2015–16 Zika virus epidemic, Scientific communication and concerns
In 2017, public health experts are still concerned about the failure of the Zika response in the United States. Many officials failed to provide information about Zika's sexual transmission. New York City subway systems had posters about mosquitos while all local cases reported had been picked up elsewhere or transmitted sexually. Many experts believe that the United States lacked severely in providing the public with information to prevent sexual transmission of the virus.


2015–16 Zira FK season
The Zira FK 2015–16 season is Zira's first Azerbaijan Premier League season, and second season in their history. It is their first season with Adil Shukurov as manager, during which they participate in the Azerbaijan Cup as well as the League.


2015–16 Zira FK season, Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2015–16 Zira FK season, Transfers, Summer
In:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2015–16 Zira FK season, Transfers, Summer
Out:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2015–16 Zira FK season, Transfers, Winter
In:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2015–16 Zira FK season, Transfers, Winter
Out:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2015–16 Zob Ahan F.C. season
The 2015–16 season was Zob Ahan Football Club's 15th season in the Iran Pro League, and their 20th consecutive season in the top division of Iranian football. They also competed in the Hazfi Cup and AFC Champions League, and had their 45nd year in existence as a football club.


2015–16 Zob Ahan F.C. season, Players, Iran Pro League squad
As of 19 January 2016Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2015–16 Zob Ahan F.C. season, Transfers, Summer
In:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2015–16 Zob Ahan F.C. season, Transfers, Summer
Out:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2015–16 Zob Ahan F.C. season, Transfers, Winter
In:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2015–16 Zob Ahan F.C. season, Transfers, Winter
Out:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2015–16 Zob Ahan F.C. season, Statistics, Top scorers
Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted by shirt number when total goals are equal.


2015–16 Zob Ahan F.C. season, Statistics, Top scorers
Friendlies and pre-season goals are not recognized as competitive match goals.


2015–16 Zob Ahan F.C. season, Statistics, Most assists
Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted by shirt number when total assists are equal.


2015–16 Zob Ahan F.C. season, Statistics, Most assists
Friendlies and pre-season goals are not recognized as competitive match assists.


2015–16 Zob Ahan F.C. season, Statistics, Disciplinary record
Includes all competitive matches. Players with 1 card or more included only.


2015–16 curling season
The 2015–16 curling season began in August 2015 and ended in May 2016.


2015–16 curling season
Note: In events with two genders, the men's tournament winners will be listed before the women's tournament winners.


2015–16 curling season, Curling Canada sanctioned events
This section lists events sanctioned by and/or conducted by Curling Canada (formerly the Canadian Curling Association). The following events in bold have been confirmed by Curling Canada as are part of the 2015–16 Season of Champions programme.


2015–16 curling season, Other events
Note: Events that have not been placed on the CCA's list of sanctioned events are listed here. If an event is listed on the CCA's final list for the 2015–16 curling season, it will be moved up to the "CCA-sanctioned events" section.


2015–16 curling season, Curling Canada MA Cup
The MA Cup is awarded to the Curling Canada Member Association (MA) who has had the most success during the season in Curling Canada-sanctioned events. Events included the Canadian mixed championship, Travelers Curling Club Championship (added to the MA Cup for this season), men's and women's juniors championships, the Scotties, the Brier, the men's and women's senior championships and the national wheelchair championship. Points were awarded based on placement in each of the events, with the top association receiving 14 points and each association under receiving points in decrements of one point.


2015–16 figure skating season
The 2015–16 figure skating season begins on July 1, 2015, and ends on June 30, 2016. Elite skaters will begin the season competing on the Grand Prix series or Junior Grand Prix series, culminating in the Grand Prix Final, and the ISU Challenger Series. Following national championships, competitors will appear at ISU Championships, such as the 2016 European, Four Continents, World Junior, and World Championships.


2015–16 figure skating season, Season notes, Partnership changes
Some skaters announced the dissolution of a partnership or formation of a new one. Listed are changes involving at least one partner who competed at Worlds, Europeans, Four Continents, Junior Worlds or the senior Grand Prix, or who medaled on the Junior Grand Prix circuit. The ISU does not permit teams to compete for two countries—if skaters of different nationalities team up, they must choose one country to represent.


2015–16 in Algerian football
The 2015–16 season will be the 55th season of competitive association football in Algeria.


2015–16 in Australian soccer
The 2015–16 season was the eleventh season of the current professional domestic soccer competition in Australia.


2015–16 in Australian soccer, Domestic competitions, National Premier Leagues
The 2015 National Premier Leagues Finals Series began on 19 September 2015 and ended with the Grand Final on 3 October 2015. Blacktown City won the title for the first time.


2015–16 in Australian soccer, Domestic cups, FFA Cup
The 2015 FFA Cup began on 29 July and ended on 7 November. It was the first season in which teams from all nine FFA member federations participated, with the Northern Territory participating for the first time.


2015–16 in Australian soccer, National teams, Men's senior, FIFA World Cup qualification
2018 World Cup qualification matches also act as 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification matches, following a change to the qualifying formats of both tournaments.


2015–16 in Australian soccer, National teams, Men's under-20, AFF U-19 Youth Championship
Australia was scheduled to compete in the 2015 AFF U-19 Youth Championship tournament but withdrew before its commencement, citing a different strategy to preparations for 2016 AFC U-19 Championship qualification.


2015–16 in Belgian football
The following article is a summary of the 2015–16 football season in Belgium, which is the 113th season of competitive football in the country and runs from July 2015 until June 2016.


2015–16 in Belgian football, League competitions, Belgian Second Division
Due to a reform in the Belgian football league, the Belgian Second Division ceases to exist and is replaced by the Belgian First Division B from the 2016–17 season which will only contain 8 teams instead of the current 17. As a result, the bottom nine teams in the league are set to relegate to the newly created league at the third level of the Belgian football pyramid, the Belgian First Amateur Division. Due to the fact that WS Brussels did not receive a licence, they were relegated instead of Roeselare.


2015–16 in Belgian football, League competitions, Belgian Third Division
Due to a reform in the Belgian football league, the Belgian Third Division ceases to exist and is replaced by the Belgian Second Amateur Division from the 2016–17 season, now at the fourth level of Belgian football. A newly created league, the Belgian First Amateur Division is formed at the third level, effectively pushing the teams in this division one level down the pyramid.


2015–16 in Belgian football, League competitions, Belgian Third Division
Only the top two teams in each division and the two promotion playoff winners are "promoted" to the new league, meaning they will remain at the third level, while most of the teams effectively drop to the fourth level. The two teams finishing in last position in each group are relegated to the Belgian Third Amateur Division, which in fact means a drop from level 3 to level 5 of the pyramid.


2015–16 in Belgian football, League competitions, Belgian Third Division, Promotion play-offs
The eight teams taking part in the promotion play-offs are playing to win one of the three remaining places in the 2016-17 Belgian First Amateur Division. The final match between the winners of Round 2, Sprimont-Comblain and FCV Dender EH, was not played as both teams already achieved promotion by winning Round 2. Hasselt beat La Louvière Centre in the third place match and took the final promotion spot. The five losing teams will play in the 2016-17 Belgian Second Amateur Division, effectively one level lower than in the 2015–16 season.


2015–16 in Belgian football, European Club results
Champions Gent qualified directly for the group stage of the Champions League, while runners-up Club Brugge started in the qualifying rounds. As third-place finisher, Anderlecht qualified directly for the group stage of the Europa League, while Standard Liège and Charleroi started in the qualifying rounds.


2015–16 in Cape Verdean football
The 2015–16 season was the season of competitive football (soccer) in Cape Verde.


2015–16 in Cape Verdean football, Final standings, Cape Verdean Football Championships
Two number one clubs finished first and were FC Derby (of Group A) and CS Mindelense (of Group), Derby had a draw and Mindelense had two, neither had any losses, Derby scored 8 and Mindelense scored 11, along with GD Varandinha for the first time and Académica do Porto Novo. Mindelense and Académica do Porto Novo (on away goals) advanced while Varandinha and Derby lost. In four years, Mindelense again competed with Académica do Porto Novo and a goal in each of the two matches, second consecutive time that both clubs had the same goal totals, again Mindelense won 4-3 in penalty kicks in the last match and claimed their twelfth and recent national title.


2015–16 in Cape Verdean football, Island or regional competitions, Regional Super Cups
The 2015 champion winner played with a 2015 cup winner (when a club won both, a second place club competed).


2015–16 in Cape Verdean football, Transfer deals, Summer-Fall transfer window
The September/October transfer window runs from the end of the previous season in September up to mid-October.


2015–16 in Croatian football
The following article presents a summary of the 2015–16 football season in Croatia, which will be the 25th season of competitive football in the country.


2015–16 in English football
The 2015–16 season was the 136th season of competitive association football in England.


2015–16 in English football, UEFA competitions, 2015–16 UEFA Champions League, Knockout phase
The draw for the round of 16 was held on 14 December 2015. The first legs were played on 16, 17, 23 and 24 February, and the second legs were played on 8, 9, 15 and 16 March 2016.


2015–16 in English football, UEFA competitions, 2015–16 UEFA Champions League, Knockout phase
The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 18 March 2016. The first legs were played on 5 and 6 April, and the second legs were played on 12 and 13 April 2016.


2015–16 in English football, UEFA competitions, 2015–16 UEFA Champions League, Knockout phase
The draw for the semi-finals was held on 15 April 2016. The first legs were played on 26 and 27 April, and the second legs were played on 3 and 4 May 2016.


2015–16 in English football, UEFA competitions, 2015–16 UEFA Europa League, Knockout phase
The draw for the round of 32 was held on 14 December 2015. The first legs were played on 16 and 18 February, and the second legs were played on 24 and 25 February 2016.


2015–16 in English football, UEFA competitions, 2015–16 UEFA Europa League, Knockout phase
The draw for the round of 16 was held on 26 February 2016. The first legs were played on 10 March, and the second legs were played on 17 March 2016.


2015–16 in English football, UEFA competitions, 2015–16 UEFA Europa League, Knockout phase
The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 18 March 2016. The first legs were played on 7 April, and the second legs were played on 14 April 2016.


2015–16 in English football, UEFA competitions, 2015–16 UEFA Europa League, Knockout phase
The draw for the semi-finals was held on 15 April 2016. The first legs were played on 28 April, and the second legs were played on 5 May 2016. 2015–16 UEFA Europa League knockout phweb</ref> The "home" team (for administrative purposes) was determined by an additional draw held after the semi-final draw.


2015–16 in English football, League season, Premier League
The most unexpected title race in Premier League history saw Leicester City defy all of their critics and win their first ever top-flight title in their 132-year history. Despite being tipped for relegation following the pre-season sacking of Nigel Pearson and replacing him with Claudio Ranieri, the Foxes remained in contention all season long and never once fell outside of the top seven, taking top spot in early January and never relinquishing it.


2015–16 in English football, League season, Premier League
This stunning achievement, coupled with a solid defence and the free-scoring efforts of Jamie Vardy (who broke the record for scoring in 11 consecutive Premier League games) and Riyad Mahrez, saw the club receive mass acclaim at home and abroad for their efforts. Leicester's triumph would mark the first first-time champion of English football since Nottingham Forest's first title win during the 1977–78 season, as well as the first time this happened in the Premier League era.


2015–16 in English football, League season, Premier League
Growing fan protests towards manager Arsène Wenger saw Arsenal endure another trophyless season after a collapse in form, but they recovered well to secure their first second-placed finish in 11 years, while goalkeeper Petr Čech won the Golden Glove for having the most clean sheets.


2015–16 in English football, League season, Premier League
Tottenham Hotspur finished an unlikely third, their first since 1990 – despite a very slow start, a six-match winning run in early January saw them become Leicester's closest title challengers, until multiple slip-ups in their remaining games ruined their chances of finishing above North London rivals Arsenal and saw them miss out on the top two. Nevertheless, it was still a fantastic achievement for the club, who qualified for the Champions League for only the third time, whilst Harry Kane was the league's highest scorer with 25 goals.


2015–16 in English football, League season, Premier League
Manchester City endured a disappointing league season, only just securing a Champions League spot, but made up for it in Manuel Pellegrini's last season in charge by winning the Football League Cup, as well as reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time, only narrowly losing to Real Madrid.


2015–16 in English football, League season, Premier League
Manchester United also suffered a similarly underwhelming season; like City they had looked like potential title challengers early on, before a dreadful run of form in the winter derailed any such hopes and led to growing anger from the fans towards manager Louis van Gaal's defensive style of play.


2015–16 in English football, League season, Premier League
While the emergence of promising young striker Marcus Rashford helped revitalise their season somewhat and they won the FA Cup for the first time since 2004, they ultimately missed out on a Champions League spot on goal difference, and as a result, at the end of the season, van Gaal was sacked.


2015–16 in English football, League season, Premier League
Having finished seventh the previous year, Southampton went one further and finished in sixth place, successfully ensuring qualification for the Europa League group stages. Whilst they had spent the first half of the season surprisingly hovering above the relegation zone, the return of goalkeeper Fraser Forster from injury saw a massive change in fortunes. In their last ever season at Upton Park before moving to the Olympic Stadium, West Ham United enjoyed arguably their greatest league campaign since their highest-ever finish thirty years prior and qualified for the Europa League. Although too many draws prevented them from securing a Champions League spot, Slaven Bilić had a successful first campaign as manager, which included victories at Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City before the end of September.


2015–16 in English football, League season, Premier League
A poor start to the season saw Liverpool replace Brendan Rodgers with Jürgen Klopp, which bought about a successful change in both performance and results. Though several dropped points prevented them from finishing higher than eighth, the club enjoyed a stunning Europa League run that took them to the final where they ultimately lost to Sevilla and ensured no European football for the following season.


2015–16 in English football, League season, Premier League
Chelsea endured a torrid campaign as they made arguably the worst title defence in modern footballing history, hovering above the relegation zone by mid-December; while the sacking of José Mourinho (just seven months after leading the club to their fourth Premier League title) for Guus Hiddink on a caretaker basis saw a massive improvement in league results, a lack of success in their other competitions saw the club finish in their lowest league position for 20 years and fail to qualify for any European competitions for the first time in 19 years.


2015–16 in English football, League season, Premier League
Of the three promoted teams, Watford surprisingly performed the best, finishing in 13th place with more wins than their previous two top-flight campaigns combined. Despite suffering a steep drop in form in 2016, the Hornets were never seriously threatened with relegation and alongside reaching the FA Cup semi-finals, the club ensured a second successive top-flight campaign for the first time in nearly 30 years whilst star strike duo Odion Ighalo and Troy Deeney netted 28 goals between them.


2015–16 in English football, League season, Premier League
Having been in the race for European football at the turn of the year, a run of just two wins in 2016 saw Crystal Palace only just secure their place in the Premier League for the fourth season in a row, though a stunning run to the FA Cup Final more than made amends in Alan Pardew's first full season in charge.


2015–16 in English football, League season, Premier League
AFC Bournemouth's first-ever top-flight season quickly turned into a nightmare as long-term injuries to key players saw their form plummet and the chances of instant relegation increase – however, a six-match unbeaten run before Christmas which included successive wins over Chelsea and Manchester United, coupled with several bursts of good form, saw the Cherries secure their survival with several games to spare, a remarkable achievement for the club.


2015–16 in English football, League season, Premier League
After nearly 30 years in the top-flight and a succession of lower finishes since the departure of Martin O'Neill in 2010, Aston Villa finally ran out of luck and were relegated in bottom place in a season that saw them change managers three times – after winning away on the opening day, they proceeded to win just two more games in the season as they finished their campaign with the third lowest points total in Premier League history of 17 points, their season not being helped further by growing fan protests towards the owners as well as a failure to replace key players such as Fabian Delph and Christian Benteke in the summer.


2015–16 in English football, League season, Premier League
Finishing above them were Norwich City; despite being tipped to finish higher than both their promotion rivals as well as making several signings in both transfer windows, the Canaries were simply unable to re-adapt to the fast pace of the top-flight and their inability to score was once again their downfall, despite a famous victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford in December.


2015–16 in English football, League season, Premier League
Taking the final relegation spot were Newcastle United, whose steep decline in form since qualifying for the Europa League in 2012 finally took its toll and they endured their second relegation from the top-flight in seven years, in spite of spending nearly £100 million on new players, as well as the managerial presence of both Steve McClaren and then Rafael Benítez late in the season.


2015–16 in English football, League season, Football League Championship
In one of the tightest second-tier title races in history, Burnley ultimately edged out the opposition to win the title and secure an immediate return to the Premier League, their first top-flight bounce-back since the end of the 19th century. Having been adrift of the automatic promotion places at Christmas, the Clarets finished the season unbeaten in 23 games and record signing Andre Gray was their top scorer with 25 goals.


2015–16 in English football, League season, Football League Championship
Despite a nervy end to their season, Middlesbrough ultimately shook off their disappointing play-off final loss the previous season and returned to the Premier League after a seven-year absence, recording the best defense for the second year running and conceding just eight goals at home. Taking the final place through the play-offs were Hull City, who scraped past Sheffield Wednesday in the final and secured their own instant return to the top-flight, earning Steve Bruce his fourth promotion as a manager.


2015–16 in English football, League season, Football League Championship
Brighton Hove & Albion enjoyed arguably their most successful season for many years, as they enjoyed their own unbeaten run of 21 games in the first half of the season and lost just five times overall, only just missing out on automatic promotion on goal difference and then losing in the playoffs. Having been well in the mix for promotion the previous season, Ipswich Town struggled to mount a real promotion charge and finished just five points off of the playoffs. Despite suffering from low home attendances, Cardiff City mounted a surprise promotion challenge, staying well in the fight until defeat in their penultimate game ended their hopes – manager Russell Slade was then promoted to head of football at the season's end.


2015–16 in English football, League season, Football League Championship
At the bottom of the table, Bolton Wanderers were relegated in last place after a miserable season that saw them threatened with going out of business and failing to win one away game all season, falling into the third tier for the first time since 1993.


2015–16 in English football, League season, Football League Championship
Finishing above them were Milton Keynes Dons, who were unable to adapt to the fast pace of the second tier like both Preston North End (who made a surprise push for the playoffs after having been tipped to struggle) and Bristol City (who flirted with relegation throughout the season before a late surge pushed them up the table), and in stark contrast to their free-scoring promotion season a year prior, were ultimately undone by their complete inability to score. Filling the final relegation place were Charlton Athletic, whose bright start rapidly fell away and many of their results resulting in heavy losses – as with Aston Villa, their season was not helped by several fan protests against the club's owners and their policies on managerial and player signings.


2015–16 in English football, League season, Football League One
In their first season at this level for 12 years, Wigan Athletic ensured their drop in form was only temporary as they secured an immediate promotion back to the Championship, in no small part due a twenty-match unbeaten run mid-season.


2015–16 in English football, League season, Football League One
Burton Albion's first-ever season in the third tier resulted in a second successive promotion; for the second season in a row they lost their manager while heading the table, when Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink moved to Queens Park Rangers, but the club's re-hiring of Nigel Clough for a second spell as manager kept their promotion challenge on-track, though several bursts of indifferent form (and a somewhat poor goal-scoring record) ensured that their promotion went to the last day.


2015–16 in English football, League season, Football League One
With this feat, Albion also brought second-tier League football back to their town since the dismissal of their predecessor club Burton United in 1907. Taking the final spot through the play-offs and returning to the Championship after two years were Barnsley – despite being bottom of League One in November and then losing their manager to Bristol City in January, in addition to only just scraping into the play-offs in the last few games, the Tykes ultimately enjoyed a successful season which also included winning the Football League Trophy, their first major trophy in over a hundred years.


2015–16 in English football, League season, Football League One
After achieving survival in the previous two seasons, Crewe Alexandra ran out of luck at last, and they were relegated back to League Two after four years at this level, after a season in which they were never outside the bottom two after their fifth league game and won just seven times – their season was not helped by growing anger from the fans towards the owners for their continual refusal to sack manager Steve Davis.


2015–16 in English football, League season, Football League One
Colchester United fared little better as their awful defensive record, which saw them very nearly concede 100 goals in the league, helped doom them to the fourth tier for the first time since 1998. Blackpool suffered their second successive relegation and their third relegation in five years, falling into the fourth tier for the first time since 2001 amid ever-increasing supporter unrest at the Oyston family's ownership of the club and their continual refusal to sell. Doncaster Rovers occupied the final relegation spot; after poor early-season results, the appointment of Darren Ferguson as manager seemed to have revived their fortunes, but a terrible run of form after the turn of the year helped condemn them to relegation, with even a win against Wigan counting for nothing.


2015–16 in English football, League season, Football League Two
Despite facing an uncertain future off-pitch towards the end of 2015, Northampton Town were promoted as champions, refusing to let the issues off-pitch affect their style of play and enjoying an impressive unbeaten run throughout 2016 – perhaps their only disappointment was suffering several draws in their last 10 games which just prevented them breaking the 100 point mark. Oxford United filled the second automatic spot in a successful season where they reached the final of the Football League Trophy competition, in which they narrowly lost to Barnsley and made the fourth round of the FA Cup.


2015–16 in English football, League season, Football League Two
Finishing in third place on goal difference were Bristol Rovers, securing promotion in their first season back in the Football League and being in the promotion chase for virtually the whole season. Taking the final spot through the playoffs were AFC Wimbledon, who won promotion to the third tier for the first time in their 14-year history – coupled with the relegation of Milton Keynes Dons from the Championship, the two sides both claiming to be continuing the original Wimbledon club would be facing off in the same league for the first time from next season.


2015–16 in English football, League season, Football League Two
Portsmouth enjoyed their first successful season since winning the FA Cup in 2008, as they mounted a real promotion charge and were among the highest scorers in the league – their only real disappointment was suffering too many draws over the season which pushed them into the playoffs, where they narrowly lost to Plymouth. Yeovil Town almost suffered a third relegation in a row, but a good run of form following the appointment of former player Darren Way saw the club rocket up the table and survive comfortably in mid-table. Teddy Sheringham's first managerial role ended in disaster as he very nearly led Stevenage to relegation – it was only after his sacking that the club surged back up the table and secured their place in the Football League.


2015–16 in English football, League season, Football League Two
At the bottom of the table, York City's 4-year spell in the Football League was ended in a dreadful season where their defensive record was only marginally better than that of Morecambe and where they never once looked like staying up. Finishing just above them were Dagenham & Redbridge, whose run in the Football League came to an end despite a good late run of form.


2015–16 in English football, League season, National League Top Division
Cheltenham Town secured an immediate return to the Football League as champions, becoming the first club to immediately bounce back as Conference/National League champions since Darlington in 1990 – throughout the season, they were rarely outside the top 2 and took advantage of the teams slipping up below them, breaking the 100 point mark in the process. Grimsby Town ultimately emerged victorious in the play-offs, ensuring a return to the Football League for the first time in six years.


2015–16 in English football, League season, National League Top Division
Welling, who had only avoided relegation on goal difference the previous season, finished in bottom place. Kidderminster Harriers suffered from off-pitch turmoil and a financial crisis throughout the season, culminating in their relegation though they did finish the season with a six-game unbeaten run. Altrincham were relegated back to the Conference North after two seasons. FC Halifax Town occupied the final relegation spot, recovering well from terrible early-season form, but ultimately going down after other results went against them on the final day.


2015–16 in English football, Managerial changes
This is a list of changes of managers within English league football:


2015–16 in French football
The following article is a summary of the 2015–16 football season in France, which was the 82nd season of competitive football in the country and ran from July 2015 to June 2016.


2015–16 in Georgian football
The following article is a summary of the 2015–16 football season in Georgia, and ran from August 2015 to May 2016.


2015–16 in German football
The 2015–16 season was the 106th season of competitive football in Germany.


2015–16 in Hong Kong football
The 2015–16 season is the 114th season of competitive football in Hong Kong, starting in July 2015 and ending in June 2016.


2015–16 in Hong Kong football, Representative team, Hong Kong national football team, 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
The draw for the group stage of second round qualification was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 14 April 2015. Hong Kong was drawn with China PR, Qatar and Maldives and Bhutan in group C. Hong Kong has started their qualifying campaign in June 2015.


2015–16 in Indian football
The 2015–16 season is the 137th season of competitive football in India.


2015–16 in Israeli football
The 2015–16 season was the 68th season of competitive football in Israel, and the 90th season under the Israeli Football Association, established in 1928, during the British Mandate.


2015–16 in Israeli football
The season saw Hapoel Be'er Sheva winning league, its first championship title since 1976 and Maccabi Haifa winning its first Israel State Cup in 18 years. In women's football, F.C. Ramat HaSharon won its first ever league title, the first since 2002 which was not won by either Maccabi Holon or ASA Tel Aviv University. F.C. Kiryat Gat won the Israeli Women's Cup, its first ever major title.


2015–16 in Italian football
The 2015–16 season was the 114th season of competitive football in Italy.


2015–16 in Kuwaiti football
2015–16 in Kuwaiti football includes several notable national tournaments held in Kuwait for the 2015-16 Football Season.


2015–16 in Polish football
The 2015–16 season was the 91st season of competitive football in Poland.


2015–16 in Republic of Macedonia football
The following article presents a summary of the 2015–16 football season in the Republic of Macedonia, which is the 24th season of competitive football in the country.


2015–16 in Scottish football
The 2015–16 season was the 119th season of competitive football in Scotland. The domestic season began on 25 July 2015, with the first round of the 2015–16 Scottish Challenge Cup. The 2015–16 Scottish Professional Football League season commenced on 1 August.


2015–16 in Scottish football, Scottish clubs in Europe
Celtic, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Aberdeen and St Johnstone qualified for European competition.


2015–16 in Senegalese football
The 2015–16 season was the season of competitive football (soccer) in Senegal.


2015–16 in Senegalese football, Diary of the season, Ligue 1
US Gorée won their fourth and recent title for the club after winning with 42 points. ASC Linguère scored the most goals numbering 32.


2015–16 in Senegalese football, Diary of the season, Ligue 2
From each group, Génération Foot (Group A) and Teungueth FC (Group B) were Ligue 2 champions of 2015-16.


2015–16 in Swiss football
The following is a summary of the 2015–16 season of competitive football in Switzerland.


2015–16 in Swiss football, Men's national team
The home team is on the left column; the away team is on the right column.


2015–16 in Swiss football, Women's national team
The home team is on the left column; the away team is on the right column.


2015–16 in skiing
From July 30, 2015 to March 20, 2016, the following skiing events took place at various locations around the world.


2015–16 national figure skating championships
National figure skating championships of the 2015–16 season took place mostly between November 2015 and January 2016. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.


2015–16 snooker season
The 2015–16 snooker season was a series of snooker tournaments played between 7 May 2015 and 2 May 2016.


2015–16 snooker season
The World Grand Prix became a ranking event featuring the top 32 players on a one-year money list, having been a non-ranking event the previous season.


2015–16 snooker season, New professional players
The top 64 players from the prize money rankings after the 2015 World Championship, and the 30 players earning a two-year card the previous year automatically qualified for the season. The top eight players from the European Tour Order of Merit and top four players from the Asian Tour Order of Merit, who had not already qualified for the Main Tour, also qualified. Another two players came from the EBSA Qualifying Tour Play-Offs, and a further eight places were available through the Q School. The rest of the places on to the tour came from amateur events and national governing body nominations. Hossein Vafaei's two-year tour card will commence this season. All players listed below received a tour card for two seasons.


2015–16 snooker season, Calendar
The following table outlines the results and dates for all the ranking and major invitational events.


2015–16 synchronized skating season
The 2015–16 synchronized skating season began on July 1, 2015, and ended on June 30, 2016. During this season, which was concurrent with the season for the other four disciplines (men's single, ladies' single, pair skating and ice dancing), elite senior synchronized skating teams competed on the International Skating Union (ISU) Championship level at the 2016 World Championships. They also competed at various other international as well as national competitions.


2015–16 Árabe Unido season
The 2015–16 Árabe Unido season is the club's 22nd season of existence. The Panamanian outfit will be playing in the Liga Panameña. Outside of the Liga, Unido will also be playing in the CONCACAF Champions League.


2015–16 Újpest FC season
The 2015–16 season was Újpest FC's 110th competitive season, 104rd consecutive season in the OTP Bank Liga and 130th year in existence as a football club.


2015–16 Újpest FC season, Statistics, Top scorers
Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted by shirt number when total goals are equal.


2015–16 Úrvalsdeild karla
The 2015–16 Úrvalsdeild karla was the 65th season of the Úrvalsdeild karla, the top tier basketball league in Iceland. The season started on October 15, 2015 and ended on April 29, 2016. KR defended its title by defeating Haukar 3–1 in the Finals.


2015–16 Úrvalsdeild karla, Competition format
The participating teams first played a conventional round-robin schedule with every team playing each opponent once "home" and once "away" for a total of 22 games. The top eight teams qualified for the championship playoffs whilst the two last qualified were relegated to Division 1.


2015–16 Úrvalsdeild kvenna (basketball)
The 2015–16 Úrvalsdeild kvenna was the 58th season of the Úrvalsdeild kvenna, the top tier women's basketball league on Iceland. The season started on October 14, 2015 and ended on April 24, 2016. Snæfell won its third straight title by defeating Haukar 3–2 in the Finals.


2015–16 Úrvalsdeild kvenna (basketball), Competition format
The participating teams first played a conventional round-robin schedule with every team playing each opponent twice "home" and twice "away" for a total of 24 games. The top four teams qualified for the championship playoffs while none were relegated to Division 1 due to vacant berths.


2015–2016 Arunachal Pradesh political crisis
Starting April 2015, Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh underwent a political crisis. The Indian National Congress Chief Minister Nabam Tuki replaced Jarbom Gamlin as the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh on 1 November 2011 and continued till January 2016. After a political crisis in 2016, the President's rule was imposed ending his tenure as the chief minister. In February 2016, Kalikho Pul became the Chief Minister when 14 disqualified MLAs were reinstated by the Supreme Court.


2015–2016 Arunachal Pradesh political crisis
On 13 July 2016, the Supreme Court quashed the Arunachal Pradesh Governor J.P. Rajkhowa’s order to advance the Assembly session from 14 January 2016 to 16 December 2015, which resulted in President's rule in Arunachal Pradesh. As a result, Tuki restored as the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh on 13 July 2016. But hours before proving majority, he resigned as the Chief Minister on 16 July 2016. He was succeeded by Pema Khandu as the INC Chief Minister but later joined PPA in September 2016 along with majority MLAs. He further joined BJP in December 2016 along with majority MLAs.


2015–2016 Arunachal Pradesh political crisis, Background
Indian National Congress (INC), a major state party, leader Nabam Tuki succeeded Jarbom Gamlin as the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh on 1 November 2011. His brother Nabam Rebia became the Speaker of Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly. In April 2014 state assembly election, the Indian National Congress (INC) secured the majority with 42 seats in the 60-seat legislature and Nabam Tunki continued as the Chief Minister. In December 2014, Nabam Tuki dropped Kalikho Pul from his cabinet where he was the minister of Health and Family welfare.


2015–2016 Arunachal Pradesh political crisis, Crisis
In April 2015, Pul alleged financial mismanagement in the government. INC expelled him from the party citing activities against the party. On 1 June 2015, Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa was appointed as the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh. The fifth session of legislative assembly concluded on 21 October 2015. The Governor ordered to summon the sixth session on 14 January 2016. During the same month, ruling party INC's MLAs demanded resolution to remove Deputy Speaker who had rebelled. In response, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs demanded resolution to remove the Speaker.


2015–2016 Arunachal Pradesh political crisis, Crisis
On 9 December 2015, the Governor ordered to advance the sixth session from 14 January 2016 to 16 December 2015. On 15 December 2015, the Speaker issued notice disqualifying 14 of 21 INC MLAs who had rebelled against the party but the same day the notice was overturned by the Deputy Speaker. The Speaker decided to not commence the sixth session the next day which was cited illegal by the Deputy Speaker. The Tuki Government locked the assembly to not commence the session on 16 December 2015. The assembly met in a community hall which was attended by 33 MLAs.


2015–2016 Arunachal Pradesh political crisis, Crisis
The resolution was passed to remove Nabam Rebia as the Speaker and the new Speaker was appointed. The next day, the community hall was razed so the rebel INC MLAs hold meeting in hotel and voted to remove Tuki as the Chief Minister and appointed Kalikho Pul as the new Chief Minister. The same day Rebia moved to Gauhati High Court (HC) to keep the assembly and the related issues in abeyance.


2015–2016 Arunachal Pradesh political crisis, Crisis
In January 2016, the HC stayed the disqualification of 14 INC MLAs. On 6 January 2016, the Supreme Court of India (SC) agreed to hear the plea of Rebia. On 13 January 2016, he SC also ordered not to hold proceeding in Assembly till 18 January 2016. The next day, the SC referred the issue to the Constitution Bench. The SC started examination of the constitutional scope of discretionary powers of the Governor.


2015–2016 Arunachal Pradesh political crisis, Crisis
In SC, INC told on 18 January 2016 that the Governor could not act on a resolution by opposition BJP MLAs and two other independent to advance the session. On 25 January 2016, INC also moved to SC on recommendation by the Governor for the President's Rule in Arunachal Pradesh. The Central Cabinet recommended the President's Rule the next day and it was imposed. The next day SC scrutinised the recommendation and sought the report of the Governor for such recommendation. On 28 January 2016, Nabam Tuki filed fresh plea in SC against the President's rule. The next day, the Central Government filed affidavit justifying the President's rule citing the breakdown in state.


2015–2016 Arunachal Pradesh political crisis, Crisis
On 1 February 2016, the SC recalled the notice which granted the immunity to the Governors in courts. The SC reviewed the powers of governor and examined the role. On 9 February 2016, the SC also rejected the plea of two rebel MLAs against the HC decision of upholding action of the then Speaker accepting their resignations. The Governor defended by responding that the Chief Minister and the Speaker were trying to remain in position despite losing majority in the assembly.


2015–2016 Arunachal Pradesh political crisis, Crisis
The SC also rejected INC plea to stop swearing-in of the new Chief Minister and also uphold the HC's staying of disqualification of 14 rebel INC MLAs. The President's rule lifted in the state on 19 February and the new government was formed under the Chief Minister Kalikho Pul. The SC reserved order on the power of governor on 22 February 2016.


2015–2016 Arunachal Pradesh political crisis, Crisis
On 13 July 2016, the SC termed the Governor's decision unconstitutional and ordered the restoration of INC government. The Acting Governor Tathagata Roy asked the restored Chief Minister Nabam Tuki to prove majority in the assembly on 16 July 2016. On the day, few hours before proving the majority, Tuki resigned. He was succeeded by rebel INC MLA Pema Khandu, son of former Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu and proved majority in assembly.


2015–2016 Arunachal Pradesh political crisis, Crisis
On 9 August 2016, the former Chief Minister Kalikho Pul found dead in his home.


2015–2016 Arunachal Pradesh political crisis, Crisis
On 16 September 2016, Pema Khandu quit INC along with 43 INC MLAs and joined the People's Party of Arunachal (PPA). Nabam Tuki, Khandu's predecessor, was the only MLA left with INC. PPA was the part of North-East Democratic Alliance which supported BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. On 22 September 2016, the Governor Rajkhowa was dismissed by the President as he refused to quit as desired by the Centre. Dasanglu Pul, the third wife of former Chief Minister Phul, won the byepolls held following Pul's death. She was elected as the MLA of BJP.


2015–2016 Arunachal Pradesh political crisis, Crisis
On 29 December 2016, Pema Khandu and six other MLAs were dismissed from the PPA by the PPA president for activities against the party so he might have to resign as the Chief Minister. Four more MLAs were dismissed on 1 January 2017. Khandu along with 33 other MLAs left PPA and joined BJP. He continued as the Chief Minister as the BJP had 47 MLAs in the assembly including the Speaker. PPA had 10 MLAs while INC had 3 MLAs. Later two more MLAs left INC and joined BJP.


2015–2016 Arunachal Pradesh political crisis, Crisis
PPA filed the case in the HC in January 2016.


2015–2016 Catalan government formation
Attempts to form a government in Catalonia, and related events, followed the inconclusive Catalan regional election of 27 September 2015, which failed to deliver an overall majority for any political party.


2015–2016 Catalan government formation, History
The 2015 election resulted in pro-Catalan independence Junts pel Sí (JxSí) (a coalition comprising the two main centre-right and centre-left Catalan parties at the time, Democratic Convergence of Catalonia (CDC) and Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), together with several minor parties) and Popular Unity Candidacy (CUP) holding a slim majority of seats, despite not securing a majority of votes as was their objective. President Artur Mas' JxSí coalition also fell short of its goal to secure an absolute majority on its own, obtaining 62 seats to the combined 63 of the remaining opposition parties. Thus, Mas found himself dependent on CUP's support for securing his nomination to be re-elected to the office. The CUP, however, found difficulty in supporting Mas, who was viewed as having been tainted by several corruption scandals involving his party, CDC.


2015–2016 Catalan government formation, History
Both JxSí and the CUP submitted on 28 October 2015 a parliamentary motion declaring the "beginning of the process towards the independence of Catalonia as a republic", a move seen by many as a concession from JxSí to the CUP so that it would support Artur Mas' investiture. This move, however, was met with stiff opposition from all other parties, which regarded it as "risky" and "illegal", and did not succeed in bringing the CUP to terms, which kept refusing to invest Mas as regional premier and advocated for other candidates to be proposed.


2015–2016 Catalan government formation, History
On 10 November 2015, the first ballot of Artur Mas' investiture vote was held, with 62 voting favourably to Mas' election (only those of JxSí) and 73 against (those from all other parties). The unsuccessful vote set up the start of the legal timespan of two months for election a new President before the Parliament's automatic dissolution and the forced call of a new election. A subsequent second ballot on 12 November also proved inconclusive, and further ballots were suspended until JxSí and the CUP were able to solve the deadlock. Negotiations between JxSí and the CUP then ensued, but without success.


2015–2016 Catalan government formation, History
The popular Mayor of Barcelona Ada Colau's personal involvement during the election campaign and Podemos' promise on holding a legal self-determination referendum on Catalonia resulted in a resounding victory for Podemos' brand, En Comú Podem (Catalan for "In Common We Can"), at the regional level in the 2015 Spanish general election held on 20 December. ERC scored a distant second place, while Democracy and Freedom (DiL), the coalition formed by Mas' party CDC and replacing the defunct Convergence and Union (CiU), finished fourth.


2015–2016 Catalan government formation, History
This was seen as a major setback for the sovereignist cause, as Catalans had massively voted for a political option that supported the celebration of a referendum on the independence issue but that also advocated for Catalonia's permanence within Spain, and was said to motivate the CUP's subsequent definitive denial to re-elect Mas as regional premier. After the general election, JxSí made a last offer to the CUP, which involved a "transitional presidency" formed by four people, which would, nonetheless, be led by Mas.


2015–2016 Catalan government formation, History
Following a long process of internal debate to determine whether the party should support Mas' investiture or force the call of a new election, the CUP's assembly held on 27 December 2015 resulted in a draw between both options, with 1,515 out of 3,030 registered party supporters voting for each choice. CUP leaders called on JxSí to come up with an alternative candidate for premier, something which the latter's member parties, however, refused. Finally, the CUP's leadership narrowly decided in a vote held on 3 January to definitely oppose Mas' investiture.


2015–2016 Catalan government formation, History
JxSí members accused the CUP of torpedoing the independentist cause and refused to withdraw Mas' candidacy on the grounds that "there is no alternative". CUP's leader and candidate for the 2015 Catalan election, Antonio Baños, resigned the following day, claiming that he did not share his party's decision as he perceived that it weakened the independence process.


2015–2016 Catalan government formation, History
ERC leader Oriol Junqueras called on 4 January for both CDC and the CUP to keep negotiating to prevent a new election that he saw as "negative for Catalonia", but avoided to note on whether he thought Artur Mas should step aside or not. Artur Mas stated on 5 January that JxSí was not making any new proposals, pleaded guilt on "having trusted the CUP" and announced that he would sign the election call decree on 11 January for a fresh election to be held on 6 March.


2015–2016 Catalan government formation, History
Then-acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy acknowledged the same day that he saw "no alternative to a repeat of elections in Catalonia" after the fracture of the pro-independence alliance. This however did not transpire: a last minute deal was struck between JxSí and the CUP to ensure a separatist government, although without Mas as President.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence
The Chinese stock market turbulence began with the popping of the stock market bubble on 12 June 2015 and ended in early February 2016. A third of the value of A-shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange was lost within one month of the event. Major aftershocks occurred around 27 July and 24 August's "Black Monday".


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence
By 8–9 July 2015, the Shanghai stock market had fallen 30 percent over three weeks as 1,400 companies, or more than half listed, filed for a trading halt in an attempt to prevent further losses.  Values of Chinese stock markets continued to drop despite efforts by the government to reduce the fall. After three stable weeks the Shanghai index fell again on 24 August by 8.48 percent, marking the largest fall since 2007.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence
At the October 2015 International Monetary Fund (IMF) annual meeting of "finance ministers and central bankers from the Washington-based lender’s 188 member-countries" held in Peru, China's slump dominated discussions with participants asking if "China’s economic downturn [would] trigger a new financial crisis".


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence
By the end of December 2015 China's stock market had recovered from the shocks and had outperformed S&P for 2015, though still well below the 12 June highs. By the end of 2015 the Shanghai Composite Index was up 12.6 percent. In January 2016 the Chinese stock market experienced a steep sell-off and trading was halted on 4 and 7 January 2016 after the market fell 7%, the latter within 30 minutes of open. The market meltdown set off a global rout in early 2016.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence
According to 19 January 2016 articles in the Xinhua News Agency, the official press agency of the People's Republic of China, China reported a 6.9 percent GDP growth rate for 2015 and an "economic volume of over ten trillion U.S. dollars". Forbes journalist argues that the "stock market crash does not indicate a blowout of the Chinese physical economy." China is shifting from a focus on manufacturing to service industries and while it has slowed, it is still growing by 5%. After this last turbulence, as of January 2017 the Shanghai Composite Index has been stable around 3,000 points, 50% less than before the bubble popped.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, Background
Following a period of closure during the early history of the People's Republic of China, the modern stock market in China reemerged in the early 1990s with the re-opening of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, and founding of the Shenzhen Security Exchange. By 2000, the Chinese stock market had over 1,000 listed companies, worth a market capitalization of nearly a third of China’s overall gross domestic product (GDP), and by the end of 1998, investors had opened nearly 40 million investment accounts. As more companies went public, investors rushed to the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges. The Chinese stock market and economy grew quickly, and by 2012, the number of listed companies between the Shanghai and Shenzhen Securities Exchanges had risen to over 2,400, worth a market capitalization of nearly 50% of China’s real GDP, and included over 200 million active stock and mutual fund accounts.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, Background
China's economic growth, however, was stunted by the 2008 global recession and its aftershocks. The Chinese government responded to 2008 recession with a stimulus package that would draw resources from both the public and private sectors in order to fund an unprecedented infrastructure build. Growth following the stimulus package was rapid - from 2009 to 2011, real GDP growth in China grew at approximately 9.6%, though in the two years that followed, real GDP growth fell to 7.7%.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, Background
Seeing the opportunity for a nationwide reinvestment into the economy through the stock market, the government developed a campaign that would entice everyday citizens to trade – it was referred to as "Zhongguomeng", which translates to the "China Dream". First conceived and pushed by China's paramount leader and general secretary, Xi Jinping, the 'dream' was one of overall economic prosperity and an elevated international status.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, Background
The trading population that developed in China differed in important ways from those elsewhere in the world. In China, the stock market trading activity is dominated by individual investors (close to 85%) – also known as ‘retail investors.’ Indicative of the sheer size of investor inflow into the markets, after several months of a bull market developing in China, more than 30 million new accounts were opened by retail investors in the first 5 months of 2015, according to data from the China’s Securities Depository and Clearing Corp.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, Background
And while a larger, more active investing population generally means greater market capitalization, many of these new traders were inexperienced and easily manipulated by the buying frenzy, with nearly two-thirds having never entered or graduated high school, according to a survey by China’s Southwestern University of Finance and Economics. As a result, momentum and rumors among the traders carried more weight than reason when it came to investing decisions, creating a trend of impulsive buying and overvaluation in the market.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, Background
Leading up to the crash, in an attempt to free up additional money for trading, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), responsible for proposing and enforcing securities laws, had loosened several related financial regulations. Prior to significant policy reform in 2010, the act of selling short – essentially, borrowing and selling stock with the belief that its price will fall – and trading on margin – trading with debt – were strictly prohibited in China.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, Background
However, in March 2010, China implemented a testing phase for their stock exchange in which 90 selected companies were authorized to be sold short and traded on margin. This list was expanded over time, with over 280 companies being given the same authorization in late 2011. Shortly thereafter, the CSRC implemented a total policy shift which legalized both practices across the entire stock market. These regulation changes led to significant increases in borrowing for the purpose of trading, and short selling became the most popular investing strategy among traders. From 2010, when the changes were implemented, to 2012, average daily short turnover increased from 0.01% to 0.73%, and average daily margin purchase turnover increased from 0.78% to 5.15%. As a result, the Chinese market was being flooded with debt-funded trades and risky short selling plays.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, Background
To make matters worse, the CSRC also became a regulatory bystander, refusing to take action that would upset the political and social stability of the time. Instead of de-listing public companies that failed to perform for three consecutive quarters – a well-known regulation in China – the CSRC would regularly let those companies slide for fear of upsetting the shareholders. This added to the flames of bad investing, allowing investors to continue pouring their money into companies that were underperforming and overvaluing shares that were essentially worthless on the books.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, 2015, Chinese RMB
According to SWIFT data, by November 2014 China's renminbi (RMB) – also known as the yuan – "became one of the world's top five payment currencies...overtaking the Canadian dollar and the Australian dollar".


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, 2015, Chinese RMB
On 11 August, two months after the turbulence, the People's Bank of China devalued the RMB - by 1.86 percent to CN¥6.2298 per US dollar. A lower renminbi (RMB) "makes China’s exports more competitive in foreign markets, offsetting part of the surge in the country’s blue-collar wages over the last decade; and it makes foreign companies, houses and other overseas investments seem more expensive." On 14 August, the central bank devalued it again to CN¥6.3975 per US dollar.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, 2015, Chinese RMB
In August there was speculation about the causes of the devaluation of the yuan and the changes in the Chinese economy in 2015, including the "growth in its services sector rather than heavy industry". By mid-January 2016, an article in The Economist argued that the strains on the yuan indicated a problem with China's politics. However, a spokesperson for the International Energy Agency (IEA) argued that the risk was "overplayed". During the drastic sell-off on 7 January 2016 China's central bank, the People’s Bank of China set the official midpoint rate on RMB to its lowest level since March 2011—at CN¥6.5646 per US dollar.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, 2015, Chinese RMB
On 8 October 2015 China launched a new clearing system developed by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) - Cross-Border Inter-Bank Payments System (CIPS) - to settle cross-border RMB transactions and intended to "increase global usage of the Chinese currency", by "cutting transaction costs and processing times" and removing "one of the biggest hurdles to internationalizing the yuan". Because of the stock market turbulence, the launch had been delayed and CIPS was '"watered down" offering, a "complementary network for settling trade-related deals in the Chinese currency to a current patchwork of Chinese clearing banks around the world".


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, 2015, Chinese RMB
By December 2015, the RMB was still the "fifth most used global payments currency and the second most used currency for trade finance" with 27 per cent of China's goods invoiced in RMB compared to 19 per cent in 2014. In December China was the world's largest exporter. By October 2016, the Renminbi will be added to the special drawing rights currency basket, the foreign exchange reserve assets defined and maintained by the International Monetary Fund, which includes the U.S. dollar, Euro, Japanese yen and pound sterling. The IMF's decision to add the RMB to the SDR, was "crucial to global financial stability" as it would encourage China to "continue to be a responsible global citizen and liberalise its exchange rate, while intervening to ensure a gradual decline".


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, 2015, China's PMI
In August 2015, Caixin Media - a closely watched gauge of nationwide manufacturing activity - announced that the China Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) had declined to 51.5. This was the beginning of a decline that continued into December 2015 with the PMI falling below 50 - anything below 50 indicates deceleration. PMIs are economic indicators derived from monthly surveys of companies' purchasing managers and produced by the financial information firm, Markit Group, which compiles the survey and conducts PMIs for over 30 countries worldwide. From 2010 to 2015 HSBC had sponsored Markit's China PMI, but that relationship ended in June and Caixin stepped in.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, 2015, China's PMI
By 2016 the PMI was down for the fifth month indicating a cooling in manufacturing in China. Manufacturing activity is a key sign of economic performance. December was the tenth month in a row that manufacturing in China had contracted raising concerns that China's economy was not on steadier footing. It was seen as the most recent indication of slowing global economic growth. Since China is the world's largest metal consumer and producer, and "the world’s second largest economy", the China PMI is closely watched. This 2016 selling frenzy was fueled by the most recent private survey of factory activity, the December 2015 report by Caixin on China's PMI reading which showed that China's manufacturing activity had slowed again in December 2015 to a PMI reading of 48.2 - with anything below 50 indicating deceleration.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, 2015, Stock market bubble
In the year leading up to the turbulence, encouraged by state-owned media, enthusiastic individual investors inflated the stock market bubble through mass amounts of investments in stocks often using borrowed money, exceeding the rate of economic growth and profits of the companies they were investing in.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, 2015, Stock market bubble
Investors faced margin calls on their stocks and many were forced to sell off shares in droves, precipitating the turbulence.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, 2015, Stock market bubble
"...from June 2014 to June 2015, prices increased more than 150 percent on the Shanghai exchange, and even more on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and the Shenzhen ChiNext board, a Nasdaq-style marketplace. An unusually large part of this run-up was fueled by retail investors who borrowed to buy equities. The market was priced way beyond perfection. Once prices fell even slightly, many of these investors found themselves needing to sell, leading to a sharp market correction."


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, 2015 Government response
The Chinese government enacted many measures to stem the tide of the turbulence. Regulators limited short selling under threat of arrest. Large mutual funds and pension funds pledged to buy more stocks. The government stopped initial public offerings. The government also provided cash to brokers to buy shares, backed by central-bank cash. Because the Chinese markets mostly comprise individuals and not institutional funds (80 percent of investors in China are individuals), state-run media continued to persuade its citizens to purchase more stocks.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, 2015 Government response
In addition, China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) imposed a six-month ban on stockholders owning more than 5 percent of a company's stock from selling those stocks, resulting in a 6 percent rise in stock markets. Further, around 1,300 total firms, representing 45 percent of the stock market, suspended the trading of stocks starting on 8 July.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, 2015 Government response
Forbes contributor Jesse Colombo contended that the measures undertaken by the Chinese government, along with cutting the interest rate, "allowing the use of property as collateral for margin loans, and encouraging brokerage firms to buy stocks with cash from the People's Bank of China" caused Chinese stocks to begin surging in mid-July. He argued that in general, however, the outcomes of government intervention as it relates to the turbulence will, by its nature, be difficult to predict, but saying that in the longer term, the effect may be the development of an even larger bubble through creation of a moral hazard.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, 2015 Government response
As of 30 August, the Chinese government arrested 197 people, including a Wang Xiaolu, a journalist at the "influential financial magazine Caijing", and stock market officials, for "spreading rumours" about the market crash and 2015 Tianjin explosions. The crime of spreading rumours carries a three-year jail sentence after its introduction in 2013.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, 2015 Government response
The government officials accused "foreign forces" of "intentionally [unsettling] the market" and planned crackdown on them.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, 2015 Government response
On 1 November billionaire hedge fund manager, Xu Xiang - known as China's Warren Buffett, or China's Carl Icahn - was arrested for allegedly manipulating the stock market during the 2015 Chinese stock market turbulence.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, 2015 Government response
According to Caixin media, "Calls for China to adopt a circuit breaker mechanism gained momentum after a stock market rout in the summer that saw the Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks the stock prices of all companies listed in the city, plunge from more than 5,000 points in mid-June to less than 3,000 in late August."


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, Black Monday and Tuesday
On 24 August, Shanghai main share index lost 8.49% of its value. As a result, billions of pounds were lost on international stock markets with some international commentators labeling the day Black Monday. There were similar losses of over 7% on 25 August causing some commentators to call it Black Tuesday.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, Black Monday and Tuesday, World finance response
In the week prior to Black Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had fallen over concerns about the yuan, low gas prices, and uncertainty over the U.S. Federal Reserve's moves to raise interest rates. On Black Monday, the Dow dropped 1000 points at opening, the largest drop ever.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, Black Monday and Tuesday, World finance response
Money magazine estimated that the potential negative impact on the United States stock market may come about when Chinese investors begin to seek out relatively stable U.S. investments in treasuries, stocks, and cash, and further strengthen an already-strong U.S. dollar, thereby raising the prices on U.S. goods and diminishing export profits.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, Black Monday and Tuesday, World finance response
Global companies that relied on the Chinese market suffered from the turbulence. Stocks that they own were devalued US$4,000,000,000,000. For example, French alcoholic beverage company, Rémy Cointreau, and British luxury-goods company, Burberry, saw their shares devalued and declining demand of their imports from Chinese distributors. Second-quarter sales of American fast food company, Yum! Brands, in China dropped 10 percent, resulting in revenue going under the company's estimate. South African ore mining company, Kumba Iron Ore, eliminated its dividends on 21 July as the 61 percent loss of profit in the first half of the year was announced.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, Black Monday and Tuesday, World finance response
On 19 January 2016 the Bank of England (BoE) Governor Mark Carney cited "Chinese growth hitting a 25-year low" as one of the reasons the BoE will likely not "raise rates until the second half of this year at the earliest" during his talk at Queen Mary University in London.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, Black Monday and Tuesday, World finance response
An article in the Guardian argued that "American commentators relentlessly push a "China-led slowdown" narrative, but the reality is that the US is a relatively insulated economy. Yes – Chinese equities have fallen sharply in recent months, yet the Shanghai Composite Index of leading stocks remains 40pc up on its level just 18 months ago. This is a home-grown US slowdown, much as it pains America to admit it."


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, Black Monday and Tuesday, Commentator response
Some mass media outlets had alarmist headlines in August 2015, with The Guardian comparing the pattern of losses during China's Black Monday to the Wall Street Crash of 1929, and an article in The Mirror about Damian McBride, a former adviser to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, calling on people to stock up on canned food because the coming crash would be twenty times worse than the financial crisis of 2007–08. Others such as The Economist questioned its severity. George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom, said that the Chinese stock market turbulence will not have a big impact on European economies.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, Black Monday and Tuesday, Commentator response
The Globe and Mail journalist Nathan Vanderklippe argued that "To understand the devaluation of the yuan and the changes in the Chinese economy today, look to the growth in its services sector rather than heavy industry." Vanderklippe described the new economy as "the investment banks, restaurant chains and airlines that make up the services sector". In 2014 the service industry in China increased to represent 44.6 per cent of the economy. (In the United States the service industry represents 80%, in Canada, roughly 70 per cent and in India, 57 per cent of the economy.) By 17 August 2015 the services sector in China which includes "hotels, banks, cellphone providers and spas" was thriving. "In the first half of 2015, the GDP among services rose 8.4 per cent, some 2 1/2 times the growth rate in the primary, or extractive, sector."


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, Black Monday and Tuesday, Commentator response
"The relationship between industrial growth and GDP growth [in China] has completely broken down... The change is profound, but 'grossly underappreciated.'"


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, Black Monday and Tuesday, Commentator response
As China experienced a period of stock market turbulence in the summer of 2015 worsened by "economic weakness, financial panic, and the policy response to these problems", Anatole Kaletsky disagreed with those who claimed that China was the "global economy’s weakest link". He claimed that "weak economic data leads to financial turmoil, which induces policy blunders that in turn fuel more financial panic, economic weakness, and policy mistakes."


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, Black Monday and Tuesday, Commentator response
According to The Economist, China had a "record trade surplus of $595 billion in 2015". However, in the "last six months of 2015 capital left China at an annualised rate of about $1 trillion".


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, Black Monday and Tuesday, Commentator response
"China is the wild card. It borrowed huge amounts to stimulate its economy, leading to serious overcapacity in everything from factories to luxury apartments. The unwinding of this binge is one of the causes of the current market turmoil."


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, Black Monday and Tuesday, Commentator response
Neil Atkinson of the International Energy Agency (IEA), was cited in The Economist in January 2016 arguing that although the sell-off in oil in January "occurred concurrently with a slide in the Chinese stock market and the yuan which some investors think reflects weakness in China's economy and hence in demand for oil", the risk is "overplayed". "[F]igures on January 13th showed China imported a record 6.7m barrels a day (b/d) of oil in 2015."


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, Black Monday and Tuesday, Commentator response
According to Nicholas Lardy, "an author of Markets Over Mao: The Rise of Private Business in China and fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics who has written extensively on the development of the Chinese economy", the "popular narrative" that China is in "a financial and economic meltdown" "is not well supported by the facts". "[S]ervices, not industry, are driving China’s growth." Lardy explained the rout in August as an overdue correction in China's equity market.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, January 2016 global meltdown
On both 4 January and 7 January 2016 the Chinese stock market experienced a sharp sell-off of about 8% that quickly sent stocks tumbling globally. From 4 to 15 January, China’s stock market fell 18% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 8.2%.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, January 2016 global meltdown
During the first fifteen minutes of the first day of trading in the Chinese stock exchange, the "stock market fell by 5% before leading regulators halted trading. It was reopened for another fifteen minutes and stocks fell until trading was again halted." "The blue-chip CSI 300 Index dropped 8% while the benchmark Shanghai Composite index fell 6.9%. The technology-heavy Shenzhen Composite was the worst performer and fell by more than 8%."


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, January 2016 global meltdown, 2016 China Securities Regulatory Commission response
On 4 January 2016 stock markets in China fell to the point of triggering its new trading curb rule, a market mechanism that halts trading when losses reach a threshold which is intended to help stabilize stocks, for the first time. In comparison, in the United States the trading curb rule or circuit breaker was first applied in the 1997 Mini-Crash during the Asian Financial Crisis. During that mini-crash, many exchanges fell and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 7.18% in value but recovered quickly.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, January 2016 global meltdown, 2016 China Securities Regulatory Commission response
A spokesperson for the CSRC argued that the rules for the trading curb differed from those in the United States; in the U.S. the emphasis is on preventing systemic risk. "We had to consider there is more speculation and irrational investment behavior" because China has more individual investors than the United States."


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, January 2016 global meltdown, 2016 China Securities Regulatory Commission response
According to an article in The Economist—unlike most major markets—millions of individual investors dominate the Chinese stock market, driving "more than 80 percent of trading on bourses in Shanghai and Shenzhen, versus about 15 percent in the U.S." An article in Forbes claims that these "unsophisticated" Mom and Pop retail investors tend to "over-react", "mis-read signals", and buy and sell on speculative instincts.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, January 2016 global meltdown, 2016 China Securities Regulatory Commission response
The trading curb ruled was put in operation after the first 27 minutes of trading on the Chinese stock exchange on Thursday, 7 January, as Chinese stocks plunged 7 percent.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, January 2016 global meltdown, 2016 China Securities Regulatory Commission response
In a surprise move on 7 January 2016, China's central bank, the People’s Bank of China set the official midpoint rate on the yuan, also known as the renminbi (RMB), to its lowest level since March 2011—at CN¥6.5646 per US dollar. A lower renminbi (RMB) "makes China’s exports more competitive in foreign markets, offsetting part of the surge in the country’s blue-collar wages over the last decade; and it makes foreign companies, houses and other overseas investments seem more expensive".


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, January 2016 global meltdown, 2016 China Securities Regulatory Commission response
On 7 January, Chinese authorities suspended the circuit breaker out of concern that the trade curb may "have intensified investors' concerns".


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, January 2016 global meltdown, 2016 China Securities Regulatory Commission response
On 16 January 2016 Xiao Gang the head of China Securities Regulatory Commission defended the CSRC's crisis management of the "abnormal volatility in the stock market". Xiao "promised to crack down on illegal activities, increase market transparency and better educate investors" in a period with "rising uncertainty in external markets, including the global equity-market slump, plummeting commodities prices and currency devaluations in emerging markets".


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, January 2016 global meltdown, 2016 Commentators
Data from surveys compiled by the financial information firm, Markit Group showed that China's PMI was 48.2 in December, 2015 down from 48.6 in November, 48.3 in October, September is 50.5 and 51.5 in August. The October report was encouraging but the December report dampened hopes for recovery and triggered fears for China's overall economy. and markets around the world responded.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, January 2016 global meltdown, 2016 Commentators
On Friday, 1 January 2016 The Guardian reported that China's factory activity continued to decline, overseas demand for goods fell and export orders for Chinese manufacturers fell. Stock markets which had already responded by mid-December with "metals [experiencing] a broad-based drop on the weakness of manufacturing activity in China, According to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), a group of purchasing managers which conducts PMIs, the US also had a PMI of 48.2 in December down from 48.6 in November. The October PMI was 50.1 in October.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, January 2016 global meltdown, 2016 Commentators
Whereas China has experienced a gradual decline since late 2014, the United States last decline was in November 2012. But the December 2015 US PMI was "the lowest since the end of the recession and marks the first time since 2009 for consecutive months in contraction territory". The slower manufacturing activity in the United States was blamed on the strong US dollar, a weak global economy, low oil prices and excessive inventories.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, January 2016 global meltdown, 2016 Commentators
In October 2015 Caixin China General Services PMI reported that "Chinese business activity [had declined] at its quickest rate since start of 2009".


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, January 2016 global meltdown, 2016 Commentators
"In the group of non-energy commodities, metals experienced a broad-based drop on the weakness of manufacturing activity in China while agriculture prices were also generally down. Precious metals showed their largest drop since 2013 on firmer expectations of interest rate hikes in the US.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, January 2016 global meltdown, January 2016 global rout
The sell-off on the Chinese stock market "set off a global rout, with stocks in Europe and the United States getting hit", with many stocks down 2% to 3%. The German stock index, the DAX its blue-chip shares index slumped to 9979 points on 7 January "falling below the psychologically important 10,000-point threshold" which represents 2.29 percent fall from 6 January.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, January 2016 global meltdown, January 2016 global rout
By 3:22 Monday on 4 January in New York the "Dow Jones Industrial Average had fallen 2.2%, the "S&P 2.1%, and Nasdaq Composite 2.6%", pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index 2.5%, Shanghai Composite Index 6.9% and the "Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets Exchange-Traded Fund lost 3.3%". US stocks such as Netflix fell by 6%, Alphabet 3.9% and Facebook 3.9%. On the same day "the Brazilian real fell 2% against the dollar and Brazilian equities dropped 1.6% to 42,646.19, its lowest since 16 March 2007."


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, Bloomberg debate on China at Davos 2016
At the 2016 World Economic Forum conference in Davos, hosted by Bloomberg, which included panelists Christine Lagarde of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Gary Cohn of Goldman Sachs, Ray Dalio of Bridgewater Associates, Soho China CEO Zhang Xin, China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) Vice Chairman Fang Xinghai and Jiang Jianqing of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, they discussed volatility and transitions. Zhang Xin noted


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, Bloomberg debate on China at Davos 2016
"...a total decoupling of the stock markets as a realty state developer—which is hugely discounted—and the real economy where you see the easing of monetary policy is actually pushing the asset price up... In terms of transition from investment-driven economy to consumption-driven economy for real estate that means that we used to build buildings and today we just manage the leasing... In terms of leasing actually it is going quite well. In cities I operate in—Beijing and Shanghai—we're seeing a massive take-up of new space from [mostly] Internet companies.


2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, Bloomberg debate on China at Davos 2016
We're seeing not so much new take-off from the old economy, like non-internet traditional economy. But by and large we have new buildings coming up in the market everyday... We haven't seen a single building empty, not being taken up. So I think there must be a communication issue because on the one hand the real economy seems to be doing OK but on the other hand, the stock market is trading at a huge discount. Obviously the investors are not getting the same message as we [who are] operating is doing."


2015–2016 Israel Football League season
The 2015–2016 Israel Football League season was the ninth season of the Israel Football League (IFL) and concluded with the Judean Rebels defeating the Tel Aviv Pioneers, 32-14, in Israel Bowl IX.


2015–2016 Israel Football League season, Regular season
The regular season began on November 6, 2015 and consisted of a ten game schedule, with the Judean Rebels earning the top seed for the playoffs.


2015–2016 Israel Football League season, Playoffs
In the quarterfinals, the Underdogs defeated the Hammers while the Pioneers defeated the Black Swarm. In the semifinals, the Rebels defeated the Underdogs and the Pioneers upset the Lions to set up a rematch of Israel Bowl VIII. In Israel Bowl IX, the Rebels defeated the Pioneers to win their second consecutive championship. Dani Eastman was named Israel Bowl MVP.


2015–2016 Latakia offensive
The 2015–2016 Latakia offensive was a campaign of the Syrian Civil War that was launched by government forces in October 2015 to recapture rebel-held territory in the Latakia Governorate bordering Turkey.


2015–2016 Latakia offensive, The offensive, Initial government advances
On 15 October, government forces launched a large-scale offensive in the northern Latakia countryside. On 19 October, the SAA captured Point 1112, Point 482, Tal Thamamiyah, Kawa Al-Hatab, and Tal Thalatha in the Al-Zahiyah Mountains in northern Latakia after advancing north from the hilltop of Tal Ziwayk. The next day, Russian air strikes killed Basil Zamo, the commander of the rebel 1st Coastal Division, along with four other fighters according to one report. Other reports put the death toll from the attack at 45, including at least 15 civilians.


2015–2016 Latakia offensive, The offensive, Initial government advances
On 30 October, rebels recaptured areas at Kafar Delbah, but pro-government forces denied this.


2015–2016 Latakia offensive, The offensive, Initial government advances
Between 1 and 3 November, heavy clashes for the village of Ghammam in the Mountains of northern Latakia took place. The village was captured four times, with the rebels finally ending up controlling it again. 13 soldiers and an unknown number of rebels were killed. Two days later, government forces captured three villages in the area and on 6 November took control of Ghamam and Jabal Bakdash hill overlooking it.


2015–2016 Latakia offensive, The offensive, Initial government advances
On 9 and 10 November, the rebels were reported to had recaptured some points in the area of Ghamam. However, this was denied by military sources.


2015–2016 Latakia offensive, The offensive, Initial government advances
Between 13 and 23 November, government troops seized 200 square kilometers of territory. On 25 November, they captured three hills (including Tal Al-Yakdash hill) in the mountains of Latakia, advanced around Ghamam and captured the villages of Dayr Hanna, al-Dughmishlyia and Beit ‘Ayyash.


2015–2016 Latakia offensive, The offensive, Initial government advances
Between 18 and 23 November, government forces captured 10 hills (including six in the Jeb al-Ahmar area), three villages and imposed full control over the Al-Zahi Mountains.


2015–2016 Latakia offensive, The offensive, Initial government advances
On 24 November, rebels retook the Al-Zahi Mountains and Tal al-Etyra, while government forces captured a village and hilltop on Jabal Sheikh Mohammad. The following day, government forces advanced in the areas of the Al-Zahi Mountains and Ateera, and recaptured Al-Zahi.


2015–2016 Latakia offensive, The offensive, Turkish shootdown of Russian plane
On 24 November, Turkish F-16's downed a Russian Sukhoi Su-24 near the Syrian-Turkish border. A Russian pilot was killed, while another Russian soldier died in the rescue operation that took place in the northern Latakia mountain area. A Russian rescue helicopter was also destroyed by a TOW crew. The crew remained unharmed. Later that day, the second pilot reached the military airport of Latakia after he was rescued by special forces.


2015–2016 Latakia offensive, The offensive, Turkish shootdown of Russian plane
Jabal Turkman was subjected to intense bombardment by the Russians after the shootdown of its bomber jet by the Turkish Air Force.


2015–2016 Latakia offensive, The offensive, Turkish shootdown of Russian plane
On 27 November, the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front and the Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria fought against Syrian government and Hezbollah forces around Jabal Nuba, as the Syrian army bombarded them with artillery and Russian warplanes bombed Jabal al-Akrad. The Syrian Army's intense artillery bombardment with hundreds of rockets killed 15 fighters of the Turkistan Islamic Party along with its military leader in Jabal Turkman. Turkistan Islamic Party reported over 30 killed in clashes with government forces during the week. On the same day, government forces captured two more hills and secured Jabal Al-Nuba mountain.


2015–2016 Latakia offensive, The offensive, Continued government advances
On 1 December, government forces captured three villages and the Jabal Al-Kashkar Mountains. With these advances, the Army was in full control of the al-Jeb al-Ahmar area.


2015–2016 Latakia offensive, The offensive, Continued government advances
Between 3 and 15 December, government forces captured up to 20 villages and hills. During this time, Islamist rebels also retook several checkpoints around Jabal al-Nawabah. Two rebel commanders were killed by Russian airstrikes in Latakia Northern countryside.


2015–2016 Latakia offensive, The offensive, Continued government advances
On 16 December, government forces captured the strategic Al-Nuba Mountains (Jabal Al-Nuba) in the northern countryside of Latakia. On the same day, they also seized two hilltops which are located on the border of the Idlib governorate.


2015–2016 Latakia offensive, The offensive, Continued government advances
Between 17 and 20 December, government forces captured another 10 villages and points along the Turkish border, while the rebels retook the Jabal Al-Sayed Mountains and partly retook the Jabal Al-Nuba mountain.


2015–2016 Latakia offensive, The offensive, Continued government advances
On 23 and 24 December, government forces supported by Russian air-strikes, reportedly recaptured the Jabal Al-Nuba mountain and the Jabal Al-Sayed Mountains.


2015–2016 Latakia offensive, The offensive, Continued government advances
Between 25 December and 10 January, government forces imposed full control over two dozen more villages and hills, including the Katf Al-Alamah area. Of these, the rebels managed to recapture only two villages.


2015–2016 Latakia offensive, The offensive, Capture of Salma and Rabia
On the morning of 12 January, government forces imposed full control over the strategic village of Tartiyah, situated to the east of the rebel stronghold of Salma, considered to be the rebel's most important site in the Kurdish Mountains (Jabal al-Akrad) in the northern countryside of Latakia. Later that day, the military fully seized Salma.


2015–2016 Latakia offensive, The offensive, Capture of Salma and Rabia
The following day, the military expanded its control from Salma, capturing Mrouniyah and Marj Khawkha. By 15 January, they took control of another six villages as rebel defenses collapsed.


2015–2016 Latakia offensive, The offensive, Capture of Salma and Rabia
On 16 January 2016, government forces captured several hills overlooking al-Sarraf, as well as another six villages.


2015–2016 Latakia offensive, The offensive, Capture of Salma and Rabia
On the next day, the military seized two mountaintops near the strategic town of Rabia and six villages throughout Jabal Al-Akrad and the Turkmen Mountain.


2015–2016 Latakia offensive, The offensive, Capture of Salma and Rabia
On 20 January, government advances continued with the seizure of another two villages. However, a rebel counter-attack between 18 and 20 January, led to their recapture of four villages and a hill. Still, their hold on these recaptured positions was weak due to government troops still occupying the strategic heights.


2015–2016 Latakia offensive, The offensive, Capture of Salma and Rabia
On 21 January, a renewed Army assault commenced and by 24 January, they captured 20 villages, surrounding the strategic town of Rabia on three sides. Rabia itself was seized that day.


2015–2016 Latakia offensive, The offensive, Capture of Salma and Rabia
In all, between 12 and 25 January, Russian and Syrian warplanes conducted more than 522 airstrikes, while government ground forces fired more than 3,000 rocket shells and missiles, which led to them taking control of 36 towns and villages, the most important of all being Salma and Rabia, which were the main rebel strongholds in Jabal al-Akrad and Jabal al-Turkman. 72 Syrian soldiers and 124 foreign rebel fighters were killed during these two weeks of operations.


2015–2016 Latakia offensive, The offensive, SAA push towards Kinsabba
Between 27 and 31 January, government forces captured seven villages, Ruweisat Al-Nimr hill and Jabal Al-Mulqa mountain.


2015–2016 Latakia offensive, The offensive, SAA push towards Kinsabba
On 1 February, the rebels recaptured Nawarah (Kelez), near the Turkish border, after government forces had completely withdrawn from the village and its surrounding hills. Meanwhile, east of Jabal al-Turkman (Turkmen Mountains), government forces continued to advance north towards the rebel stronghold of Kinsabba.


2015–2016 Latakia offensive, The offensive, SAA push towards Kinsabba
On 3 February, a Russian military advisor training Syrian soldiers in the use of "new weapons" was killed by rebel mortar shelling in Salma. Three other Russian soldiers were wounded.


2015–2016 Latakia offensive, The offensive, SAA push towards Kinsabba
Between 6 and 7 February, government troops captured the village of Aliyah (Krouja) and its hill. On the same day, the 103rd Brigade of the Republican Guard and other Syrian paramilitaries crossed a river capturing the village of Bashura. The attack was heavily assisted by Russian airstrikes which targeted Al-Nusra Front and FSA 1st Coastal Brigade defenses. On 8 February, they further advanced and seized four villages, including two in the area of Kinsabba.


2015–2016 Latakia offensive, The offensive, SAA push towards Kinsabba
On 9 February, the Saudi national and senior Al-Nusra Front commander of the Kurdish Mountains, Abdel-Aziz Al-Dibaykhi (nom de guerre "Abu Hamza") was killed by the Republican Guard's 103rd Brigade. At least 16 Al-Nusra Front fighters were killed by Russian air-strikes as the military regained several positions they had previously lost. Two days later, the rebels recaptured two villages, including Krouja, following fighting that left 12 soldiers dead. On 13 February, the military regained several positions they had lost, including a village.


2015–2016 Latakia offensive, The offensive, SAA push towards Kinsabba
On 14 February, the Army seized three villages, and the following day another seven sites as they pressed towards Kinsabba. With the capture of two more villages on 16 February, the military reached Kinsabba and preparations were started for a final assault on the town. Due to the re-allocation of most of the rebel forces from Tal Ghazaleh hill, that overlooks the Turkish border, to reinforce the defense of Kinsabba, government forces used the opportunity, assaulted the hill and captured it.


2015–2016 Latakia offensive, The offensive, SAA push towards Kinsabba
The attack on Kinsabba started on 17 February, quickly capturing three villages on its western flank and leaving one road open for the rebels to retreat. Kinsabba was secured the following morning. Following this advance, the next aim of the Army was the village of Kabani, one of the highest points in Jabal al-Akrad, that overlooks the Al-Ghaab Plains, and from where the rebels still had the ability to shell places like Qardaha.


2015–2016 Latakia offensive, The offensive, Final operations
Between 20 and 23 February, the Army continued its advances and captured eight villages and a hill north of Kinsabba. On 26 February, government troops took control of Ayn Al-Bayda, on the provincial border between Latakia and Idlib, and on the following day, they seized the village of Saraf and Tal Nawarat hill, that overlooks a Nusra-held border crossing with Turkey.


2015–2016 Latakia offensive, The offensive, Final operations
On 2 March, the military launched an assault on Kabani and its hill. Elsewhere, they reportedly captured three villages and a hill. Ten days later, the strategic height of Kabani hill (Hill 1154) was taken by government forces. During this time, the Army also seized the Zuweiqat mountaintop overlooking Kabani. Still, opposition activists reported on 9 March that the rebels had recaptured Zuweiqat.


2015–2016 Latakia offensive, Aftermath
Al-Nusra-led rebels launched an assault in mid-April 2016, capturing parts of Jabal al-Qalat (Qalat Mountain) and al-Bayda village. The Syrian Army mounted a counter-attack within days and re-captured all positions they had lost, continuing with the assault on the heights around Kabani again. In the course of the fighting, a prominent al-Nusra Front commander was killed: Abu Shakkar, nicknamed "The Cannibal" because he ate the heart of a Syrian soldier.


2015–2016 Latakia offensive, Aftermath
Between 14 and 29 April, government forces made 10 unsuccessful attempts at capturing two strategic hills on the outskirts of Kabani. As of 30 April, there were contradictory reports who controlled height 1154 as a 3-day ceasefire came into effect.


2015–2016 Latakia offensive, Aftermath
On 30 May, the Army captured the Tall Haddadeh hilltop, which overlooks the Turkish border and remaining rebel-held villages in northern Latakia.


2015–2016 Latakia offensive, Aftermath
At the end of June, the al-Nusra-led Army of Conquest, supported by FSA groups, launched a counter-offensive on the Turkman and Kurd Mountains, capturing several villages before they withdrew under Russian airstrikes. 33 rebels and 15 soldiers were killed in the fighting. Still, a second rebel assault a few days later managed to capture Kinsabba, as well as a dozen nearby villages and hills. On 8 August, the Syrian Army regained Kinsabba and its surrounding villages and hills during a counter-offensive.