2015 American League Division Series, Toronto vs. Texas, Game 5
This game also started a series of bad blood between Toronto and Texas. The next season, in a regular season game in Arlington, Odor and Bautista got into a fight out at second base after the latter slid into the former's underside to prevent a double play. Odor punched Bautista in the face and was ejected, while Bautista was also ejected for fighting. Several other players were ejected, and lots more were suspended. The two teams faced each other in the ALDS again in 2016, and the Jays won in a 3-game sweep.


2015 American League Wild Card Game
The 2015 American League Wild Card Game was a play-in game during Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2015 postseason played between the American League's (AL) two wild card teams, the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros. It was held at Yankee Stadium on October 6, 2015.


2015 American League Wild Card Game
The Astros defeated the Yankees, 3–0. It was the Astros' first playoff win since Game 6 of the 2005 NLCS and their first victory in a winner-take-all postseason game. With the Yankees eliminated, all four remaining teams in the 2015 ALDS were expansion teams.


2015 American League Wild Card Game, Background
The Yankees clinched a wild card berth on October 1, while the Astros clinched a wild card berth on October 4, the final day of the regular season. The Yankees hosted the game, as they finished the regular season with a better win-loss record. This was the Astros' first postseason appearance as an AL team, and first overall since 2005, while the Yankees appeared in the postseason for the first time since 2012. As such, this was the first postseason meeting between the Astros and the Yankees.


2015 American League Wild Card Game, Game results, Line score
Houston's Dallas Keuchel struck out seven batters and allowed only three hits in six innings of work. The Astros' bullpen then retired nine of ten Yankee batters for the victory. The Astros were paced offensively by leadoff home runs by Colby Rasmus in the second inning and Carlos Gómez in the fourth, as New York starter Masahiro Tanaka struggled to find command of his pitches. Tanaka lasted five innings, striking out three.


2015 American League Wild Card Game, Game results, Line score
Houston's José Altuve scored Jonathan Villar from second base in the seventh inning against Yankee reliever Dellin Betances, the final run of the game.


2015 American Society of Cinematographers Awards
The 30th American Society of Cinematographers Awards were held on February 15, 2016, at the Hollywood & Highland Ray Dolby Ballroom, honoring the best cinematographers of film and television in 2015.


2015 American Society of Cinematographers Awards
The film nominees were announced on January 6, 2016. Roger Deakins received a record fourteenth nomination for Sicario, while Emmanuel Lubezki picked up his record fifth award for The Revenant.


2015 American Society of Cinematographers Awards, Winners and nominees, Film, Spotlight Award
The Spotlight Award recognize[s] outstanding cinematography in features and documentaries that are typically screened at film festivals, in limited theatrical release, or outside the United States.


2015 American Ultimate Disc League season
The 2015 American Ultimate Disc League season was the fourth season for the league. Each team played a 14-game schedule. The San Jose Spiders won the AUDL Championship over the Madison Radicals at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, California. The Spiders won the championship despite entering the final four with the lowest seed after a regular-season record of 10-4.


2015 American Ultimate Disc League season, Regular Season Standings, Midwest Division
The Chicago Wildfire and Minnesota Wind Chill had one tie in a weather-shortened game.


2015 American Ultimate Disc League season, Regular Season Standings, South Division
T indicates top seed in the playoffs. P indicates a team advanced to the playoffs. PD indicates point difference. The Jacksonville Cannons advanced to the playoffs because they won the head-to-head regular-season series with the Atlanta Hustle. Only two playoff spots were allocated to the newer and smaller South Division.


2015 American Ultimate Disc League season, Playoffs
*Semifinal match-ups were determined by seeds based on regular season records.


2015 Amex-Istanbul Challenger
The 2015 Amex-Istanbul Challenger was a professional tennis tournament played on hard courts. It was the 28th edition of the tournament which was part of the 2015 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Istanbul, Turkey between 14 and 20 September 2015.


2015 Amex-Istanbul Challenger, Singles main draw entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2015 Amex-Istanbul Challenger – Doubles
Colin Fleming and Jonathan Marray are the defending champions, but decided not to defend their title.


2015 Amex-Istanbul Challenger – Singles
Adrian Mannarino was the defending champion, but chose not to defend his title.


2015 Amman shooting attack
On 9 November 2015, a Jordanian police officer opened fire on a police training center staff during their lunch break at the cafeteria in Al-Muwaqqar, Amman, Jordan, killing four, including two Americans, a South African, and a Jordanian. Six others were injured, including three Americans, a Lebanese, and two Jordanians, one of whom later died. The gunman was then killed by a fellow Jordanian officer.


2015 Amman shooting attack
The attack took place on the tenth anniversary of Al-Qaeda in Iraq's 2005 Amman bombings.


2015 Amman shooting attack
Investigations done by Jordanian officials found that the motive of the mass shooting was "financial and psychological problems of the perpetrator". The mass shooting is an uncommon event in the secure country.


2015 Amman shooting attack, Attack
The attack was on personnel at the United States funded Jordan International Police Training Centre (JIPTC), a facility that principally trains  Palestinian and Iraqi police officers. The facility is located in the Al-Muwaqqar district of the Amman Governorate, and is staffed by contractors from the United States and other countries. On the same day, King Abdullah of Jordan paid a visit to the wounded lying in the King Hussein Medical Center.


2015 Amman shooting attack, Attack
According to Jordanian Minister of the Interior Salameh Hammad, the investigation concluded that Abu Ubayd acted alone.


2015 Amman shooting attack, Victims
Two Jordanians, one South African, and two U.S. nationals were killed in the attack. The wounded included a Lebanese police lieutenant, two U.S. contractors, and three Jordanian police officers.


2015 Amman shooting attack, Victims
The two Jordanian translators who were killed were Kamal Malkawi and Awni Aqrabawi. The Americans were James "Damon" Creach (42), from New Tampa, Florida, and Lloyd "Carl" Fields Jr. of Cape Coral, Florida. They were employed by DynCorp International. The program they were working on is funded by the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security and Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement.


2015 Amman shooting attack, Perpetrator
The gunman was identified as 28-year-old police officer Anwar Mohammed Salama al-Saad Abu Zaid Bani Abdu, while Al-Rai newspaper, the government's official outlet, named the assailant as officer Anwar Abu Ubayd. The perpetrator was with the Jordanian criminal investigation department before he was transferred to the police training academy.


2015 Amman shooting attack, Source of weapons
The weapons were stolen from the CIA's Timber Sycamore program.


2015 Amman shooting attack, Possible motive
On 14 November, Jordanian government held a press conference to discuss the shooting. According to Minister of Inferior Affairs Salameh Hammad, the officer was declared a lone wolf, and that the motives of the shooting were not related to any terrorist organizations, rather "financial and psychological problems of the perpetrator".


2015 Amstel Gold Race
The 2015 Amstel Gold Race was the 50th edition of the Amstel Gold Race one-day race. It took place on 19 April and was the eleventh race of the 2015 UCI World Tour. The Amstel Gold Race formed part of the Ardennes classics season, although it took place in the Limburg region of the Netherlands rather than in the Belgian Ardennes. It took place in the week before La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège, the other principal Ardennes classics. The defending champion in the 2015 edition of the race was Philippe Gilbert, who had won the race three times and had also won the 2012 world championships on a very similar course.


2015 Amstel Gold Race
The race took place on a 258-kilometre (160 mi) route centred on the town of Valkenburg aan de Geul; the route included 34 short climbs, several of which were repeated. The decisive climb was the Cauberg, the fourth ascent of which came within 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) of the finishing line. The race typically suited puncheurs.


2015 Amstel Gold Race
After several attacking groups were caught, the decisive action came on the final ascent of the Cauberg. A small group formed after the climb and sprinted for the race victory. The sprint was won by Michał Kwiatkowski, the reigning world champion; it was his first road race victory since he won the world championships. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team) was second, with Michael Matthews (Orica–GreenEDGE) third.


2015 Amstel Gold Race, Teams
The Amstel Gold Race was part of the 2015 UCI World Tour, which meant that the 17 UCI WorldTeams were automatically invited and obliged to send a team. The race organisers also made eight wildcard invitations to UCI Professional Continental teams. The peloton was therefore made up of 25 teams. With eight riders on each team, a total of 200 riders were entered. Two of these, IAM Cycling's Dries Devenyns (sore back) and Thomas Degand (stomach upset), were forced to pull out before the start, so 198 riders started the race.


2015 Amstel Gold Race, Route
The 258-kilometre (160-mile) route of the 2015 Amstel Gold Race began in Maastricht and left the city towards the north. The riders passed through the towns of Bunde and Geulle on their way to the first climbs of the day. The first climb of the day was the Slingerberg; the peloton then passed through Beek and climbed the Adsteeg. These climbs came within the first 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) of racing. The route then turned south through Meerssen, where the riders climbed the third climb, the Lange Raarberg, then east in the direction of Heerlen.


2015 Amstel Gold Race, Route
The course turned, however, before they reached Heerlen, first heading south across the climb of the Bergseweg, then west. At this point, the route entered a series of circuits around the town of Valkenburg aan de Geul. The riders climbed the Sibbergrubbe and the Cauberg for the first time. The first climb of the Cauberg came after 54 kilometres (34 miles).


2015 Amstel Gold Race, Route
The first of the loops around Valkenburg was the longest at 101.6 kilometres (63.1 miles). The riders first climbed the Geulhemmerberg as they left Valkenburg, then turned south-east. The next 20 kilometres (12 miles) contained no categorised climbs, though the roads were far from flat. The next climb, the Wolfsburg, came after 78.1 kilometres (48.5 miles) and was followed quickly by the first climb of the Loorberg. The route then briefly turned north, before turning south again on the outskirts of Gulpen.


2015 Amstel Gold Race, Route
The next climb, the Schweibergerweg, came after 92.5 kilometres (57.5 miles) of racing, with the Camerig 6 kilometres (3.7 miles) later. The riders then entered a short circuit around the town of Vaals, where the Drielandenpunt, the Gemmenich and the Vijlenerbos came within 9 kilometres (5.6 miles) of one another. The route then returned to Gulpen along the same roads, with the Eperheide the only categorised climb. In Gulpen, the route crossed the Gulpenerberg, then turned east to cross the Plettenberg and the Eyserweg. The riders then reached Simpelveld, where they turned west again towards Valkenburg. The final part of the loop took the peloton across the climb of Huls and the Vrakelberg. As they entered Valkenburg, the riders climbed the Sibbergrubbe and the Cauberg for the second time. As the riders crossed the finish line in Valkenburg, they had 99.8 kilometres (62.0 miles) remaining.


2015 Amstel Gold Race, Route
The second loop was shorter than the first at 71.3 kilometres (44.3 miles). It again began with the climb of the Geulhemmerberg, then travelled through the outskirts of Maastricht. The route again turned north, this time to climb the Bemelerberg, before another turn to the south-east towards Beutenaken. The route re-used several of the roads that made up the first loop: the riders climbed the Loorberg for the second time, then turned north for the second climb of the Gulpenerberg.


2015 Amstel Gold Race, Route
From this point, the peloton took a different route towards Valkenburg, which included the climbs of the Kruisberg, the Eyserbosweg, the Fromberg and the Keutenberg. On this loop, the riders did not climb the Sibbergrubbe but proceeded directly to the third climb of the Cauberg. This was seen as a moment when an early attack might succeed and came with 21.1 kilometres (13.1 miles) remaining.


2015 Amstel Gold Race, Route
The final loop was the shortest of the day at 18.5 kilometres (11.5 miles). The riders climbed the Geulhemmerberg for the third time, then the Bemelerberg for the second time. This was the penultimate climb of the day. The final climb was a fourth ascent of the Cauberg. At the base of the climb, there were 2.6 kilometres (1.6 miles) remaining. The climb itself was 900 metres (3,000 ft) in length, with an average gradient of 7% and a maximum gradient of 12%. At the top of the climb, there were approximately 1.7 kilometres (1.1 miles) of fairly flat roads to the finish line in Berg en Terblijt.


2015 Amstel Gold Race, Pre-race favourites
The Amstel Gold Race had been won in the past by riders who attacked a long distance from the finish line. This happened as recently as 2013, when Roman Kreuziger attacked shortly after the penultimate climb of the Cauberg. Normally, however, the race was decided on the final ascent of the Cauberg; in the 2014 edition, Philippe Gilbert (BMC Racing Team) attacked midway up the climb and was able to take a solo victory.


2015 Amstel Gold Race, Pre-race favourites
As there was a flat section after the climb, there was also opportunities for riders dropped on the Cauberg to rejoin any escapees and to bring the race together for a sprint finish. The race was therefore expected to suit puncheurs, especially those who were also able to defend a solo lead ahead of a chasing group.


2015 Amstel Gold Race, Pre-race favourites
Gilbert, the defending champion, was the main favourite for the race. As well as his 2014 victory, he had won the race in 2010 and 2011; he also won the 2012 world championships road race, which was raced on a very similar course. Gilbert had demonstrated good form by coming third the previous week in Brabantse Pijl. Several other former champions took part in 2014: Kreuziger (Tinkoff–Saxo), Enrico Gasparotto (Wanty–Groupe Gobert), Damiano Cunego (Nippo–Vini Fantini), Fränk Schleck (Trek Factory Racing), Stefan Schumacher and Davide Rebellin (both CCC–Sprandi–Polkowice).


2015 Amstel Gold Race, Pre-race favourites
Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team), who had come fourth in 2014, was also among the major favourites and was in strong form following three stage wins during the Volta a Catalunya. Michał Kwiatkowski (Etixx–Quick-Step), the incumbent world champion, Joaquim Rodríguez (Team Katusha) and Michael Matthews (Orica–GreenEDGE) were also considered to have a strong chance of winning the race. Matthews in particular was the favourite to win any small bunch sprint if a group came together after the Cauberg.


2015 Amstel Gold Race, Race report
An early breakaway was formed by six riders after more than 20 kilometres (12 miles), after the climb of the Lange Raarberg. The six riders were Laurens De Vreese (Astana), Jan Polanc (Lampre–Merida), Timo Roosen (LottoNL–Jumbo), Linus Gerdemann (Cult Energy Pro Cycling), Johann van Zyl (MTN–Qhubeka) and Mike Terpstra (Team Roompot). The peloton initially hesitated in letting the break escape, but soon relented and the leading group's advantage grew to approximately 10 minutes by the time they reached Mechelen after 90 kilometres (56 miles) of racing. The peloton was led by BMC Racing Team and CCC–Sprandi–Polkowice.


2015 Amstel Gold Race, Race report
There were several crashes during this phase of the race; Jelle Vanendert (Lotto–Soudal), who was second in 2014, and Lieuwe Westra (Astana) were among the riders forced to abandon the race. As the riders crossed the finish line for the second time, with 99.8 kilometres (62.0 miles) remaining, they had a lead of approximately six minutes as the riders in the peloton began to chase.


2015 Amstel Gold Race, Race report
On the second loop around Valkenburg, Movistar Team came to the front of the peloton to chase the breakaway in support of Alejandro Valverde. They reduced the breakaway's lead to four minutes and briefly broke a small group free on the descent from the Bemelerberg, but a mechanical problem for Valverde forced them to stop chasing and bring him back to the front of the peloton. As the riders came to the end of the loop, three riders had been dropped from the breakaway and the group's lead was under a minute.


2015 Amstel Gold Race, Race report
The first attacks from the peloton came on the Eyserbosweg, with David Tanner (IAM Cycling) and Simon Clarke (Orica–GreenEDGE) attacking and forming a lead group. A second group attacked, made up of Tony Martin (Etixx–Quick-Step), Vincenzo Nibali and Diego Rosa (both Astana), Wilco Kelderman (LottoNL–Jumbo), Damiano Caruso (BMC Racing Team) and Alex Howes (Cannondale–Garmin). With 37 kilometres (23 miles) remaining, Clarke and Tanner had an 11-second lead over the second group, with the peloton a further 24 seconds behind. The original breakaway, meanwhile, had been caught.


2015 Amstel Gold Race, Race report
Kelderman missed a corner shortly afterwards and was forced to ride through a field to rejoin the race; he was unable to catch up with the leading riders. The two groups came together shortly afterwards, although there was some disagreement in the group about the riders' commitment to the breakaway attempt. Rosa and Caruso crashed on a corner, reducing the group to five riders, while Movistar Team were again leading the chasing peloton. The group was caught with 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) remaining. Clarke then attacked again, but was caught 7 kilometres (4.3 miles) later. One final attack was made by Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) and Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing Team); Van Avermaet refused to assist Fuglsang in setting the pace and they were soon caught. The peloton was therefore all together for the final ascent of the Cauberg.


2015 Amstel Gold Race, Race report
In 2014, Samuel Sánchez (then BMC Racing Team) had attacked at the foot of the Cauberg on behalf of his teammate Philippe Gilbert, whose subsequent attack allowed him to take the race victory. They attempted to replicate this strategy with an attack from Ben Hermans in the same place as Sánchez. Gilbert's attack, however, was less successful than his 2014 effort: although most riders were dropped, Michael Matthews was able to hold his wheel. Michał Kwiatkowski was chasing alone at this point. Valverde bridged across to Gilbert and Matthews, with another 15 riders joining the group shortly afterwards.


2015 Amstel Gold Race, Race report
Kwiatkowski was a long way behind with 500 metres (1,600 ft) remaining, but was able to stay in the slipstream of the other riders and recover from the climb. He then began a long sprint and was able to keep the rest of the group behind him. Valverde finished second, with Matthews third. Kwiatkowski's win was his first win in the rainbow jersey of the world champion.


2015 Amstel Gold Race, Post-race analysis, Riders' reactions
Kwiatkowski's win was his first road race victory since his victory at the 2014 world championships (his only other 2015 victory was in the prologue individual time trial at the 2015 Paris–Nice). He also became the fourth rider to win the Amstel Gold Race while wearing the rainbow jersey; the others were Eddy Merckx, Jan Raas and Bernard Hinault. He described the race as "an amazing day" and said that it "[put] the dot on the i" following the Etixx–Quick-Step team's second-place finishes at the Tour of Flanders and Paris–Roubaix.


2015 Amstel Gold Race, Post-race analysis, Riders' reactions
BMC Racing Team were praised for their tactics after the race, despite Gilbert's failure to repeat his victory; his tenth-place finish was his worst result since 2008. Gilbert attributed his failure to stay away from the chasing pack in part to the lack of a tailwind on the final flat section after the Cauberg, while his reputation as the main favourite for the race also worked to his disadvantage. Valverde, meanwhile, was delighted at his second-place finish, which was the best result of his career at the Amstel Gold Race, declaring himself "happy with second" and looking forward to the remainder of the Ardennes classics.


2015 Amstel Gold Race, Post-race analysis, UCI World Tour rankings
After winning 80 points for his victory in the race, Kwiatkowski moved up from thirteenth place to fourth place in the UCI World Tour rankings. His total of 195 points left him 108 points behind the leader, Richie Porte (Team Sky). Valverde also moved into the top ten of the World Tour rankings. Etixx–Quick-Step moved ahead of Team Sky to take the lead in the teams' ranking; Australia remained in the lead of the nations' rankings.


2015 Anchorage mayoral election
The 2015 Anchorage mayoral election was held on April 7 and May 5, 2015, to elect the mayor of Anchorage, Alaska. It saw election of Ethan Berkowitz.


2015 Anchorage mayoral election
Since no candidate obtained a 45% plurality in the first round, a runoff was held between the top-two finishers.


2015 Andalusian regional election
The 2015 Andalusian regional election was held on Sunday, 22 March 2015, to elect the 10th Parliament of the autonomous community of Andalusia. All 109 seats in the Parliament were up for election.


2015 Andalusian regional election
President Susana Díaz chose to terminate the coalition government between her Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE–A) and United Left (IULV–CA), dissolving the Parliament and calling a snap election for 22 March 2015. Andalusia had been traditionally considered a PSOE stronghold, being the only region in Spain in which no other party had led the regional government since the Spanish transition to democracy.


2015 Andalusian regional election
The PSOE–A regained first place from a declining People's Party (PP). Suffering from voters' anger at Mariano Rajoy's national government management of the economic crisis and the corruption scandals affecting the party nationwide, the PP scored its worst result since 1990. The election also saw a strong performance by newcomers Podemos (Spanish for "We can") and Citizens (C's), which faced their first electoral test since the 2014 European Parliament election. IULV–CA was decimated by Podemos's surge and obtained its worst historical showing.


2015 Andalusian regional election
After the election, the PP announced it would block any PSOE attempt to form a government, a shock to many after the party had assured during the electoral campaign that it would allow the most-voted party to access government. Podemos and C's remained reluctant to lend support to Susana Díaz's investiture, whereas IU was not willing to align with the Socialists again after their previous alliance broke up. In the end, however, after the 2015 Spanish regional and municipal elections were held, C's agreed to support Díaz investiture on less harsher conditions than initially required, in order to end the parliamentary deadlock and prevent a new election.


2015 Andalusian regional election, Overview, Electoral system
The Parliament of Andalusia was the devolved, unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Andalusia, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution of 1978 and the regional Statute of Autonomy, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a regional president.


2015 Andalusian regional election, Overview, Electoral system
Voting for the Parliament was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over eighteen, registered in Andalusia and in full enjoyment of their political rights. Additionally, Andalusians abroad were required to apply for voting before being permitted to vote, a system known as "begged" or expat vote (Spanish: Voto rogado). The 109 members of the Parliament of Andalusia were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with an electoral threshold of three percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied in each constituency.


2015 Andalusian regional election, Overview, Electoral system
Seats were allocated to constituencies, corresponding to the provinces of Almería, Cádiz, Córdoba, Granada, Huelva, Jaén, Málaga and Seville, with each being allocated an initial minimum of eight seats and the remaining 45 being distributed in proportion to their populations (provided that the number of seats in each province did not exceed two times that of any other).


2015 Andalusian regional election, Overview, Electoral system
The use of the D'Hondt method might result in a higher effective threshold, depending on the district magnitude.


2015 Andalusian regional election, Overview, Election date
The term of the Parliament of Andalusia expired four years after the date of its previous election, unless it was dissolved earlier. The election decree was required to be issued no later than the twenty-fifth day prior to the date of expiry of parliament and published on the following day in the Official Gazette of the Regional Government of Andalusia (BOJA), with election day taking place on the fifty-fourth day from publication barring any date within from 1 July to 31 August.


2015 Andalusian regional election, Overview, Election date
The previous election was held on 25 March 2012, which meant that the legislature's term would have expired on 25 March 2016. The election decree was required to be published in the BOJA no later than 1 March 2016, with the election taking place on the fifty-fourth day from publication, setting the latest possible election date for the Parliament on Sunday, 24 April 2016.


2015 Andalusian regional election, Overview, Election date
The president had the prerogative to dissolve the Parliament of Andalusia and call a snap election, provided that no motion of no confidence was in process and that dissolution did not occur before one year had elapsed since the previous one. In the event of an investiture process failing to elect a regional president within a two-month period from the first ballot, the Parliament was to be automatically dissolved and a fresh election called.


2015 Andalusian regional election, Background
Despite losing the 2012 regional election to the People's Party (PP), which won a regional election in Andalusia for the first time since the establishment of the autonomous community, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) under José Antonio Griñán was able to remain in office for a ninth consecutive term after forming a coalition government with United Left/The Greens–Assembly for Andalusia (IULV–CA).


2015 Andalusian regional election, Background
In July 2013, José Antonio Griñán announced his intention to resign from office in order to "preserve the Regional Government from the erosion of the ERE scandal", a large slush fund corruption scandal involving former leading figures of the regional PSOE's branch, including former development minister Magdalena Álvarez, with former Andalusian president Manuel Chaves and himself being accused of knowing and concealing such a plot. Griñán was succeeded by Susana Díaz at the helm of the regional government.


2015 Andalusian regional election, Background
Despite the apparent parliamentary comfort of the ruling coalition, friction between both PSOE and IU remained an issue throughout the entire legislature, especially after Susana Díaz took over the government in September 2013. In April 2014, an episode of IU's housing counsellor awarding several government houses to homeless families without the president's consent resulted in the counsellor seeing her competences removed and in the coalition pact nearly breaking up.


2015 Andalusian regional election, Background
In January 2015, tension between both coalition partners reached its peak after IU proposed holding a referendum among its members in June 2015 on whether to remain or withdraw from the government. In response, Susana Díaz declared that "we need a government which enjoys a stability that currently does not exist", opening the door for a snap election to be held within a short time.


2015 Andalusian regional election, Background
On 20 January Díaz met all eight PSOE provincial leaders in order to seek support within the party for a snap election in March 2015, which she received; subsequently, mutual attacks between both PSOE and IU, accusing each other of breaching the coalition agreement, made it clear that the only solution to the ongoing governmental crisis would come by the calling of a snap election.


2015 Andalusian regional election, Background
An extraordinary parliamentary plenary session was held on Monday, 26 January, where Díaz announced the dissolution of parliament and the subsequent calling of a snap election for 22 March. Díaz herself had previously declared, during a PSOE rally in Seville, that "It is time for the Andalusian people to speak" and "We shall obtain the [people's] confidence in the ballots".


2015 Andalusian regional election, Background
Spanish media speculated that the snap election came as a result of different factors; namely, Susana Díaz's private aspirations to the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party's leadership—despite her publicly refusing it—, as well as both Podemos's surge in opinion polls and to prevent the party's exhaustion after all 2015 electoral calls—local and regional in May, Catalan in September and general in autumn—, in a time when opinion polls were still favorable to the PSOE in Andalusia.


2015 Andalusian regional election, Background
On 17 February 2015, one month short of the election, the Spanish Supreme Court charged former Andalusian presidents Manuel Chaves and José Antonio Griñán in the ERE scandal for their possible responsibility in the misuse of the misappropriated public funds. The PSOE insisted on the same day that it would not require Chaves and Griñán to give up their seats in the Congress of Deputies and Senate, despite both incumbent president Susana Díaz and PSOE leader Pedro Sánchez having assured in the past that they would do so in the event of both of them being charged.


2015 Andalusian regional election, Parliamentary composition
The Parliament of Andalusia was officially dissolved on 27 January 2015, after the publication of the dissolution decree in the Official Gazette of the Regional Government of Andalusia. The tables below show the composition of the parliamentary groups in the chamber at the time of dissolution.


2015 Andalusian regional election, Parties and candidates
The electoral law allowed for parties and federations registered in the interior ministry, coalitions and groupings of electors to present lists of candidates. Parties and federations intending to form a coalition ahead of an election were required to inform the relevant Electoral Commission within ten days of the election call, whereas groupings of electors needed to secure the signature of at least one percent of the electorate in the constituencies for which they sought election, disallowing electors from signing for more than one list of candidates.


2015 Andalusian regional election, Parties and candidates
Below is a list of the main parties and electoral alliances which contested the election:


2015 Andalusian regional election, Opinion polls
The table below lists voting intention estimates in reverse chronological order, showing the most recent first and using the dates when the survey fieldwork was done, as opposed to the date of publication. Where the fieldwork dates are unknown, the date of publication is given instead. The highest percentage figure in each polling survey is displayed with its background shaded in the leading party's colour. If a tie ensues, this is applied to the figures with the highest percentages. The "Lead" column on the right shows the percentage-point difference between the parties with the highest percentages in a given poll. When available, seat projections are also displayed below the voting estimates in a smaller font. 55 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Parliament of Andalusia.


2015 Andalusian regional election, Opinion polls
Poll conducted after legal ban on opinion polls  Exit poll


2015 Andalusian regional election, Aftermath, Results analysis
The result of the election was a hung parliament, with the PSOE winning the same number of seats it had previously—47. Still, it performed slightly better than what most polls had predicted, despite falling eight seats short of the absolute majority they had set as an objective. The PP plummeted to just 33 seats after scoring its best ever result in the 2012 election, suffering the burden of PM Mariano Rajoy's governance in the Spanish Government. This represented the party's worst result at a regional election in Andalusia since the 1990 election, falling below 30% of the vote. The main beneficiaries of the election were parties alternative to the considered "traditional" ones — Podemos and Citizens, both of them, despite polling slightly lower than what early polls predicted, winning seats for the first time in the Parliament of Andalusia.


2015 Andalusian regional election, Aftermath, Results analysis
The post-election scenario, however, turned more difficult than what was originally expected. IU collapse from 12 to 5 seats turned it into a minority force in the new parliament, preventing the PSOE from attempting a renewal of the 2012–2015 coalition—a scenario which IU itself refused, due to the abrupt dissolution of the previous agreement. The PP, initially widely expected to abstain in Susana Díaz's investiture voting in order to allow "a government of the most-voted party", announced instead that it would vote against Díaz's investiture.


2015 Andalusian regional election, Aftermath, Government formation
Newcomers Podemos and Citizens became decisive in the election of any future cabinet, yet remained reluctant to support a new PSOE government. The parties presented a series of harsh pre-agreement conditions, regarding political corruption and other issues, for the PSOE to comply with in order to allow for agreement talks:


2015 Andalusian regional election, Aftermath, Government formation
Susana Díaz immediately ruled out the PP conditions, requesting party regional leader Juan Manuel Moreno to "act with responsibility, without pretending weird exchanges that the people would not understand". Moreno, in response, accused Díaz of "arrogancy" and told her that "with 47 seats one can't pretend to negotiate as if one had 55 [an absolute majority of seats]".


2015 Andalusian regional election, Aftermath, Government formation
Susana Díaz's investiture for a second term as president of Andalusia remained unclear for one month. She explicitly expressed her intention to form a minority cabinet, ruling out a coalition with any other party; however, until June 2015 she was not able to prevent all other parties from blocking her election. Andalusian law established that if no candidate was elected president in the two months following the first investiture ballot, then parliament was to be automatically dissolved and a new election would be held no later than September 2015.


2015 Andalusian regional election, Aftermath, Government formation
Susana Díaz was unable to get a favorable vote in either of the three votings that took place in 5, 8 and 14 May, as all four PP, Podemos, C's and IU voted against her election. Further, negotiations between Díaz's PSOE and the opposition parties broke off when, on 13 May—the eve of the third investiture vote—it was unveiled that the Andalusian government had awarded the exploitation of the Aznalcóllar mine to a governmental-favored firm through illegal means and "without observing the slightest rigor" in February–March 2015, previously and during the regional election campaign.


2015 Andalusian regional election, Aftermath, Government formation
With Díaz's government refusing to give explanations over the scandal, all four parties reassured their negative to allow for Díaz's investiture in the 14 May vote, with then-acting president Susana Díaz blaming all four opposition parties of imposing a "political blockade" over Andalusia and threatening them with a new election in the event of her failing to get elected.


2015 Andalusian regional election, Aftermath, Government formation
PP regional leader Juan Manuel Moreno accused Díaz of "arrogance" and of "asking them to allow her investiture without yielding to their conditions", also asking himself why Díaz kept holding investiture votings if no inter-party agreement had been reached. Teresa Rodríguez from Podemos also criticised Díaz for not accepting her party's conditions, blaming the PSOE for the political instability in the region and stating that a new election would mean the PSOE's failure in forming a government through dialogue. All opposition parties also reiterated their position that they did not trust Díaz to fulfill any compromise once she did get elected.


2015 Andalusian regional election, Aftermath, Government formation
New investiture votes were initially postponed until after the 24 May Spanish regional and local elections as a result of the electoral campaign centering the political focus. However, on 5 June, on the impossibility to have Díaz formally invested, the PSOE threatened the opposition parties with letting the legal time limit for the automatic dissolution of the parliament to expire should an agreement not be reached with anyone before Tuesday, 9 June. In the end, the PSOE and C's reached an agreement, with the latter accepting to support Díaz to end the parliamentary deadlock and prevent a new election, lifting off their requirement for Chaves and Griñan's resignations before considering to enter negotiations with the PSOE.


2015 Ando Securities Open
The 2015 Ando Securities Open was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the first edition of the tournament and part of the 2015 ITF Women's Circuit, offering a total of $100,000 in prize money. It took place in Ariake, Tokyo, Japan, on 16–22 November 2015.


2015 Ando Securities Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2015 Ando Securities Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received entry by a lucky loser spot:


2015 Ando Securities Open – Doubles
This was a new event on the ITF Women's Circuit.


2015 Ando Securities Open – Doubles
Shuko Aoyama and Makoto Ninomiya won the inaugural event, defeating Eri Hozumi and Kurumi Nara in an all-Japanese final, 3–6, 6–2, [10–7].


2015 Ando Securities Open – Singles
This was a new event on the ITF Women's Circuit.


2015 Andorran local elections
The 2015 Andorran local elections were held on 13 December. Voters elected the council members of the seven parishes.


2015 Andorran local elections, Electoral system
Voters elect the members of the municipal councils (consells de comú in Catalan). The Electoral Law allows the municipal councils to choose their numbers of seats, which must be an even number between 10 and 16.


2015 Andorran local elections, Electoral system
All city council members are elected in single multi-member districts, consisting of the whole parish, using closed lists. Half of the seats are allocated to the party with the most votes. The other half of the seats are allocated using the Hare quota (including the winning party). With this system the winning party obtains an absolute majority.


2015 Andorran local elections, Electoral system
The cònsol major (mayor) and the cònsol menor (deputy mayor) are elected indirectly by the municipal councillors.


2015 Andorran parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Andorra on 1 March 2015. Despite losing five seats, the Democrats for Andorra retained their majority in the General Council, winning 15 of the 28 seats.


2015 Andorran parliamentary election, Electoral system
The 28 members of the General Council were elected by two methods; 14 members were elected in two-member constituencies based on the seven parishes, whilst the remaining 14 were elected in a single nationwide constituency by proportional representation, with seats allocated using the largest remainder method.


2015 Andorran parliamentary election, Results
The Democrats for Andorra ran in alliance with United for Progress in Encamp, Communal Action of Ordino in Ordino, Massana Movement in La Massana, and the Coalition of Independents in Andorra la Vella. The Liberal Party ran in alliance with independent candidates in Encamp, Ordino and La Massana, and the Lauredian Union in Sant Julià de Lòria.


2015 Androni Giocattoli–Venezuela season
The 2015 season for Androni Giocattoli–Sidermec began in January at the Vuelta al Táchira. Androni Giocattoli–Venezuela is an Italian-registered UCI Professional Continental cycling team that participated in road bicycle racing events on the UCI Continental Circuits and when selected as a wildcard to UCI ProTour events.


2015 Andy Burnham Labour Party leadership campaign
In 2015, Andy Burnham, the Member of Parliament for Leigh, stood as a candidate for leadership of the Labour Party in the United Kingdom. His candidacy was announced upon the release of a YouTube video on 15 May 2015. His announcement involved the promise to "rediscover the beating heart of Labour" and appeal to the aspirations "of everyone".


2015 Andy Burnham Labour Party leadership campaign
Burnham was initially considered the frontrunner in the race to succeed Ed Miliband. However the emergence of Jeremy Corbyn as the candidate representing the left-wing faction of the party, in June 2015, and the consequent growth in support for Corbyn's campaign saw Burnham's lead diminish to the point that Corbyn overtook him – this was first reflected in a YouGov poll published by The Times on 21 July.


2015 Andy Burnham Labour Party leadership campaign, Economic policy
In his official manifesto, Burnham pledged to offer "a balanced plan for a strong economy and sound public finances, providing a genuine alternative to Osborne's punishing austerity". His platform involved re-balancing the tax system, by restoring the 50p income tax rate that had been cut in the 2012 budget. He also signaled that he would not introduce the 'mansion tax' that was included in Labour's 2015 election manifesto, calling the proposal "the politics of envy".


2015 Andy Burnham Labour Party leadership campaign, Economic policy
His other policies included increasing the minimum wage and scrapping the youth rate, to create a "true living wage for all ages" and abolishing zero-hour contracts and unpaid internships. He also announced that he would address the house price and rent crisis by giving councils greater freedom and increased borrowing powers to build more houses, regulate the private rented sector and introduce a land value tax on commercial properties.


2015 Andy Burnham Labour Party leadership campaign, Economic policy
In August 2015, Burnham announced that he would commit Labour to "a policy of progressive re-nationalisation" of the railway system. There was some speculation in the media that the announcement was an attempt by the Burnham campaign to align itself further to the left of the party and win back voters it had lost to the Corbyn campaign, as nationalisation had formed a key part of Corbyn's economic policy.


2015 Andy Burnham Labour Party leadership campaign, Economic policy
He continued to voice his opposition to the TTIP free trade agreement between the European Union and the United States, arguing that it would undermine the National Health Service, as it would "open the floodgates" to private healthcare providers. He was also in favour of building a third runway at Heathrow Airport.


2015 Andy Burnham Labour Party leadership campaign, Domestic policy, Education
During his time as Shadow Education Secretary between 2010 and 2011, Burnham indicated his belief in revitalising the comprehensive education system – a view that he maintained in his leadership election manifesto. He pledged to reject the "growing market of free schools and academies", replace tuition fees with a new graduate tax, and end the charitable status held by private schools.


2015 Andy Burnham Labour Party leadership campaign, Domestic policy, National Care Service
One of Burnham's key policies was to integrate social care into the National Health Service. This was a policy that Burnham had first proposed in 2010 as Health Secretary in Gordon Brown's government, and then kept as a manifesto commitment during his campaign for party leader in 2010 and as Shadow Health Secretary in Ed Miliband's shadow cabinet. In July 2015, on the 70th anniversary of Labour's 1945 election landslide, Burnham announced that he would establish a "Beveridge-style commission" to look into possible means of funding such proposals.


2015 Andy Burnham Labour Party leadership campaign, Domestic policy, Welfare
Following the announcement by Harriet Harman, the acting Leader of the Opposition, that she would position the party to abstain on Iain Duncan Smith's Welfare Reform and Work Bill at its Second Reading in July 2015, Burnham reportedly clashed with her at a shadow cabinet meeting, by arguing that the party should table an amendment instead. However, when the opposition's amendment failed, Burnham followed the party whip by abstaining. Burnham sought to justify his failure to oppose the bill by stating that, if he had defied Harman, he would have caused a major split, consequently weakening the party.


2015 Andy Burnham Labour Party leadership campaign, Domestic policy, Welfare
In September 2015, Burnham conceded, in an interview with The Independent, that his abstention had been a major turning point in the campaign and may have cost him the leadership.


2015 Andy Burnham Labour Party leadership campaign, Controversies
Burnham attracted press criticism for claiming £17,000 a year from the taxpayer to rent a London flat, despite owning another within walking distance of the House of Commons. A spokesman for Burnham said that renting out the original flat was necessary to "cover his costs" as parliamentary rule changes meant he was no longer able to claim for mortgage interest expenses.


2015 Andy Burnham Labour Party leadership campaign, Controversies
Burnham was criticised for saying that Labour should have a woman leader "when the time is right", with the New Statesman saying that he had "tripped over his mouth again". He also said that he would resign from the Shadow Cabinet if Labour supported leaving NATO, something which frontrunner Jeremy Corbyn had suggested.


2015 Andy Burnham Labour Party leadership campaign, Opinion polling
When Ed Miliband resigned on the day following the 2015 general election, Burnham was the bookies' favourite to succeed him as party leader. This was reflected in the first opinion polls that were released days later, with Burnham holding a lead over Chuka Umunna and Yvette Cooper, although the number of undecided voters had the greatest share of the vote. This continued following the PLP nomination deadline, as a poll by The Independent, published on 24 June, showed him opening up an 11-point lead, although Jeremy Corbyn's polling numbers had increased to 25%, from 11% in the previous week.


2015 Andy Murray tennis season
The 2015 Andy Murray tennis season began at the Australian Open. Murray was the defending champion at the Shenzhen, Vienna and Valencia Opens, but chose not to defend these titles. His season saw him reach seven singles finals, winning titles at Munich, Madrid, Queen's and Montreal, while he won eight singles and three doubles rubbers to help lead Great Britain to the Davis Cup title for the first time in 79 years.


2015 Andy Murray tennis season, Year in Detail, Australian Open Series and early hard-court season, Hopman Cup
At the beginning of the year Murray teamed up with Heather Watson in the Hopman Cup, where in the group stage they having won fewer sets and games than Poland, finishing second in their group. Murray and Watson lost the doubles match against Poland, however Murray went undefeated in singles, beating Benoît Paire, Jerzy Janowicz and Marinko Matosevic, each in straight sets.


2015 Andy Murray tennis season, Year in Detail, Australian Open Series and early hard-court season, Australian Open
Murray entered the first Grand Slam event of the year as the 6th seed, and began strongly as he defeated qualifier Yuki Bhambri, Australian Marinko Matosevic and João Sousa of Portugal without dropping a set. He followed this up by defeating 10th seed Grigor Dimitrov in four tightly contested sets, despite his opponent having served for the fourth set at 5–3; Murray won the last five games to seal the win, and make it through to the quarterfinals in Melbourne for the sixth straight year.


2015 Andy Murray tennis season, Year in Detail, Australian Open Series and early hard-court season, Australian Open
In the quarterfinals, the Scot faced teenage sensation and home favourite Nick Kyrgios, in the Australian's second Grand slam quarterfinal in as many appearances. Murray made light work of his young opponent, and despite being broken towards the end of the third set, Murray made it through in straight sets to his 15th Grand Slam semifinal. He faced Tomáš Berdych for the first time since 2013, going into the match with a 4–6 disadvantage in their head-to-head.


2015 Andy Murray tennis season, Year in Detail, Australian Open Series and early hard-court season, Australian Open
Despite losing the first set, Murray then dominated proceedings, taking the second set to love and ultimately winning in four sets to make it through to his fourth final at the Australian Open, his eighth career Grand Slam final appearance. Here he faced Novak Djokovic for his first Australian open title. However, he lost in four sets, which would be his fifth consecutive defeat to the Serb.


2015 Andy Murray tennis season, Year in Detail, Australian Open Series and early hard-court season, Rotterdam Open
Murray entered the Rotterdam Open as the first seed and won both his opening matches in straight sets against Nicolas Mahut and Vasek Pospisil. However, he lost at the quarterfinal stage in straight sets to Gilles Simon, who ended a 12 match losing streak to Murray.


2015 Andy Murray tennis season, Year in Detail, Australian Open Series and early hard-court season, Dubai Tennis Championships
Murray won his opening match in straight sets against Gilles Müller, then thrashed João Sousa for the loss of just two games to reach the quarterfinals. However, he got thrashed in the quarterfinal stage to Croatian teenager Borna Ćorić, winning just four games.


2015 Andy Murray tennis season, Year in Detail, Australian Open Series and early hard-court season, Davis Cup World Group First Round
Murray next played in the Davis Cup World Group First Round in Glasgow. He won his first match in four sets against Donald Young and then defeated John Isner in straight sets, despite Isner having set points in the first set. Those two victories, along with a five set marathon win by James Ward over Isner, allowed Great Britain to progress to the quarterfinals for the second consecutive time with a 3–2 lead over the United States.


2015 Andy Murray tennis season, Year in Detail, Australian Open Series and early hard-court season, Indian Wells
Murray beat Vasek Pospisil in straight sets, then defeated Philipp Kohlschreiber in three sets. He then won his next two matches in straight sets against Adrian Mannarino and Feliciano López (overtaking Tim Henman's record of 496 career wins to have the most career wins in the Open Era for a British man) but lost in the semifinal stage to Djokovic in straight sets.


2015 Andy Murray tennis season, Year in Detail, Australian Open Series and early hard-court season, Indian Wells
Murray also participated in the doubles alongside Thanasi Kokkinakis and they both won their opening match against the fourth seeds Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecău but lost their next match against Marcin Matkowski and Nenad Zimonjić.


2015 Andy Murray tennis season, Year in Detail, Australian Open Series and early hard-court season, Miami Open
Murray again faced Donald Young in his opening match and defeated him in straight sets before beating Santiago Giraldo in straight sets to avenge his defeat in the 2014 Madrid Open. He then defeated Kevin Anderson in three sets to record his 500th career win in the ATP World Tour, becoming the first British man in the Open Era to do so. He then reached the final after defeating Dominic Thiem in three sets and Tomáš Berdych in straight sets. He then lost the final to Djokovic in three sets (who won a record fifth Miami title) and was again broken to love in the third and deciding set, having received a bagel during his defeat to Djokovic in the Australian Open final.


2015 Andy Murray tennis season, Year in Detail, Spring Clay Court season and French Open, Bavarian International Tennis Championships
Murray did not participate in the Monte-Carlo Masters due to his marriage to his longtime girlfriend Kim Sears, so he began his Clay Court season in the Bavarian International Tennis Championships at Munich. He defeated Mischa Zverev in straight sets and then reached his first ever Clay Court final after defeating Lukáš Rosol in three sets and Roberto Bautista Agut in straight sets, completing both matches in a single day after his match with Rosol was suspended by rain in the previous day. He then won his first title on Clay by defeating Philipp Kohlschreiber in three sets, requiring tiebreakers to win both the first and third sets. This made him the first British player to win a tour level Clay Court title since Buster Mottram in 1976.


2015 Andy Murray tennis season, Year in Detail, Spring Clay Court season and French Open, Bavarian International Tennis Championships
Murray paired up with Jean-Julien Rojer in the doubles and they both upset the third seeds Lukáš Rosol and Raven Klaasen and then beat Rameez Junaid and Adil Shamasdin to reach the semifinals where they lost to the top seeds Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares, in what was Murray's third match of the day after his singles victories over Rosol and Bautista Agut.


2015 Andy Murray tennis season, Year in Detail, Spring Clay Court season and French Open, Madrid Open
He then took his newfound form on Clay to the Madrid Open, beating Kohlschreiber again in three sets in his opening match after breaking to love in the third set during an early morning match finishing at 3:00am. He then thrashed Marcel Granollers in straight sets, losing only two games, and then beat Milos Raonic (who was struggling with a foot injury) and Kei Nishikori both in straight sets to face Rafael Nadal in the final.


2015 Andy Murray tennis season, Year in Detail, Spring Clay Court season and French Open, Madrid Open
He won his second straight Clay court title and his first Masters 1000 title on Clay by defeating Nadal in straight sets, his first victory over Nadal since the 2011 Japan Open and his first victory against Nadal on Clay after six previous defeats. By winning, he became only the fourth player to defeat Nadal in a clay court final, following Roger Federer, Djokovic and Horacio Zeballos.


2015 Andy Murray tennis season, Year in Detail, Spring Clay Court season and French Open, Rome Masters
Murray beat Jérémy Chardy in straight sets but withdrew due to fatigue from the tournament before his next match against David Goffin, after playing nine matches in the space of ten days and his early morning match against Kohlschreiber in the Madrid Open.


2015 Andy Murray tennis season, Year in Detail, Spring Clay Court season and French Open, French Open
Murray then entered the French Open with a 10 match winning streak on Clay, extending that streak by beating Facundo Argüello in straight sets and João Sousa in four sets in his opening round matches. He next defeated Nick Kyrgios again in straight sets and then beat Jerémy Chardy and David Ferrer both in four sets to reach his third semifinal in the French Open. He faced Djokovic again and lost the first two sets, but won the next two sets to take the match into a deciding set during a two-day match delayed by a thunderstorm. However, he ultimately lost the match in five sets, putting an end to his 15 match winning streak on Clay.


2015 Andy Murray tennis season, Year in Detail, Grass Court season and Wimbledon, Queens Club Championships
Murray began his grass court season at Queen's Club. He won his first two matches in straight sets against Lu Yen-hsun and Fernando Verdasco before defeating Gilles Müller in three sets to reach the semifinals. Murray went on to win his 34th career title by defeating Victor Troicki and Kevin Anderson in straight sets both in a single day after his match with Troicki was suspended by rain. This was his fourth Queen's Club title, equalling the number of titles which John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Roddick had won in the Open Era.


2015 Andy Murray tennis season, Year in Detail, Grass Court season and Wimbledon, Queens Club Championships
In the doubles, Murray paired up with Dominic Inglot but they both lost in the first round to Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares.


2015 Andy Murray tennis season, Year in Detail, Grass Court season and Wimbledon, Wimbledon Championships
Murray drew Kazakh Mikhail Kukushkin in the opening round of the Wimbledon Championships. He won in straight sets, and also defeated Robin Haase in straight sets to reach the third round, where he played Andreas Seppi. Murray went two sets up but then lost six games in a row after Seppi had taken an injury timeout, before Murray had shoulder treatment and came back to win the final six games and the match.


2015 Andy Murray tennis season, Year in Detail, Grass Court season and Wimbledon, Wimbledon Championships
Murray reached the quarter-finals after a four-set victory over Ivo Karlović, and there beat Vasek Pospisil in straight sets to reach his sixth Wimbledon semi-final and set up a match against Roger Federer. However, after missing a break point opportunity against the Federer serve in the first game, Federer never faced another break point and managed to break Murray at the end of each set to win 7–5, 7–5, 6–4.


2015 Andy Murray tennis season, Year in Detail, Grass Court season and Wimbledon, Davis Cup World Group Quarterfinals
With the Davis Cup Quarterfinals taking place at the Queen's Club, Murray won his first match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets. He then paired up with his elder brother and doubles specialist Jamie Murray in the doubles against Tsonga and Nicolas Mahut and despite losing the first set along with Murray sustaining a fall during the match, the two brothers eventually won the match in four sets.


2015 Andy Murray tennis season, Year in Detail, Grass Court season and Wimbledon, Davis Cup World Group Quarterfinals
He then faced Gilles Simon in his next singles match and after initially being a set and a break down, he suddenly found his form again towards the end of the second set and eventually won in four sets, winning 12 of the last 15 games in the process (with Simon struggling from an ankle injury). With a 3–1 lead over France, this resulted in Great Britain reaching their first Davis Cup semifinal since 1981.


2015 Andy Murray tennis season, Year in Detail, US Open Series, Washington Open
Murray was the top seed in the tournament and drew Teymuraz Gabashvili in the second round. Both players split the first two sets with Gabashvili winning the first set and Murray winning the second set. However, despite serving for the match at 5–4 in the third set, Murray was broken back and lost the match in three sets after a deciding tiebreaker. Murray also paired up with Daniel Nester in the doubles but they lost in the first round to the third seeds Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea in three sets.


2015 Andy Murray tennis season, Year in Detail, US Open Series, Canadian Open
Murray responded well from his shock defeat in the Washington Open by defeating Tommy Robredo in straight sets despite Robredo being a break up in the second set. This was then followed by straight sets victories over Gilles Müller in the third round and the defending champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (who had defeated Murray in the same stage the previous year en route to claiming the title) in the quarterfinals.


2015 Andy Murray tennis season, Year in Detail, US Open Series, Canadian Open
He then faced Kei Nishikori again in the semifinals but despite the first set having three breaks in a row, Murray won the second set comfortably with a bagel, winning 12 of the last 13 points in the process, advancing to the final without dropping a set. This therefore ensured that he would overtake Roger Federer as the world number 2, returning to that ranking for the first time since 2013.


2015 Andy Murray tennis season, Year in Detail, US Open Series, Canadian Open
He faced Djokovic again and both players split the opening two sets after three breaks of serve in each set, with Murray winning the first set and Djokovic taking the second set. Murray then broke for an early lead in the third set and despite saving 6 break points along with Djokovic saving 5 match points, Murray won the match in three sets, ending an eight-match losing streak against the world number 1. This was Murray's first victory over Djokovic since his Wimbledon victory in 2013, and the first time he had defeated Djokovic in the deciding set of a three-set match.


2015 Andy Murray tennis season, Year in Detail, US Open Series, Canadian Open
In the doubles, Murray paired up with 16-time doubles Grand Slam champion Leander Paes, and they beat Kevin Anderson and Jérémy Chardy in straight sets to set up a meeting with John Peers and Murray's elder brother Jamie Murray, marking the first time the two brothers had faced against each other in a professional match. However, despite having set points in the second-set tiebreaker, the elder Murray and Peers won the match in straight sets.


2015 Andy Murray tennis season, Year in Detail, US Open Series, Cincinnati Masters
In the second Master Series tournament of the US Hard Court season, Murray defeated Mardy Fish in the second round, and then beat both Grigor Dimitrov and Richard Gasquet in three-set matches, having to come from a set down on both occasions, while Dimitrov had served for the match in the deciding set. In the semi-final he lost to defending champion Roger Federer in straight sets, and after Federer went on to win the tournament this result saw Murray drop back to number 3 in the rankings.


2015 Andy Murray tennis season, Year in Detail, US Open Series, US Open
Murray drew Nick Kyrgios in the first round and while he won the first two sets, Kyrgios won the third set, his first against Murray having lost their last three meetings in straight sets, before losing in four sets. Murray then faced Adrian Mannarino in the second round and unexpectedly dropped the first two sets before finding his form and winning the next three sets to prevail in five sets, matching Roger Federer for winning 8 matches from 2 sets down.


2015 Andy Murray tennis season, Year in Detail, US Open Series, US Open
Murray then beat Thomaz Bellucci in straight sets, dropping his serve only once in the match, to face Kevin Anderson in the fourth round. However, while Murray easily won their last meeting in the Queens Club final, Anderson's serve this time proved too much for Murray as he took the first set in a tiebreaker and then broke Murray in the second set for a two set to love lead.


2015 Andy Murray tennis season, Year in Detail, US Open Series, US Open
While Murray battled back to take the third set in a tiebreaker, Anderson won the match in four sets to reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal without dropping a point in the last tiebreaker. This ended Murray's five-year run of 18 consecutive Grand Slam Quarterfinals (not counting his withdrawal from the 2013 French Open) since his third round loss to Stan Wawrinka in the 2010 US Open.


2015 Andy Murray tennis season, Year in Detail, Davis Cup and End of Season, Davis Cup World Group Semifinals
Playing against Australia in the semifinals of the Davis Cup World Group in Glasgow, Andy Murray won both his singles rubbers in straight sets, against Thanasi Kokkinakis and Bernard Tomic. He also partnered his brother Jamie, and they won in five sets against the pairing of Sam Groth and Lleyton Hewitt, the results guiding Great Britain to the Davis Cup final for the first time since 1978.


2015 Andy Murray tennis season, Year in Detail, Davis Cup and End of Season, Shanghai Masters
Andy Murray reached the semifinals after victories against Steve Johnson and John Isner, before defeating Tomáš Berdych in straight sets including a run of nine games in a row. In the semifinals he lost to Novak Djokovic for the fifth time in the season, but the result along with Federer's early exit from the tournament ensured that Murray returned to the No. 2 ranking.


2015 Andy Murray tennis season, Year in Detail, Davis Cup and End of Season, Paris Masters
Murray reached the quarter-finals for the loss of just four games, with victories against Borna Ćorić and David Goffin, before defeating Richard Gasquet in three sets to reach his first semi-final at the Paris Masters, becoming only the fourth person to reach the semi-finals or better at least once at all nine Masters tournaments. He then beat David Ferrer in straight sets, including a run of the last five games, but lost to Novak Djokovic in the final for the sixth time in the season.


2015 Andy Murray tennis season, Year in Detail, Davis Cup and End of Season, ATP World Tour Finals
Murray had qualified for the Tour Finals and was seeded second, drawn in the same group as Stanislas Wawrinka, Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer. He beat Ferrer in his opening match, but lost both his other matches and was eliminated from the tournament at the group stage. However, Roger Federer lost in the final, ensuring that Murray finished the year as World No. 2 for the first time in his career.


2015 Andy Murray tennis season, Year in Detail, Davis Cup and End of Season, Davis Cup World Group Final
After Kyle Edmund had lost the first singles rubber, Murray's victory over Ruben Bemelmans in straight sets pulled Great Britain level in the final, played on indoor clay courts at Ghent. He then partnered his brother Jamie in a four-set victory over the pairing of Steve Darcis and David Goffin, before defeating Goffin again in the reverse singles on Sunday, thus ensuring a 3-1 victory for Great Britain, their first Davis Cup title since 1936. Murray also became only the third person since the current Davis Cup format was introduced to win all eight of his singles rubbers in a Davis Cup season, after John McEnroe and Mats Wilander.


2015 Andy Murray tennis season, Yearly records, Head-to-head matchups
Ordered by number of wins(Bold denotes a top 10 player at the time of the most recent match between the two players, Italic denotes top 50; for players whose ranking changed over the course of the year, see the note for a more complete breakdown by ranking.)


2015 Angola Cup
The 2015 Taça de Angola was the 34th edition of the Taça de Angola, the second most important and the top knock-out football club competition in Angola, following the Girabola. Benfica de Luanda were the defending champions, having beaten Petro de Luanda 1–0 in the previous season's final.


2015 Angola Cup
Bravos do Maquis who were entitled to participate in the 2016 CAF Confederation Cup as the cup winner, later withdrew for financial reasons, giving way for the runner-up, Sagrada Esperança.


2015 Angola Super Cup
The 2015 Supertaça de Angola (28th edition) was contested by Recreativo do Libolo, the 2014 Girabola champion and Benfica de Luanda, the 2014 cup winner. Recreativo do Libolo was the winner, making it its 1st title.


2015 Anguillian general election
General elections were held in Anguilla on 22 April 2015. The result was a victory for the Anguilla United Front alliance, which won six of the seven elected seats in the House of Assembly. The ruling Anguilla United Movement failed to win a seat.


2015 Anguillian general election, Electoral system
At the time of the elections the House of Assembly had eleven members, of which seven are elected in single-member constituencies and four were appointed. Voters had to be at least 18 years old, whilst candidates had to be at least 21.


2015 Anguillian general election, Results, By constituency
The closest contest was in the Road North constituency, where the AUF candidate Evalie Bradley won by a single vote against the AUM candidate Patrick Hanley.


2015 Anguillian general election, Aftermath
Following the elections, Victor Banks of the Anguilla United Front was sworn in as the island's new Chief Minister.


2015 Ankara Cup
The 2015 Ankara Cup was a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the fourth 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 Ankara, Turkey, on 14–20 December, 2015.


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


2015 Ankara Cup, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following player received entry by a lucky loser spot:


2015 Ankara Cup – Doubles
Ekaterine Gorgodze and Nastja Kolar were the defending champions, but both players chose not to participate.


2015 Ankara Cup – Doubles
María José Martínez Sánchez and Marina Melnikova won the title, defeating Paula Kania and Lesley Kerkhove in the final, 6–4, 5–7, [10–8].


2015 Ankara Cup – Singles
Aleksandra Krunić was the defending champion, but lost in the first round to Amra Sadiković.


2015 Ankara Cup – Singles
Ivana Jorović won the title, defeating Çağla Büyükakçay in the final, 7–6(7–3), 3–6, 6–2.


2015 Ankara bombings
On 10 October 2015 at 10:04 local time (EEST) in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey, two bombs were detonated outside Ankara Central railway station. With a death toll of 109 civilians, the attack surpassed the 2013 Reyhanlı bombings as the deadliest terror attack in modern Turkish history. Another 500 people were injured. Censorship monitoring group Turkey Blocks identified nationwide slowing of social media services in the aftermath of the blasts, described by rights group Human Rights Watch as an "extrajudicial" measure to restrict independent media coverage of the incident.


2015 Ankara bombings
The bombs appeared to target a "Labour, Peace and Democracy" rally organised by the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DİSK), the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB), the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) and the Confederation of Public Workers' Unions (KESK). The peace march was held to protest against the growing conflict between the Turkish Armed Forces and the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The incident occurred 21 days before the scheduled 1 November general election.


2015 Ankara bombings
The governing Justice and Development Party (AKP), the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) condemned the attack and called it an attempt to cause division within Turkey. CHP and MHP leaders heavily criticized the government for the security failure, whereas HDP directly blamed the AKP government for the bombings. Various political parties ended up cancelling their election campaigns while three days of national mourning were declared by the Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu.


2015 Ankara bombings
No organisation has ever claimed responsibility for the attack. The Ankara Attorney General stated that they were investigating the possibility of two cases of suicide bombings. On 19 October, one of the two suicide bombers was officially identified as the younger brother of the perpetrator of the Suruç bombing; both brothers had suspected links to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the ISIL affiliated Dokumacılar group.


2015 Ankara bombings, Background
Following a suicide bombing in Suruç that killed 33 people on 20 July 2015, the Turkish Armed Forces have been fighting both the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and a renewed PKK rebellion of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The resumption of the conflict with the PKK resulted in an end to the Solution process, a series of peace negotiations between the government and the PKK alongside a ceasefire in place since 2012.


2015 Ankara bombings, Background
With airstrikes initially targeting both the PKK and ISIL, later military operations began focusing explicitly on PKK positions in northern Iraq, prompting a surge of counter PKK-related violence in the mainly Kurdish south-east of Turkey. By 7 October, the surge in violence since July had led to the deaths of 141 soldiers and 1,740 militants, leading to several pro-government commentators to claim that the PKK was close to defeat. However, the large number of soldiers killed also contributed to civil unrest in other parts of the country, with attacks by Turkish nationalists taking place against the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) headquarters. Many politicians and commentators alleged that the country was close to civil war.


2015 Ankara bombings, Background, Political situation
The increase in violence came shortly after the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) lost its majority in Parliament after 13 years of government alone in the June 2015 election. When the attacks took place, the preceding AKP government led by Ahmet Davutoğlu remained in power until a new coalition government could be formed, with an interim election government also headed by Davutoğlu taking office on 28 August 2015 after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called for a new election.


2015 Ankara bombings, Background, Political situation
Critics have accused the AKP of trying to regain nationalist voters back from the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) by purposely ending the solution process and also trying to reduce turnout in the HDP electoral strongholds in the south-east by creating unrest there. Concern had been raised about whether an election could be securely conducted amid the violence in the region.


2015 Ankara bombings, Events, Perceived targets
The explosions occurred shortly before a 'Labour, Peace and Democracy' rally supported by the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DİSK), the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB), the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) and the Confederation of Public Workers' Unions (KESK) was due to take place. The rally was scheduled in Sıhhiye Square, the railways overpass bridge was the gathering area. It was reported that many attendants that were present in preparation for the rally were supporters of the  Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), with the rally area containing numerous HDP, Labour Party (EMEP) and Socialist Youth Associations Federation (SGDF) flags.


2015 Ankara bombings, Events, Bombings
On 10 October 2015, the first bomb exploded at around 10:04 local time (EEST), while rally participants were singing an anthem commemorating the Bloody Sunday incident of 1969. The second bomb exploded a few seconds later. It was also observed that the bombings were in close proximity of the National Intelligence Organisation (MİT) headquarters. Shortly after the bombing, security forces cleared the area in case of a third and fourth bomb.


2015 Ankara bombings, Events, Casualties
On the day of the blasts, the initial death toll was reported as 86, along with 186 wounded. Next day, the total number of deaths was announced as 97. According to the prime minister's statement on 14 October, 99 people were killed in total. The number increased in the following days, as people in the hospitals succumbed to their wounds, to 100 and to 102.


2015 Ankara bombings, Events, Casualties
The Turkish Medical Association (TTB) made independent claims, reporting that 97 died and over 400 people had been injured, which they later updated to 105, and 106. International media speak of 109 deaths and 508 injured.


2015 Ankara bombings, Events, Casualties
The pro-Kurdish HDP party claimed the first day that the number of deaths was 128, but after a few days retracted the statement and apologised for the misleading claim.


2015 Ankara bombings, Events, Media and internet blackouts
The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) announced a temporary ban on all press coverage of the bombings following a request by the Prime Ministry. Monitoring group Turkey Blocks identified intentional slowing, or throttling, of the Twitter and Facebook social networks beginning some hours after the attack. An official claimed at the time that internet problems were "due to heavy use," although the practice of internet throttling for "peace and order" became commonplace in the following months and was ultimately recognized by the government and brought into law.


2015 Ankara bombings, Events, Immediate response
Witnesses at the scene told the media that the police began using tear gas shortly after the bombs went off, while stopping ambulances from getting through. Angry people tried to attack police cars after the blast, with the HDP claiming that the police attacked people carrying the injured to safety.


2015 Ankara bombings, Events, Immediate response
Shortly after the bombings, the Minister of Health Mehmet Müezzinoğlu, the Minister of the Interior Selami Altınok, and the Minister of Justice Kenan İpek visited the scene to carry out investigations. However, they were met by protestors who chanted anti-AKP slogans and were forced to leave the scene less than one minute after arriving. The Ankara Attorney General announced that they were investigating the possibility of two suicide bombers, while the Turkish State Railways (TCDD) stated that there would be delays to train services passing through the Ankara Central railway station.


2015 Ankara bombings, Events, Immediate response
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu cancelled all of his prior engagements and stated that he would halt his election campaign for three days. He met with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who also cancelled his engagements in Istanbul following the incident.


2015 Ankara bombings, Events, Immediate response
The Prime Minister later held a security summit, which was attended by Deputy Prime Ministers Yalçın Akdoğan, Numan Kurtulmuş, and Tuğrul Türkeş, along with National Intelligence Organisation (MİT) undersecretary Hakan Fidan, Interior Minister Selami Altınok, Justice Minister Kenan İpek, the Governor of Ankara Mehmet Kılıçlar, the General Director of Security Celalettin Lekesiz, and several other senior civil servants working for the Prime Ministry and the Ministry of Health.


2015 Ankara bombings, Perpetrators, Initial speculation
The Ankara Attorney General stated that they were investigating the possibility of twin suicide bombings. It was observed that an anonymous Twitter account had claimed that an explosion could take place in Ankara just one day before the attack actually happened.


2015 Ankara bombings, Perpetrators, Initial speculation
The lack of any immediate statement from any known non-state perpetrator taking responsibility for the attack resulted in speculation over the possible perpetrators. Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli stated that the attacks bore a resemblance to the explosion in Suruç in July, raising debate on whether the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) could have been responsible. It was reported that the type of bomb used bore strong resemblance to the materials used in the Suruç bombing, signalling a potential connection between the two incidents.


2015 Ankara bombings, Perpetrators, Initial speculation
The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) openly blamed the Turkish state and the government for conducting the attack, accusing the government of collaborating with non-state actors and taking insufficient action to tackle their presence. The HDP has claimed that the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) was guilty of being "murderers with blood on their hands" and also of being the number one threat to Turkey's peace and security. The HDP's accusation was met with strong criticism by the AKP government.


2015 Ankara bombings, Perpetrators, Initial speculation
Veysel Eroğlu, the Minister of Forest and Water Management, made a heavily criticised statement in Afyonkarahisar implying that the HDP had purposely organised the attack against their own supporters to raise public sympathy for their party. Although Eroğlu did not name the HDP or the PKK specifically, he referred to the Diyarbakır HDP rally bombing in June as being an attempt to raise support for the HDP "just so that they can pass the 10% election threshold".


2015 Ankara bombings, Perpetrators, Investigations
Initially the government suggested the perpetrators could be any of the following anti-government groups: Islamic State/Daesh (IS), Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Revolutionary People's Liberation Party–Front (DHKP-C), Marxist–Leninist Communist Party (MLKP)


2015 Ankara bombings, Perpetrators, Investigations
A day after the bombing, Davutoğlu suggested that early investigations pointed to the involvement of IS. However, opposition political parties did not accept this attribution.


2015 Ankara bombings, Perpetrators, Investigations
Yunus Emre Alagöz, an ethnic Kurd from Adıyaman and the younger brother of Abdurrahman Alagöz, the perpetrator of the Suruç bombing, was suspected by the government to be one of the suicide bombers. On 14 October media reports alleged that Yunus, and a second suspect, Ömer Deniz Dündar, both of whom are believed  to have links to ISIL, were identified using DNA from the scene of the blast. On 19 October, one of the two suicide bombers was officially identified as Yunus Emre Alagöz.


2015 Ankara bombings, Perpetrators, Responsibility
In August 2018, a court sentenced nine defendants to life in prison for the bombing. 36 suspected members of ISIL were charged during the trial.


2015 Ankara bombings, Reactions, Domestic reactions, Political
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan condemned the bombings and vowed that the Turkish people will stand in "unity and solidarity" following the "heinous attack". He also stated that Turkey would not give in to efforts to sow division in society. He encouraged everyone to take responsibility and act with good intentions, claiming that the government was working to uncover the full details of the incident as quickly as possible.


2015 Ankara bombings, Reactions, Domestic reactions, Political
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, the leader of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), issued a statement condemning the attack and claiming that it was an attack against democracy and against all segments of society. He said Turkey was an example of a country that had kept united despite several threats against national unity, announcing plans to meet with opposition party leaders in regards to the attack. Declaring three days of national mourning, Davutoğlu vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice regardless of who they were.


2015 Ankara bombings, Reactions, Domestic reactions, Political
Main opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP), claimed that they were ready to fulfill any task to end such attacks in Turkey and agreed to meet with Davutoğlu to discuss the bombing. He stated that all political parties had a duty to stand together against such attacks and called on the perpetrators to identify themselves, further claiming that violence was never an answer to a difference in viewpoints.


2015 Ankara bombings, Reactions, Domestic reactions, Political
Opposition leader Devlet Bahçeli, the leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), cancelled a planned electoral rally in İzmir following the attack and issued a statement in which he claimed that Turkey was paying the price for the AKP's close relations with violent groups, refusing to meet with Davutoğlu. Condemning the bombings as an attack on the country's unity, he also stated that the fact that such perpetrators could evade security and intelligence organisations to conduct a bombing in the country's capital city was another serious issue of concern.


2015 Ankara bombings, Reactions, Domestic reactions, Political
Opposition leader Selahattin Demirtaş, the co-leader of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), drew parallels with the bombings in Suruç and Diyarbakır earlier in the year, claiming that his party was specifically targeted. Accusing the state of conducting a "massacre" in the centre of the capital Ankara, he further claimed that they were facing a "mad, undignified attitude that has lost its mind". He accused the AKP government and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of forcing violence onto the people of Turkey, denouncing them as "murderers with blood on their hands".


2015 Ankara bombings, Reactions, Domestic reactions, Political
Referring to Erdoğan as a "gang leader", he claimed that Erdoğan had been able to conduct rallies under complete security but members of the public wishing to hold a rally for peace had been "massacred". He further claimed that the AKP was the biggest threat to the country's peace and security, drawing criticism from AKP leader and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu.


2015 Ankara bombings, Reactions, Domestic reactions, Political
Shortly after the bombing, PKK/KCK declared a ceasefire in order to ensure that a peaceful election would be held on 1 November, which was reportedly already being planned before the bombing took place. Nevertheless, the ceasefire did not materialize, as policemen and soldiers continued to be killed in PKK attacks everyday since the bombing.


2015 Ankara bombings, Reactions, Domestic reactions, Other
Before closing his morning television chat show on 13 October, TRT anchor Selver Gözüaçık read a tweet by one of his viewers that read it was not right to "lump all the victims together [because] some may be innocent." He agreed with the sentiment, saying that there may have been "police officers, cleaning staff, passersby or people trying to get to work" who were also killed in the bombings.


2015 Ankara bombings, Reactions, Domestic reactions, Other
Former Nobel Prize in Literature laureate Orhan Pamuk criticized Erdoğan for what he said was a climate of insecurity as a result of the latter's persistence on trying to achieve a parliamentary majority that has brought the country to the brink of sectarian conflict.


2015 Ankara bombings, Reactions, Domestic reactions, Other
During a one minute silence for the victims at the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match between Turkey and Iceland, the crowd instead booed, whistled, shouted Turkish ultranationalist slogans and chanted Allahu akbar.


2015 Ankara bombings, Reactions, International reactions, Travel advisories
Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Iran, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States issued travel advisories recommending that all non-essential travel to Turkey should be avoided.


2015 Ankara bombings, Aftermath
Following the attack, three days of national mourning were declared by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu.


2015 Ankara bombings, Aftermath, Election campaigns
With the bombing occurring during the election campaigns for the November 2015 general election, various parties abandoned their scheduled rallies. The Justice and Development Party (AKP) cancelled their planned election programme for three days after the attack. The Republican People's Party (CHP) also cancelled their daily programme, with party leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu having been due to spend the day campaigning in Istanbul. The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) announced that their scheduled rally in İzmir would take place at a later date. The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), having claimed that they were the targets of the attack, abandoned a campaign strategy meeting due in their İstanbul headquarters. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also cancelled his prior engagements in Istanbul, including a trip to Turkmenistan.


2015 Ankara bombings, Aftermath, Resignation calls
After a screen grab of Justice Minister Kenan İpek showing him smiling went viral, CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said that they should resign in a meeting with Davutoğlu. He said: "The sight of the justice minister [smiling at the reporter's question] is startling. The  [sic] society is going through a severe trauma and meanwhile the justice minister is smiling. The justice minister cannot remain in his office." He added that Davutoğlu would make a decision upon receipt of a report on Ipek’s conduct. It was also criticised on social media. Further, Deputy Chairman Haluk Koç also called for the immediate resignation of Interior Minister Selami Altınok saying that he was unable to carry out his responsibilities.


2015 Ankara bombings, Aftermath, Industrial action
The Confederation of Public Workers' Unions (KESK), Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB), the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) and the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DISK), which had all been organisers of the peace rally, declared that two days of industrial action would be held on 12 and 13 October as a show of respect to the dead, as well as a protest against the "fascist massacre." The unions also stated that they would not give up on their efforts to end the conflict.


2015 Ankara bombings, Aftermath, PKK ceasefire
Shortly after the bombings, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) declared a ceasefire to allow a peaceful election to take place on 1 November. The ceasefire announcement, which was made through the executive of the Group of Communities in Kurdistan (KCK), declared that the PKK would not conduct any attacks unless provoked or in self-defence. It is unclear if the ceasefire announcement, which was made approximately an hour after the Ankara bombings, was related to the incident.


2015 Ankara bombings, Aftermath, Anti-government protests
In the afternoon following the attack, thousands of union members began protesting at Taksim Square in İstanbul against the bombing, with many participants chanting anti-government slogans and calling on both the governing AKP and for Erdoğan to resign. Similar protests occurred in İzmir, with tensions between protestors and riot police briefly rising in Alsancak before deescalating shortly after. HDP Members of Parliament of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey led a protest in Batman, before being met by riot police using tear gas and water cannon.


2015 Ankara bombings, Aftermath, Anti-government protests
A group of 15 masked individuals in Kızılay, Ankara, began attacking police officers with fireworks before being met by water cannon and pepper spray. Over 2,000 protestors led demonstrations in Diyarbakır and 300 protestors participated in protests in Şanlıurfa, having been accompanied by HDP and Democratic Regions Party (DBP) politicians. Similar protests took place in Van, Tunceli and Kars, with participating politicians from the HDP and CHP as well as union members from KESK, TMMOB, TTB and DISK.


2015 Anning Open
The 2015 Anning Open was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the fourth edition for men and second edition for women of the tournament and part of the 2015 ATP Challenger Tour and the 2015 ITF Women's Circuit, offering a total of $50,000+H for men $75,000 women in prize money. It took place in Anning, China, on 27 April–3 May for men and 4–10 May 2015 for women.


2015 Anning Open, Men's singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2015 Anning Open, Women's singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2015 Anning Open – Men's Doubles
Alex Bolt and Andrew Whittington were the defending champions, but Bolt decided not to participate this year. Whittington played alongside Karunuday Singh and lost in the final.


2015 Anning Open – Men's Doubles
Bai Yan and Wu Di won the title, defeating Whittington and Singh in the final, 6–3, 6–4.


2015 Anning Open – Men's Singles
Alex Bolt was the defending champion, but he did not participate this year.


2015 Anning Open – Men's Singles
Franko Škugor won the title, defeating Gavin van Peperzeel in the final, 7–5, 6–2.


2015 Anning Open – Women's Doubles
Han Xinyun and Zhang Kailin were the defending champions, but lost in the semifinals.


2015 Anning Open – Women's Doubles
The top seeds Xu Yifan and Zheng Saisai won the title, defeating Yang Zhaoxuan and Ye Qiuyu in an all-Chinese final, 7–5, 6–2.


2015 Anning Open – Women's Singles
Zheng Saisai was the defending champion, and successfully defended her title, defeating Han Xinyun in the all-Chinese final, 6–4, 3–6, 6–4.


2015 Antonio Savoldi–Marco Cò – Trofeo Dimmidisì
The 2015 Antonio Savoldi–Marco Cò – Trofeo Dimmidisì was a professional tennis tournament played on clay courts. It was the fourteenth edition of the tournament which is part of the 2015 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Manerbio, Italy between 24 and 30 August 2015.


2015 Antonio Savoldi–Marco Cò – Trofeo Dimmidisì, ATP entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2015 Antonio Savoldi–Marco Cò – Trofeo Dimmidisì, ATP entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received entry as a special exempt into the singles main draw:


2015 Antonio Savoldi–Marco Cò – Trofeo Dimmidisì, Champions, Singles
Andrey Kuznetsov def. Daniel Muñoz de la Nava, 6–4, 3–6, 6–1


2015 Antonio Savoldi–Marco Cò – Trofeo Dimmidisì, Champions, Doubles
Flavio Cipolla /  Daniel Muñoz de la Nava def. Gero Kretschmer /  Alexander Satschko, 7–6(7–5), 3–6, [11–9]


2015 Antonio Savoldi–Marco Cò – Trofeo Dimmidisì – Doubles
This was the first edition of the tournament since 2011.


2015 Antonio Savoldi–Marco Cò – Trofeo Dimmidisì – Doubles
Flavio Cipolla and Daniel Muñoz de la Nava won the tournament, defeating Gero Kretschmer and Alexander Satschko in the final.


2015 Antonio Savoldi–Marco Cò – Trofeo Dimmidisì – Singles
This was the first edition of the tournament since 2011.


2015 Antonio Savoldi–Marco Cò – Trofeo Dimmidisì – Singles
Andrey Kuznetsov won the tournament, defeating Daniel Muñoz de la Nava in the final.


2015 Antrim Senior Hurling Championship
The 2015 Antrim Senior Hurling Championship was the 115th staging of the Antrim Senior Hurling Championship since its establishment by the Antrim County Board in 1901. The championship began on 29 August 2015 and ended on 27 September 2015.


2015 Antrim Senior Hurling Championship
The championship was won by Ruairí Óg, Cushendall who secured the title following a 2-16 to 1-15 defeat of McQuillan Ballycastle in the final. This was their 13th championship title and their second in succession.


2015 Anzac Test
The 2015 Anzac Test was a rugby league test match played between Australia and New Zealand at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. It was the 16th Anzac Test played between the two nations since the first was played under the Super League banner in 1997. Both sides were announced on 26 April. The game was originally scheduled to take place on 1 May, but it was postponed due to bad weather. The Test instead took place on May 3, along with a Women's rugby league match between the Australian Jillaroos and New Zealand Kiwi Ferns which served as the curtain-raiser for the main game, won 22-14 by the Jillaroos.


2015 Anzac Test
New Zealand's win was their first Anzac Test win in 17 years, and the first time New Zealand had won three consecutive test matches over Australia since 1953.


2015 Anzac Test
As man of the match, Manu Vatuvei was awarded the Charles Savory medal.


2015 Anzac Test, Squads
1 - Shifted to Fullback taking the place of originally selected Billy Slater who withdrew due to injury. Michael Jennings was promoted from originally 19th Man to Centre. 2 - Replaced originally selected Dallin Watene-Zelezniak who was withdrawn due to suspension.


2015 Anzac Test, Women's Test
A Women's rugby league match between the Australian Jillaroos and New Zealand Kiwi Ferns which served as the curtain-raiser for the main game, won 22-14 by the Jillaroos.


2015 Apatin Open darts
2015 Apatin Open is a darts tournament, which took place in Apatin, Serbia in 2015.


2015 Apia International Sydney
The 2015 Apia International Sydney was a joint 2015 ATP World Tour and 2015 WTA Tour tennis tournament, played on outdoor hard courts in Sydney, New South Wales. It was the 123rd edition of the tournament and took place at the NSW Tennis Centre in Sydney, Australia. It was held from 11 January through 17 January 2015 as part of the Australian Open Series in preparation for the first Grand Slam of the year.


2015 Apia International Sydney, Prize money
1Qualifiers prize money is also the Round of 32 prize money. *per team


2015 Apia International Sydney, ATP singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2015 Apia International Sydney, ATP singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following player received entry using a protected ranking into the singles main draw:


2015 Apia International Sydney, ATP doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw:


2015 Apia International Sydney, WTA singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2015 Apia International Sydney, WTA doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw: