2015 Kosovo protests
Most of Kosovo citizens were overwhelmingly offended, including the opposition who immediately asked for Jablanović's resignation. The protests after his statements began in Gjakova and continued until 17 January, where around 10,000 people turned to the city center. The demonstrations shortly expanded to Peja, Deçan, Gjilan, and the whole territory of Kosovo. On 19 January, Jablanović formally apologised for his statements.


2015 Kosovo protests
On 24 and 27 January 2015, national-level protests took place in Kosovo's capital, Pristina, where roughly 50,000 people turned to streets to demand Jablanović's resignation and the return of Trepča as a public institution of the Republic of Kosovo. However, the protests turned violent due to the clash with the police. It was internationally proclaimed as the worst unrest since 2008.


2015 Kosovo protests
On 3 February 2015, Prime Minister Isa Mustafa announced that Aleksandar Jablanović would no longer be part of the cabinet, and therefore his resignation was confirmed. His resignation was welcomed by the opposition and other citizens, but criticized by the Government of Serbia.


2015 Kosovo protests, Background
Prior to the local and national protests and the formation of the new government on 9 December 2014, disapproval and anti-governmental actions had already started. At least 20,000 people from Kosovo, whose vast majority were youth, were instantly trying to illegally emigrate to the European Union, through Serbia and Hungary, due to the high unemployment rate.


2015 Kosovo protests, Background, Unemployment and illegal emigration
According to a 2014 report by the Kosovo Agency of Statistics, the unemployment rate in the country is 30%, of whom, the unemployment from the age of 15–24 is at 55.9%. Due to the high number of unemployment and the current poverty, roughly 50% of the emigrants were youth between the age of 15–24, who were seeking a better life in the European Union through illegal emigration. Most of them, would enter Serbia and then illegally move to Hungary. The situation gained national attention, and most citizens would blame the government, due to its failure to prevent the emigration and to shrink the unemployment rate. President Atifete Jahjaga and other government official expressed their concern.


2015 Kosovo protests, Background, Trepča status
On 14 January 2015, the Government of Kosovo passed a bill to the parliament to return the Trepča Mines, as a public institution of the Republic of Kosovo. The decision was revoked, due to the Serbian government threats; although the government had denied Serbia's intervention, by justifying the decision, saying that a similar move would leave thousands of people unemployed, and announced they would shortly return the mines as an institution of Kosovo.


2015 Kosovo protests, Background, Trepča status
The move to revoke the bill was widely opposed by Kosovo's citizens and the Kosovan opposition, saying that it was damaging the sovereignty of Kosovo. At the following parliament sessions, opposition's reaction was extremely negative, with most of them, either leaving the assembly, or constantly threatening the position.


2015 Kosovo protests, Background, Trepča status
United Kingdom's ambassador to the Republic of Kosovo, Ian Cliff said that "Trepça is a property of Kosovo", because it's located in the territory of Kosovo and should therefore be a public institution of the Republic. He was also against putting Trepča as a topic in the Belgrade–Pristina negotiations because it was a matter for  Kosovo.


2015 Kosovo protests, Background, January protests
Kosovan opposition Vetëvendosje!, Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, Initiative for Kosovo, New Kosovo Alliance and others demanded Jablanović's resignation and the return of the Trepča Mines as a public institution of the Republic of Kosovo. They called for the first national-level protest on 24 January 2015, where thousands of protesters turned to streets, with the motto Jabllanoviq jashtë! Trepça është e jona! (Jablanovic out! Trepça is ours!). The building of the government was damaged. The vandalism was condemned by President Atifete Jahjaga.


2015 Kosovo protests, Background, January protests
The second national-level protest was held at the Mother Teresa square in Pristina on 27 January, supported by Vetëvendosje, AAK, NISMA, Thirrjet e nënave, and most Kosovo Albanian citizens. It began as a quiet and peaceful demonstration with the same requests and motto as the first protest. However, it became very violent when protesters clashed with Kosovo Police. Shpend Ahmeti, Mayor of Pristina was arrested, although he was immediately freed, and other politicians as well. Prime Minister Isa Mustafa and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy PM Hashim Thaçi condemned the protests and the violence. Dozens of protesters were injured, and it was later confirmed that the Kosovo Police had used tear gas.


2015 Kowloon City District Council election
The 2015 Kowloon City District Council election was held on 22 November 2015 to elect all 24 members of the Kowloon City District Council.


2015 Kremlin Cup
The 2015 Kremlin  Cup was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 26th edition of the Kremlin Cup for the men and the 20th edition for the women. The tournament was part of the ATP World Tour 250 Series of the 2015 ATP World Tour, and of the Premier Series of the 2015 WTA Tour. It was held at the Olympic Stadium in Moscow, Russia, from 19 October through 25 October 2015.


2015 Kremlin Cup, ATP singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2015 Kremlin Cup, ATP doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw:


2015 Kremlin Cup, WTA singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2015 Kremlin Cup, WTA doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw:


2015 Kremlin Cup – Men's Doubles
František Čermák and Jiří Veselý were the defending champions, but Veselý chose not to participate. Čermák played alongside Radu Albot, but lost in the final to Andrey Rublev and Dmitry Tursunov, 6–2, 1–6, [6–10].


2015 Kremlin Cup – Men's Singles
Marin Čilić was the defending champion and successfully defended his title, defeating Roberto Bautista Agut in the final, 6–4, 6–4.


2015 Kremlin Cup – Men's Singles, Seeds
The top four seeds received a bye into the second round.


2015 Kremlin Cup – Women's Doubles
Martina Hingis and Flavia Pennetta were the defending champions, but chose not to participate this year.


2015 Kremlin Cup – Women's Doubles
Daria Kasatkina and Elena Vesnina won the title, beating Irina-Camelia Begu and Monica Niculescu 6–3, 6–7(7–9) , [10–5] in the final.


2015 Kremlin Cup – Women's Singles
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova was the defending champion, but lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final, 2–6, 1–6.


2015 Kremlin Cup – Women's Singles, Seeds
The top four seeds received a bye into the second round.


2015 Kumanovo clashes
A shootout which erupted during a raid between Macedonian police and an armed group identifying itself as the National Liberation Army (NLA) occurred on 9 May 2015 in the northern Macedonian town of Kumanovo. During the shootings, eight Macedonian policemen and 10 of the militants were killed, while 37 officers were wounded and hospitalized. The shooting ended on 10 May 2015, in an operation by the Macedonian police and armed forces, in which 28 men were arrested and charged with terrorism-related charges by the Macedonian authorities.


2015 Kumanovo clashes, Prelude
The event took place during a deep political crisis in Macedonia, dating back to the 2014 general elections. The main opposition party, Social Democratic Union of Macedonia, has been making allegations on electoral fraud, denounced the conservative VMRO-DPMNE's party victory and has boycotted the Macedonian Assembly since. Since early 2015, the Social Democratic leader, Zoran Zaev, came into possession of mass illegal wire-tap recordings allegedly orchestrated by Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski. Zaev started releasing the so-called information "bombs," a series of wire-tapped conversations between the conservative government officials, most of them including Macedonia's prime minister Nikola Gruevski. In doing so, he has made allegations that Gruevski has ordered the wire-tapping of some 20,000 Macedonian citizens and having control over the court system in Macedonia.


2015 Kumanovo clashes, Prelude
In October 2014, a building of the Macedonian government was attacked by two projectiles likely to have been fired from an RPG launcher. Around one week after the attack, a letter arrived at the Macedonian Albanian-language television station Alsat-M signed by a group claiming ties with the dissolved NLA taking responsibility for the attack. The NLA was also the main player in the 2001 insurgency in Macedonia. The document said that the Macedonian government is running a pro-Russian ideology, and that the NLA demands Macedonia join the European Union and NATO by all means.


2015 Kumanovo clashes, Prelude
According to Macedonian police reports, on 21 April 2015, a police watchtower at the border between Macedonia and the Kosovo, in the mountain village of Gošince, was attacked by 40 heavily armed men wearing uniforms and claiming to be the NLA.


2015 Kumanovo clashes, Prelude
On 3 May 2015, the headquarters of the largest ethnic Albanian party in Macedonia, the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI), was attacked with a hand grenade. There were no casualties, and no suspects. It was suspected that the attack was due to rising criticism of the DUI party among ethnic Albanians due to alleged close ties with the governing conservative party.


2015 Kumanovo clashes, Prelude
The opposition accused the government of allegedly trying to cover-up the death of a man in 2011 and a journalist in 2013, which was followed-up by violent protests against alleged police brutality on 5 May 2015. Officials said that 38 policemen were injured.


2015 Kumanovo clashes, Event
Macedonian media released claims of inhabitants of Zajaz in Kumanovo that they saw around 50 armed men in the early morning. A large community of ethnic Albanians live in the region. The government issued a statement that the armed group numbered 50–70, and the armed men hid in private homes in the Kumanovo neighborhood of Divo Naselje. The armed group used automatic rifles, sniper rifles, and grenades against the police, and were said by officials to be well-trained. The Macedonian police suffered 3 dead and 12 were wounded in the morning, while unofficial sources claim over 20 wounded policemen.


2015 Kumanovo clashes, Event
The inhabitants in the area were evacuated by Macedonian police during the day. Serbian media reported that a large number of Albanians from Kumanovo crossed the border into Serbia. During the clashes, the OSCE Mission to Skopje representatives were in contact with members of the armed group and representatives from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. On 14 May, US Ambassador to the OSCE, Daniel B. Baer thanked the OSCE Mission to Skopje for its "constructive role in facilitating a ceasefire".


2015 Kumanovo clashes, Event
Around 18:00 CET, the Macedonian media reported that the fighting had stopped, with 27 of the militants having surrendered. However, after most of them surrendered in the evening, there was still sporadic shooting. Macedonian investigators identified the militants as Macedonian and Kosovan nationals, and that they had the intention to attack government institutions and buildings. According to Albanian media NLA claims responsibility. By 10 May, the Macedonian police confirmed that the armed group had been neutralised. Eight policemen were killed..


2015 Kumanovo clashes, Aftermath
After the attack, Macedonian prosecutors charged 30 militants with terrorism. Authorities said that 18 of the suspects were ethnic Albanian illegal immigrants from Kosovo. The Macedonian Interior Ministry stated that eight police officers and 14 gunmen were killed in the operation, while 37 officers were wounded. On 10 May 2015, the President of the Republic of Macedonia Gjorge Ivanov called an emergency meeting of the country's National Security Council where the leadership of the Macedonian Army, police, and political leaders from governing and opposition parties met in the presidential palace to discuss the events.


2015 Kumanovo clashes, Aftermath
After the meeting, Ivanov stated that "police have prevented coordinated terrorist attacks at different locations in the country that would cause serious destabilization, chaos and fear," adding that the authorities were aware of the armed group's activities since "early 2015." The Macedonian government declared two national days of mourning after the attacks for the police officers that lost their lives during the attack.


2015 Kumanovo clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
In his speech, the Macedonian prime minister Gruevski, praised the police operation calling it a "highly professional, heroic and patriotic action," adding that the "group planned to attack sports events, shopping malls, as well as state-run institutions." He also hailed the eight Macedonian policemen that died during the raid, but also claimed that "their courage may have prevented the killing of some other 8,000 people." Gruevski, during his televised address, said "this is not a Macedonian-Albanian conflict, but a conflict between people who mean no good to the state and people who uphold the state."


2015 Kumanovo clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
President Ivanov said that the Macedonian authorities were aware of the presence of the terrorist group within the country since the beginning of 2015. During his speech at the National Security Council he added that he had informed representatives from the European Union and NATO about the existence of the militant group, without "much results" from the organisations.


2015 Kumanovo clashes, Aftermath, Official statements
He also stated that "at the meeting of the National Security Council, which was attended by representatives of the opposition, the attack on the security of the country, whose aim was to destabilise Macedonia, was condemned in the strongest terms," pointing out that "it is high time that those conversations intensified" on the matter of Macedonia joining the European Union and NATO.


2015 Kumanovo clashes, Aftermath, Allegations
The clashes occurred shortly after the release of audio surveillance revealing corruption on a massive scale committed by the leading party in government. Many opposition leaders and political experts claim the shootout was politically set-up in order to divert the public's attention away from the scandals revolving around the corruption allegations. They also claim there is evidence that the group was paid 2 million euros in order to carry out the clashes. Due to how sensitive and controversial this event was, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev declared there will be an international probe.


2015 Kumho Tyres Australian V8 Touring Car Series
The 2015 Kumho Tyres Australian V8 Touring Car Series was an Australian motor racing competition for de-registered V8 Supercars. It was sanctioned by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport as a National Series, with Tri State Racing Pty Ltd appointed as the Category Manager. The series was the eighth in a sequence of annual Australian V8 Touring Car Series and the fifth to carry sponsorship from Kumho Tyres.


2015 Kumho Tyres Australian V8 Touring Car Series, Points system
Series points were awarded on the following basis at each round:


2015 Kundby bomb plot
The Kundby case was a 2016 plan to bomb two schools in Denmark, including a Jewish school in Copenhagen. The plan was made by a 15-year-old Danish girl from Kundby, Denmark who had converted to Islam and became an enthusiastic supporter of jihad and of ISIS. The police found chemicals to create a bomb in her home in Kundby.


2015 Kundby bomb plot, Background
A 15-year-old Muslim girl planned to build a bomb to blow up two schools in Denmark: Sydskolen in Fårevejle (near Holbæk), which she previously attended, and Carolineskolen, a Jewish school in Copenhagen. The plotter was 17 at the time of her trial. An American captain from Iraq warned Denmark, which led to detention of the girl and a 24-year-old Turkish man. The plotter, a recent convert to Islam, wrote on her Facebook page of her desire to help convert more Danish people to Islam and joined a Facebook page of ISIS supporters. She is described as having undergone a rapid transformation, changing within a few months from a teenager interested in clothes and boys, into a young woman interested in fighting a holy war. She told the court that she became interested because Islamist ideas and ISIS were "exciting".


2015 Kundby bomb plot, Background
The Turkish man was not charged in the Kundby plot due to insufficient evidence against him, but in early 2017, when 25 years old, he received a prison sentence, lost his Danish citizenship (he had been a dual national of Turkey and Denmark) and was banned for life from visiting Denmark after being convicted of joining the terror organization ISIS during trips to Syria. He was only the second person to lose his Danish citizenship due to terror-related charges.


2015 Kundby bomb plot, History, Arrest and detention
On 13 January 2016 police found bomb-making chemicals in the home of the plotter on Trønningevej in Kundby. She had not succeeded in making a bomb. The plotter was arrested at 12:22 CET. The court in Holbæk placed her in pre-trial detention.


2015 Kundby bomb plot, History, Legal proceedings
On 17 February 2017, charges of terrorism were levied against the girl. She was further charged with violence after she stabbed a pedagogue in the stomach with a glass splinter from a mirror while in detention. The public prosecutor demanded she be held in custody indefinitely.


2015 Kundby bomb plot, History, Legal proceedings
The case started on 19 April 2017. The judgement on the issue of guilt was moved to 16 May 2017 after police found a letter in her prison cell from a man convicted of terrorism. She was sentenced to six years in prison on 18 May 2017.


2015 Kundby bomb plot, History, Legal proceedings
The public prosecutor appealed the sentence, demanding a custodial sentence without a definite time limit, stating she was too dangerous to be part of society. Retslægerådet (Danish Justice Physician Council) agreed with the public prosecutors.


2015 Kuomintang chairmanship by-election
The 2015 Kuomintang chairmanship by-election (Chinese: 2015年中國國民黨主席補選) was held on 17 January 2015 in Taiwan. This was the sixth direct election of the chairman in the Kuomintang history. All registered, due-paying KMT party members were eligible to vote.


2015 Kuomintang chairmanship by-election, History
The election was called after Ma Ying-jeou resigned from the Kuomintang Chairmanship to take responsibility for the party's heavy losses during the local elections held on 29 November 2014. Six KMT members, among them Clara Chou and Lee Hsin, attempted to register for the election, but five were rejected. Eric Chu, who had just been reelected Mayor of New Taipei in the November elections, was the only officially confirmed candidate.


2015 Kurume Best Amenity Cup
The 2015 Kurume Best Amenity Cup was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the eleventh edition of the tournament and part of the 2015 ITF Women's Circuit, offering a total of $50,000 in prize money. It took place in Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan, on 11–17 May 2015.


2015 Kurume Best Amenity Cup, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2015 Kurume Best Amenity Cup – Doubles
Jarmila Gajdošová and Arina Rodionova were the defending champions, but both players chose to participate at the 2015 Internazionali BNL d'Italia.


2015 Kurume Best Amenity Cup – Doubles
Makoto Ninomiya and Riko Sawayanagi won the title, defeating Eri Hozumi and Junri Namigata in the final, 7–6(12–10), 6–3.


2015 Kurume Best Amenity Cup – Singles
Wang Qiang was the defending champion, but chose not to participate.


2015 Kurume Best Amenity Cup – Singles
Nao Hibino won the title, defeating Eri Hozumi in an all-Japanese final, 6–3, 6–1.


2015 Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne
The 2015 Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne was the 67th edition of the Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne cycling classic. It was run on 1 March 2015 and was rated as a 1.1 race as part of the 2015 UCI Europe Tour. The race was run over a 193-kilometre (120-mile) course, starting and finishing in Kuurne; despite the name, the race did not at any point enter Brussels. The race was the second race of the weekend that opened the traditional Belgian classics season following Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, held the previous day and won by Ian Stannard (Team Sky).


2015 Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne
The race was won by Mark Cavendish (Etixx–Quick-Step) in a sprint finish, ahead of Alexander Kristoff (Team Katusha) and Elia Viviani (Team Sky). Cavendish's team had split the race on the Oude Kwaremont, but the race came back together due to a strong headwind. After Philippe Gilbert (BMC Racing Team) made a late attack, Team Katusha led the peloton in the final kilometres. Cavendish held Kristoff's wheel in the final kilometres and was able to come around him to take his second victory in the race, following his win in 2012.


2015 Kuwait mosque bombing
A suicide bombing took place on 26 June 2015 at a Shia mosque in Kuwait. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed responsibility for the attack. Kuwait's Emir arrived at the location of the incident after a short period of time. Twenty-seven people were killed and 227 people were wounded.


2015 Kuwait mosque bombing
Although Kuwait has been accused of being the world’s biggest financier of Islamic terrorism, the Kuwaiti government has not implemented any reforms to tackle Islamic extremism in Kuwait. Twenty-nine suspects were taken to court and after approximately ten sessions, most of them public, 15 were found guilty, with 7 to receive capital punishment (5 in absentia).


2015 Kuwait mosque bombing
Those include Adel Eidan, who drove the bomber to the mosque and admitted his intention to bomb the mosque and claimed that he wanted the mosque itself to be bombed, but "not the people", and Mohammed and Majid az-Zahrani (in absentia), who delivered the explosives to the terrorists in Kuwait and were arrested by Saudi authorities.


2015 Kuwait mosque bombing
Three other Islamist attacks took place on the same day in France, Tunisia, and Somalia. The attacks followed an audio message released three days earlier by ISIS senior leader, Abu Mohammad al-Adnani, encouraging militants everywhere to attack the stated enemies of ISIS during the month of Ramadan. No definitive link between the attacks has yet been established. One attack, at a French factory, resulted in the beheading of one person; another, at a Tunisian beach resort, killed 38, most of them British tourists; and the other, an attack on an African Union base undertaken by Al-Shabaab, killed at least 70.


2015 Kuwait mosque bombing, Background
Kuwait has been frequently accused of supporting terrorism financing within its borders. Kuwait has been described as the world's biggest source of terrorism funding, particularly ISIS and Al-Qaeda. In 2014, David S. Cohen, then Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, accused the Kuwaiti government of supporting terrorism. Since the early 1990s, accusations of Kuwait funding terrorism have been very common and come from a wide variety of sources including intelligence reports, government officials, scholarly research, and renowned journalists. Kuwait is listed as sources of militant money in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Kuwait is described as a "source of funds and a key transit point" for al-Qaeda and other militant groups.


2015 Kuwait mosque bombing, Background
The Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq Mosque is one of the oldest mosques in Kuwait, located in the Sawabir district in Sharq area, which is a part of the Capital Governorate. The mosque is attended mainly by Shia Muslim worshippers.


2015 Kuwait mosque bombing, Background
This attack was a part of the strategic terrorism of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, who consider Shia Islam to be heresy. In late May 2015, after the Qatif and Dammam mosque bombings, ISIL released a voice message calling on Muslims to clear the Arabian Peninsula of its Shia population.


2015 Kuwait mosque bombing, Bomb explosion
A suicide bomber attacked the mosque during Friday prayers in Muslim holy month of Ramadan, factors that made the mosque more crowded than usual. At least eight people were immediately killed in the blast, which heavily damaged parts of the building. A witness said that the bomber entered the last row between the worshipers and detonated his device. Another witness, Parliament member Khalil al-Salih, who was in the mosque during the attack, said the same. He added "The explosion was really hard. The ceiling and wall got destroyed". He added that more than 2,000 people were praying there at that time.


2015 Kuwait mosque bombing, Bomb explosion, Victims
Twenty-seven people were killed, consisting of 18 Kuwaitis, three Iranians, two Indians, one Saudi, one Pakistani and one Bedoon. Another 227 people were wounded in the attack, of whom 40 were still hospitalized on 28 June. Eight of the deceased victims were sent to Peace Valley cemetery, in the Shia holy city of Najaf, Iraq, by an official state plane.


2015 Kuwait mosque bombing, Bomb explosion, Responsibility and investigation
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant identified the bomber as Abu Suleiman al-Muwahhid, and said in a statement posted on social media that he had targeted a "temple of the rejectionists" – a derogative term used towards Shias. By the following day, Kuwaiti authorities had arrested several people in connection with the attacks, including the driver of the car that took the bomber to the mosque, and the owner of the house he stayed in, which initial investigations showed that he is a supporter of "extremist and deviant ideology".


2015 Kuwait mosque bombing, Bomb explosion, Responsibility and investigation
The Ministry of Interior released a statement on its website two days after, identifying the perpetrator as Fahd Suleiman al-Qabba (born 1992), a Saudi citizen. The statement added that the terrorist arrived in the country on a commercial flight on the day of the attack. In his Instagram account, the arrested owner of the car, posted pictures of him giving lessons to kids in a mosque in the Sulaibiya area. His account was suspended in accordance with Instagram terms.


2015 Kuwait mosque bombing, Bomb explosion, Responsibility and investigation
According to local newspapers, the perpetrators were told 20 days before to commit an operation that will "Shake Kuwait up", and let them choose the time and location. After picking the location, they contacted ISIL leaders about their plans via WhatsApp and e-mail, and checked the mosque for a two-week period. The source says that the explosives arrived at terrorist's house by partners from Saudi Arabia. Accordingly, the driver stopped at the parking lot of the mosque, along with suicide bomber at 11:00 am. Both of them waited until the mosque got crowded with worshipers.


2015 Kuwait mosque bombing, Bomb explosion, Responsibility and investigation
The suspected suicide bomber then went out holding a device, and when he opened his hand the bomb exploded. CCTV clip indicates that the suicide bomber walked into the mosque with his left hand crossed at his stomach. After the crime, the perpetrators were planning to escape Kuwait, but the rapid response of the Ministry of the Interior left them with no time to do so. The day of the attacks has been dubbed "Bloody Friday" by international media.


2015 Kuwait mosque bombing, Bomb explosion, Responsibility and investigation
Two weeks later, Saudi authorities said that they had arrested three brothers suspected to be involved in the attack. On 14 July, the public prosecutor charged twenty-nine people involved in the attack - including the two Saudi brothers - and one still at large. The public prosecutor demanded the death penalty for eleven suspects.


2015 Kuwait mosque bombing, Bomb explosion, Trial, Criminal Court
Most sessions were public. Eleven suspects were released after the 6 August session, and the trial was deferred to the 10 August to assign new lawyers to those suspects without legal representatives. After the trial, the lawyer of the 9th and 11th suspects stepped down from defending the ninth suspect, as his testimony contradicted that of the eleventh. The lawyer of the 26th suspect also stepped down for "private reasons". The first suspect's lawyer also stepped down claiming the same reason.


2015 Kuwait mosque bombing, Bomb explosion, Trial, Criminal Court
The first suspect's, Adel Eidan, the man who drove the bomber to the mosque and brought the explosives from the Saudi brothers near the Kuwaiti-Saudi border and gave shelter to the bomber after he arrived from Saudi Arabia, made the claim that he wanted to bomb the mosque without killing anyone. On the 15 August session, a lawyer was fined 100 KWD (~$330) for not showing up without an excuse, and another attorney was assigned for his clients. On the same session, one of the suspect's claim that he was tortured was refuted by the Forensic Medicine doctors.


2015 Kuwait mosque bombing, Bomb explosion, Trial, Criminal Court
All session were public except the fourth session, and the suspects were able to see and contact their lawyers. Some females suspects were charged with hiding and destroying important evidence. For example, the twentieth suspect destroyed Fahd al-Qabba's (the bomber's) mobile phone. On 14 September 2015, the court ruled that 15 out of the 29 suspects had been found guilty, with seven receiving death sentences (five in absentia).


2015 Kuwait mosque bombing, Bomb explosion, Appeals and Cassation Court
The Appeals court reduced the sentence of ISIS leader in Kuwait Fahad Muharib to 15 years in prison, and upheld Eidan's sentence. With this, Eidan is the only defendant in Kuwait to receive the death penalty. The cases of the five other defendants sentenced in absentia were not brought before the higher courts as their charges can only be challenged when they appear.


2015 Kuwait mosque bombing, Bomb explosion, Appeals and Cassation Court
The Cassation Court upheld all of the Appeals Court's sentences.


2015 Kuwait mosque bombing, Aftermath
Although Kuwait is the world's biggest financier of Islamic terrorism, the Kuwaiti government has not implemented any reforms to tackle Islamic extremism in Kuwait. The late Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Sabah arrived at the crime scene minutes after the attack, as was the speaker of the Kuwaiti parliament, who called for an urgent meeting. The cabinet convened an emergency session later in the afternoon.


2015 Kuwait mosque bombing, Aftermath
Several pictures were posted in social media and local newspapers showing men smeared with blood outside the mosque, a row of victims wrapped in white body bags, and the damage the mosque received. Calls for blood donations have been made. After receiving sufficient blood, the rest of the donors were told to come back after iftar – the meal eaten after sunset that marks the end of fasting. According to a Blood Bank supervisor, the bank received 1300 donors by the end of first day. The wounded were sent to more than five hospitals across the country.


2015 Kuwait mosque bombing, Aftermath
Several private hospitals announced that they will treat any victim of the incident for free. Stuttgart Hospital in Germany announced that they will treat the victims for free. Some of the injured were sent there. The German Vivantes medical group sent medical staff to Kuwait.


2015 Kuwait mosque bombing, Aftermath, Funeral
The condolence acceptance was held in Grand Mosque, the country's largest Sunni mosque on Saturday, 27 June. The Emir, Crown Prince, Prime Minister, former Prime Minister, other ministers, MPs, and high-ranked officials all attended. According to the Arab Times, thousands paid their respects.


2015 Kuwait mosque bombing, Aftermath, Funeral
At least 35,000 Kuwaitis, expatriates and mourners from the GCC countries attended the burial at Ja'fari Cemetery in Sulaibikhat. Paramedics were on site and helped those who fainted due to the hot temperature which reached 45 °C. Parliament Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim said at the funeral: "The unity of the people of our country is incredible [...] If you look around you will see Sunnis and Shias, Kuwaitis and non-Kuwaitis, all present to give their condolences to the families of the victims."


2015 Kuwait mosque bombing, Aftermath, First anniversary and Mosque's restoration and Emir's visit
The patriotic spirit manifested by the people of Kuwait and their love, devotion and allegiance to their homeland would fend off all criminal and terrorist acts.


2015 Kuwait mosque bombing, Aftermath, First anniversary and Mosque's restoration and Emir's visit
The Mosque was renovated and reopened about one year later in June 2016. The Emir of Kuwait, along with Sheikh Nasir al-Sabah, the former Prime Minister of Kuwait, and other members of the royal family visited the mosque and led a voluntary prayer there. Sheikh Nawwaf al-Sabah, the Crown Prince of Kuwait, was quoted praising national unity, adding "Kuwait's leaders, government and people are a single family that are united through both good and trying times." The Minister of Justice and Minister of Islamic Affairs Yaqoub al-Sane' was also present.


2015 Kuwait mosque bombing, Aftermath, First anniversary and Mosque's restoration and Emir's visit
Relatives of the victims applauded the visit, saying it was a reflection of the national unity the terrorists were trying to undermine.


2015 Kuwait mosque bombing, Aftermath, First anniversary and Mosque's restoration and Emir's visit
The Speaker of the Parliament at the time, Marzouq al-Ghanim, recalled the Emir's comment that "those are my children" after his security guards warned him about the dangers of going out in the open immediately after a terrorist attack.


2015 Kuwait mosque bombing, Aftermath, Second anniversary
On the second anniversary of the attack, an exhibition was opened to document the attack.


2015 Kuwait mosque bombing, Aftermath, Lawsuit against the Kuwaiti Government
Three years after the incident, a surveillance footage showing the perpetrator walking inside the mosque and detonating himself, along with the immediate effects of the explosion was released. The video also showed the police's lack of response.


2015 Kuwait mosque bombing, Aftermath, Lawsuit against the Kuwaiti Government
After attacks targeting Shia in other parts of the Gulf region took place one month before the incident, and death threats against prominent Kuwaiti Shia scholars, such as Muhammad Baqir Al-Muhri, the Kuwaiti government promised to take "serious measures" to protect Shia Muslims. In the aftermath of the incident, a lawsuit accusing the Kuwaiti government of negligence was filed. While the appeals court ordered the government guilty and ordered it to reimburse the victims, the Supreme Court claims that the government is not guilty, stating that the government took "sufficient measures" and citing "compelling circumstances." Kuwait's judiciary is not independent because Kuwait is an autocracy in which the Emir appoints all the judges.


2015 Kuwait mosque bombing, Response, Local
Although Kuwait is the world's biggest financier of Islamic terrorism, the Kuwaiti government has not implemented any reforms to tackle Islamic extremism in Kuwait. All segments of Kuwaiti society supposedly released statements condemning the attack. Kuwait's Emir came to the location of the incident after a short period of time. He was warned that it was dangerous for him to get out, to which he replied "Those are my children".


2015 Kuwait mosque bombing, Response, Local
The Mosque's administration released a statement one day after the attack, condemning it and showing appreciation to the Emir for coming, and offering their condolences to the Emir, the Crown Prince, and the families of the martyrs. The Prime Minister, Sheikh Jaber al-Mubarak al-Sabah, visited the wounded and condemned the attack, saying, "This incident targets our internal front, our national unity. But this is too difficult for them and we are much stronger than that."


2015 Kuwait mosque bombing, Response, Local
The country's Minister of Justice and Islamic Affairs, Yaqoub Al-Sanea, called the attack "a terrorist and criminal act that threatens our security and targets our national unity". The Emir ordered re-construction of the mosque, although a few days before a Sunni business owner said his company is ready to do it for free.


2015 Kwai Tsing District Council election
The 2015 Kwai Tsing District Council election was held on 22 November 2015 to elect all 29 elected members to the 30-member Kwai Tsing District Council.


2015 Kwai Tsing District Council election
The pan-democracy camp failed to secure majority of the elected seats with Democratic Party lost its largest party status to the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB).


2015 Kwara State gubernatorial election
The 2015 Kwara State gubernatorial election occurred in Nigeria on April 12, 2015. Incumbent APC Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed won re-election for a second term, defeating PDP Simon Ajibola and 15 other party candidates.


2015 Kwara State gubernatorial election
Abdulfatah Ahmed won the primary election after he was returned as the sole candidate. He picked Kayode Alabi as his running mate. Simon Ajibola was the PDP candidate with Alhaji Yinka Aluko as his running mate. 16 candidates contested in the election.


2015 Kwara State gubernatorial election, Electoral system
The Governor of Kwara State is elected using the plurality voting system.


2015 Kwara State gubernatorial election, Primary election, APC primary
The APC primary election was held on December 4, 2015. Abdulfatah Ahmed won the primary election polling 3,016 votes as the sole candidate.


2015 Kwara State gubernatorial election, Primary election, PDP primary
Simon Ajibola won the primary election polling 941 votes against 10 other candidates. His closest rival was Dele Belgore, who came second with 130 votes, Gbemisola Rukayyat Saraki came third with 113 votes, Mokanjuola Ajadi scored 107 votes, Oba Abdulraheem scored 45 votes, Jani Ibrahim scored 27 votes, Alhaji Hakeem Lawal scored 13 votes, John Dara had 4 votes, Sunday Babalola and Kale Belgore had 3 and 1 votes respectively while Sanusi Abdullahi got no vote.


2015 Kwara State gubernatorial election, Results
A total number of 16 candidates registered with the Independent National Electoral Commission to contest in the election.


2015 Kwara State gubernatorial election, Results
The total number of registered voters in the state was 1,171,561, while 455,397 voters were accredited. Total number of votes cast was 434,354, while number of valid votes was 419,633. Rejected votes were 14,721.


2015 Kwara State gubernatorial election, Results, By local government area
Here are the results of the election by local government area for the two major parties. The total valid votes of 419,633 represents the 17 political parties that participated in the election.Blue represents LGAs won by Abdulfatah Ahmed. Green represents LGAs won by Simon Ajibola.


2015 Kwun Tong District Council election
The 2015 Kwun Tong District Council election was held on 22 November 2015 to elect all 37 members to the Kwun Tong District Council.


2015 Kyrgyz parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Kyrgyzstan on 4 October 2015.


2015 Kyrgyz parliamentary election, Electoral system
The 120 seats in the Supreme Council were elected by proportional representation in a single nationwide constituency, with an electoral threshold of 7% on the national level, as well as 0.7 % on each of the nine provinces. No party is allowed to hold more than 65 seats. Party lists were required to have at least 30% of the candidates from each gender, and every fourth candidate had to be of a different gender. Each list was also required to have at least 15% of the candidates being from ethnic minorities.


2015 Kyrgyz parliamentary election, Electoral system
Biometric voter registration was introduced following claims of vote rigging in previous elections.


2015 Kyrgyz parliamentary election, Campaign
Several political parties were formed in the run-up to the elections, often as an attempt by wealthy Kyrgyz to further their own interests. Incumbent Prime Minister Temir Sariyev claimed that places on party lists were sold to bidders, with rumours circulating that a high place on a party's list cost between $500,000 and £1,000,000.


2015 Kyrgyz parliamentary election, Campaign
Over 10% of prospective candidates were prevented from running due to criminal convictions, whilst one party's leader, a former boxer, was banned after it was claimed they beat up a rival candidate.


2015 Kyrgyz parliamentary election, Conduct
Although there were some reports of voter fraud, the OSCE mission stated that the elections had been "lively and competitive" and "unique in this region", whilst the PACE mission stated that voters had "made their choice freely among a large number of contestants."


2015 Kyrgyz parliamentary election, Conduct
However, the OSCE noted problems with the biometric voter registration, with many people not having registered in time to receive their ID cards. The Council of Europe raised concerns regarding transparency of campaigns and party financing, stating that it should be improved.


2015 Kyrgyzstan First League
This is the current revision of this page, as edited by Frietjes (talk | contribs) at 17:07, 10 January 2020 (expand templates per Fb team TfD outcome and Fb competition TfD outcome and Fb cl TfD outcome and Fb rbr TfD outcome). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this version.


2015 Kyrgyzstan First League
The 2015 Kyrgyzstan First League is the 24th season of Kyrgyzstan League, the Football Federation of Kyrgyz Republic's top division of association football. Alay Osh are the defending champions, having won the previous season. The season will start on 21 March 2014.


2015 Kyrgyzstan League
The 2015 Kyrgyzstan League was the 24th season of Kyrgyzstan League, the Football Federation of Kyrgyz Republic's top division of association football. Dordoi are the defending champions, having won the previous season.


2015 L'Open Emeraude Solaire de Saint-Malo
The 2015 L'Open Emeraude Solaire de Saint-Malo was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the twentieth edition of the tournament and part of the 2015 ITF Women's Circuit, offering a total of $50,000+H in prize money. It took place in Saint-Malo, France, on 14–20 September 2015.


2015 L'Open Emeraude Solaire de Saint-Malo, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2015 L'Open Emeraude Solaire de Saint-Malo, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following player received entry by a lucky loser spot:


2015 L'Open Emeraude Solaire de Saint-Malo – Doubles
Giulia Gatto-Monticone and Anastasia Grymalska were the defending champions, but they chose not to participate.


2015 L'Open Emeraude Solaire de Saint-Malo – Doubles
Kristína Kučová and Anastasija Sevastova won the title, defeating Maria Marfutina and Natalia Vikhlyantseva in the final, 6–7(1–7), 6–3, [10–5].


2015 L'Open Emeraude Solaire de Saint-Malo – Singles
Carina Witthöft was the defending champion, but chose not to participate.


2015 L'Open Emeraude Solaire de Saint-Malo – Singles
Daria Kasatkina won the title, defeating Laura Siegemund in the final, 7–5, 7–6(7–4).


2015 LA Galaxy II season
The 2015 LA Galaxy II season was the club's second season of existence. This season LA Galaxy II participated in the USL and the U.S. Open Cup.


2015 LA Galaxy II season, Players, Squad information
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Squad correct as of August 5, 2015.


2015 LA Galaxy season
The 2015 LA Galaxy season was the club's twentieth season of existence, and their twentieth consecutive season in Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer.


2015 LA Galaxy season
The Galaxy entered the season as the defending MLS Cup champions. They finished fifth in the Western Conference during the 2015 MLS regular season and were eliminated by the Seattle Sounders in the Knockout Round of the playoffs. The team qualified for the 2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League by virtue of winning MLS Cup 2014. The Galaxy reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup before being eliminated by Real Salt Lake.


2015 LA Galaxy season, Players, Squad information
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2015 LA Galaxy season, Competitions, U.S. Open Cup, Fifth round
The draw for this round was held on June 18.


2015 LA Galaxy season, Competitions, CONCACAF Champions League, Group stage
The LA Galaxy have been drawn into Group D. The full tournament schedule was announced on June 29, 2015.


2015 LEB Oro playoffs
The 2015 LEB Oro playoffs was the final stage of the 2014–15 LEB Oro season. They started on 28 April 2015, and ended on June 2.


2015 LEB Oro playoffs
The quarterfinals were played in a best-of-3 games format, while the semifinals and the finals in a best-of-5 games format. The best seeded team played at home the games 1, 2 and 5 if necessary. The winner of the finals had the option to promote to the 2015–16 ACB season with Ford Burgos, the champion of the regular season. Finally, Club Ourense Baloncesto won the playoffs but, as Ford Burgos, was not admitted in the Liga ACB.


2015 LEN Super Cup
The 2015 LEN Super Cup was a water polo match organized by LEN and contested by the reigning champions of the two main European club competitions, the 2014-15 LEN Champions League and the 2014-15 LEN Euro Cup.


2015 LET Access Series
The 2015 LET Access Series was a series of professional women's golf tournaments held from April through October 2015 across Europe. The LET Access Series is the second-tier women's professional golf tour in Europe and is the official developmental tour of the Ladies European Tour.


2015 LET Access Series, Tournament results
The table below shows the 2015 schedule. The numbers in brackets after the winners' names show the number of career wins they had on the LET Access Series up to and including that event.


2015 LET Access Series, Order of Merit rankings
The top five players on the LETAS Order of Merit earn LET membership for the Ladies European Tour. Players finishing in positions 6–20 get to skip the first stage of the qualifying event and automatically progress to the final stage of the Lalla Aicha Tour School.


2015 LFF I Lyga
2015 LFF I Lyga was a Lithuanian second-tier football league season which started on March 28, 2015 and finished on October 31. It consisted of 18 teams.


2015 LFL US season
The 2015 LFL Season was the sixth season of LFL United States, the third in the rebranded Legends Football League, and the eighth in the combined history of that league and its predecessor, the Lingerie Football League. The season featured six teams in various cities across the United States.


2015 LFL US season, Developments
At the January 27th State of the League address, the League stated that four teams would be suspending operations prior to the 2015 season:The Baltimore Charm, The Green Bay Chill, the Jacksonville Breeze, and the Toledo Crush. The Green Bay Chill plan on returning from inactivity following a franchise overhaul. The Baltimore Charm plan to return for the 2016 season following a relocation to the Washington, D.C. area. Both the Jacksonville Breeze and the Toledo Crush plan to relocate to different cities in their respective states and plan to return sometime in the next few years.


2015 LFL US season, Legends Cup 2015
The undefeated, two-time champion Chicago Bliss faced off against the Seattle Mist who were making their first appearance in the Legends Cup. Seattle took an early lead and built it throughout the first half, going into the break with a 20-0 lead. Seattle added to their lead in the third quarter to go up 27-0 before Chicago began a rally. The Bliss scored at the end of the third quarter and added two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter but fell short of victory as Seattle won its first Legends Cup title 27-21.


2015 LINAFOOT (Chad)
The 2015 LINAFOOT was the inaugural season of the LINAFOOT, the top Chadian league for association football clubs. The season was supposed to run from February to August, with teams playing 22 matches each (playing each team in the league twice, home and away) totalling 132 matches in the season. However, due financial difficulties, championship was interrupted after 15 rounds and later resumed, finishing on 24 December 2015.


2015 LINAFOOT (Chad)
Gazelle won their third title. The defending champions were Foullah Edifice who finished in 4th position.


2015 LINAFOOT (Chad), Events
From season 2015, national league system went through many changes. LINAFOOT started operating the league. The new system of 12 clubs from all over the country was introduced as well. Clubs that played in the first division were: AS Lycod Doba, AS Mirim Mongo, AS Wadi Fira, ASCOT Moundou, AS CotonTchad, Elect-Sport FC, FC Kebbi, Foullah Edifice FC, Gazelle FC, Renaissance FC, Renaissance FC (Abéché), AS Kokaga. The matches were usually being played at 15:30h or 16:00h local time. Gazelle FC won the championship.


2015 LINAFOOT (Chad), Events
This edition of LINAFOOT was marked by many controversies, which led to proclaiming AS CotonTchad league champion, and then later giving Gazelle FC champion title back. Following a controversy over a Gazelle player with contracts with two clubs, the Chadian Football Federation after their championship win decided to inscribe ASCOT and Renaissance FC into the African club competition, thus Gazelle did not appear in the 2016 CAF Champions League.


2015 LKF Cup
The 2015 LKF Cup was the 9th edition of this annual competition between Lithuanian basketball clubs held 20–22 February in Kaunas. Žalgiris Kaunas won its fifth title three years after its last one.


2015 LKL All-Star Game
The annual 2015 LKL All-Star Game, was held on March 29, in Vilnius. The format was different from the previous contests: one team – Amžini Priešininkai – consisted of the best players from the two rivaling teams of Žalgiris and Lietuvos rytas, and the other team – LKL Žvaigždės – consisted of the best players from the rest of the LKL teams.


2015 LKL All-Star Game, Teams
** Former Žalgiris and Lietuvos rytas members, Grigorij Khizhnyak and Andrius Šležas, respectively, appeared in the game, as a surprise to the spectators. While a member of Žalgiris, Khizhnyak led the EuroLeague in blocks per game, and otherwise led the team in points and rebounds. Šležas represented Lietuvos rytas for 9 seasons, and was known for his three point shooting abilities. For the "LKL Žvaigždės" team, the two late additions were Mindaugas Žukauskas and Martynas Paliukėnas. Žukauskas, who was a longtime Šiauliai player, established himself as an excellent defender, and a regular Lithuanian national team member. Paliukėnas, is a current member of Dzūkija.


2015 LKL All-Star Game, Coaches
Gintaras Krapikas, of Žalgiris, was chosen as the head coach of Amžini Priešininkai, after collecting 13,152 votes, and ousting his opponent, Marcelo Nicola of Lietuvos rytas, who gathered 6,609 votes. Kazys Maksvytis, of Neptūnas, was chosen as the head coach of LKL Žvaigždės, defeating Dainius Adomaitis, of Juventus, by 7,945 votes to 6,513 votes.


2015 LPGA Tour
The 2015 LPGA Tour was a series of professional golf tournaments for elite female golfers from around the world. The Tour began in Ocala, Florida on January 28 and ended on November 22 at the Gold Course of the Tiburón Golf Club in Naples, Florida. The tournaments were sanctioned by the United States-based Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA).


2015 LPGA Tour
Lydia Ko won five tournaments, including one major, led the money list, won the Race to the CME Globe, and became the youngest winner of the LPGA Tour's Player of the Year award. Inbee Park also won five tournaments, including two majors, and won the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average. She also accumulated enough points to be inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame upon her completion of her 10th year on tour (2016). Sei-Young Kim won three tournaments and the Rookie of the Year award.


2015 LPGA Tour, Schedule and results
The number in parentheses after each winners' name is the player's total number of wins in official money individual events on the LPGA Tour, including that event. Tournament and winner names in bold indicate LPGA majors.


2015 LPGA Tour, Schedule and results
^ Kingsmill Championship finished on Monday May 18 due to a rain-delay.


2015 LPGA of Japan Tour
The 2015 LPGA of Japan Tour is the 48th season of the LPGA of Japan Tour, the professional golf tour for women operated by the Ladies Professional Golfers' Association of Japan. The 2015 schedule includes 37 official events worth ¥3.4 billion.


2015 LPGA of Japan Tour, Schedule
The number in parentheses after winners' names show the player's total number wins in official money individual events on the LPGA of Japan Tour, including that event. All tournaments are played in Japan.


2015 LPGA of Japan Tour, Schedule
The Toto Japan Classic is co-sanctioned with the LPGA Tour.


2015 LPGA of Korea Tour
The 2015 LPGA of Korea Tour is the 38th season of the LPGA of Korea Tour, the professional golf tour for women operated by the Korea Ladies Professional Golf' Association. It consists of 31 golf tournaments, 28 played in South Korea, two in China, and one in Japan.


2015 LPGA of Korea Tour, Schedule
The number in parentheses after winners' names show the player's total number wins in official money individual events on the LPGA of Korea Tour, including that event.


2015 LPGA of Korea Tour, Schedule
LPGA KEB- HanaBank Championship is co-sanctioned with LPGA Tour. Kumho Tire Ladies Open and Hyundai China Ladies Open are co-sanctioned with China LPGA Tour.


2015 LSU Tigers baseball team
The 2015 LSU Tigers baseball team represent Louisiana State University during the 2015 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Tigers play their home games at Alex Box Stadium as a member of the Southeastern Conference. They are led by head coach Paul Mainieri, in his 9th season at LSU.


2015 LSU Tigers baseball team
At the end of the regular season, junior shortstop Alex Bregman was selected by the Houston Astros as the second pick of the 2015 MLB Draft. Bregman was the fifth LSU Tiger to be drafted in the first round in seven years, the highest-drafted position player in LSU's history, and the second-highest overall behind pitcher Ben McDonald (1989).


2015 LSU Tigers baseball team, Previous Season
In 2014, the Tigers finished the season 2nd in the SEC's Western Division with a record of 46–16–1, 17–11–1 in conference play. They qualified for the 2014 Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament and defeated Florida in the final, 2–0, to win their 11th SEC Tournament title. They qualified for the 2014 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament as the SEC's automatic bid, and were selected as the #8 overall national seed. The Tigers were selected as hosts of the Baton Rouge regional, which included Houston, Bryant, and Southeastern Louisiana.


2015 LSU Tigers baseball team, Previous Season
The Tigers won their first two games of the regional, defeating Southeastern Louisiana, 8–4, and Houston, 5–1. In the regional final, LSU was again matched up with Houston. In the first game of the regional final, the Cougars defeated the Tigers, 5–4, in 11 innings. The Cougars went on to win game two, 12–2, eliminating LSU and advancing to the Austin Super Regional, where they lost in two games to Texas.


2015 LSU Tigers baseball team, Rankings
^ Collegiate Baseball ranks 40 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season. † NCBWA ranks 35 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season. * New poll was not released for this week so for comparison purposes the previous week's ranking is inserted in this week's slot.


2015 LSU Tigers football team
The 2015 LSU Tigers football team represented Louisiana State University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They played their home games at Tiger Stadium, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and competed in the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by 11th-year head coach Les Miles. They finished the season 9–3, 5–3 in SEC play to finish in a tie for third place in the Western Division. They were invited to the Texas Bowl where they defeated Texas Tech.


2015 LSU Tigers football team, Previous season and offseason
The 2014 LSU Tigers football team finished the season 8–5 (4–4 in SEC) with a loss to Notre Dame in the Music City Bowl, 31–28. The Tigers won all four non-conference games including the Big-Ten runner-up Wisconsin Badgers, and four SEC games against Florida, Kentucky, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M. LSU suffered its first loss of the season at home against the Mississippi State Bulldogs, the first loss to the Bulldogs since 1999 and first loss to the Bulldogs at home since 1991.


2015 LSU Tigers football team, Previous season and offseason
The previous season was one of the worst for LSU under Les Miles, matching the record of the 2008 LSU Tigers football team. The team did manage to sign the consensus #2 recruiting class in the country, including top rated recruits Leonard Fournette, Malachi Dupre, and Brandon Harris, all who made contributions during the season.


2015 LSU Tigers football team, Previous season and offseason
After the bowl game, Defensive Coordinator John Chavis announced he was leaving LSU for the same position at Texas A&M. LSU hired former Alabama defensive coordinator Kevin Steele to fill the position, and subsequently hired former Ole Miss head coach Ed Orgeron to coach the defensive line. Former defensive line coach and ace recruiter Brick Haley departed for the same position at Texas in February.


2015 LSU Tigers football team, Previous season and offseason
LSU lost only three underclassmen to the NFL in the offseason: linebacker Kwon Alexander, cornerback Jalen Collins and defensive end Danielle Hunter; this was a large decrease compared to losing 11 underclassmen in 2012 and 7 in 2013. On January 16 Les Miles held a press conference announcing that six underclassmen starters would return, including leading receiver Travin Dural and star defensive back Jalen Mills, as well as offensive linemen Vadal Alexander and Jerald Hawkins, tight end Dillon Gordon, and linebacker Lamar Louis.


2015 LSU Tigers football team, Previous season and offseason
For the third consecutive season, LSU signed a top-ten recruiting class consisting of 25 signees, highlighted by top-rated recruits Kevin Toliver II, Arden Key, Tyron Johnson, and Donte Jackson. While not as acclaimed as the previous season's consensus #2 ranked class, the class was ranked #10 by ESPN, #8 by rivals.com, and #5 by 24/7 sports.


2015 LSU Tigers football team, Depth chart
The official opening day depth chart was released on August 31, 2015.


2015 LSU Tigers football team, Schedule
LSU announced their 2015 football schedule on October 14, 2014. The 2015 schedule consists of 7 home games and 5 away games in the regular season. The Tigers will host SEC foes Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, and Texas A&M, and will travel to Alabama, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and South Carolina. The Tigers planned to open the 2015 season against the McNeese State Cowboys at home on September 5, however, several lightning delays caused the game to be canceled. As a result, LSU will play a schedule of 11 regular season games for 2015.


2015 LSU Tigers football team, Schedule
The Tigers officially opened their season on the road against conference and division rival Mississippi State on September 12. The other non-conference games on LSU's schedule are against Eastern Michigan, Syracuse, and WKU. This season will consist of the first meeting against the Syracuse Orange since the 1989 Hall of Fame Bowl where the Orange defeated the Tigers 23–10. Because of massive flooding to the Columbia, South Carolina area, both schools agreed to play the October 10th matchup at Tiger Stadium, while still treating it as a home game for South Carolina.


2015 La Course by Le Tour de France
The 2015 La Course by Le Tour de France was the second edition of La Course by Le Tour de France, a one-day women's cycle race held in France. The race was run before the 21st stage of the 2015 Tour de France on 26 July. It was organised by the ASO and rated by the UCI as a 1.1 category race.


2015 La Course by Le Tour de France, Race summary
During the race the rain hammered down. The stones of the course were very slippery causing many crashes. Only 62 of the 196 riders who started the race finished. Dutch favorite Ellen van Dijk was involved in one of the first crashes. She broke her collarbone and had to abandon. Among other casualties were the world champion, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, who went down in the closing kilometres, and Shelley Olds who crashed and remounted, only to lose her derailleur and be forced to abandon.


2015 La Flèche Wallonne
The 2015 La Flèche Wallonne was the 79th edition of the La Flèche Wallonne one-day cycling classic; it took place on 22 April and was the twelfth race of the 2015 UCI World Tour. La Flèche Wallonne was the second of the three Ardennes classics, coming three days after the Amstel Gold Race (won in 2015 by Michał Kwiatkowski) and four days before Liège–Bastogne–Liège. The defending champion in the race was Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team).


2015 La Flèche Wallonne
The race took place on a 205.5-kilometre (127.7-mile) route that started in Waremme and ended in Huy. The key aspect of La Flèche Wallonne was the climb of the Mur de Huy, which was crossed three times during the race; the finishing line was at the top of the final climb of the Mur. The race suited both puncheurs and climbers, and had added importance in 2015 because the second stage of the Tour de France, to be held in July, also finished on the Mur, so several riders rode the race as preparation.


2015 La Flèche Wallonne
Despite the addition of an additional climb late in the race, a group formed at the base of the Mur. Valverde won his third victory on the climb, with Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx–Quick-Step) second and Michael Albasini (Orica–GreenEDGE) third; Valverde went on to win Liège–Bastogne–Liège as well. La Flèche Wallonne was affected by many crashes, which caused the withdrawal of several of the favourites for race victory, including Philippe Gilbert (BMC Racing Team), Michael Morales (Cannondale–Garmin) and Chris Froome (Team Sky).


2015 La Flèche Wallonne, Teams
La Flèche Wallonne was part of the UCI World Tour, which meant that the 17 UCI WorldTeams were automatically invited and obliged to send a team. The race organisers ASO, which also organised the Tour de France, made eight wildcard invitations to UCI Professional Continental teams. The peloton was therefore made up of 25 teams. Each team was required to enter between five and eight, so the maximum size of the peloton was 200 riders. MTN–Qhubeka and Team Roompot, however, only entered seven riders each, so 198 riders were entered into the race.


2015 La Flèche Wallonne, Route
The 205.5-kilometre (127.7-mile) route of the 2015 La Flèche Wallonne began in Waremme, Liège Province, on the Rue de Huy with a 2-kilometre (1.2-mile) neutralised zone. The first part of the route went south-east through Faimes and Saint-Georges-sur-Meuse before reaching the day's first climb, the Côte des 36 Tournants, after 22 kilometres (14 miles). After the climb, the riders continued south-east to Anthisnes; here the route turned south. It passed through Ouffet, then reached Durbuy after 55 kilometres (34 miles). The route then turned west to pass through Havelange before reaching Ohey after 84.5 kilometres (52.5 miles). The roads between the Côte des 36 Tournants and Ohey were not entirely flat, but there were no categorised climbs.


2015 La Flèche Wallonne, Route
After reaching Ohey, the route entered a series of loops. The riders first travelled north, south-west and then north again to reach the day's second climb, the Côte de Bellaire, after 92 kilometres (57 miles) of racing. The route continued north to Andenne, then east to the third climb, the Côte de Bohissau, 100 kilometres (62 miles) into the race. The riders then rode north-east to reach the first ascent of the Mur de Huy. The first climb of the Mur came with 87.5 kilometres (54.4 miles) to the finish line; it was followed by the day's only feed zone.


2015 La Flèche Wallonne, Route
The peloton continued riding east as far as Modave, where the course turned to the south-west. The Côte d'Ereffe was climbed after 131 kilometres (81 miles) as the riders returned to Ohey. The race then used the same roads as before between Ohey and Huy, repeating the ascents of the Côte de Bellaire, the Côte de Bohissau and the Mur de Huy. The second and penultimate ascent of the Mur came with 29 kilometres (18 miles) remaining.


2015 La Flèche Wallonne, Route
The final loop of the race followed the same roads as before, east out of Huy and then south-west to the Côte d'Ereffe, climbed with 16.5 kilometres (10.3 miles) remaining. After this climb, however, the route turned north to take a more direct route to Huy, though some of the same roads were used. Within the town, the riders were faced with a slightly different route and a climb new to the 2015 edition of the race, the Côte de Cherave. The roads before the climb were narrow and twisting, with a level crossing at the foot of the climb.


2015 La Flèche Wallonne, Route
The hill itself was 1,300 metres (4,300 ft) in length with an average gradient of 8.1%; the steepest section came in the first part. The top of the Côte de Cherave came with 5.5 kilometres (3.4 miles) to the finish line and was followed by a sharp right-hand turn and a fast descent back into Huy.


2015 La Flèche Wallonne, Route
The crucial part of the race was the final 1,300-metre (4,300 ft) climb of the Mur de Huy, with an average gradient of 9.6%. The first 400-metre (1,300 ft) section of the climb had a gradient less than 7%; after this it increased to about 10%. The steepest section came after 800 metres (2,600 ft) with an S-bend. The steepest part of the climb had a gradient of about 24%; many past races have been won with attacks at this point. The finish line came at the very top of the climb.


2015 La Flèche Wallonne, Pre-race favourites
Recent editions of the race had been decided with attacks on the Mur de Huy. The addition of the Côte de Cherave, however, added an unknown factor into the race: it was considered much more likely than in previous years that a group of riders could break away from the peloton on the penultimate climb and hold an advantage to the finish line. No breakaway had won La Flèche Wallonne since 2003.


2015 La Flèche Wallonne, Pre-race favourites
The strongest favourite for the race victory was Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team), who was the defending champion and who had also won the race in 2006. Valverde had shown good form by coming second in the Amstel Gold Race behind Michał Kwiatkowski (Etixx–Quick-Step); Valverde was expected to have an advantage on the steep climb of the Mur, though Kwiatkowski was still among the favourites for victory.


2015 La Flèche Wallonne, Pre-race favourites
Three other former winners entered the 2015 race. These were Philippe Gilbert (BMC Racing Team), who had won the race in 2011; Joaquim Rodríguez (Team Katusha), who had won in 2012; and Daniel Moreno (Team Katusha), who had won in 2013. All of them were well suited to the steep final climb. Other riders considered to have a chance of victory included Dan Martin (Cannondale–Garmin), Sergio Henao (Team Sky) and several other climbers and puncheurs.


2015 La Flèche Wallonne, Pre-race favourites
As the third stage of the Tour de France was scheduled to finish on exactly the same roads, several riders who were aiming at success there rode La Flèche Wallonne as preparation. These included Chris Froome (Team Sky), Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) and Nairo Quintana (Movistar Team).


2015 La Flèche Wallonne, Race report, Early stages
A breakaway formed within the first 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) of racing. There were seven riders in the break: Thomas De Gendt (Lotto–Soudal), Mike Teunissen (LottoNL–Jumbo), Brice Feillu (Bretagne–Séché Environnement), Jérôme Baugnies (Wanty–Groupe Gobert), Reinier Honig (Team Roompot), Daniele Ratto (UnitedHealthcare), and Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Topsport Vlaanderen–Baloise). The breakaway initially built an eight-minute lead, with De Gendt leading the group over the climbs. The main peloton was led principally by the Movistar Team and Team Katusha.


2015 La Flèche Wallonne, Race report, Early stages
The first major action of the race occurred as the riders approached the first ascent of the Mur de Huy. Dan Martin, one of the favourites for the race, touched wheels with Tiago Machado (Team Katusha) and both riders crashed. Martin returned to his bike and chased back to the peloton with the help of several teammates, but later withdrew. He had hit his head in the crash and wished to recover ahead of Liège–Bastogne–Liège the following weekend. Several other riders were caught up or delayed, including Chris Froome. At the top of the first ascent of the Mur de Huy, the breakaway's lead had been cut to under six minutes.


2015 La Flèche Wallonne, Race report, Early stages
After the riders left Huy, Team Sky came to the front of the peloton with Peter Kennaugh; his riding at the front of the bunch reduced the gap to under five minutes. Honig and Teunissen were dropped from the leading group on the second climb of the Côte de Bellaire. Team Katusha and the Movistar Team were joined at the front of the peloton by Etixx–Quick-Step as the race returned towards Huy.


2015 La Flèche Wallonne, Race report, Final loops around Huy
Another crash followed before the climb; this crash was caused by riders bunching together on a road made narrower by parked cars on either side. The most significant rider caught in this crash was Philippe Gilbert; others were Julián Arredondo and Bob Jungels (both Trek Factory Racing). Gilbert got up slowly, with his shorts and jersey ripped. He abandoned shortly afterwards. The next significant crash came with 40 kilometres (25 miles) remaining. This took out Lars Petter Nordhaug and Wout Poels (Team Sky), Ben King (Cannondale–Garmin), Amaël Moinard (BMC Racing Team) and Anthony Roux (FDJ). Poels ended up stuck in a ditch for some time with Roux injured on top of him. Another crash happened shortly afterwards, involving Jelle Vanendert (Lotto–Soudal), Alexey Tsatevich (Team Katusha) and Kévin Reza (FDJ).


2015 La Flèche Wallonne, Race report, Final loops around Huy
On the penultimate climb of the Mur, the breakaway split; only De Gendt and Baugnies remained in the lead, 50 seconds ahead of the peloton. Giovanni Visconti (Movistar Team) and Luis León Sánchez (Astana) attacked the peloton on the climb and joined De Gendt and Baugnies soon afterwards, while Etixx–Quick-Step and Team Katusha led the chase in the peloton. Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing Team) attacked on the Col d'Ereffe, while Visconti and Sánchez soon dropped De Gendt and Baugnies. De Gendt helped his teammate Louis Vervaeke bridge up to Van Garderen. Vervaeke, Van Garderen and Baugnies combined briefly, but were unable to catch the leading pair and were themselves caught by the peloton with 13.4 kilometres (8.3 miles) remaining.


2015 La Flèche Wallonne, Race report, Race finale
Visconti and Sánchez continued in the lead; they had 20 seconds lead with 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) left. At this point, another crash occurred in the peloton. This included several IAM Cycling riders, Samuel Sánchez (BMC Racing Team), Bryan Coquard (Team Europcar) and Froome. Froome suffered cuts on his left side, with blood visible through rips on his shorts. He continued to the end of the race, however, and reached the finish line in 123rd place, over 12 minutes behind the leaders.


2015 La Flèche Wallonne, Race report, Race finale
As the peloton headed towards the penultimate climb, the Côte de Cherave, Huub Duyn (Team Roompot) attacked but was unable to build a lead, with Tony Martin leading the peloton on behalf of Kwiatkowski. On the climb, Vincenzo Nibali attacked; he could not build a gap to the group, but did bring them closer to Visconti and Sánchez. Soon afterwards, Tim Wellens (Lotto–Soudal) attacked, catching and passing the leading pair. Giampaolo Caruso (Team Katusha) attempted to follow; he was unable to join Wellens and was recaptured by the pack soon afterwards.


2015 La Flèche Wallonne, Race report, Race finale
Wellens had a 14-second lead at the foot of the final climb of the Mur de Huy. The peloton was led by Lampre–Merida for the first part of the ascent. The peloton stayed together for most of the climb, with no rider escaping on the steep sections. In the final few hundred metres, however, Valverde came to the front of the group. He wound the pace up gradually before sprinting within sight of the line. He took the race victory with a significant gap to the riders behind. Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx–Quick-Step) finished in second place, with Michael Albasini (Orica–GreenEDGE) third.


2015 La Flèche Wallonne, After the race, Reactions
The race was described afterwards as "an incredibly boring race" by Cycling Weekly. Valverde, however, said that it was "dangerous", with all the crashes happening at the front of the peloton, and that it was "the most nervous race I can remember doing". The 2015 race was his third victory in La Flèche Wallonne, bringing him level with Eddy Merckx; Valverde described this as a "great honour". His aim after the race was to win a third victory at Liège–Bastogne–Liège, which he succeeded in doing.


2015 La Flèche Wallonne, After the race, Reactions
Alaphilippe said after the race that he had not been intending to go for the sprint at the end of the race; the team's plan was to set up Kwiatkowski. He started sprinting only after his directeur sportif shouted "go, go" at him over the radio. Alaphilippe said that he had briefly thought that he was going to win the sprint; his second-place finish was, however, the most important result of his career so far. He said, "For my first time performance here, I can't help but be pleased."


2015 La Flèche Wallonne, After the race, Reactions
Albasini's third place was better than his team had expected: before the race, Orica–GreenEDGE's directeur sportif Matt White had not expected him to be as strong because of the addition of the extra climb. Albasini himself also described the race as "a lot tenser"; he also said that Valverde was "one of the strongest guys in those kinds of finishes".


2015 La Flèche Wallonne, After the race, Reactions
One of the consequences of the high number of crashes in the race was a number of injuries to several prominent riders. These included Dan Martin, who was left with "contusions, abrasions and soreness in his neck"; Martin himself described himself as suffering from whiplash and as feeling "crappy", though he still intended to start Liège–Bastogne–Liège. Philippe Gilbert likewise described his crash as "not the best preparation" and planned a trip to an osteopath to help his recovery. Chris Froome did not suffer any significant injuries but did not plan to start in Liège; he went instead to do reconnaissance of the cobbled stage of the Tour de France and his next scheduled race was the following week at the Tour de Romandie.


2015 La Flèche Wallonne, After the race, UCI World Tour rankings
Riders who finished in the top ten in La Flèche Wallonne were awarded points in the UCI World Tour rankings. Valverde, as the race winner, won 80 points; Kelderman won 2 points for his tenth-place finish. Valverde moved from eighth to second place in the rankings; his 238 points left him 65 points behind Richie Porte, the leader of the ranking. Joaquim Rodríguez also moved up in the rankings from sixteenth to ninth place. Spain remained in second place in the nations' rankings, one point behind Australia, with Colombia moving ahead of the Netherlands into third place and France returning to the top 10. Etixx–Quick-Step retained their lead in the teams' rankings.


2015 La Flèche Wallonne Féminine
The 2015 La Flèche Wallonne Féminine was the 18th edition of the La Flèche Wallonne Féminine one-day women's road bicycle race held in Belgium, starting and ending in the town of Huy. The race included two climbs of the Mur de Huy; the finish line was at the top of the second of these ascents.


2015 La Flèche Wallonne Féminine
The race was won by Anna van der Breggen (Rabo–Liv). Van der Breggen attacked at the bottom of the Mur and took a solo victory, 12 seconds ahead of Annemiek van Vleuten (Bigla Pro Cycling Team), with Megan Guarnier (Boels–Dolmans) a further 8 seconds back in third. Van der Breggen moved into the lead of the 2015 UCI Women's Road World Cup following the race.


2015 La Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta
The 2015 La Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta was held on 13 September 2015, in Madrid, Spain. It coincided with the final day of the 2015 Vuelta a España, and was scheduled a few hours before the conclusion to the men's race. It was the first edition of La Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta. A multi-lap course, the 87 kilometres (54 mi) women's road cycling race was rated as a 1.1 category race. It was won by Shelley Olds (Alé–Cipollini), who beat Giorgia Bronzini (Wiggle–Honda) and Kirsten Wild (Team Hitec Products).


2015 La Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta, Entry
Thirteen of the UCI women's team entered the race, featuring between four and seven riders. They were joined by national teams from Portugal and Spain, bringing the total entry up to 88 riders. A number of the top teams and riders did not take part in the race, as they concentrated on preparing for the 2015 UCI Road World Championships the following week.


2015 La Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta, Course
The women's race was scheduled on the same day as the final stage of the men's Vuelta a España, and the course followed 15 laps of the same 5.8 kilometres (3.6 mi) loop that the men would race on later. For the Madrid Challenge, the women started in the Plaza de Cibeles, and headed north along Paseo de Recoletos, before a tight hairpin turn to return to Plaza de Cibeles.


2015 La Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta, Course
The course then turned west onto Gran Vía, before another hairpin turn brought the race back to Plaza de Cibeles once more, where the course bent south down Paseo del Prado. A final hairpin took the course back to the Plaza de Cibeles to complete the lap. The course is relatively flat, favouring sprinters. On each lap, the first five riders to pass the start/finish line were awarded points in an intermediate sprint.


2015 La Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta, Preview
In 2014, the Tour de France added a women's race on the final day, known as La Course by Le Tour de France, and the organisers of the Vuelta a España opted to do similar in 2015. The plans were initially put on hold due to clashes with the Chrono Champenois-Trophée Européen, Belgium Tour and Giro della Toscana, but despite this, it was given approval as a 1.1 category race.


2015 La Manga Cup
The 2015 La Manga Cup is an exhibition international club football (soccer) competition featuring football club teams from Europe, which was held in February and March 2015. All matches were played in La Manga Stadium in La Manga Club, Spain. This was the eighteenth La Manga Cup.


2015 La Manga del Cura status referendum
The referendum of La Manga del Cura status was held in La Manga del Cura zone on 27 September 2015 to decide to which Ecuadorian province it would belong.


2015 La Manga del Cura status referendum
Although in previous years there were four provinces that claimed this sector as part of their territory, Guayas and Manabí remained firm in their arguments but given that this territorial dispute could not be resolved at the level of other instances it was due to call a popular consultation as contemplated by law.


2015 La Manga del Cura status referendum
The National Electoral Council of Ecuador determined that the consultation would take place on September 27, 2015, and 15,342 people would participate. This number was determined after an Electoral Census that the NEC conducted in that sector.


2015 La Manga del Cura status referendum
The term designated by the National Electoral Council for the electoral campaign by the prefectures of the provinces of Guayas and Manabí was September 19 to 24, 2015.


2015 La Manga del Cura status referendum
The preparations for the referendum began during the month of September. On September 21, 2015, a simulacrum was held in the Santa María La Guayas electoral precinct. The process was carried out on September 27, 2015, at 54 Voting Receiving Boards, although two days before the official date, attended suffrage was carried out in the home of persons with disabilities. It was attended by international control bodies, such as the electoral authority of Peru and representatives of USAN, as well as with the collaboration of the Armed Forces and approximately 520 National Police personnel. The budget allocated for the referendum was $515,975.63.


2015 La Route de France
The 2015 La Route de France is an elite women's cycling stage race that took place in France between 9 and 15 August. It was the ninth edition of La Route de France. The race was won by Elisa Longo Borghini (Wiggle–Honda), who won two stages including the queen stage to La Planche des Belles Filles. She finished 1' 18" ahead of Amber Neben (BePink–La Classica), with Claudia Lichtenberg a further eight seconds back in third. The best young rider was Jenelle Crooks (Australia). The mountains classification was won by Tetyana Ryabchenko (Inpa Sottoli Giusfredi).


2015 La Route de France, Teams
16 teams were invited to take part in the race.


2015 La Route de France, Stages, Prologue
9 August 2015 – Enghien-les-Bains to Enghien-les-Bains, 3 km (2 mi) (ITT)The opening prologue was a 3 km loop of left hand bends ideally suited to track cycling specialists. Amy Pieters of Team Liv-Plantur won the opening stage with an average speed of 49.315 km/h.


2015 La Route de France, Stages, Stage 1
10 August 2015 – Avon to Briare, 127.1 km (79.0 mi)The first stage had a delayed start with local organisers in dispute with police around road closures. It was won by Lucy Garner of Team Liv-Plantur.


2015 La Route de France, Stages, Stage 2
11 August 2015 – Villemandeur to Bourges, 118 km (73 mi)This was another flat stage suited to road sprinters. Two time world champion Giorgia Bronzini of Team Wiggle-Honda won from race leader Amy Pieters (Liv-Plantur) and a fast finishing Kimberley Wells (cyclist) (Australia).


2015 La Route de France, Stages, Stage 3
12 August 2015 – Nevers to Avallon, 113.3 km (70.4 mi)Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Wiggle-Honda was victorious on a mountainous stage 3 gaining 13 seconds from her nearest rival Eugenia Bujak.


2015 La Route de France, Stages, Stage 4
13 August 2015 – Autun to Louhans, 103 km (64 mi)Long-limbed Australian all-rounder Loren Rowney won stage 4 ahead of fellow Australian Annette Edmondson in a sprint finish.


2015 La Route de France, Stages, Stage 5
14 August 2015 – Vesoul to La Planche des Belles Filles, 87.4 km (54.3 mi)Elisa Longo Borghini Wiggle-Honda won again on a mountain-top finish, gaining an additional 45 seconds on second-placed veteran Amber Neben.


2015 La Route de France, Stages, Stage 6
15 August 2015 – Soultzmatt to Guebwiller, 116.4 km (72.3 mi)Giorgia Bronzini from Wiggle-Honda sprinted to another victory ahead of consistent Loren Rowney, and Amy Pieters.


2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo
The 2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo was the tenth edition of the La Tropicale Amissa Bongo road cycling stage race held in Gabon. It was held between 16 and 22 February 2015. It was rated a 2.1 event and was part of the 2015 UCI Africa Tour. The race is therefore the highest ranked stage race in Africa.


2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo
The race is known for bringing amateur African cycling teams together with professional teams from Europe. Team Europcar had dominated the recent editions of the race, having won every edition between 2010 and 2014. The 2014 champion was Natnael Berhane, the first African to win the event, but he was not selected to defend his title. His teammate Yohann Gène was chosen to lead Team Europcar instead.


2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo
The 2015 race consisted of eight stages. These began with difficult, hilly stages in eastern Gabon, before coming to the western coast for several stages suitable for sprinters. There was also a team time trial that took place at night, although the times for this did not play a part in the general classification, because of a delay to the start of the stage.


2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo
The key stage in the general classification of the 2015 race was stage 1, when a breakaway of three riders escaped and was able to stay away throughout the stage; the same riders made up the final podium. Rafaâ Chtioui (Skydive Dubai–Al Ahli) won the first and second stages and took the yellow jersey for the overall victory. These were the first professional wins of his career. Chtioui was the first Tunisian to win the overall victory in the race, and the second African. Following his victory, he became the leader of the 2015 UCI Africa Tour rankings.


2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo
The other riders to break away on stage 1, Giovanni Bernaudeau (Team Europcar) and Abdelkader Belmokhtar (Algeria), finished second and third respectively in the general classification. Bernaudeau also won the green and white jersey of the mountains classification. Four of the stages in the race were won by the Bretagne–Séché Environnement team. Three of these were won by Yauheni Hutarovich. The rose jersey of the points classification, however, was won by Yohann Gène, who finished in the top 10 in six stages. The white jersey of the best young rider was won by Bonaventure Uwizeyimana (Rwanda).


2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Teams
Fifteen teams were selected to take part in the 2015 edition of the race. Four of these were Professional Continental teams; two were Continental teams; nine were national cycling teams from various African nations.


2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Route
The race was scheduled to be made up of eight stages. Seven of these were road stages, while one was a team time trial. This was the first time a team time trial was included in the race, which also included the hilly eastern portion of Gabon for the first time. The race was therefore expected to be more selective, whereas in the past it had suited sprinters.


2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Stages, Stage 1
Stage 1 was a 100 km (62 mi) route from Bongoville to Moanda. On a hot and sunny day, Rafaâ Chtioui (Skydive Dubai–Al Ahli), Abdelkader Belmokhtar (Algeria), Giovanni Bernaudeau (Team Europcar) formed a breakaway in the twenty-ninth kilometre. Chtioui dropped his companions on a difficult and hilly course, coming home nearly two minutes ahead of the other breakaway riders and three minutes ahead of the peloton, giving him a large advantage in the general classification. This was the first time that an African rider had won the first stage of the race.


2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Stages, Stage 2
Stage 2 was a 170.7 km (106 mi) route from Okondja to Franceville. The course was generally flat, with no significant climbs.


2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Stages, Stage 2
The break of the day was formed by Janvier Hadi (Rwanda), Clint Hendricks (South Africa) and Herman Yemeli (Cameroon). Hendricks and Yemeli were caught with approximately 20 km (12 mi) remaining, but Hadi had attacked and was able to remain in front alone. In the final kilometres, he was caught by Azzedine Lagab (Algeria), who had attacked the peloton. Skydive Dubai–Al Ahli, however, controlled the peloton and were able to bring the pair back with 3 km (2 mi) remaining and set up race leader Rafaâ Chtioui for the sprint. Despite a strong sprint from Yohann Gène (Team Europcar), Chtioui won the group sprint to take his second stage victory and extend his lead in the overall classification.


2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Stages, Stage 2
Abdelkader Belmokhtar (Algeria), who had been in second place after the first stage, finished in a group 41 seconds behind the leader. He therefore dropped into third place behind Giovanni Bernaudeau (Team Europcar).


2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Stages, Stage 3
Stage 3 was a fairly flat 157.2 km (98 mi) route from Mounana to Koulamoutou. The race once again took place in very hot conditions.


2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Stages, Stage 3
The break of the day was formed by Salah Eddine Mraouni (Morocco), Tesfom Okubamariam (Eritrea) and Jean Bosco Uwizeyimana (Rwanda). The three riders escaped at the very beginning of the stage. The chase was controlled by Skydive Dubai–Al Ahli on behalf of Chtioui, the race leader, with Bretagne–Séché Environnement and Team Europcar also participating.


2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Stages, Stage 3
In the final kilometres, with the breakaway caught, Bretagne–Séché Environnement took control of the peloton. The plan was for Daniel McLay to lead out his teammate Yauheni Hutarovich, but, with 300 m (980 ft) remaining, Hutarovich was not in McLay's wheel, so he decided to sprint for himself. McLay and Hutarovich both contested the sprint, with a video replay necessary to determine which rider had won. McLay's victory was the first by a British rider in La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, and the first professional win of his career.


2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Stages, Stage 4
The fourth stage was a 132.5 km (82 mi) route from Ndjolé to Lambaréné. It was fairly flat, with one hill coming about 20 km (12 mi) from the end.


2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Stages, Stage 4
The breakaway of the day was made by Bryan Nauleau (Team Europcar), Benoît Jarrier (Bretagne–Séché Environnement), Essaïd Abelouache (Morocco) and Adil Barbari (Algeria). They were never able to earn a significant lead. There was another attack with 30 km (19 mi) remaining by Mohammed Errafai (Morocco), and he was able to hold the chasing peloton off until the final 3 km (2 mi).


2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Stages, Stage 4
The sprint was led out by Skydive Dubai–Al Ahli and their sprinter, Andrea Palini launched his sprint with 300 m (980 ft) remaining. No other riders were able to catch him as he took Skydive Dubai–Al Ahli's third stage victory of the race.


2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Stages, Stage 4
Rafaâ Chtioui retained his yellow jersey, while Yohann Gène took over the lead of the points competition.


2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Stages, Stage 5
Stage 5 was a flat 143 km (89 mi) course from Lambaréné to Kango, held on the same day as stage 6.


2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Stages, Stage 5
The stage was decided in a sprint finish, won by Yauheni Hutarovich (Bretagne–Séché Environnement), who had finished second in stage 3. Yohann Gène of Team Europcar finished second in the rose jersey with Tim De Troyer (Wanty–Groupe Gobert) in third. There was no change at the head of the general classification.


2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Stages, Stage 6
Stage 6 was a 8.5 km (5 mi) team time trial around Port-Gentil. The course was almost entirely flat and, unusually, was held at night.


2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Stages, Stage 6
Due to problems with air transport, the stage was delayed by two hours. It was therefore decided that the stage results would not count towards the overall classification.


2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Stages, Stage 6
The first team to set a good time was the national team of the host nation, Gabon, who set a time of 11' 41". The Moroccan team took the lead shortly afterwards and went into the lead with a time of 10' 37". It was expected that Bretagne–Séché Environnement, next to finish, would beat this time, but they finished 14" behind. The only other teams to go under 11 minutes were the national teams of Eritrea (who had recently won the African Continental Championships in the discipline) and Rwanda. Skydive Dubai–Al Ahli, with race leader Rafaâ Chtioui, were only able to set the ninth fastest time, over a minute behind the Moroccan team. The biggest team in the race, Team Europcar, was even further behind.


2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Stages, Stage 6
As the stage did not count towards the general classification, Chtioui retained his race lead.


2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Stages, Stage 7
The seventh stage was held entirely in Port-Gentil, the economic centre of Gabon. It was 116.6 km (72 mi) in total, made up of eleven laps of a 10.6 km (6.6 mi) city-centre circuit. The route was almost entirely flat.


2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Stages, Stage 7
The stage was controlled throughout by Bretagne–Séché Environnement, who set a strong pace in support of Yauheni Hutarovich. In the sprint finish, Hutarovich opened his sprint with 300 m (980 ft) remaining and was easily able to overcome the other riders – headed by Andrea Palini (Skydive Dubai–Al Ahli) and Yohann Gène (Team Europcar) – to take his second victory of the race and the third for his team. Hutarovich raised his arms in celebration before the finish line and in doing so swerved dramatically. Palini claimed that he had been obstructed and that Hutarovich should be relegated, but the race jury disagreed and Hutarovich was awarded the stage win.


2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Stages, Stage 7
The overall lead of Rafaâ Chtioui of Skydive Dubai–Al Ahli was not threatened and he remained more than two minutes ahead of the field and highly likely to win the general classification the following day.


2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Stages, Stage 8
The final stage of the 2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo was a 126.8 km (79 mi) route. It started at Cap Estérias on the outskirts of Libreville, running south along the coast to the city centre, where the riders entered a 5.8 km (3.6 mi) finishing circuit. After 15 laps of the circuit, they finished the race outside the Lycée National Léon M'Ba.


2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Stages, Stage 8
The first break was formed by Mohammed Errafai (Morocco) and Daniel Teklay (Eritrea). They were joined after 16 km (10 mi) of racing by Yannick Lontsi (Cameroon) and Iboudo Harouna (Burkina Faso). The stage was controlled by Rafaâ Chtioui's Skydive Dubai–Al Ahli team, especially by Francisco Mancebo, despite a late ambitious attack by Team Europcar. Once again, the stage finished in a bunch sprint and, once again, Bretagne–Séché Environnement were dominant. Yauheni Hutarovich won his third stage of the week, with his team mate and lead-out rider Daniel McLay able to take second place on the stage. Morgan Lamoisson (Team Europcar) took third place in the sprint.


2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Stages, Stage 8
Chtioui finished in a group 13 seconds behind the leader, but this was did not make a significant difference to his overall lead and he was therefore able to take the overall victory in the race. The one significant change in the final stage was Giovanni Bernaudeau (Team Europcar) gaining enough mountain points to win the mountains classification.


2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Stages, Stage 8
The prizes were presented after the stage by President Ali Bongo Ondimba and several other members of the Gabonese government. Several famous figures from European cycling were also present, including Laurent Jalabert, Bernard Hinault and Jean-Marie Leblanc, formerly the director of the Tour de France.


2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Classifications
There were twelve classifications in the 2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo. The leader of each competition was awarded a jersey after each stage to denote their leadership of that classification, which they wore in subsequent stages.


2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Classifications
The first and most important classification was the general classification. This was calculated by adding together the times of each rider cumulatively across the eight stages (though the stage 6 team time trial was ultimately excluded), before applying time bonuses. Time bonuses were awarded for the first, second and third placed riders on each stage (10, 6 and 4 seconds respectively) and for the first, second and third placed riders at each intermediate sprint (3, 2 and 1 seconds respectively). The winner of this classification was awarded a yellow jersey and was considered the overall winner of the race.


2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Classifications
The points classification was calculated by awarding points to the top 20 riders on each road stage (i.e. excluding the team time trial). The rider with the most points after the race was the winner of the classification and was awarded a pink jersey.


2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Classifications
The mountains classification was calculated based on the classified climbs on the road stages. Every climb of the race was classified as a fourth-category climb, all carrying the same number of points: 5, 3 and 1 points to the first three riders to the summit. The winner of this classification was awarded a green jersey with white polka dots.


2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Classifications
The first rider in the general classification who was born after 1 January 1992 was considered the winner of the young riders classification. The prize for this competition was a white and blue jersey.


2015 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Classifications
The teams classification was calculated by taking the best three riders on each team on each stage and adding their times together. The team with the lowest cumulative time over the seven road stages plus the team's time in the team time trial (though this was eventually excluded from the calculation) was the winner of the classification. The leading team was awarded white casquettes after each stage and was awarded green and white jerseys after the seventh and eighth stages, though these jerseys were not worn during racing.