


2014–2016 in SFL numbered events, Event summaries, SFL 35
SFL 35 took place on October 4, 2014 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. As with the previous events, it was streamed on YouTube, on TEN Sports in India and on the Fight Network in Canada.


2014–2016 in SFL numbered events, Event summaries, SFL 35
This was the inaugural event in the United States of America.


2014–2016 in SFL numbered events, Event summaries, SFL 36
SFL 36: America 2 took place on December 13, 2014 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. As with the previous events, it was streamed on YouTube, on TEN Sports in India and on the Fight Network in Canada.


2014–2016 in SFL numbered events, Event summaries, SFL 36
This was the 2nd event in the United States of America.


2014–2016 in SFL numbered events, Event summaries, SFL 37
SFL 37: America 3 took place on February 21, 2015 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. As with the previous events, it was streamed on YouTube, on TEN Sports in India and on the Fight Network in Canada.


2014–2016 in SFL numbered events, Event summaries, SFL 37
This was the 3rd event in the United States of America.


2014–2016 in SFL numbered events, Event summaries, SFL 38
SFL 38: India vs. Pakistan took place on February 27, 2015 in the United Arab Emirates. As with the previous events, it was streamed on YouTube, on TEN Sports in India and on the Fight Network in Canada.


2014–2016 in SFL numbered events, Event summaries, SFL 38
BackgroundThis was the very first MMA event to feature fighters from India against fighters from Pakistan, standing from the long rivalry both nations have. It was also the first event the SFL hosted in the United Arab Emirates. Team India beat Team Pakistan by 6-1 & won the SFL Cup.


2014–2016 in SFL numbered events, Event summaries, SFL 39
SFL 39: BodyPower Expo took place on March 22, 2015 in Mumbai, India. As with the previous events, it will be streamed on YouTube, on TEN Sports in India and on the Fight Network in Canada.


2014–2016 in SFL numbered events, Event summaries, SFL 40
SFL 40: America 4 took place on April 25, 2015 in Tacoma, Washington. As with the previous events, it will be streamed on YouTube, on TEN Sports in India and on the Fight Network in Canada.


2014–2016 in SFL numbered events, Event summaries, SFL 41
SFL 41: America 5 took place on July 11, 2015 in Tacoma, Washington. As with the previous events, it was streamed on YouTube, on TEN Sports in India and on the Fight Network in Canada.


2014–2016 in SFL numbered events, Event summaries, SFL 42
SFL 42: Fight Night at the Corral took place on August 15, 2015 in Calgary, Alberta. This was the Canadian debut event for Super Fight League. As with the previous events, it was streamed on YouTube, on TEN Sports in India and on the Fight Network in Canada.


2014–2016 in SFL numbered events, Event summaries, SFL 43
SFL 43: Capital Collision took place on September 26, 2015 in Gurgaon, India. As with the previous events, it was streamed on YouTube, on TEN Sports in India and on the Fight Network in Canada.


2014–2016 in SFL numbered events, Event summaries, SFL 44
SFL 44: America 6 took place on September 26, 2015 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. As with the previous events, it was streamed on YouTube, on TEN Sports in India and on the Fight Network in Canada.


2014–2016 in SFL numbered events, Event summaries, SFL 45
SFL 45: America 7 took place on December 12, 2015 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. As with the previous events, it was streamed on YouTube, on TEN Sports in India and on the Fight Network in Canada.


2014–2016 in SFL numbered events, Event summaries, SFL 46
SFL 46: America 8 took place on February 20, 2016 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. As with the previous events, it was streamed on YouTube, on TEN Sports in India and on the Fight Network in Canada.


2014–2016 in SFL numbered events, Event summaries, SFL 47
SFL 47 took place on March 18, 2016 in New Delhi, India. As with the previous events, it was streamed on YouTube, on TEN Sports in India and on the Fight Network in Canada.


2014–2016 in SFL numbered events, Event summaries, SFL 48
SFL 48 took place on March 26, 2016 in Pune, India. As with the previous events, it was streamed on YouTube, on TEN Sports in India and on the Fight Network in Canada.


2014–2016 in SFL numbered events, Event summaries, SFL 49
SFL 49: America 9 (Seattle vs. Portland) took place on May 7, 2016 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. As with the previous events, it was streamed on YouTube, on TEN Sports in India and on the Fight Network in Canada.


2014–2016 in SFL numbered events, Event summaries, SFL 50
SFL 50: America 10 (Seattle vs. Los Angeles) took place on July 23, 2016 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. As with the previous events, it was streamed on YouTube, on TEN Sports in India and on the Fight Network in Canada.


2014–2016 in SFL numbered events, Event summaries, SFL 51
SFL 51: America 11 (Seattle Warriors vs. Central Valley Heat) took place on October 22, 2016 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. As with the previous events, it was streamed on YouTube, on TEN Sports in India and on the Fight Network in Canada.


2014–2016 in SFL numbered events, Event summaries, SFL 53: Cage Sport 43
SFL 53: Cage Sport 43 took place on December 17, 2016 in Tacoma, Washington, USA. As with the previous events, it was streamed on YouTube, on TEN Sports in India and on the Fight Network in Canada.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2014
On January 2, Benchmark crude fell by the most in one day since November 2012 to close at $95.44. Brent crude was $107.78. Gas was $3.33. With the Iran agreement and increased production from Libya and the North Sea, Benchmark oil was around $92 on January 13 and Brent crude was $105.98. After good economic news from Japan, Benchmark crude fell slightly from its highest close of 2014, $98.23 on January 30. Brent crude fell to $107.25.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2014
The difference between the two fell below $10 for the first time since November, partly due to cold weather in the United States which resulted in high heating oil demand. Early in February gas was $3.27. Cold weather led to the price of oil staying above $100 for most of February, but lower prices were expected. With United States fourth quarter economic growth expected to be lower than an early estimate, Benchmark crude fell slightly on February 27 to $102.40, with Brent crude reaching $108.61.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2014
On March 24, due to the dispute over Crimea, problems in Libya, and  the Houston Ship Channel collision, Benchmark crude rose above $100 and Brent crude rose to $107.41. Economic problems in China kept prices from going even higher. Later in the week, good economic news from the United States, lower oil supplies in Oklahoma and a force majeure by Shell Nigeria pushed prices slightly higher, to $102.12 for Benchmark crude and $108.29 for Brent. On April 7, Benchmark crude fell below $101 and Brent crude fell to $105.64 with news that Libya might open more terminals in May, but more Ukraine problems pushed the prices back up on April 8. Gas was $3.59, matching the level in 2013.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2014
Continued Ukraine problems pushed oil higher on April 24, with Benchmark crude at $101.94 and Brent crude at $110.33, though an April 23 report said U.S. oil supplies were higher than expected. The price of gas was $3.68.5, the highest since March 2013. On April 30, Benchmark crude dropped below $100 for the first time in three weeks as oil supplies continued to rise and the unusually cold winter resulted in negative U.S. economic news. Gas was up 14 cents for the month, the most in three years.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2014
More Ukraine trouble pushed Benchmark crude above $100 and Brent crude over $108 on May 12, and further problems in Libya helped push Benchmark crude over $102 and Brent crude over $110 by May 15, though negative economic news in the U.S. and an unexpected increase in oil stockpiles pushed Benchmark crude back down temporarily. Continued concerns over Ukraine and Libya pushed oil back above $104. The price of gas was $3.65.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2014
Trouble in Iraq resulted in higher prices for oil and gas in June. West Texas crude reached $106 and Brent crude $115.75. At the end of the month Benchmark crude was just above $105 while Brent crude fell below $113. The price of gas was $3.66.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2014
After three weeks of going down, U.S. crude fell below $100 for the first time since May on July 15. However, with Middle East and Ukraine problems sending oil higher, Benchmark crude finished July 18 just above $103, with Brent crude staying above $107. With low demand and plentiful supplies, and despite good economic news from China and the United States, Brent crude fell below $107 on July 24, and U.S. crude dropped to $102.10. On July 28, gas was $3.52, down five cents from a week earlier, due to refiners cutting prices.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2014
Two weeks later gas was $3.48, less than a year earlier. And on August 14, light sweet oil was $95.58, the lowest since January, while Brent crude reached $102.01, the lowest since June, after falling the most in one day since January. Production in Libya was up, and economic slowdowns were expected in Europe and China, making even lower prices likely.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2014
As of Labor Day, gas was $3.41, 18 cents lower than in 2013. Low demand and high North American production cancelled out effects of troubles in the Middle East and Ukraine. West Texas crude was below $94 on August 27 and Brent crude below $103. On October 16, West Texas crude fell below $80 for the first time in more than two years, while Brent crude reached $82.60, the lowest since November 2010. OPEC Members were not expected to act as increases in the U.S. supply resulting from high tight oil (shale oil) production added to a worldwide surplus.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2014
On October 31, the average price of gas reached $3 and was expected to go below that figure for the first time since December 2010. Demand for oil was down and there were many new sources. United States oil production was up 70% since 2008, and Iraq and Canada were producing more. According to the Lundberg survey released December 7, gas was down 12 cents from two weeks earlier to $2.72. Demand was low while production was high, and the strong dollar contributed.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2014
With demand low in China and Europe and OPEC deciding not to cut back, West Texas Intermediate reached $63.50 on December 8, the lowest since July 2009, while Brent crude reached $66.90, a level not seen since October 2009. After Saudi Arabia oil minister Ali Al-Naimi said OPEC members could not cut production on their own, oil prices rose slightly December 18 but finished the day lower with Benchmark crude at $54.11 and Brent crude $59.27, both the lowest since May 2009. Gas was $2.49 a gallon.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2014
Days later gas was $2.38, the lowest in five years, after 89 straight days of going down, the longest continuous decline ever according to AAA. The price of oil was down 50% since April, while gas had fallen 36%. Economic problems in Europe and Asia, high gas mileage, a strong dollar, higher U.S. production and no action by OPEC have been credited.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2015
On January 16, Brent crude rose as high as $50.16 before falling back, and the International Energy Agency said production was down due to lower prices and higher prices were likely late in 2015. West Texas Intermediate, down 10% for the month, closed at $48.48 on January 14 after closing at $45.89 the previous day. Gas was $2.12.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2015
After the January 23 death of King Abdullah led to concerns about the future, West Texas Intermediate climbed as high as $47.76 and Brent crude reached $49.80.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2015
From January 30 to February 3, oil rose 20%, but on February 4, U.S. crude futures fell 8.7% to $48.45, the most in one day since November 28, 2014. Brent crude fell from $59 to $54 two weeks after reaching $45. U.S. inventories were the highest since 1982, while the dollar was recovering from "its worst day in more than a year".


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2015
Although inventory remained high, Brent crude reached its highest price of 2015 on February 17, closing at $62.53 after reaching $63. Problems in the Middle East, especially Libya, contributed to the rise. Fighting in Ukraine was also a factor.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2015
At the end of February, with refineries changing to summer blend, the price of gas was $2.37, up from $2.03 in January. Other factors included an explosion at a Torrance, California refinery and a strike involving steel workers at 20 refineries.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2015
On March 13, oil declined 5% for a total drop of 10% for the week. Benchmark crude reached $45.16 and Brent crude was $56.24. Supplies continued to increase and the price was expected to fall until changes by refineries for summer. Gas reached $2.46 March 7 but fell to $2.44 a week later. U.S. inventories were the highest since records had been kept, but on March 18, with the Federal Reserve indicating interest rates would not rise quickly, oil prices increased 6%.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2015
Brent crude rose 16% in April, reaching $64.95, its highest price for 2015, on April 16. U.S. crude was $56.62 on April 17. Reasons were a drop in expected tight oil (shale oil) production in the United States and the war in Yemen. Gas was $2.41, up a penny in a week.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2015
On May 5, gas reached $2.63 after rising for 19 days; gas was going up faster than oil, which reached its highest 2015 price, $61.10 for U.S. crude and $68.40 for Brent crude, before settling at $60.40 and $67.52 respectively. The dollar was lower but different sources conflicted over whether U.S. inventories were down for the first time in 2015, or up as they had been.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2015
West Texas Intermediate closed slightly higher at $58.98 on May 19, and Brent crude rose slightly to just over $65 as U.S. supplies, still near records, fell while refineries increased production. On May 26, gas was $2.74.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2015
On June 10, West Texas Intermediate reached $61.43, the highest price since December. Demand was expected to stay high, but OPEC production was also staying high. Brent crude was $65.70 while gas was $2.76.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2015
On July 1, with an increase in U.S. inventory for the first time in two months, U.S. benchmark oil fell by the most in one day since April 8 to $56.26, the lowest since April 22, while Brent crude fell to $62.01. Gas was $2.77.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2015
Oil fell by about $10 in July as the U.S. dollar was strong, supplies were high, and the Chinese stock market was down. Near the end of the month, Brent crude reached $53.31, close to the lowest in six months, while U.S. crude, at $48.52, was close to a four-month low,and gas was $2.69. A week later, with supplies high and summer driving in the United States ending, oil fell below $45, close to the six-year low reached in March. Brent crude was below $50. Gas was $2.64.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2015
On August 11, U.S. crude reached $43.08, its lowest price since February 2009. Brent crude was below $50. Gas was $2.59. On August 26, U.S. crude reached $38.60, once again its lowest price since February 2009, before jumping more than 10% the next day to $42.56 for its biggest increase in one day since March 2009. Brent crude was up 10% to $47. U.S. supplies had fallen dramatically, especially in Cushing, Oklahoma. Gas was $2.56, the lowest at this time of year since 2004, though refinery problems kept it from being lower.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2015
During August, Brent reached a low of $42.23 and U.S. crude was as low as $37.75. Then U.S. crude jumped 28% in 3 days, the most since 1990. Brent crude also climbed 28% above $54, the highest in a month.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2015
On September 11, Goldman Sachs predicted continued surpluses and falling prices, and U.S. crude fell to $44.74 while Brent crude reached $47.93. Gas was $2.37.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2015
A drop in supplies from Cushing, speculation about Federal Reserve action on interest rates, and U.S. help for Kurds in Syria contributed to a rise in U.S. crude to $47.15, while Brent was $50.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2015
On September 25, the price of gas was $2.29. On September 29, with U.S. crude inventories up and Cushing supplies falling more slowly, West Texas Intermediate finished at $45.23, with Brent crude falling to $47.97.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2015
After an International Energy Agency prediction of high supplies for the next year, U.S. crude fell the most in a week in more than two months, ending October 15 below $47, and Brent crude had its biggest loss for a week in nearly two months, just under $50 on October 16. With Middle Eastern countries producing more oil than needed and Iran expected to add even more as a result of the nuclear deal, as well as slow growth in China, U.S. crude fell below $46 on October 19 and Brent crude reached $48,51 early October 20. Gas was $2.25.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2015
On November 4, prices fell over 3% as a result of higher U.S. inventories and U.S. output, before rising slightly, Brent crude recovering to $48.76 and West Texas Intermediate reaching $46.37. Gas was $2.19, the lowest for the time of year since 2004.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2015
On November 19, U.S. crude fell below $40, and Brent crude slipped below $44. Gas was $2.13. Higher demand, winter weather in the United States and a promise by Saudi Arabia to work toward stabilizing prices sent West Texas Intermediate back over $42 and Brent crude over $44 on November 23.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2015
On the first week of December Brent crude fell to $42.43 and U.S. crude slipped below $40 after OPEC first said it would increase production and then decided not to make changes. Other factors were a weak dollar and a strong Euro.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2015
On December 11, oil fell to $35.62. The next day, gas was $2.02, the lowest in over six years.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2015
On December 21, Brent crude fell as low as $36.35 a barrel; this was the lowest price since July 2004. U.S. crude rose slightly to $36.14. Gas fell below $2 for the first time since 2009.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2015
On December 30 with U.S. supplies still high, light sweet crude fell to $36.60, while Brent crude reached $36.46. Oil ended the year down 30%.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2016
On January 6, 2016, the price of WTI crude hit another eleven-year low, as it dropped to 32.53 a barrel for the first time since 2009. On January 12, in its seventh losing day, crude oil dropped below $30 for the first time since December 2003, ending the day at $30.44, as gas fell below $1.97. Brent crude hit $27.10 on January 20, the lowest since November 2003. Oil rose again before falling January 25, Brent crude reaching $30.86 and U.S. oil $30.68.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2016
After OPEC encouraged production cuts and U.S. GDP data suggested fewer interest rate increases, U.S. oil had four days of gains to finish January at $33.62. Brent was $34.74. Gas was $1.81, the lowest since January 2009. A February 7 meeting between Ali al-Naimi of Saudi Arabia and Eulogio Del Pino of Venezuela failed to produce desired results, and oil fell the next day, with Brent crude at $33.53 by noon and U.S. crude at $30.27.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2016
On February 11, U.S. crude reached $26.21 after reaching $26.05, its lowest price since May 2003. The next day oil rose 12.3 percent to $29.44, the most in one day since February 2009. Investors wanted to be ready when the price started going up. Also, OPEC was "ready to cooperate" on lower production.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2016
On February 22, Benchmark U.S. crude rose 6.2% to $31.48 and Brent crude went up 5.1% to $34.69 after news that supplies were expected to grow more slowly. By the end of the week, WTI was up 3% to $32.78, and Brent was up 7% to $35.12 after rising as high as $37, the most since January 5. Pipeline outages in Nigeria and Iraq, a lower number of active U.S. rigs, and lower gasoline inventories for the first time since November were reasons. Gas was $1.73, down 10 cents from the previous month, but with the switch to summer blend in California, gas was $2.34 and on its way back up.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2016
After inventories fell faster than expected, U.S. crude was $37.94 on March 9, while Brent crude was up again to $40.84 after six straight up days and its highest level in three months the previous day then a 3% drop due to concerns about too much oil. Prices were up 25% after major oil producers said they would keep supplies at January levels.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2016
After reducing the number of rigs for 12 weeks, U.S. producers added one rig with oil up 50%. With gasoline demand up, Brent crude reached its highest level of the year at $42.54 before falling to $41.20 March 18 in its fourth straight week of gains. U.S. crude also reached a high at $41.20 before falling to $39.44, ending its fifth straight week higher. Gas was $2.02, up 17 cents in 2 weeks.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2016
On March 31, U.S. crude reached $37.57, the lowest since March 31, as the country's supply hit a record for the seventh week. Brent crude was $38.81.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2016
In the first week of April with a weak dollar, oil jumped 7%, with Benchmark crude reaching $39.72 and Brent at $41.94. The next Tuesday, Brent hit $43.58, the highest of the year.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2016
With a planned meeting of oil producers to discuss keeping output where it was, on April 15 oil fell over 3%, with U.S. crude reaching $40.33 by midday and Brent at $42.82.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2016
With high demand in the U.S., lower production worldwide and problems in oil fields, oil rose for the third straight week, with Brent crude rising 4.5% for the week to $45.11 and West Texas Intermediate up more than 8% at $43.73.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2016
On April 26, U.S. inventories were down after analysts had expected a supply increase, and the dollar was weak. U.S. crude was up 3% to $44.04 while Brent crude was up to $45.74.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2016
The fire in Canada, attacks in Nigeria, and economic problems and the Zika virus in Venezuela led to supply problems and the highest prices in seven months on May 16. With U.S. supplies down more than predicted, WTI reached $49.56 on May 25, the highest since October. Brent crude was $49.74.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2016
On June 7, with the dollar lower and interest rates not expected to rise after U.S. economic news, Benchmark crude closed over $50 for the first time since July 21. Brent crude was $51.44.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2016
With the June 23 United Kingdom vote to leave the European Union, U.S. oil fell $2.05 to $48.06 and Brent crude fell $2.13 to $48.78.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2016
Gas was $2.29 on June 30, the lowest for the July 4 holiday in 13 years.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2016
On July 7, although supplies were down, they were not as low as forecast, and U.S. crude reached $47.20, down 4.7%. Brent crude reached $46.27, the lowest since May 11.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2016
For the week ending July 15, crude supplies fell, but gasoline supplies rose. After gains on July 20, WTI fell to $44.75 and Brent crude went down to $46.20. Gas was $2.19, the lowest since 2004 at that time of year.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2016
On August 5, WTI fell to $41.52 as the dollar rose as a result of better U.S. job news than expected, while Brent crude fell to $43.95. Oil prices had fallen more than 20% since June and were rising earlier in the week. On the week ending August 12, Benchmark crude rose 6.4%, and it went over $45 on August 15. Brent crude was $47.59. Gas was $2.12.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2016
On August 31, U.S. government data showed a higher than expected increase in oil supplies, and the prediction that supplies would stay high. If the Fed raised interest rates, a higher dollar and lower oil prices would result. U.S. crude fell to $43.16 on September 1, its lowest level in 3 weeks. Brent reached $45.52. Oil had gone up 11% for the month with the expectation that OPEC would limit production.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2016
Colonial Pipeline lost a major pipeline September 9 after a leak. As of September 19, the national average was up 2 cents to $2.20, though some areas, especially in the Southeast, saw increases of 20 to 30 cents. The pipeline returned to service after completion of a bypass on September 21.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2016
On September 23, Brent crude fell slightly to $45.89 in anticipation of a September 26 OPEC meeting. On September 29, WTI rose to $47.83 and Brent crude hit $49.24 after OPEC's decision to decrease production resulted in the biggest gains since April.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2016
Oil ended September higher for the second month. With the dollar strong after improvement in the U.S. economy, and stock markets weak, West Texas Intermediate fell October 3 after reaching $48.87, the highest point since July 5. Brent crude fell after hitting $50.90, its highest in six weeks.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2016
On October 10, with Russia planning to join OPEC and Algeria saying others should, Brent crude reached its highest point in a year at $53.73, while WTI hit $51.60, the highest since June 9. A week later, with supplies high and added U.S. production capacity, WTI fell just below $50 and Brent crude ended the day at $51.16. With lower inventories, on October 19 WTI reached $51.93, the highest since July 2015, while Brent crude reached $53.14.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2016
After an October 29 meeting by both OPEC members and nonmembers on the agreement to limit output resulted only in an agreement to meet again on November 30, and with high inventories at Cushing, Brent crude reached $48.17, the lowest since September 29, and WTI was down to $46.86, its lowest since September 27.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2016
A strong dollar and higher than expected U.S. and world supplies led to an end to rising prices on November 17, with U.S. crude reaching $45.52 and Brent crude $46.26. Then oil reached its highest point in 3 weeks on November 21, with Brent crude up 11% in a week, reaching $49, after Saudi Arabia began attempting to persuade other OPEC countries to participate in its plan, while WTI reached $47.80. OPEC countries met November 30 and agreed to limit output for the first time since 2008. As a result, Brent crude went over $50, the highest in a month, while West Texas intermediate stopped just short of $50.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2016
Brent reached $57.89 and U.S. crude reached $54.51 on December 12, both the highest since July 2015, after Russia and other countries not part of OPEC also agreed to limit production. For the week ending December 16, U.S. oil supplies, expected to fall, actually rose. WTI fell to $52.49 and Brent crude ended December 21 at $54.46.


2014–2016 world oil market chronology, 2016
On December 27, the first day of trading after Christmas, with the output reduction to start January 1, Brent crude hit $56.09 and U.S. crude CLc1 reached $53.90. With a continued increase in U.S. supplies and nine weeks of increases in oil rigs, oil fell slightly at the end of the week, with WTI ending the year at $53.72 for a 45% gain, and Brent at $56.82, up 52%. Both gains were the most since 2009.


2014–2017 Brazilian drought
The 2014–17 Brazilian drought is a severe drought affecting the southeast of Brazil including the metropolitan areas of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. In São Paulo, it has been described as the worst drought in 100 years. The metropolis of São Paulo appeared to be affected the most and by the beginning of February many of its residents were subjected to sporadic water cutoffs. Rain at the end of 2015 and in early 2016 brought relief, however, long term problems in water supply remain in São Paulo state.


2014–2017 Brazilian drought
Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo still being affected by drought in 2016 due to the 2014–16 El Niño event. In these areas the rains are irregular since 2014 and the drought worsened from 2015. Over 50% of Brazil was affected, as the drought spanned sections of all nine northeastern states. Between 2012-2015, the federal government decreed a state of “public calamity” over 6,200 times due to the droughts.


2014–2017 Brazilian drought
This is the worst drought in Brazil in the last 100 years, according to the O Estado de S. Paulo in September 2017.


2014–2017 Brazilian drought, Extent
Usually the rainy season starts in November, but lack of rain in the 2014/15 season led to a major shortfall in the water supply in the states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Minas Gerais. With major reservoirs operating at their lowest capacity (the main reservoir system of Cantareira supplying São Paulo being at only 6% of its capacity in early February) officials at São Paulo warned about extended rationing as water may run out before the next rainy season in November 2015. In response, the water utility of São Paulo, Sabesp, has reduced water pressure in the system. It also started to impose punitive tariffs on users who use more than in previous years. By early February residents had started to recycle and hoard water.


2014–2017 Brazilian drought, Extent
At the beginning of the dry season in early May 2015, the water crisis continued and water reservoirs in the São Paulo area were insufficiently filled. Work was underway to link up various reservoirs to make better use of existing water resources. By October 2015 the Cantareira reservoirs contained 12% of their capacity while the polluted Billings Reservoir had 20%.


2014–2017 Brazilian drought, Extent
With the arrival of the rainy season at the end of 2015, the drought situation improved. In February 2016 torrential downpours caused flooding in São Paulo. Water levels at Cantareira had recovered from 20 percent capacity at the beginning of December to almost 50 percent by mid February 2016. However, Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo still being affected by drought in 2016, and in 5 May the Espírito Santo Government declared a state of emergency across the state as the drought worsened.


2014–2017 Brazilian drought, Extent
There was concern that an unresolved water crisis may impact the 2016 Olympic Games. In 2017, the rains remained extremely irregular in Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo and most parts of the regions Central-West and Northeast. This is the worst drought in Brazil in the last 100 years, according to the O Estado de S. Paulo in September 2017.


2014–2017 Brazilian drought, Potential causes
The drought situation is not unexpected. São Paulo is experiencing its third consecutive year of diminished rain falls. A drought situation was already experienced in early 2014. Water management is poor, pipes leak, and the infrastructure is old. Past reports by scientists, environmentalists and technical experts were overridden by real estate developers and industrial and agricultural interests. Further, lack of protection of watersheds and reservoirs has polluted water sources and made it difficult to bring usable water to the market.


2014–2017 Brazilian drought, Potential causes
The expansion of deforestation activities into the Amazon basin has been linked to the reduction of rainfall in the south of Brazil. Even if the Amazon's evaporation was enough to generate flying rivers, urban heat islands coupled with a heat wave prevented the arrival of humid air masses that generate rain. In turn, Brazilian regions on the way to the Southeast had an uprise of rain, to the point the Central-West and Southern regions suffered from floods.


2014–2017 Brazilian drought, Effect on crop production
Brazil is the world's third-largest agricultural exporter, and the sector represents approximately 6% of the country's GDP. Irrigation for agriculture accounts for 72% of water use in Brazil, compared to just 9% for urban consumption. Less water supply for crop production lead to "The Agricultural Economy Institute" stating that 2014 accounted for São Paulo's worst agricultural losses in half a century.


2014–2017 Brazilian drought, Effect on crop production
The irregular rainfall pattern contributed to a reduction in crop production through the drought period, due to an atmospheric blockage which prevented a cold front from advancing over key crop regions in Brazil, the world's largest exporter of coffee, sugar, soy and beef. In 2014 the drought wiped out a third of the country's coffee crop in some areas, which caused global coffee arabica prices to rise 50% over the year. In 2015 coffee trees had not recovered from the extreme heat and drought quick enough, triggering another arabica price rally.


2014–2017 Brazilian drought, Effect on crop production
Crop production of soy, one of the country's largest export crops, decreased by 17% during the drought. The Cemaden's Rain Monitoring System showed that severe droughts were observed  in the states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, they are both the largest regions for soybean production and fourth-largest beef producers in Brazil.


2014–2017 Brazilian drought, Effect on hydropower generation
As 70% of Brazil's electricity is generated by hydropower, the lack of water lead to energy rationing in addition to water rationing. In response to decreased hydroelectric power, rolling power cuts were instituted. Water and electricity prices were expected to rise a month or two after the elections in October. Power utilities In Brazil stated that the loss of hydro-generating capacity had cost them 15.8bn reais (£4.3bn). Most of this was spent on more expensive alternative such as oil and other carbon-based fuels that filled the gap in electricity supply. This in turn pushed up Brazil's greenhouse gas emissions in the years of 2015 to 2017.


2014–2017 Brazilian drought, Potential solutions
Analysts see the crisis as a relatively short-term stressor but believe that it has the potential to be the "catalyst" to solve specifically São Paulo's water problems. Short term solutions include drilling more wells and more recycling of water. Long term solutions include the transfer of more water from additional river basins. Thus, a new 15 km connection has been authorised to be built to bring water from the Paraiba do Sul river basin to the Cantareira system, watersheds that have distinct aquatic biota. These water diversion projects transport water between isolated river basins, without regard for ecology or aquatic biodiversity. Also, repair of leaking pipes is estimated to save 6% of total municipal water consumption in São Paulo.


2014–2017 Brazilian drought, Potential solutions
In 2018,  steep fines were implement for above-average water use, but some fear the measure came too late. The Cantareira reservoir was at 6.8% capacity at the start of 2018, even after several afternoons of violent summer rainstorms in São Paulo.


2014–2018 Nicaraguan protests
The 2014–2018 Nicaraguan protests are a series of protests against President of Nicaragua Daniel Ortega and actions performed by his government, the dismantling of the opposition, and violence against peaceful protesters. The protests began in 2014, when the construction of the Nicaragua Canal was about to begin, and several hundred protesters blocked roads and clashed with police during the groundbreaking of the canal. Tens of thousands of Nicaraguans began to protest against President Ortega for what they believe to be a corrupt electoral system.


2014–2018 Nicaraguan protests
The protests were renewed in April 2018 following the Ortega administration's decree of the Nicaraguan Social Security Institute's social security reform increasing taxes and decreasing benefits. Police and the paramilitary groups attacked and killed unarmed protesters, which made people to stand-up. After five days of deadly unrest, Ortega announced the cancellation of the reforms. Since then, Ortega faced the largest protests in his government's history, with the protest movement spreading to denounce Ortega in general and demanding his resignation. Related protests continued in 2018 and thereafter.


2014–2018 Nicaraguan protests, Background
In 2014, Steven Levitsky of Harvard University stated: "Only under the dictatorships of the past ... were presidents reelected for life", with Levitsky further saying that while Latin America experienced democracy, citizens opposed "indefinite reelection, because of the dictatorships of the past." About Nicaragua, Levitsky stated: "In Nicaragua ... reelection is associated with the same problems of 100 years ago." That same year, The Washington Post stated that "Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua ... used the ballot box to weaken or eliminate term limits."


2014–2018 Nicaraguan protests, Background
Early in Ortega's presidency, he allied with Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and his regional block which provided $500 million in oil subsidies annually to Ortega's government. Critics stated that the subsidies worked as a slush fund and helped President Ortega maintain political strength. Going into the 2010s, Venezuela began to experience economic difficulties. On 15 June 2013, President Ortega announced that his government was partnering with Chinese billionaire Wang Jing to construct the Nicaraguan Canal, a plan to construct a canal through Lake Nicaragua and the surrounding area that the Nicaraguan government claimed would benefit the economy of the country. Sergio Ramírez, a former vice president of President Ortega, "suspected Ortega of using the canal to keep himself in office and also, possibly, to enrich himself", with Ramírez stating that "Ortega wants to make it appear that his tenure in power is indispensable in order to consummate this long-term project."


2014–2018 Nicaraguan protests, Background
According to the Business-Anti- Corruption Portal, corruption among political circles within the Nicaraguan government "impairs the functioning of state institutions and limits foreign investment", while multinational companies "report widespread favouritism and impunity among public officials." The Business Anti- Corruption Portal added that "[t]he protection of property rights is weak due to public authorities' failure to enforce court orders." Many campesinos near the canal's path began to protest against President Ortega and the plan due to the Chinese firm's ability to expropriate their land, possibly displacing over 100,000 Nicaraguans.


2014–2018 Nicaraguan protests, Background
Such expropriations were granted by President Ortega's government in 2013 after only three hours of debate, allowing HKND, the developer of the canal, power to confiscate any property it needs in Nicaragua. Some Nicaraguans believed that President Ortega gave up Nicaragua's sovereignty and environment to the Chinese, with one newspaper reminding Nicaraguans that in 2007, President Ortega stated that he would not risk Lake Nicaragua's stability "for all the gold in the world."


2014–2018 Nicaraguan protests, Timeline of events, 2014, December
Protests began on 24 December 2014 with clashes ensuing, with campesino protesters being arrested and allegedly beaten by Nicaraguan authorities, with 47 of the protesters and their leaders being arrested. It was reported that the government was searching each home in the area to find those who participated in the protests. On 26 December, protesters demonstrated outside of El Chipote Prison and were confronted by Sandinista Youth on motorcycles, with some protesters being released later that day. On 30 December 6 of the campesino leaders were released from El Chipote Prison.


2014–2018 Nicaraguan protests, Timeline of events, 2014, December
Members of the Independent Liberal Party also began protesting every Wednesday demanding electoral law reforms. According to Nicaraguan sociologist Manuel Ortega Hegg, the protests against President Ortega "involve a wider range of groups, like campesinos" who were formally allied with Ortega, along with "many who are sympathetic to the government", noting that those who are demonstrating are from "beyond political parties." He further states that since Nicaraguans were left out of the dialogue, that "their only recourse is to take to the streets."


2014–2018 Nicaraguan protests, Timeline of events, 2015, January
In Ometepe, residents greeted a Nicaraguan government medical team with a banner that read "Traitor Ortega, no more lies", with activists in the area stating that the medical team only wanted their identification numbers so they could show that "you're in favor of the canal."


2014–2018 Nicaraguan protests, Timeline of events, 2015, June
On 14 June, thousands of Nicaraguans protested with about 15,000 and 30,000 demonstrating in Juigalpa. The protest consisted mostly of "peasants" with organizers surprised that the number of protesters was larger than the 10,000 they had anticipated.


2014–2018 Nicaraguan protests, Timeline of events, 2015, July
On 8 July, about 200 protesters in Managua demonstrated against what they called electoral rules that "favours Ortega's Sandinista party." Clashes then erupted between authorities and protesters when protesters grew close to the electoral offices, with police beating protesters and journalists, breaking one Associated Press photographer's camera lens. About nine lawmakers from the Independent Liberal Party were also arrested and later released. On 15 July, the weekly protest in Managua was attended by about 300 protesters, with not only the Independent Liberal Party participating but members of the Sandinista Renovation Movement, among others upset with government actions. Multiple buses full of protesters destined to participate at the protest were also stopped by Nicaraguan authorities, with some individuals being temporarily detained.


2014–2018 Nicaraguan protests, Timeline of events, 2016
According to the Economist Intelligence Unit in their August 2016 Nicaragua: Country Outlook report, "management of rural protests, particularly those related to nascent plans for a transoceanic canal, have damaged his support, and complaints about a lack of accountability and transparency in government will intensify."


2014–2018 Nicaraguan protests, Timeline of events, 2016, January
The 56th protest occurred on 9 January, with hundreds of farmers gathered in La Fonseca, demanding that Law 840, the law that granted the construction of the Nicaragua Canal, be revoked. The collection of signatures representing the dissatisfaction with the canal also took place during the demonstrations.


2014–2018 Nicaraguan protests, Timeline of events, 2016, April
On 22 April, thousands of Nicaraguans protested in Managua, with Jose Chavarria, a farmers group leader, stating that protesters would continue to fight the Nicaragua Canal.


2014–2018 Nicaraguan protests, Timeline of events, 2016, June
Two United States diplomats and a professor were expelled from Nicaragua on 14 June due to their studies on the canal, with President Ortega stating, "Our government has been forced to remove two people who, being United States government officials with official passports, carried out in Nicaragua without the knowledge of or coordination with our authorities tasks that are the purview of the Nicaraguan government."


2014–2018 Nicaraguan protests, Timeline of events, 2016, June
On 25 June, five foreign activists were deported for alleged possession of explosives after a small fire occurred at a home that was teaching about wood stoves.


2014–2018 Nicaraguan protests, Timeline of events, 2016, June
The United States government then issued a travel warning to its own visitors on 29 June due to the Nicaraguan government's reactions to protest, which included the deportation and expulsion of foreign visitors.


2014–2018 Nicaraguan protests, Timeline of events, 2016, November
On 29 November 2016, a protest destined to the capital city of Managua was met with roadblocks from Nicaraguan authorities. At the starting point 300 kilometres (190 mi) from Managua in Nueva Guinea, protests turned to clashes resulting in eleven injured.


2014–2018 Nicaraguan protests, Timeline of events, 2017, April
Police in the city of Juigalpa east of Managua prevented vehicles involved in protests from traveling on 22 April 2017, with at least 20 protesters arrested.


2014–2018 Nicaraguan protests, Timeline of events, 2018, February
By February 2018, many analysts viewed the canal project as defunct, with the main investor having lost much of his fortune in the 2015–2016 economic crisis, and other Chinese investment having turned to focus on Panama, the Nicaragua project's main competitor. Nonetheless, the head of the canal authority in Nicaragua insisted work on the project was slow due to the project's size but still on-going. The Chinese company that had been granted the concession for the canal maintains legal rights to it and to side projects in the country, short of a 60% vote to revoke the legislation. As of August 2019, the project remained in a state of limbo.


2014–2018 Nicaraguan protests, Timeline of events, 2018, April
On 16 April 2018, demonstrators marched in the capital of Managua to protest what they regarded as an insufficient government response to forest fires that burned 5,500 hectares (13,600 acres) of the Indio Maiz Biological Reserve, a tropical nature preserve that is home to Rama and Kriol indigenous people, as well as significant biodiversity and endangered species. Counterprotests supported the Sandinista Front government.


2014–2018 Nicaraguan protests, Timeline of events, 2018, April
On Wednesday, 18 April, protests in the capital expanded in response to the Ortega and Murillo administration announcement of social security reforms that raised income and payroll taxes while reducing pension benefits by 5%. Demonstrations also emerged in six more cities, meeting with heavy response from authorities following the deployment of the Nicaraguan Army to respond to protesters ordered by President Ortega. At least 26 people were killed, including journalist Angel Gahona of the news program Meridiano, with Gahona being shot to death outside of city hall in Bluefields while streaming on Facebook Live. Reports also emerged that various forms of independent media were censored during the protests.


2014–2018 Nicaraguan protests, Timeline of events, 2018, April
On Saturday 21 April, Ortega made his first public appearance, announcing he would hold negotiations for possible revision of the reforms, planned to take effect 1 July; however, he said he would only meet with business leaders, and alleged that demonstrators were being manipulated by gangs and other political interests. Demonstrations increased in response, with protestors objecting to the repression of demonstrations and the exclusion of other sectors from the negotiations, as well as the reforms themselves.


2014–2018 Nicaraguan protests, Timeline of events, 2018, April
The business chamber Cosep announced it would only participate in the negotiation if police violence ceased, detained protestors were released and free speech was restored. Nicaragua's Roman Catholic Conference of Bishops also called for an end to the police violence and criticized unilateral reforms; Pope Francis subsequently added his call for peace in the country.


2014–2018 Nicaraguan protests, Timeline of events, 2018, April
On Sunday, 22 April, as press described the unrest as the biggest crisis of Ortega's presidency, Ortega announced the cancellation of the social security reforms, acknowledging they were not viable and had created a "dramatic situation." He again proposed negotiations on the issue, this time to include Catholic Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes as well as the business community.


2014–2018 Nicaraguan protests, Timeline of events, 2018, April
On Monday, 23 April, marches of citizens, businessmen and students were presented in Managua demanding the end of violence in the country as well as the release of students arrested by the police and the cessation of censorship of television media, in addition to ask for a response from the government about the students who died during the protests. The protests were the largest seen during the Ortega administration, with tens of thousands of Nicaraguans participating and calling for the resignation of Ortega.


2014–2018 Nicaraguan protests, Timeline of events, 2018, April
On 24 April, over 200 detainees were released by Nicaraguan authorities. This was the result of dialogue between the government and other organizations.


2014–2018 Nicaraguan protests, Timeline of events, 2018, April
By 26 April, it was reported that at least 63 people were killed, mostly by bullet wounds, with more than 160 injured by gunfire.


2015
2015 (MMXV) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2015th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 15th  year of the 3rd millennium, the 15th  year of the 21st century, and the  6th   year of the 2010s decade.


2015 1. deild
The 2015 1. deild was the seventy-second season of second-tier football on the Faroe Islands.


2015 1. deild
Brian Jakobsen scored 32 goals, breaking the goalscoring record in a single season, which would be then broken next year by Leif Niclasen.


2015 1. deild karla
The 2015 1. deild karla (English: Men's First Division) was the 61st season of second-tier Icelandic football. Twelve teams contested the league which began on 8 May and concluded on 19 September.


2015 1. deild karla, Teams
The league was contested by twelve clubs. Eight remained in the division from the 2014 season, while four new clubs joined the 1. deild karla:


2015 1. deild karla, Results grid
Each team plays every opponent once home and away for a total of 22 matches per club; 132 matches altogether.


2015 1. deild kvinnur
The 2015 1. deild kvinnur was the 31st season of women's league football in the Faroe Islands.


2015 1. deild kvinnur
The season was played between 21 March 2015 and 10 October 2015. The defending champions were KÍ, who successfully defended their title for the 15th year running. It was KÍ 17th league title overall and qualified them to play the 2016–17 UEFA Women's Champions League.


2015 1. deild kvinnur, Format
In contrast to last season, just five teams played in the league, as AB and B36 merged. In order to have the same number of matches, the teams played each other five times in the season. Thus each team had 20 matches.


2015 1. divisjon (women)
The 2015 1. divisjon was the second tier of Norwegian women's football in 2015. The season kicked off on 18 April 2015, finishing on 8 November 2015.


2015 1. divisjon (women)
The top placed team was be promoted to next year's Toppserien. The second placed team contested a playoff against the 11th placed team from the 2015 Toppserien for the right to play in Toppserien next season.


2015 1000 Guineas
The 2015 1000 Guineas Stakes was a horse race held at Newmarket Racecourse on Sunday 3 May 2015. It was the 202nd running of the 1000 Guineas.


2015 1000 Guineas
The winner was Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith's Legatissimo, a British-bred bay filly trained in County Tipperary, Ireland by David Wachman and ridden by Ryan Moore. Legatissimo's victory was the first in the race for Wachman, the second for Moore and the third for the Magnier/Tabor/Smith partnership.


2015 1000 Guineas, The contenders
The race attracted a field of thirteen runners, nine trained in the United Kingdom and four in Ireland: there were no challengers from continental Europe. Following the withdrawal of the ante-post favourite Found, the leading Irish contender was the Jim Bolger-trained Lucida, who had won the Rockfel Stakes in 2014 whilst the Aidan O'Brien stable was represented by the C. L. Weld Park Stakes winner Qualify. The County Tipperary stable of David Wachmann had two runners, Legatissimo (winner of a Listed race on her most recent appearance) and Queen Nefertiti.


2015 1000 Guineas, The contenders
The British runners included Tiggy Wiggy who had been named the Champion Two-year-old Filly after wins in the Weatherbys Super Sprint, Lowther Stakes and Cheveley Park Stakes. The lightly-raced pair Redstart and Jellicle Ball, who had finished first and second ahead of Tiggy Wiggy in the Fred Darling Stakes were also in the field. The other runners included Fadhayyil (runner-up in the Rockfel Stakes), Osaila (Nell Gwyn Stakes), Malabar (Prestige Stakes) and the Godolphin representative Local Time, who had won her last six races including the UAE 1000 Guineas and the UAE Oaks. The field was completed by the Listed race winners Irish Rookie (Montrose Stakes) and Terror (Bosra Sham Stakes).


2015 1000 Guineas, The contenders
Lucida headed the betting at odds of 9/2 ahead of Legatissimo (13/2) with Fadhayyil and Jellicle Ball on 7/1. Next in the market were Osaila (15/2), Tiggy Wiggy (9/1) and Malabar (11/1).


2015 1000 Guineas, The race
Redstart broke quickly and set the pace along the stands side from Tiggy Wigqy who raced in the centre of the course before moving over to join the main group. Local Time and  Queen Nefertiti and were among the leaders whilst Lucida and Legatissimo were towards the rear. Two furlongs out, as the fillies reached the cut-away, the race appeared to be wide-open, with all thirteen runners closely grouped. Lucida made rapid progress on the outside and overtook Tiggy Wiggy to take the lead approaching the final furlong, but Legatissimo quickly emerged as a serious challenger.


2015 1000 Guineas, The race
The two Irish fillies drew away from the other runners, with Legatissimo prevailing by three quarters of a length. There was a gap of four and a half lengths back to Tiggy Wiggy who took third ahead of Malabar and Fadhayyil. The winning time of 1:34.60 was the second fastest in the history of the race and almost a second faster than Gleneagles ran in the 2000 Guineas on the same course a day earlier.


2015 12 Hours of Sebring
The 63rd Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida was an endurance sports car racing event held at Sebring International Raceway from March 18-21st. The race was the second round of the 2015 United SportsCar Championship as well as the second of four events in the North American Endurance Cup.


2015 12 Hours of Sebring
The race was won by Action Express Racing's No. 5 Corvette Daytona Prototype, piloted by Sébastien Bourdais, João Barbosa, and Christian Fittipaldi, finishing a full lap ahead of any else in the field. The Prototype Challenge class was won by the No. 52 entry from PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports piloted by Mike Guasch, Tom Kimber-Smith, and Andrew Palmer, securing their second consecutive victory in the season. In the GT Le Mans class, victory went to Corvette Racing's No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R driven by Antonio García, Ryan Briscoe, and Jan Magnussen.


2015 12 Hours of Sebring
Finally, in GT Daytona, victory went to the No. 23 Porsche 911 GT America from Alex Job Racing and Team Seattle driven by Mario Farnbacher, Ian James, and Alex Riberas, though it only took the lead with roughly four minutes to go when the No. 33 Riley Motorsports Dodge Viper GT3-R suffered overheating issues.


2015 2. deild karla
The 2015 2. deild karla (English: Men's Second Division) was the 50th season of third-tier football in Iceland. Twelve teams contest the league. Play began on 9 May and concluded on 19 September.


2015 2. deild karla, Teams
The league is contested by twelve clubs, eight of which played in the division during the 2014 season. There are four new clubs from the previous campaign:


2015 2. deild karla, Results
Each team plays every opponent once home and away for a total of 22 matches per club, and 132 matches altogether.


2015 2. divisjon
The 2015 2. divisjon (often referred to as Oddsen-ligaen for sponsorship reasons) was a Norwegian football third-tier league. The league consisted of 56 teams divided into 4 groups of 14 teams. The winners of the four groups were promoted to the 1. divisjon, while the bottom three teams in each groups were relegated to the 3. divisjon.


2015 2. divisjon
The league was played as a double round-robin tournament, where all teams played 26 matches.


2015 2000 Guineas Stakes
The 2015 2000 Guineas Stakes was the 207th running of the 2000 Guineas Stakes horse race. It was run over one mile at Newmarket Racecourse on 2 May 2015. With the favourite going off at 4/1, this was the most open renewal since 2007 where Adagio headed the field at the same price. Most of the winter ante-post market leaders met the starter at Newmarket - notable absentees being Faydhan, who disappointed in the Free Handicap, and Highland Reel who was diverted to France.


2015 2000 Guineas Stakes, Full result
* The distances between the horses are shown in lengths or shorter – nk = neck


2015 2000 Guineas Stakes, Form analysis, Two-year-old races
Notable runs by the future 2000 Guineas participants as two-year-olds in 2014:


2015 2000 Guineas Stakes, Form analysis, The road to Newmarket
Early-season appearances in 2013, prior to running in the 2000 Guineas:


2015 2000 Guineas Stakes, Form analysis, Subsequent Group 1 wins
Group 1 / Grade I victories after running in the 2000 Guineas:


2015 2000 Guineas Stakes, Subsequent breeding careers
Leading progeny of participants in the 2015 2000 Guineas Stakes.


2015 2000 Guineas Stakes, Subsequent breeding careers
Gleneagles (1st) - Royal Dornoch (1st Royal Lodge Stakes 2019), Royal Lytham - (1st July Stakes 2019)Ivawood (3rd) - Chares (1st Criterium de Lyon 2019)Territories (2nd) - Minor flat winnersEstidhkaar (14th) - Minor flat winnersOl' Man River (18th) - Offspring yet to raceKool Kompany (13th) - Exported to Spain


2015 24 Hours of Daytona
The 53rd Rolex 24 at Daytona was an endurance sports car racing event held at the Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida from 22–25 January 2015. The 53rd running of the 24 Hours of Daytona was also the first race for the 2015 United SportsCar Championship season.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 83rd 24 Hours of Le Mans (French: 83e 24 Heures du Mans) was an 24 hour automobile endurance event for Le Mans Prototype and Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance cars held from 10 to 14 June 2015 at the Circuit de la Sarthe, close to Le Mans, France. It was the 83rd running of the 24 Hour race organised by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest as well as the third round of the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship. A test day was held two weeks prior to the race on 31 May. A record-breaking 263,500 people attended the event.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans
The No. 18 Porsche 919 Hybrid of Neel Jani, Romain Dumas, and Marc Lieb started from pole position after Jani broke the circuit's lap record in qualifying. The race was won by the No. 19 Porsche of Nick Tandy and Le Mans rookies Earl Bamber and Nico Hülkenberg, followed a lap behind by the No. 17 Porsche of Mark Webber, Brendon Hartley and Timo Bernhard. Audi's best car, driven by the title defenders Benoît Tréluyer, Marcel Fässler, and André Lotterer, finished third, a further lap behind the two Porsche vehicles. This was the seventeenth overall victory for Porsche, and their first since 1998.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans
The LMP2 category was won by the KCMG Oreca-Nissan driven by Richard Bradley, Matthew Howson, and Nicolas Lapierre. The trio led all but nine laps of the race but only held a 48-second lead over the Jota Sport Gibson-Nissan at the race's end. Corvette Racing won their first class victory since 2011 despite one of their two cars being withdrawn after an accident in qualifying.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans
Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner, and Jordan Taylor held a five-lap margin in LMGTE Pro over the AF Corse Ferrari in second, after breaking away from the rest of the field in the second half of the race. The LMGTE Am class was led for most of the time by the No. 98 Aston Martin until driver Paul Dalla Lana crashed in the Ford Chicane in the final hour of the race, handing the victory to the SMP Racing Ferrari of Viktor Shaytar, Aleksey Basov, and Andrea Bertolini.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans
The result meant Lotterer, Tréluyer and Fässler remained the leaders of the Drivers' Championship on 80 points, 20 ahead of Tandy, and a further two in front of his co-drivers Bamber and Hülkenberg. Dumas, Jani and Lieb dropped from second to fourth and Bernhard, Hartley and Webber stood in fifth place. Porsche became the new leaders of the Manufacturers' Championship with 140 points; Audi were 16 points behind their nearest rivals with Toyota 69 points adrift in third with five races left in the season.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Schedule and pre-championship standings
The 2015 Le Mans schedule was confirmed in an FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting in Munich on 26 June 2014. It was the 83rd running of the event, and the third of eight scheduled rounds of the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship. Before the race Audi Sport Team Joest drivers André Lotterer, Benoît Tréluyer and Marcel Fässler led the Drivers' Championship with 50 points, 14 ahead of their nearest rivals Romain Dumas, Neel Jani and Marc Lieb and a further 14 in front of third-placed Mike Conway, Stéphane Sarrazin and Alexander Wurz.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Schedule and pre-championship standings
Anthony Davidson and Sébastien Buemi were fourth on 19 points, and Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley and Mark Webber stood in fifth place with 17 points. Audi were leading the Manufacturers' Championship with 70 points, 17 ahead of their rival Porsche in second; the third-place manufacturer Toyota had scored 47 points. Audi had so far dominated the season by winning the first two races of the campaign. Dumas, Jani and Lieb had twice finished in second while Davidson and Buemi along with Bernhard, Hartley and Webber had achieved third-place results.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Circuit and regulation changes
Following the introduction of slow zones during the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans, the race's organiser, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) revised the system for 2015. The limited speed in the zones was increased from 60 km/h (37 mph) to 80 km/h (50 mph). The number of zones around the circuit had also increased from 19 to 35, with a new lighting system to assist marshals added to each zone. Le Mans Prototype (LMP) teams were also required to carry additional flashing rain lights from Le Mans onward following a collision between two prototype cars in the rain at 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps caused by low visibility.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Circuit and regulation changes
Modifications were made to the circuit from Mulsanne Corner to the Corvette Curves. The circuit was widened on the road connecting Mulsanne to Indianapolis, and again from Indianapolis to the Porsche Curves, although the kerbs remained in their previous locations. The first corner of the Porsche Curves had a larger run-off area on the outside while SAFER barriers had been installed on the inside wall. The Corvette corner also now featured a gravel run-off.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Entries, Automatic invitations
Automatic entry invitations were earned by teams that won their class in the previous running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, or won championships in other Le Mans-based series such as the United SportsCar Championship, the European Le Mans Series, and the Asian Le Mans Series. Some championship runners-up were also granted automatic invitations in certain series. All current FIA World Endurance Championship full-season entries also automatically earned invitations. As invitations were granted to teams, they were allowed to change their cars from the previous year to the next, but not allowed to change their category.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Entries, Automatic invitations
In the European Le Mans Series, the "Le Mans" Grand Touring Endurance (LMGTE) class champion and runner-up were allowed to choose between the Pro and Am categories, while the GTC class champion was limited solely to an Am entry. The Asian Le Mans Series GTC competitors were also limited to the LMGTE Am class.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Entries, Automatic invitations
The ACO announced its initial list of automatic entries on 15 December 2014.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Entries, Entry list
In conjunction with the announcement of entries for the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship and the European Le Mans Series seasons, the ACO announced the full 56 car entry list for Le Mans, plus seven reserves. In addition to the 35 guaranteed entries from the World Endurance Championship, 13 entries came from the European Le Mans Series, three from the United SportsCar Championship, two from the Asian Le Mans Series, while the rest of the field was filled with one-off entries only competing at Le Mans.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Entries, Reserves
Seven reserves were initially nominated by the ACO, limited to the LMP2 and LMGTE Am categories. Algarve Pro Racing withdrew their reserve LMP2 entry, while Riley Motorsports was promoted from the reserve list when the second SARD-Morand entry withdrew from the World Endurance Championship. Five reserves remained on the list: A second KCMG LMP2, a second Ibañez LMP2, a third Proton Porsche, and the Formula Racing Ferrari and Gulf Racing Porsche.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Testing and practice
A pre-Le Mans testing day was held at the circuit on 31 May, involving all 56 entries as well as the KCMG Oreca-Nissan, Ibañez Oreca-Nissan, Gulf Racing Porsche, and Formula Racing Ferrari reserve entries. Two LMP3 class Ginetta vehicles and two additional AF Corse Ferrari cars also participated. The two four-hour sessions were held under mixed weather conditions as rain swept through the area several times.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Testing and practice
Neel Jani set the fastest time in the early session with a three minutes and 21.945 seconds for the No. 18 Porsche, but Hartley improved to a three minutes and 21.061 seconds in the sister No. 17 Porsche. Audi's best time was a three minutes and 22.307 seconds for Marco Bonanomi in the No. 9 car, while Toyota could only muster a three minutes and 25.321 seconds lap. Laurens Vanthoor was the fastest LMP2 driver in the No. 34 OAK Ligier-Honda.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Testing and practice
Darren Turner's No. 97 Aston Martin was quickest in LMGTE Pro while Pedro Lamy helped Aston Martin also lead in LMGTE Am. The session served as the first appearance for the trio of Nissan GT-R LM Nismo amongst its World Endurance Championship competitors, although the cars were not on pace with the LMP1 field. After the test several prototype teams, including all Audi, Porsche, Toyota and Nissan cars participated in an unofficial test on the shorter Bugatti Circuit the following day to ensure car components were working efficiently before the race.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Testing and practice
Four hours of practice were held for the field on Wednesday afternoon, but again suffered from variable wet-weather throughout. The No. 17 Porsche once again led the session although Webber was the fastest driver to set the three minutes and 21.362 seconds lap time. Audi closed to within half a second with Loïc Duval's three minutes and 21.950 seconds lap. The LMP2 category had only a single car manage a lap under three minutes and 40 seconds when Richard Bradley set a three minutes and 39.897 seconds lap, a full second ahead of the No. 34 OAK Ligier-Honda.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Testing and practice
The KCMG car had earlier caused the session to be red flagged when the car came to a stop at the first Mulsanne Straight chicane. The Murphy Prototypes Oreca-Nissan later caused a second stoppage when Mark Patterson spun in the Porsche Curves entry and heavily impacted the safety barrier. Patterson was unhurt. The LMGTE Pro category was again led by Aston Martin, Richie Stanaway's No. 99 car setting a three minutes and 55.895 seconds lap, followed by the No. 64 Corvette and the No. 97 Aston Martin. Mathias Lauda kept the No. 98 Aston Martin ahead in LMGTE Am, nearly two seconds ahead of the two Proton Porsche cars.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Qualifying
The first dry session of the week occurred on Wednesday night in the first of three qualifying sessions. The first timed laps of the session immediately saw the qualifying record for the track, in its current configuration, broken. Bernhard's first timed lap of three minutes and 17.767 seconds in the No. 17 Porsche broke the 2008 record by nearly a second, only to be followed by Jani in the No. 18 Porsche with a three minutes and 16.887 seconds lap time.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Qualifying
Neither driver improved their times over the rest of the session, giving the No. 18 Porsche provisional pole position, followed in third by the remaining Porsche 919. The Audi trio followed, with Duval leading the group but nearly three seconds off the pole pace. Toyota's best effort came from Sarrazin in the No. 2 car, nearly two seconds adrift of the Audi's lap times. Nissan's lap times improved to a three minutes and 38.468 seconds, but were over twenty seconds off the pole position time.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Qualifying
The fastest LMP2 lap time was also set early in the session, with Richard Bradley recording a three minutes and 38.032 seconds time in the KCMG Oreca-Nissan, nearly a full second ahead of the Greaves Motorsport Gibson-Nissan. The Greaves car, driven by rookie Gaëtan Paletou, later caused the session's only stoppage when it collided with the safety barriers at Mulsanne Corner and had to be towed back to the garage. Aston Martin dominated the LMGTE categories in the first qualifying session, with four of their five entries leading the overall positions in the category.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Qualifying
Stanaway set the fastest time of three minutes and 54.928 seconds in the No. 99 car, while Pedro Lamy was the fastest Amateur category entry with a three minutes and 55.102 seconds lap to be second fastest among all LMGTE cars. Gianmaria Bruni's AF Corse Ferrari was third amongst LMGTEs before ACO officials disallowed their fastest lap times for going beyond the track limits, demoting the car down the grid. The two remaining LMGTE Pro Aston Martin drivers followed the dual class pole sitters, with Corvette the first car from another marque.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Qualifying
Initial weather forecasts predicted rain for the Thursday qualifying sessions, but it failed to materialise. The teams had two full sessions of clear but hot and humid weather. Nick Tandy's Porsche led the session with a three minutes and 18.862 seconds lap, but remained in third position on the provisional grid. Audi No. 7 was the only other car to put in an improved lap time amongst the top ten cars. TDS Racing was the fastest LMP2 car in the session with a three minutes and 40.441 seconds yet still over two seconds behind the pole time of KCMG.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Qualifying
The LMGTE categories also remained much the same, as Aston Martin still occupied the top four qualifying positions. Twice the session was stopped for heavy accidents, first for the No. 55 AF Corse Ferrari of Duncan Cameron who became stuck in a gravel trap for about fifteen minutes. The second stoppage occurred when Jan Magnussen suffered a mechanical failure in his No. 63 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R and hit the barriers twice in the Porsche Curves. Repairs to the barriers forced the cancellation of the remainder of the session, although half an hour was added to the final qualifying session. Magnussen was transported to the track's medical centre for a check-up and later released by the race organiser's medical staff. The Corvette was unable to be repaired and the team was forced to withdraw from the race because they did not bring a spare chassis to Le Mans.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Qualifying
As temperatures cooled in the final qualifying session, over a third of the field improved their fastest laps, but Jani's pole position time was unchallenged. Audi No. 7 led the session with a three minutes and 20.967 seconds lap time, still over four seconds shy of pole position. Nissan improved all three of their cars during the session, closing to within a second of the closest LMP1 competitor. The No. 26 G-Drive Ligier-Nissan closed to within a second of KCMG to take the second grid position in LMP2, while Greaves remained in third.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Qualifying
In LMGTE Pro the No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari rebounded from the loss of their qualifying times in the first session to lead the final session and come within a tenth of a second of Aston Martin. The sister AF Corse Ferrari also improved to fourth in the category to split the top of the grid in the class amongst the two manufacturers. The lead in LMGTE Am remained with the No. 98 Aston Martin, a second and a half ahead of the No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari. SMP Racing improved their time by leading both of the day's qualifying sessions to take second place on the grid, splitting the Aston Martin cars. The No. 67 AAI Porsche suffered a fire during the session which halted qualifying for nearly half an hour.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Qualifying
Porsche's pole position was their sixth consecutive in the FIA World Endurance Championship, extending back to the 2014 6 Hours of Shanghai. It was also the company's first pole position at Le Mans since 1997.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Qualifying, Qualifying results
Provisional pole positions in each class are denoted in bold. The fastest time set by each entry is denoted with a grey background.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Warm-up
The cars took to the circuit on Saturday morning for a 45-minute warm-up session in dry and clear weather. The No. 9 Audi driven by Filipe Albuquerque set the fastest time with a lap of three minutes and 19.423 seconds. The sister Audi cars of Jarvis and Fässler were second and third overall. Dumas was fourth-fastest. His teammate Bernhard was fifth quickest and had the fastest lap before Albuquerque set his time. The fastest LMP2 lap was set by Mitch Evans with a time of three minutes and 39.559 seconds.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Warm-up
Stefan Mücke, driving the No. 97 Aston Martin, was the quickest driver in the LMGTE Pro category with the No. 88 Proton Porsche driven by Klaus Bachler the fastest of the LMGTE Am drivers. Gianluca Roda damaged the front-right corner of his No. 50 Larbre Compétition Corvette in a heavy crash at the Porsche Curves.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Start
The conditions on the grid were dry and sunny before the race with an air temperature between 19 to 22 °C (66 to 72 °F) and a track temperature ranging from 23 to 25 °C (73 to 77 °F). A record-breaking 263,500 people attended the race. The French tricolour was waved at 15:00 Central European Summer Time (UTC+02:00), by the executive chairman of the Ford Motor Company Bill Ford to start the race, led by starting pole sitter Jani.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Start
Fifty five cars planned to take the start following the withdrawal of the No. 63 Chevrolet Corvette, but the No. 23 Nissan missed the opening laps while undergoing repairs to its clutch. Bernhard overtook Jani on the first lap while the trio of Audi cars were able to pass the No. 19 Porsche by the end of the second lap. The top six cars remained within a few seconds of each other as the group pulled away from the Toyota drivers. Duval lost third place to teammate Lotterer after battling with Jani through traffic for second position.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Start
The first hour of the race ended with the first retirement as the No. 92 Manthey Porsche began leaking oil and spun at the first chicane of the Mulsanne Straight. Despite resuming driver Patrick Pilet pulled to the side of the track further down the Mulsanne Straight as the engine compartment soon caught fire. The No. 42 Strakka Dome-Nissan of Jonny Kane and Alexandre Imperatori in the No. 13 Rebellion car were caught off guard by Pilet's oil and collided with one another in the chicane, stranding the Rebellion in the gravel trap while the Dome returned to the pit lane for repairs.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Start
The safety cars were deployed to slow the race as marshals worked for twenty-two minutes to dry the spilled oil along the Mulsanne Straight. As the safety cars were recalled, Lotterer in the No. 7 Audi used slower traffic to pass both Porsche drivers in front of him and take over the race lead, just as Nico Hülkenberg moved to fourth place by passing the remaining Audi cars. In the LMP2 category the safety car had split the field up, leaving the TDS Racing and KCMG Oreca-Nissan cars forty seconds ahead of their class rivals.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Start
Richard Bradley for KCMG was able to fight with TDS Racing's Tristan Gommendy on the restart and eventually retake the class lead it had lost at the race start. Lotterer was later forced to give up the race lead as a puncture on one of the No. 7's tyres required an extra pit stop, allowing Hartley's No. 17 Porsche to the front of the race.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Start
Duval was caught on an approach to a slow zone (which was enforced to allow a marshal to retrieve debris at Indianapolis) by a group of slowed LMGTE cars and took avoiding action by steering right into the grass off track. The No. 8 Audi clipped the No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari's (Giancarlo Fisichella) right-hand section and was thrown back sideways across the track, impacting the outside barriers head on heavily driving into Indianapolis corner and ripping the car's front bodywork off. Safety cars were required once again as the barriers needed lengthy repairs, while Duval was able to drive the damaged Audi back to the garage. Repairs took less than five minutes and the car resumed in eighth place.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Start
Several cars suffered issues during the second safety car period. Nicki Thiim brought the No. 95 Aston Martin from the LMGTE Pro lead straight to the team's garage with a leaking power steering system, handing the class lead to its sister No. 99 Aston Martin driven by Fernando Rees. Christian Ried in the No. 88 Proton Porsche suffered an engine fire in the second Mulsanne Straight chicane, extending the safety car period as it was tended to.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Start
KCMG retained their LMP2 class lead ahead of the TDS Racing car while behind the safety car, while the sole Corvette, No. 71 AF Corse Ferrari, and two circulating Aston Martin vehicles were nose to tail in LMGTE Pro, continuing their battle after the safety car period ended. Oliver Gavin's Corvette eventually pulled away from the rest of the LMGTE Pro field. The Riley Viper relinquished its lead in LMGTE Am to the No. 98 Aston Martin of Paul Dalla Lana and the SMP Ferrari driven by François Perrodo.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Start
As the safety car period ended the No. 17 Porsche of Hartley held the race lead, but Albuquerque was in pursuit in the No. 9 Audi, breaking the Le Mans lap record with a time of three minutes and 17.647 seconds. The No. 9 Audi was able to mount a better challenge to the leading Porsche, and René Rast was able to take the race lead after pit stops.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Night and morning
During the sixth hour of the race Gary Hirsch lost power in his Greaves Gibson-Nissan through the Esses and came to a halt; the car would later be abandoned after Hirsch was unable to repair a broken battery terminal. The No. 71 Ferrari was forced to the garage to fix starter motor problems, bowing out of its battle with Corvette and Aston Martin in LMGTE Pro. As dusk settled on the circuit, the No. 18 Porsche of Dumas braked too late for Mulsanne Corner and hit a tyre barrier.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Night and morning
The car was able to return to the pit lane, only requiring new front bodywork, but the car fell to fifth position. Not long after Paul-Loup Chatin crashed his Signatech Alpine at Mulsanne Corner, bringing the safety cars out for the third time of the race. During this slow period Rob Bell pulled the No. 97 Aston Martin off course and onto the inside run-off area at the Mulsanne Straight and retired.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Night and morning
When racing resumed, Hülkenberg was able to attack the leaders, first overtaking Webber's Porsche around the outside on the opening lap then passing Rast when he made a scheduled pit stop. Webber was later given a one-minute stop and go penalty for passing in a yellow flag zone, dropping him to fourth place. Nissan lost one of their three LMP1 entries when Tsugio Matsuda's No. 21 car stopped at Arnage with a suspension failure that caused its front-left wheel to detach from the vehicle and was unable to continue. The No. 22 Nissan also suffered a setback when it hit a loose wheel out on the Mulsanne Straight at 299 km/h (186 mph) and required a lengthy repair to its front-end.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Night and morning
As the race approached its halfway point, Lotterer gained on the No. 9 Audi and moved into second place, becoming Audi's lead challenger to Porsche. Several LMGTE cars took the opportunity to change brake discs at this point in the morning, including Rees in the No. 99 Aston Martin. Returning to the track Rees' car failed to stop in time for the first Mulsanne Straight chicane and hit the rear of the TDS Racing Oreca-Nissan of Gommendy.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Night and morning
The Oreca, which had held second place in the LMP2 category, was abandoned in the gravel at the chicane while Rees limped the damaged Aston Martin back to the garage for repairs to its front-left corner. The No. 26 G-Drive Ligier took over second place in LMP2, although still a lap behind the leading KCMG Oreca while the lead in LMGTE Pro was now left to Jordan Taylor's No. 64 Corvette and the No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari of Bruni on the same lap.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Night and morning
After leaving the pit lane, Pierre Ragues's No. 43 Morand car billowed smoke because of an oil pressure sensor failure and his vehicle caught fire, causing him to retire at Arnage corner. In the early morning the No. 7 Audi's hold on second place was relinquished when the right-rear bodywork of the car came apart on the circuit and littered debris at the Porsche Curves, requiring a seven-minute stop for repairs and dropping the car down the race order.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Night and morning
Roald Goethe was caught off guard as Hülkenberg lapped his No. 96 Aston Martin in Corvette Corner, causing Goethe to spin and heavily impact a concrete barrier leaving the turn. Goethe was conscious but needed aid in getting out of the Aston Martin requiring the intervention of a fourth safety car period. He was transported to a local hospital where he remained for several days and underwent surgery to two vertebra which had been fractured. Oliver Turvey had been the fastest driver in LMP2 at the time, bringing the Jota Gibson-Nissan into third place.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Night and morning
The No. 64 Corvette of Gavin came to the pit lane during the safety car period to change brakes, but was unable to get back out of pit lane in time before the exit was closed, forfeiting the class lead to Toni Vilander's No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari. When racing resumed Webber was able to attack the No. 9 Audi after driving through traffic and take second position. Nick Leventis' No. 42 Strakka Dome pulled off the track on the front stretch with gearbox issues and fluids leaked from his car, requiring a local slow zone. The No. 7


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Night and morning
Audi of Lotterer made contact with Tandy's leading Porsche while both cars were in the slow zone, earning Lotterer a drive-through penalty. Viktor Shaytar overran the Indianapolis corner and became stuck in the gravel, losing two laps as it was extracted by recovery vehicles and went into the pit lane but remaining in second place in LMGTE Am.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Night and morning
The No. 9 Audi began to fall off the race pace after multiple visits to the garage for repairs to its hybrid system, but the No. 7 Audi kept fighting as Lotterer reset the fastest lap of the race with a three minutes and 17.476 seconds time. KCMG had an anxious moment when Lapierre missed the Indianapolis corner, but recovered with marshal assistance without losing the LMP2 class lead.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Night and morning
The No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari slowed on course and came to the garage with gearbox issues, handing the LMGTE Pro lead back to Corvette and allowing the No. 71 AF Corse Ferrari to climb to second place after recovering from its earlier issues. Vanthoor drove his car into his pitbox with gearbox problems but his team were unable to repair it before the race's conclusion and retired.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Night and morning
Jann Mardenborough's Nissan came to a halt at the Porsche Curves after smoke bellowed out of the front of the car as the gearbox failed, leaving Nissan with a single car left circulating. Light rain began to fall on portions of the circuit in the final hour, but it was not heavy enough to affect the race.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Night and morning
Dalla Lana, having led the previous 125 laps in LMGTE Am and within forty five minutes of the race finish, went straight on at the Ford Chicane and crashed heavily into an outside tyre barrier, ending the car's run and promoting the SMP Ferrari to the class lead which it held to the finish. Dalla Lana was unhurt.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Finish
Unhindered in the final hours of the race, Hülkenberg took the chequered flag for the No. 19 Porsche, a lap ahead of Hartley's No. 17 Porsche. Audi, in only their third defeat at Le Mans since 2000, were a further lap behind in third place with the No. 7 car. Toyota, unable to match the pace of Audi and Porsche, were twelve laps behind for a seventh-place finish, while debutants Nissan successfully finished the race with one of their cars, although it failed to complete enough laps for classification.


2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Finish
Hülkenberg became the first active Formula One driver to win Le Mans since Johnny Herbert and Bertrand Gachot in 1991 and the first rookie to clinch overall victory since Laurent Aïello in 1998. Tandy became the 32nd British driver to win the event as well as the first Englishman since Guy Smith in 2003, and co-driver Earl Bamber was the third New Zealander after Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon to achieve the overall win. It was also Porsche's seventeenth overall victory in the 24-hour race.