2016 Irish government formation, Election
The general election was held on Friday 26 February 2016. Fine Gael lost 26 seats; the Labour Party, which lost 30 seats, only just returned enough members to secure speaking rights in Dáil Éireann. Fianna Fáil added 23 seats, Sinn Féin added nine, and Anti- Austerity Alliance–People Before Profit also gained seats. The Social Democrats and Independents 4 Change returned all their elected representatives to the Dáil. Having lost all their seats in 2011, the Green Party returned two TDs; these included former Communications Minister Eamon Ryan. The result left Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil with similar seat numbers and brought an end to the previous government's overall majority.


2016 Irish government formation, Initial statements and negotiations
Enda Kenny, the Taoiseach, immediately conceded on television that the outgoing coalition government of Fine Gael and Labour would be unable to continue. Fianna Fáil had entered negotiations with Independents and smaller parties by Tuesday 1 March when Fine Gael's efforts got underway. For Fianna Fáil this involved talks with newly elected TDs at constituency level "far, far away from Dublin". Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin was reported to have had an 'informal chat' with Catherine Murphy and Róisín Shortall of the Social Democrats in the Dáil canteen. Green Party leader Eamon Ryan also had talks with several parties.


2016 Irish government formation, Initial statements and negotiations
On Thursday 3 March, Michael O'Leary, the CEO of Ryanair, called the outcome of the general election "a mess", and said he expected another election within 12 months. Ireland, he said, "can't survive with either a minority government or a coalition of liquorice all-sorts." Later that day, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael parliamentarians met separately at Leinster House. At Fianna Fáil's parliamentary party meeting, leader Micheál Martin was reported to have said that it would take as long as two months to form a government.


2016 Irish government formation, Initial statements and negotiations
A statement from Vice-Chairperson of the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party Catherine Byrne said: "We agreed to work in a progressive manner towards the formation of a new government, but not at any cost ... forming an unstable government is not in the people's interest." The statement also made reference to the contentious election issue of the water utility company Irish Water: "The meeting strongly reiterated its commitment to supporting the Irish Water model as the best and most cost effective way of providing clean water and decent waste water services.


2016 Irish government formation, Initial statements and negotiations
The Irish people have shown enormous resilience in the last number of years and deserve stability." This contradicted an earlier contribution made by Simon Coveney on Prime Time when he suggested Fine Gael would "certainly be willing to talk about water" in any negotiations with other parties to form a government. Fianna Fáil's Barry Cowen had also indicated that abolishing Irish Water was a 'red line issue' but both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil later "backtracked, U-turned and reinvented the wheel on water charges" as Kevin Doyle phrased it in the Irish Independent.


2016 Irish government formation, Initial statements and negotiations
A meeting of Independents—minus Michael Healy-Rae and his brother Danny, who nonetheless maintained phone contact—also took place on 3 March in Kildare Street, with Denis Naughten chairing. On Friday 4 March, four of the six incoming Independent Alliance TDs met with Taoiseach Kenny to talk and present him with a copy of their Charter for Change. One of these, Shane Ross, said Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin had contacted them the previous day and that they would meet the following week. According to Michael Healy-Rae, he and his brother Danny met with Enda Kenny for "over an hour" on 4 March.


2016 Irish government formation, Initial statements and negotiations
A statement by Marc MacSharry in which he said Fianna Fáil could enter a coalition with Fine Gael, provided that the role of Taoiseach rotated between the parties, was reported by the Irish Examiner as having been released "in order to test the waters as to such a deal".


2016 Irish government formation, Reconvening of Dáil and first vote for Taoiseach
The Dáil reconvened on Thursday 10 March. It did not elect a Taoiseach and was adjourned until Tuesday 29 March, though talks continued. Its adjournment coincided with the Saint Patrick's Day festivities and an EU summit in Brussels, while Kenny also cut short his annual visit to Washington owing to the talks.


2016 Irish government formation, Reconvening of Dáil and first vote for Taoiseach
References to the political deadlock came aplenty in Washington: Joe Biden told Kenny he would get 80 per cent of the vote if he ran in America, and Kenny was quoted as having told the Irish Embassy: "Bejaysus, I wish I didn't have to go back and face what I have to face".


2016 Irish government formation, Reconvening of Dáil and first vote for Taoiseach
Following the failure of the Dáil to elect a Taoiseach, Fianna Fáil named a negotiating team comprising four of its TDs: finance spokesman Michael McGrath, education spokesman Charlie McConalogue, environment spokesman Barry Cowen, and legal advisor and newly elected TD Jim O'Callaghan. The Irish Times noted that Fine Gael's negotiators with other groups included Frances Fitzgerald and Simon Coveney, who both attended most of their party's meetings with others, while the involvement of Leo Varadkar, Richard Bruton, Simon Harris and Eoghan Murphy was also noted. Meanwhile, the Sunday Independent of 13 March reported that Enda Kenny had a street conversation outside Leinster House with Fianna Fáil TD John McGuinness on government formation on 9 March, though McGuinness was not part of the team of TDs officially tasked with talks by Micheál Martin.


2016 Irish government formation, Reconvening of Dáil and first vote for Taoiseach
On the night of 15 March, hours after meeting the Fianna Fáil four, the Social Democrats announced they had pulled out of any further talks with Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael. Fianna Fáil also held talks with the Green Party on the same day; its leader, Eamon Ryan, promised to continue negotiating with the party alongside which he had sat in government between 2007 and 2011. Around the same time, Fine Gael's Simon Coveney met rural members of the Independent Alliance in Athlone, as well as non-Alliance Independents Michael Collins, Noel Grealish, Michael Harty, Mattie McGrath and Denis Naughten.


2016 Irish government formation, Easter, and a second vote for Taoiseach
Negotiations continued over Easter (Easter Day fell on Sunday 27 March in 2016). This period also featured nationwide commemorations of the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising.


2016 Irish government formation, Easter, and a second vote for Taoiseach
On 29 March, Fine Gael met with rural Independents (led by former Fine Gael TD Denis Naughten); Fianna Fáil did likewise the next day. Fine Gael's commitments to the rural independents included more investment on rural transport and rural broadband; no closures of small schools, post offices or police stations; protection of the credit union sector, as well as commitments on housing and mental health.


2016 Irish government formation, Easter, and a second vote for Taoiseach
On 30 March the Green Party pulled out of any further talks, claiming it wanted to leave Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil together to form a stable government.


2016 Irish government formation, Easter, and a second vote for Taoiseach
Michael McDowell, a former Tánaiste who had led the Progressive Democrats, intervened around this time. McDowell called for Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil to come together and govern. He told The Irish Times's political podcast: "I was brought up in a strongly Fine Gael house, I was Garret FitzGerald's director of elections, I was his organiser, I was chairman of my local constituency – I know how Fine Gael hearts tick.


2016 Irish government formation, Easter, and a second vote for Taoiseach
I sat in cabinet, both as attorney general and minister for justice for seven years [in coalition] with Fianna Fáil... and I know there isn't a huge difference between them. But they think there is. That's the crucial thing. It's absolutely ingrained in them. They have convinced themselves of something that is a myth, fundamentally."


2016 Irish government formation, Easter, and a second vote for Taoiseach
The first publicised contact between Martin and Kenny was announced on 31 March (34 days after the election), in the form of a twenty-minute telephone call. Martin reported that Kenny had told him any talks between them must wait until after the next Dáil vote on nominations for Taoiseach, which was due on the following Wednesday, 6 April. That vote also failed to elect a Taoiseach, with both Kenny and Martin failing to obtain enough votes to secure the post, while the vote made history when Anti- Austerity Alliance TD Ruth Coppinger became the first woman to be nominated as Taoiseach. Afterwards, Martin rejected claims by Kenny in the Dáil the previous afternoon that Kenny had invited him to talks.


2016 Irish government formation, Easter, and a second vote for Taoiseach
Talks then began between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. On the night of 6 April, Fine Gael released a statement in which it announced that it had made a formal offer during talks with Martin to form a partnership government with Fianna Fáil and Independent TDs. However, Martin rejected this offer. A meeting between Kenny and Martin on 8 April was reported to have lasted only ten minutes.


2016 Irish government formation, Easter, and a second vote for Taoiseach
Early on 9 April, Jim O'Callaghan hosted a covert meeting at his home with Leo Varadkar, Deirdre Gillane (chief adviser to Micheál Martin) and Andrew McDowell (a policy adviser to Enda Kenny). It lasted for more than an hour. Then came an announcement that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael would meet, with both publishing a statement saying they would "discuss how a viable minority government would work".


2016 Irish government formation, A third vote for Taoiseach
On 14 April the Dáil reconvened to vote on nominations for Taoiseach. Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams had suggested postponing the vote due to ongoing negotiations, but his motion was rejected. Kenny lost three different votes for Taoiseach, the third by a vote of 52–77. Following Kenny's loss, Micheál Martin was also unable to receive the number of votes necessary to become Taoiseach by a vote of 43–91. Neither candidate was able to attract enough Independent TDs to secure a majority of the Dáil's votes. In an earlier meeting dubbed the "Ag House Meeting", 14 Independent TDs signed an agreement to abstain from voting for Taoiseach, calling upon the leaders of the major parties to agree to a reciprocal agreement with three budgets to provide stability for the Irish people.


2016 Irish government formation, A third vote for Taoiseach
Seán Ó Fearghaíl, the Ceann Comhairle, suggested after the vote that the Dáil be adjourned until 20 April. Despite opposition from TDs including Adams and Finian McGrath (Independent), the motion passed with the help of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael TDs. The "Ag House Agreement" signed by the Dáil's Independent TDs also said that the TDs were stepping away from talks with the two major parties until the two major parties reached an agreement. However, the Independents did offer to facilitate any task that would hasten the formation of a government.


2016 Irish government formation, A third vote for Taoiseach
The next day on 15 April, talks resumed between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. Independent TD Finian McGrath, speaking with Sean O'Rourke on RTÉ, laid out further demands for the parties. In order for Independents to enter the government, McGrath said, Fine Gael would need to provide:


2016 Irish government formation, A third vote for Taoiseach
Barry Cowen of Fianna Fáil responded to the Ag House Agreement's demand for three budgets, saying that the party would look into the policy moving forward.


2016 Irish government formation, A third vote for Taoiseach
On 17 April, fifty-one days after the election, the Sunday Independent published a scathing editorial, calling for a government to be formed. On the same day, former Tánaiste Mary Harney intervened, claiming the deadlock in government formation would damage "Ireland's reputation" in remarks made during her closing address at the three-day Women in Media conference in Ballybunion. In the same address, Harney—who attended along with her husband Brian Geogheghan—claimed that "when she left public life she made a conscious decision to leave politics behind her".


2016 Irish government formation, A third vote for Taoiseach
Green Party leader Eamon Ryan met with Fine Gael on 19 April, with the party offering its support for a minority government from the opposition benches. Meanwhile, talks between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil were held at Trinity College and led to the reported exchange of an economic paper between the two. Talks continued in the following days; however, they were slow to discuss the contentious issue of Irish Water.


2016 Irish government formation, Minority government agreement reached
Talks continued for several weeks, with both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil suggesting that a deal was untenable. Fine Gael briefly considered entering into a deal with their normal coalition partner the Labour Party, but that was viewed by many observers as unlikely.


2016 Irish government formation, Minority government agreement reached
Michael D. Higgins, President of Ireland, issued a warning to the major party leaders on 19 April; he said that if they were unable to reach an agreement, he was "very, very well aware" of Article 13 of the constitution which gives him the "absolute power" to decide whether the Dáil should be dissolved if the Taoiseach tells him a government cannot be formed.


2016 Irish government formation, Minority government agreement reached
On 29 April, 63 days after the election, representatives from Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil announced that they had reached an agreement for a Fine Gael-led minority government. For extra stability, the agreement included a review date of September 2018, with the government permitted to rule until then.


2016 Irish government formation, Government formation
On 6 May 2016, a fourth vote for Taoiseach was held in the Dáil. Enda Kenny became the first Fine Gael leader to be re-elected as Taoiseach. He did so by gaining just one vote more than the minimum required for gaining power under the terms of the minority government agreement with Fianna Fáil. Including his own vote, Kenny received the votes of Fine Gael TDs and nine independents: Seán Canney, John Halligan, Michael Harty, Michael Lowry, Finian McGrath, Kevin "Boxer" Moran, Denis Naughten, Shane Ross and Katherine Zappone. Lowry offered a handshake to Kenny shortly after Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl confirmed the result.


2016 Irish government formation, Government formation
Kenny then departed to Áras an Uachtaráin, where President Higgins presented him with his seal of office. The new administration was announced later the same evening, Shane Ross having confirmed himself as Minister for Transport in advance. Three Independent politicians secured senior cabinet posts: Zappone (appointed to the Seanad by Kenny in 2011), Naughten and Ross. Frances Fitzgerald, who had served as Minister for Justice in the previous government, kept that role and was also appointed Tánaiste in the new government.


2016 Irish government formation, Government formation
The new cabinet arrived at the Áras shortly after 11 pm the same evening, to receive their seals of office from President Higgins in the State Reception room. As is traditional, Enda Kenny chaired the first Cabinet meeting there; this ended shortly after midnight.


2016 Irish government formation, Government formation
Kenny made the government's junior ministerial appointments on 19 May 2016, expanding the number of Ministers of State from fifteen to eighteen, the highest number of junior appointments since Bertie Ahern named 20 in 2007. These appointments were made up of a selection of Fine Gael and Independent deputies, and included four women–Helen McEntee (Minister of State for Mental Health and Older People), Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Minister of State for Health Promotion), Catherine Byrne (Minister of State for Communities and the National Drugs Strategy) and Regina Doherty (Government chief whip).


2016 Irish government formation, Government formation
Announcing his team of junior ministers, Kenny said that his government would place a stronger emphasis on important policy areas, particularly health; but Michael Brennan, political editor of The Sunday Business Post suggested the Taoiseach would face criticism from opposition parties for expanding government and creating "jobs for the boys" in an attempt to stave off discontent from his own backbenchers. Responding to the expanded lower tier of government, Fianna Fáil's Thomas Byrne noted that Fine Gael minister Richard Bruton had been very critical of Fianna Fáil when it increased the number of junior ministers to 20. John Downing of the Irish Independent suggested that increasing the number of junior ministers was "[Kenny's] effort to buy himself what political peace he can get in this strange new situation".


2016 Irkutsk mass methanol poisoning
In December 2016, 78 people died in a mass methanol poisoning in Irkutsk, one of the largest cities in Siberia, Russia. Precipitated by drinking counterfeit surrogate alcohol, the death toll led the Associated Press news agency to call it "unprecedented in its scale".


2016 Irkutsk mass methanol poisoning
While Russia is one of the highest consumers of alcohol per capita in the world, the use of non-traditional surrogate alcohols rapidly rose in the 2010s due to ongoing economic difficulties in Russia. Costing less than government-regulated vodka, surrogates reached an estimated height of twenty percent of the country's alcohol consumption by 2016. These products were often nearly pure alcohol that could be diluted to a rough approximation of vodka, and were commonly available from supermarkets, strategically placed vending machines, and other shops. In the Irkutsk incident, the victims drank scented bath lotion that was mislabeled as containing drinkable ethanol.


2016 Irkutsk mass methanol poisoning
In the aftermath of the poisoning, regulations on products being used as surrogate alcohols were tightened around the country. Politicians announced a temporary ban on non-food items with more than 25 percent alcohol, which was extended several times, and the legal minimum price of vodka was lowered.


2016 Irkutsk mass methanol poisoning, Causes and event
In the 2010s, Russia's economy suffered from a financial crisis, depressed oil prices, and international sanctions put into place during the Ukrainian crisis. With less disposable income to spend, citizens were forced to take drastic measures. In 2017, for instance, approximately half of the country's population was growing fruits and vegetables to supplement their diet, caused in part by a doubling in food prices in the preceding two years.


2016 Irkutsk mass methanol poisoning, Causes and event
For alcohol, these citizens—already one of the highest consumers per capita in the world—turned to surrogates, a cheaper but unregulated segment of the alcohol market. Russia's deputy prime minister remarked that such non-traditional alcohol made up twenty percent of the total consumed in the country, a figure backed by independent reporting from The Moscow Times, which noted that the total was still growing. Although overall consumption of all kinds of alcohol had been in decline since 2005, experts estimated that greater than ten million Russians routinely purchased such alcohol. Such a large consumption of unregulated alcohol led to a "regular occurrence" of alcohol poisonings, but the death toll in this single incident was far higher than the norm.


2016 Irkutsk mass methanol poisoning, Causes and event
The hawthorn-scented bath lotion, or boyaryshnik, that caused the mass methanol poisoning was purchased as a drink because of its low price amid poor economic conditions. Although the bottles were typically half the size of traditional vodka, their alcohol content was such that they can be diluted into a strength similar to vodka.


2016 Irkutsk mass methanol poisoning, Causes and event
Such liquids were widely available in supermarkets, shops, and vending machines around Russia and were not subject to any legal age requirement; the alcohol excise tax, which had been increased as part of an anti-alcohol effort in 2009; or other restrictions placed in recent years to help curb alcohol consumption in the country.


2016 Irkutsk mass methanol poisoning, Causes and event
The vending machines were a particularly problematic area: they were often deliberately placed near poorer areas of Russian cities, where the product would be appealing to those seeking a cheaper alternative to regular alcohol, and unlike legal alcoholic sales were available at all hours of the day or night. "Everybody knew that it was not bath oil", one individual told The New York Times after the poisoning. "That label was just meant to fend off the inspectors".


2016 Irkutsk mass methanol poisoning, Causes and event
The fatal batch of lotion involved in the December 2016 mass poisoning was made with methanol (methyl alcohol, wood alcohol, CH3OH), which is poisonous to the central nervous system and other parts of the body. Methanol is cheaper than ethanol (ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, CH3CH2OH), the alcohol found in vodka and other alcoholic drinks. The two alcohols are similar in many respects and cannot readily be distinguished, and their contents differed from the labels on the bottles, which indicated that they contained ethanol. An investigation later revealed that the methanol was usually used in the local production of windshield washer fluid, known locally as antifreeze.


2016 Irkutsk mass methanol poisoning, Causes and event
According to early reports on 19 December, a total of 57 people were hospitalized, with 49 dying. The victims were described as being poor residents of the Novo-Lenino neighborhood in Irkutsk, all between the ages of 35 and 50. Subsequent reports increased the number affected: first to 55 deaths (with a total of 94 affected), then 62 (with 107 affected), 77 (number of affected not given), and 78.


2016 Irkutsk mass methanol poisoning, Causes and event
The final death toll was 74, lowered from earlier reports after it was discovered that some of the deaths were the result of drinking too much of the non-fraudulent ethanol-based bath lotion. A total of 123 people were hospitalized. About a third of them were found in their homes, having died before being able to call for an ambulance. Of the remainder, a problem in attempting to treat them was that fomepizole, a methanol antidote, is not certified for use in Russia and is therefore not available in the country's hospitals. Overall, the victims included a doctor, teachers, nurses, and drivers; The New York Times described the majority as holding "steady if low-paying jobs".


2016 Irkutsk mass methanol poisoning, Aftermath
In the immediate aftermath of the poisoning, a state of emergency was declared. Twenty-three people involved in the production of the lotion were arrested by Russian authorities, many of which were local vendors who sold the product, and one senior regional government official for the greater Siberian region being charged with negligence. About 500 litres (130 US gal) of remaining counterfeit lotion were seized from the underground facility where it had been produced, and a few days later 13,500 litres (3,600 US gal) of methanol-containing liquid was seized from a warehouse in Irkutsk. A further five people were arrested in January 2017, charged with selling and publicizing surrogate alcohol.


2016 Irkutsk mass methanol poisoning, Aftermath
After the incident, a spokesperson for Russian president Vladimir Putin called it a "terrible tragedy", blaming it on a failing of "supervisory bodies", and added: "What happened in Irkutsk was a tremendous tragedy. Words fail me. Certainly this was an outrage because the inspectors and other agencies were supposed to prevent it, and didn't do so." Dmitry Medvedev, the prime minister, called for a ban on non-traditional alcoholic liquids like the bath lotion, stating that "it's an outrage, and we need to put an end to this". Days later, the Russian news agency Interfax reported that Putin planned to lower taxes on alcohol in an effort to curb the use of unsafe alcohol substitutes, requiring officials to present a plan by 31 March 2017.


2016 Irkutsk mass methanol poisoning, Aftermath
On 22 December, Putin announced that regulations on products with more than 25 percent alcohol would be tightened, and punishments would be increased for those who break manufacturing and distribution laws related to them. In addition, deputy prime minister Alexander Khloponin publicly supported tightening access to "medications" like boyaryshnik through requiring pharmaceutical prescriptions.


2016 Irkutsk mass methanol poisoning, Aftermath
On the following day, Medvedev ordered Russia's government agency devoted to consumer protection, Rospotrebnadzor, to ban all sales of non-food items with more than 25 percent alcohol. Their 30-day order came into effect on 26 December and was scheduled to run for one month before being extended for a further 60 days in January, March, and July; the restrictions did not cover perfumes and glass-cleaning products. Further restrictions were considered, with one top health official announcing that a state monopoly may be imposed on Russia's perfume and pharmaceutical industries.


2016 Irkutsk mass methanol poisoning, Aftermath
In the end, Russia amended its legal code to strengthen punishments for illegally producing and selling alcohol, banning the kind of alcoholic vending machines through which the Irkutsk bath lotion was sold, and prohibiting online advertisements of alcoholic retailers. The latter's legalization had been mooted prior to the poisoning. Furthermore, the minimum legal price of vodka was lowered in both January and May 2017.


2016 Irkutsk mass methanol poisoning, Aftermath
Individuals interviewed by a New York Times reporter in February 2017 were skeptical that any measures would be successful in significantly impacting illegal alcohol sales, given that it was such a high percentage of the total market for alcohol. Indeed, vendors in Irkutsk reported that sales of surrogate alcohols did not decline after the poisoning. Still, Rospotrebnadzor announced at the end of January that the country had seen its first decline in monthly alcohol poisoning deaths in five years.


2016 Ironman 70.3 World Championship
The 2016 Ironman 70.3 World Championship was a triathlon competition held in Mooloolaba, Queensland, of Australia's Sunshine Coast on September 4, 2016. It was won by Tim Reed of Australia and Holly Lawrence of Great Britain. The championship was organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) and was the culmination of the Ironman 70.3 series of events that occurred from July 19, 2015 through July 3, 2016. Athletes, both professional and amateur, earned a spot in the championship race by qualifying in races throughout the 70.3 series. A prize purse of $250,000 was distributed to the top 10 male and female professional athletes. The championship location marked the first time the event was be held in the southern hemisphere.


2016 Ironman 70.3 World Championship, Qualification
The 2016 Ironman 70.3 Series featured 87 events that enabled qualification to the 2015 World Championship event. Professional triathletes qualified for the championship race by competing in races during the qualifying period, earning points towards their pro rankings. For the 2016 championship race that period was August 2, 2015 to July 3, 2016. An athlete's five highest scoring races were counted toward their pro rankings. The top 50 males and top 35 females in the pro rankings qualified for the championship race.


2016 Ironman 70.3 World Championship, Qualification
The previous five 70.3 champions received an automatic qualifying spot provided they validate their entry by competitively finishing one qualifying race. Winners of the five regional 70.3 championships also automatically qualified for the championship race. These winners did not count towards the final 50 and 35 qualifiers Professional athletes were also eligible for prize purses at each qualifying event, which ranged in total size from $75,000 to $100,000.


2016 Ironman 70.3 World Championship, Qualification
Amateur triathletes could qualify for the championship race by earning a qualifying slot at one of the qualifying events. At qualifying events, slots were allocated to each age group category, male and female, with the number of slots given out based on that category's proportional representation of the overall field. Each age group category was tentatively allocated one qualifying spot in each qualifying event. Some 70.3 events also served as qualifiers for the military and handcylce divisions into the full Ironman World Championships in Hawaii.


2016 Ironman 70.3 World Championship, Qualification, Qualifying Ironman 70.3 events
*Serves as a 2016 Ironman 70.3 World Championship handcylce qualifier. ‡Serves as a 2016 Ironman World Championship handcycle qualifiermServes as a military division 2016 Ironman World Championship qualifierXNo professional points awarded.


2016 Ironman World Championship
The 2016 Ironman World Championship was a long distance triathlon competition that was held on October 8, 2016 in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. It was won by Jan Frodeno of Germany and Daniela Ryf of Switzerland, both repeat champions from 2015. The race was the 40th edition of the Ironman World Championship, which has been held annually in Hawaii since 1978. The championship was organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) and awarded a total purse prize of $650,000.


2016 Ironman World Championship, Qualification
The division of athletes was divided into professional, age group, physically challenged, hand cycle, and military divisions.


2016 Ironman World Championship, Qualification, Professional
For entry into the 2016 World Championship race professional triathletes qualified for the championship through a point system. Points were earned by competing in WTC sanctioned Ironman and Ironman 70.3 events throughout the qualifying year. For the 2016 championship race that period was August 30, 2015 to August 21, 2016. The top 50 male and top 35 female pros in points at the end of the qualifying year qualified to race in Kona. An athlete's five highest scoring races were counted in the point totals.


2016 Ironman World Championship, Qualification, Professional
At least one Ironman race must have been completed and only three Ironman 70.3 races counted towards an athlete's overall point total. Prior champions of a WTC Championship received an automatic entry for the Championship race for a period of five years after their last championship performance provided that they competed in at least one full-distance Ironman race during the qualifying year. Additionally, winners of the five regional Ironman championships received automatic qualification into the 2016 Ironman Championship. All automatic entries awarded did not count toward the number of available qualifying spots. The available prize money to professional triathletes for qualifying races ranged from $25,000 to $150,000, depending on the event.


2016 Ironman World Championship, Qualification, Professional
In July 2015, WTC announced a pilot program for separate professional men and women only events for races in 2016. On four different dates separate races will be held with only females in the professional field and only males in the professional field, for a total of eight different events. This impacted two dates during the 2016 championship qualifying year, July 24, where the professional women raced at Ironman Lake Placid and the professional men raced Ironman Canada and August 20/21 where the women competed at Ironman Sweden and the men at Ironman Copenhagen. The program is based partly on feedback from female professionals who have stated that slower professional men (who start prior to the women) and age group men (who start after) interfere with the women's racing and tactics.


2016 Ironman World Championship, Qualification, Amateur
Amateur athletes could qualify through a single performance at an Ironman event. Slots were allocated to each amateur age group category, male and female, with the number of slots given out based on that category's proportional representation of the overall field. Each age group category was tentatively allocated one qualifying spot in each qualifying event.


2016 Ironman World Championship, Qualification, Amateur
Other means of entry into the championship race could also be obtained through Ironman's Legacy program, or through the Ironman’s charitable eBay auction. Handcycle competitors, who are paraplegic, quadriplegic or double above-the-knee amputees and use a hand cranked cycle on the bike segment and racing chair for the run segment could also qualify at Ironman 70.3 Cairns (one male/one female), Ironman 70.3 Luxembourg (two male/one female), and Ironman 70.3 Buffalo Springs Lake (one male/one female)


2016 Ironman World Championship, Qualification, Amateur
WTC offered an Executive Challenge program, named Ironman XC, that provided the chance to qualify for the championship race via other select Ironman events. Entry into the program was done through an application process.


2016 Ironman World Championship, Qualification, Amateur
In December 2014, WTC announced a newly created military division for active duty personnel. The division was open to any active personnel, regardless of country or gender. Slots were allocated in a similar fashion to the normal age group qualification process with age group categories set at 18-29, 30-39 and 40+ for each gender. Three races were announced, with two impacting the 2016 qualifying period: Ironman 70.3 Superfrog (14 slots) and Ironman Cairns (10 Slots).


2016 Ironman World Championship, Qualification, Qualifying Ironman races
*Asia-Pacific Championship was moved from Melbourne to Cairns after local Melbourne officials canceled the race due to an F1 event on the same day. xAmateur only competition. mProfessional men's fieldwProfessional women's field


2016 Irving Tennis Classic
The 2016 Irving Tennis Classic was a professional tennis tournament played on hard courts. It was the fifth edition of the tournament which was part of the 2016 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Irving, United States between 12 and 20 March 2016.


2016 Irving Tennis Classic, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2016 Irving Tennis Classic, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players entered the singles main draw as lucky losers:


2016 Irving Tennis Classic – Doubles
Robert Lindstedt and Sergiy Stakhovsky were the defending champions, but didn't participate.


2016 Irving Tennis Classic – Doubles
Nicholas Monroe and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi won the title, defeating Chris Guccione and André Sá 6–2, 5–7, [10–4].


2016 Irving Tennis Classic – Singles
Aljaž Bedene was the defending champion but failed to defend his title, losing to Marcel Granollers 1–6, 1–6 in the final.


2016 Isle of Man TT
The 2016 Isle of Man TT was held between 28 May and 10 June 2016, on the Isle of Man TT Mountain Course.


2016 Isle of Man TT, Results, Race Results
Bennetts Lightweight TT - Result Sheet1st - Ivan Lintin. Kawasaki/Devitt RC Express Racing. Time 01:16:26:681 Speed 118.4542nd - James Hillier. Kawasaki/Quattro Plant Muc-Off Kawasaki. Time 01:16:39:153 Speed 118.1333rd - Martin Jessopp. Kawasaki/Riders Motorcycles. Time 01:18:23:536 Speed 115.5114th - Gary Johnson. CFMOTO/WK Bikes. Time 01:18:25:920 Speed 115.4535th - Stefano Bonetti. Paton/CCM Motorsport. Time 01:18:30:782 Speed 115.334


2016 Israel Open
The 2016 Israel Open was a professional tennis tournament played on hard courts. It was the 5th edition of the tournament, which was part of the 2016 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Ra'anana, Israel between 28 March and 3 April.


2016 Israel Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2016 Israel Open – Doubles
Mate Pavić and Michael Venus were the defending champions, but decided not to defend their title.


2016 Israel Open – Doubles
Konstantin Kravchuk and Denys Molchanov won the title after defeating Jonathan Erlich and Philipp Oswald 4–6, 7–6(7–1), [10–4] in the final.


2016 Israel Open – Singles
Nikoloz Basilashvili was the defending champion, but chose not to defend his title.


2016 Israel Open – Singles
Evgeny Donskoy won the title, defeating Ričardas Berankis 6–4, 6–4 in the final.


2016 Israel Premier Lacrosse League season
The 2016 Israel Premier Lacrosse League season was the 2nd season of Israel Premier Lacrosse League.


2016 Israel Premier Lacrosse League season
Tel Aviv LC decided to suspend operations for the 2016 season, however Ashdod LC, Kiryat Gat LC, and Be'er Sheva LC joined the league for the 2016 season. A total of 22 games were played, with each team playing either seven or eight games.


2016 Israel Premier Lacrosse League season
Be'er Sheva defeated Haifa in the finals 11:10 for the championship.


2016 Israel State Cup Final
The 2016 Israel State Cup Final decided the winner of the 2015–16 Israel State Cup, the 81st season of Israel's main football cup. It was played on May 24, 2016 at the Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem, between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Maccabi Haifa.


2016 Israel State Cup Final, Background
Maccabi Tel Aviv had previously played 34 Israel Cup Finals, had won the competition a record 23 times. Their most recent appearance in the final was the previous year's edition, in which they won 6–2 over Hapoel Beer Sheva at Sammy Ofer in Haifa.


2016 Israel State Cup Final, Background
Maccabi Haifa had previously played in 15 finals, winning five. Their most recent appearance in the final was the previous year's edition, in which they lost 2–1 to Hapoel Tel Aviv, and their most recent victory in the tournament was in 1998, beating Hapoel Jerusalem 2–0.


2016 Israel State Cup Final, Background
Maccabi Tel Aviv and Maccabi Haifa had played each other in four previous finals of the tournament. Maccabi Tel Aviv won in 2002 and 1987, and Maccabi Haifa won in 1962 and 1993.


2016 Israel State Cup Final, Background
The two teams played each other four times during the 2015–16 Israeli Premier League season. In the first instance, at Sammy Ofer Stadium on 26 September 2015, Tel Aviv won 2–0, Eden Ben Basat and Dor Peretz scoring. On 10 January 2016 at Bloomfield Stadium, Maccabi Tel Aviv won 2–1. Eran Zahavi and Tal Ben Haim gave them a 2–0 half-time lead. Yossi Benayoun shrinking down 2–1. On 17 April 2016 at Sammy Ofer Stadium the game end drew 0–0. The fourth match between the two teams was held in Bloomfield Stadium on 21 May 2016.


2016 Israel Super Cup
The 2016 Israel Super Cup is the 21st Israel Super Cup (26th, including unofficial matches, as the competition wasn't played within the Israel Football Association in its first 5 editions, until 1969), an annual Israel football match played between the winners of the previous season's Top Division and Israel State Cup. This is the second time since 1990 that the match was staged, after a planned resumption of the cup was cancelled in 2014.


2016 Israel Super Cup
The game was played between Hapoel Be'er Sheva, champions of the 2015–16 Israeli Premier League and Maccabi Haifa, winners of the 2015-16 Israeli State Cup. As it has ended with the score of 4-2 to Hapoel Be'er Sheva after they were losing to 2-0 in the half time.


2016 Israeli Basketball League Cup
The 2016 Israeli Basketball League Cup, for sponsorships reasons the Winner League Cup, was the 11th edition of the pre-season tournament of the Israeli Basketball Super League. Hapoel Jerusalem won the title for the fourth time after beating Maccabi Tel Aviv 77–62 in the Final. Curtis Jerrells was named tournament MVP. The tournament was hosted at the Ein Sara Sport Hall in Nahariya.


2016 Israeli Basketball Super League Final Four
The 2016 Israeli Final Four was the concluding tournament of the 2015–16 Israeli Basketball Super League. It was the seventh Israeli Final Four, and the event is held for the first time since the 2012 edition. Unlike previous Final Four tournaments, there would not be a third placed game.


2016 Israeli Basketball Super League Final Four
The Event was held in the Pais Arena, in Jerusalem between 6 and 9 May 2016. The participating teams were Hapoel Jerusalem, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Hapoel Eilat, and  Maccabi Rishon LeZion.


2016 Israeli Basketball Super League Final Four, Venue
The Pais Arena is an indoor sports arena in Jerusalem. Opened in 2014 as an open-air venue with a capacity of 11,000.


2016 Israeli Beach Soccer League
The 2016 Israeli Beach Soccer League was a national beach soccer league that took place between 17 June and 29 July 2016, in Netanya, Israel.


2016 Israeli Beach Soccer League, Group stage
All kickoff times are of local time in Netanya, Israel (UTC+02:00).


2016 Istanbul Open
The 2016 Istanbul Open (also known as the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open for sponsorship purposes) was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the second edition of the Istanbul Open, and an ATP World Tour 250 event. It took place at the Koza World of Sports Arena in Istanbul, Turkey, from 25 April – 1 May 2016.


2016 Istanbul Open, Doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw:


2016 Istanbul Open – Doubles
Radu Albot and Dušan Lajović were the defending champions, but Lajović chose not to participate this year. Albot played alongside Illya Marchenko, but lost in the first round to Dominic Inglot and Robert Lindstedt. Flavio Cipolla and Dudi Sela won the title, defeating Andrés Molteni and Diego Schwartzman in the final, 6–3, 5–7, [10–7].


2016 Istanbul Open – Singles
Roger Federer was the defending champion, but chose not to participate this year.


2016 Istanbul Open – Singles
Diego Schwartzman won the title, defeating Grigor Dimitrov in the final, 6–7(5–7), 7–6(7–4), 6–0.


2016 Istanbul Open – Singles, Seeds
The top four seeds receive a bye into the second round.


2016 Istria Cup
The 2016 Istria Cup was the fourth edition of the Istria Cup, aninvitational women's football tournament heldannually in Istria, Croatia. It took place from 2–7 March 2016; at the same time asthe 2016 Algarve Cup, 2016 SheBelieves Cup and 2016 Cyprus Cup.


2016 Istria Cup, Final standings
Since all matches were group matches the final standings were same as group standings.


2016 Italian Athletics Championships
The 2016 Italian Athletics Championships (Italian: Campionati italiani assoluti di atletica leggera 2016) was the 106th edition of the Italian Athletics Championships and were held in Rieti from 24 to 26 June 2016.


2016 Italian Athletics Indoor Championships
2016 Italian Athletics Indoor Championships was the 47th edition of the Italian Athletics Indoor Championships and were held in Ancona.


2016 Italian Basketball Cup
The 2016 Italian Basketball Cup, known as the Beko Final Eight for sponsorship reasons, was the 48th edition of Italy's national cup tournament. The competition was organised by Lega Basket for Lega Basket Serie A clubs. The tournament was played at the Mediolanum Forum  in Milan this year. EA7 Emporio Armani Milano won their 5th cup.


2016 Italian Basketball Cup, Qualification
EA7 Emporio Armani Milano was automatically qualified for the tournament as the host team. The rest of the teams were selected based on their place in the 2015–16 Lega Basket Serie A standings.


2016 Italian Basketball Cup, Final
EA7 Emporio Milano took the lead when the game started and didn't lose it for the rest of the game. Milano eventually won its first Cup since over 20 years.


2016 Italian Basketball Supercup
The 2016 Italian Basketball Supercup (Italian: Supercoppa di pallacanestro 2016) was the 22nd edition of the super cup tournament, organized by the Lega Basket Serie A. It was also called Macron Supercoppa 2016 for sponsorship reasons.


2016 Italian Basketball Supercup
It was played in the Mediolanum Forum in Milan on 24 and 25 September.


2016 Italian Basketball Supercup
EA7 Emporio Armani Milano won its first title after beating Vanoli Cremona in the semifinal and Sidigas Avellino in the final.


2016 Italian Basketball Supercup, Participant teams
Qualified for the tournament were EA7 Emporio Armani Milano, Sidigas Avellino, Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia and Vanoli Cremona.


2016 Italian Basketball Supercup, Final
EA7 Emporio Armani Milano lifted the Supercup trophy by downing Sidigas Avellino 72-90. Krunoslav Simon led the winners with 25 points on 5-of-7 three-point shots. Ricky Hickman added 15 while Zoran Dragić had 11 for Milan. Hickman had 9 points in the second quarter to make Milan get a double-digit lead, 34-44, at halftime. Dragić, Simon and Davide Pascolo allowed Milan to extend their margin to 51-67 after 30 minutes, enough to control the game until the final buzzer and lift its first Supercup trophy.


2016 Italian F4 Championship
The 2016 Italian F4 Championship Powered by Abarth was the third season of the Italian F4 Championship. It began on 9 April in Misano and finished on 30 October in Monza after seven triple header rounds.


2016 Italian F4 Championship, Race calendar
Due to the large number of entries for the season, the race format was radically changed. Drivers were placed in three groups (A, B and C) depending on their qualifying placement. Each group contested two qualifying races, facing one of the other groups in each race. After the three qualifying races, the 36 (32 in Adria) drivers having scored the most points contested the final race. All four races were 25 minutes plus one lap in length and yield the same number of points.


2016 Italian F4 Championship, Race calendar
After the number of entries declined from 41 to 31 for the second round, the series reverted to the classical three-race format used in 2015 from the third round onwards.


2016 Italian F4 Championship, Championship standings
Points were awarded to the top 10 classified finishers in each race. No points were awarded for pole position or fastest lap. Only the best sixteen results were counted towards the championship. Race 3 of the first meeting at Imola Cricuit was stopped after five laps, and half points were awarded.


2016 Italian GT Championship
The 2016 Italian GT Championship was the 25th season of the Italian GT Championship, the grand tourer-style sports car racing founded by the Italian automobile club (Automobile Club d'Italia). The season started on 30 April at Monza and ended on 16 October at Mugello after seven double-header meetings.


2016 Italian Grand Prix
The 2016 Italian Grand Prix (formally known as the Formula 1 Gran Premio Heineken d'Italia 2016) was a Formula One motor race held on 4 September 2016 at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Monza, Italy. It was the fourteenth round of the 2016 FIA Formula One World Championship, and marked the 86th running of the Italian Grand Prix and the 81st time the race was held at Monza.


2016 Italian Grand Prix
Mercedes driver and winner of the previous year's race, Lewis Hamilton, entered the race leading the World Drivers' Championship by nine points ahead of teammate Nico Rosberg. In the World Constructors' Championship, Mercedes held a lead of 181 points. Red Bull Racing was placed second and Ferrari third.


2016 Italian Grand Prix, Background, Tyres
Pirelli provided the teams with medium, soft and supersoft tyres. Pirelli anticipated that the difference between the different compounds would be less than one second per lap, with the differences between soft and supersoft to be around 0.7 of a second, and the difference between soft and medium about 0.9 seconds.


2016 Italian Grand Prix, Race
Lewis Hamilton started poorly and was overtaken by his teammate Nico Rosberg, Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Räikkönen, Valtteri Bottas and Daniel Ricciardo. Rosberg went into a comfortable lead with Hamilton slowly recovering, firstly picking off Ricciardo then Bottas shortly afterwards. Hamilton didn't have the pace or tyres to catch his teammate Rosberg who went on to win the race. Sebastian Vettel finished third ahead of his Ferrari teammate Räikkönen. Ricciardo took 5th ahead of Bottas.


2016 Italian Open (tennis)
The 2016 Italian Open (also known as the 2016 Rome Masters and sponsored title 2016 Internazionali BNL d'Italia) was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy. It was the 73rd edition of the Italian Open and is classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2016 ATP World Tour and a Premier 5 event on the 2016 WTA Tour. It took place from 9–15 May 2016.


2016 Italian Open (tennis), ATP main draw entrants, Singles, Other entrants
The following players received entry using a protected ranking into the main draw:


2016 Italian Open (tennis), ATP main draw entrants, Doubles, Other entrants
The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw:


2016 Italian Open (tennis), WTA main draw entrants, Doubles, Other entrants
The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw:


2016 Italian Open – Men's Doubles
Pablo Cuevas and David Marrero were the defending champions, but Marrero chose not to participate this year. Cuevas played alongside Marcel Granollers, but lost in the quarterfinals to Vasek Pospisil and Jack Sock. Bob and Mike Bryan won the title, defeating Pospisil and Sock in the final, 2–6, 6–3, [10–7].


2016 Italian Open – Men's Singles
Andy Murray defeated the two-time defending champion Novak Djokovic in the final, 6–3, 6–3, to win the Men's Singles tennis title at the 2016 Italian Open.


2016 Italian Open – Men's Singles, Seeds
The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round.


2016 Italian Open – Women's Doubles
Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic were the defending champions, but chose not to participate together. Babos played alongside Yaroslava Shvedova, but lost in the quarterfinals to Irina-Camelia Begu and Monica Niculescu. Mladenovic teamed up with Caroline Garcia, but lost in the quarterfinals to Andrea Hlaváčková and Lucie Hradecká. Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza won the title, defeating Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina in the final, 6–1, 6–7(5–7), [10–3].


2016 Italian Open – Women's Doubles, Seeds
The top four seeds received a bye into the second round.


2016 Italian Open – Women's Singles
Maria Sharapova was the defending champion, but could not defend the title because of her provisional suspension after failing a drug test at the Australian Open.


2016 Italian Open – Women's Singles
Serena Williams won the title in Rome for the fourth time, defeating Madison Keys in the final, 7–6(7–5), 6–3. This was Williams's second title in Rome that she won without dropping a set.


2016 Italian Open – Women's Singles, Seeds
The top eight seeds received a bye into the second round.


2016 Italian Open – Women's Singles, Seeds
Click on the seed number of a player to go to their draw section.


2016 Italian Touring Car Championship
The 2016 Italian Touring Car Championship is the second season of the ITCC to run under TCR regulations and the 30th season since a national touring car series was revived in 1987 as the Campionato Italiano Turismo. Starting from this year, the championship takes place of Campionato Italiano Turismo Endurance and it will be divided into TCR and TCS class. The latter will include cars between 1.400 and 2.000cc, nearer to the production series.


2016 Italian Touring Car Championship, Calendar and results
The 2016 schedule was announced on 23 November 2015, with all events scheduled to be held in Italy. On 23 January, the Vallelunga round was postponed from 17 April to 4 September. On 16 March, the first round in Monza was moved forward to 30 October, while Adria was anticipated to 8 May.


2016 Italian Touring Car Championship, Championship standings, Drivers' Championship
† – Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed over 50% of the race distance.


2016 Italian constitutional referendum
A constitutional referendum was held in Italy on 4 December 2016. Voters were asked whether they approved a constitutional law that amends the Italian Constitution to reform the composition and powers of the Parliament of Italy, as well as the division of powers between the State, the regions, and administrative entities.


2016 Italian constitutional referendum
The bill, put forward by the then Prime Minister of Italy, Matteo Renzi, and his centre-left Democratic Party, was first introduced by the government in the Senate on 8 April 2014. After several amendments were made to the proposed law by both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, the bill received its first approval on 13 October 2015 (Senate) and 11 January 2016 (Chamber), and, eventually, its second and final approval on 20 January 2016 (Senate) and 12 April 2016 (Chamber).


2016 Italian constitutional referendum
In accordance with Article 138 of the Constitution, a referendum was called after the formal request of more than one fifth of the members of both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, since the constitutional law had not been approved by a qualified majority of two-thirds in each house of parliament in the second vote. 59.11% of voters voted against the constitutional reform, meaning it did not come into effect. This was the third constitutional referendum in the history of the Italian Republic; the other two were in 2001 (in which the amending law was approved) and in 2006 (in which it was rejected).


2016 Italian constitutional referendum
Had the voters approved the constitutional law, it would have achieved the most extensive constitutional reform in Italy since the end of the monarchy, not only influencing the organization of the Parliament, but also improving, according to its proponents, on the poor government stability of the country. Opposition parties and well-known jurists (such as Gustavo Zagrebelsky and Stefano Rodotà) harshly criticised the bill, claiming that it was poorly written and would have made the government too powerful.


2016 Italian constitutional referendum
Following the clear victory of the "No" vote, Renzi tendered his resignation as Prime Minister. Paolo Gentiloni was selected as his replacement on December 11.


2016 Italian constitutional referendum, Constitutional background
The Italian Parliament is described as a perfectly symmetric bicameral legislature, in that it has a lower house (the Chamber of Deputies) and an upper house (the Senate of the Republic) with the following characteristics:


2016 Italian constitutional referendum, Political background
The first concrete attempts at reforming the Senate took place in the 1980s, when the first bicameral committee for constitutional reform headed by Aldo Bozzi was created (1983). A second bicameral committee (headed by Ciriaco De Mita, later replaced by Nilde Iotti) operated in 1992–1994, followed in 1997 by the third committee headed by the leader of the Left Democrats, Massimo D'Alema. These attempts were unsuccessful.


2016 Italian constitutional referendum, Political background
A reform bill proposed by Silvio Berlusconi's government was finally approved by the parliament in 2005. This proposal, which would also have considerably strengthened the powers of the prime minister, at the same time weakening the role of the President, was ultimately rejected in the 2006 referendum.


2016 Italian constitutional referendum, Political background
In 2011, with the financial crisis ensuing and Berlusconi forced to resign from the position of Prime Minister, the Parliament reprised discussions on constitutional reforms at the urging of president Giorgio Napolitano. However, strong disagreements between the two main parties (the People of Freedom and the Democratic Party) prevented the Parliament from deciding on a reform.


2016 Italian constitutional referendum, Political background
After the 2013 general election, constitutional reform remained a prominent political topic. However, the first real breakthrough occurred when Matteo Renzi, the new Secretary of the Democratic Party, was appointed Prime Minister in February 2014. As part of his government's program, Renzi pledged to implement a number of reforms, including the abolition of the perfectly symmetric bicameralism, with a substantial decrease in the membership and power of the Senate. As well as effectively abolishing the current Senate, the package also included a new electoral law, aimed at giving the party that won the most votes in elections for the Chamber of Deputies a great many additional seats, allowing the formation of a stronger government.


2016 Italian constitutional referendum, Political background
After the proposals passed both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate twice, as required by Article 138 of the Italian constitution, Renzi announced that he would hold a referendum to secure the endorsement of the Italian people for the change. In January 2016, announcing an October date for the referendum, Matteo Renzi stated that if his reforms were rejected he would resign as Prime Minister and leave politics.


2016 Italian constitutional referendum, Political background
Some opposition parties, predominantly Five Star Movement, Lega Nord and Italian Left, and also some newspapers like Il Fatto Quotidiano and Il manifesto, accused Renzi of turning the referendum into a plebiscite on his premiership with those comments. However, after some months, Renzi said that his government will continue until the end of the legislature.


2016 Italian constitutional referendum, Political background
On 15 January 2016, La Repubblica announced that Renzi had hired American political adviser Jim Messina – who had worked with Barack Obama and David Cameron and would later work for Mariano Rajoy – to oversee the campaign for "Yes".


2016 Italian constitutional referendum, Details of the proposed change, Role and powers of the Senate
The Senate represents territorial institutions. It shares the legislative power with the Chamber of Deputies, but the vote of the Senate is only required to enact laws regarding specific matters. For all other laws, the vote of the Senate is optional and can be overruled by a second vote of the Chamber of Deputies.


2016 Italian constitutional referendum, Details of the proposed change, Role and powers of the Senate
Senators enjoy the same immunities as the deputies, but receive no remuneration.


2016 Italian constitutional referendum, Details of the proposed change, Role and powers of the Senate
The Government does not need to have the confidence of the new Senate, and the Senate cannot pass a motion of no confidence against the Government.


2016 Italian constitutional referendum, Details of the proposed change, Composition of the Senate
No seats are assigned to the overseas constituencies of Italian Parliament (unlike in the Chamber of Deputies and the pre-reform Senate).


2016 Italian constitutional referendum, Details of the proposed change, Composition of the Senate
The Senate is not subject to dissolution; instead, when a Regional Council ends its five years term, so do the senators elected by it; new senators will be elected after the Regional Council is renewed.


2016 Italian constitutional referendum, Details of the proposed change, Legislative procedure
The reform differentiates between two main legislative procedures: a unicameral procedure (in which the role of the Senate is mostly consultative) and a bicameral procedure (in which a bill must be approved by both Chambers).


2016 Italian constitutional referendum, Details of the proposed change, Legislative procedure
Under the unicameral procedure (which is used every time the Constitution does not require a special procedure), bills can be adopted by a vote of the Chamber of Deputies. At that point, the approved bill is sent to the Senate, which has 10 days to decide whether to examine it to propose changes, or let it be enacted without modification. If one-third of the senators ask to review the bill, the Senate has 30 days to formulate amendments and send the bill back to the Chamber of Deputies. Then the deputies will take the final decision on the Senate's proposals and on the bill as a whole. No further approval of the Senate is needed, but a qualified majority might be required to overcome the Senate's veto for laws adopted under the supremacy clause.


2016 Italian constitutional referendum, Details of the proposed change, Legislative procedure
The bicameral procedure works in a similar way to the current legislative procedure, in that bills must be approved in the same text by both houses to be enacted, and will be forwarded from one house to the other until approved by both. This procedure is required for bills regarding the following.


2016 Italian constitutional referendum, Details of the proposed change, Legislative procedure
Opponents to the referendum argue that the legislative procedures under the reformed Constitution would be much more than two, because of the several articles that introduce exceptions.


2016 Italian constitutional referendum, Details of the proposed change, State and regional competence
The reform draws a different partition of matters reserved to the State and to the regions. The so-called "concurrent competence", according to which State law legislates the principles that are later to be implemented by regional laws, is abolished. All concurrent matters are reassigned to either the State's or the regions' competence.


2016 Italian constitutional referendum, Details of the proposed change, State and regional competence
The Government can propose legislation to the Parliament on matters that are not reserved to the State, when this is required to protect the juridical or economic unity of Italy, or to protect national interests. Such laws are adopted according to the unicameral legislative procedure: however, when modifications are proposed by an absolute majority of the members of the Senate, the Chamber of Deputies can override the proposals only by voting against them with an absolute majority of its members.


2016 Italian constitutional referendum, Details of the proposed change, CNEL and provinces
The National Council for Economics and Labour (CNEL), which is a consultative assembly of experts of the economic, social, and legal fields, representatives of public and private-sector producers of goods and services, and representatives of social service and voluntary organisations, is abolished.


2016 Italian constitutional referendum, Details of the proposed change, CNEL and provinces
Provinces (the second-level administrative divisions of Italy) are removed from the Constitution, except for the autonomous provinces of Bolzano and Trento. This opens the door for ordinary laws to abolish or radically reform them. In 2014–15 fourteen provinces were already replaced by "metropolitan cities" (that still exist in the reformed Constitution).


2016 Italian constitutional referendum, Reactions and criticism
Prime Minister Renzi was accused by some law scholars and politicians, such as Stefano Rodotà and Fausto Bertinotti, of being authoritarian and anti-democratic for proposing this reform. Others, like Gianfranco Pasquino, argue that the adopted text is badly written.


2016 Italian constitutional referendum, Reactions and criticism
In April 2016, a paper called "Appello dei costituzionalisti" ("A Plea from Constitutional Scholars") was written by 56 law scholars (mainly constitutional law scholars), showing criticism of the proposed reform and their numerous concerns: among them are Francesco Amirante, Paolo Caretti, Lorenza Carlassare, Ugo De Siervo, Giovanni Maria Flick, Paolo Maddalena, Valerio Onida, Alfonso Quaranta and Gustavo Zagrebelsky. The main points of criticism the paper raises are the following:


2016 Italian constitutional referendum, Reactions and criticism
Later, in May 2016, other 184 law scholars and professors of various disciplines (among whom Franco Bassanini, Massimo Bordignon, Stefano Ceccanti, Francesco Clementi, Carlo Fusaro, Claudia Mancina, Stefano Mannoni, Angelo Panebianco, Pasquale Pasquino, Francesco Pizzetti, Michele Salvati, Tiziano Treu) signed, instead, an appeal in favour of the constitutional reform.


2016 Italian constitutional referendum, Results
"Almost 19,500,000 voters rejected the reform (59.11%), while nearly 13,500,000 voters approved it (40.88%). The turnout (65.47%) was by far the highest compared to Italy's other constitutional referendums: in 2001, the voter turnout was extremely low (34.10%); in 2006 it was higher, but barely exceeded half of the total number of eligible voters (52.46%)".


2016 Italian constitutional referendum, Results, By region
Sardinia and South Tyrol, both constituent entities of the Italian Republic with special conditions of autonomy, reported overall the highest percentage of No and Yes votes respectively.


2016 Italian constitutional referendum, Reactions
After the first exit polls, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi announced in a midnight press conference that he would resign the next day. In his speech, Renzi assumed full responsibility for the referendum defeat.


2016 Italian constitutional referendum, Reactions
The President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella asked Matteo Renzi to briefly postpone his resignation, in order to complete the parliamentary approval of the next year's budget law. After the budget was passed on 7 December, Renzi resigned that night.


2016 Italian constitutional referendum, Reactions
Financial markets were not particularly affected by the defeat of the constitutional reform: the Milan stock exchange closed the Monday session on stable (−0.2% on respect of previous Friday closing, before the vote), while on Tuesday 6 December the stock index jumped at +4.15% (best result since 11 March 2016).


2016 Italian constitutional referendum, Reactions
In order to assure Italy stability, on 11 December 2016 President Sergio Mattarella gave Paolo Gentiloni the task of constituting a new government.


2016 Italian local elections
The 2016 Italian local elections were held on 5 June, with a run-off, where necessary if a candidate for Mayor obtained less than 50 percent of votes in the first round, held on 19 June.


2016 Italian local elections
In Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol the elections were held on 8 May (second round on 22 May), in Aosta Valley on 15 May. Municipal councilors and mayors ordinarily serve a term of five years.


2016 Italian local elections, Voting system
All mayoral elections in Italy in cities with a population higher than 15,000 use the same system.


2016 Italian local elections, Voting system
Under this system voters express a direct choice for the mayor or an indirect choice voting for one of the parties of the candidate's coalition. If no candidate receives a majority of votes, the top two candidates go to a second round two weeks later. The coalition of the elected mayor is guaranteed a majority of seats in the council with the attribution of extra seats, but the majority bonus system is not adopted by the cities of Trentino-Alto Adige. If a Mayor resigns, dies or is ousted from office after more than half the municipal councillors stepped down, an early municipal election (for the Mayor and for all municipal councillors) is called.


2016 Italian local elections, Voting system
The City Council is elected at the same time as the mayor. Voters can vote for a list of candidates and can express up to two preferences for candidates of said list. In case of two preferences, they must be given to candidates of both genders. Seats are the attributed to parties proportionally, and for each party the candidates with the highest number of preferences are elected.


2016 Italian local elections, Results
Majority of each coalition in 149 municipalities (comuni) with a population higher than 15,000:


2016 Italian local elections, Results
Notes: almost all political parties and coalitions in local (municipal and regional) elections usually run with the support of some minor allied list active in local politics forming coalitions under the same nominee as the mayoral candidate, only M5S ran in all elections with a single list (that is the list of M5S under the M5S nominee as the mayoral candidate without forming coalitions with minor local lists or other national parties). Civic (lista civica) is a local list.


2016 Italian motorcycle Grand Prix
The 2016 Italian motorcycle Grand Prix was the sixth round of the 2016 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It was held at the Mugello Circuit in Scarperia on 22 May 2016. The MotoGP race was settled by a mere 0.019 seconds as Jorge Lorenzo pulled out of Marc Márquez' slipstream on the final straight on the final lap after a dramatic duel between the two, whilst polesitter Valentino Rossi lost a chance at challenging for a home win due to an engine failure. This race marks Rossi's first bike failure since the 2007 San Marino Grand Prix.


2016 Italian motorcycle Grand Prix
This race was the last race for Luis Salom before he was fatally injured after an accident during practice session at the following Grand Prix in Barcelona.


2016 Italian motorcycle Grand Prix
In the Moto3 class, Fabio Di Giannantonio took his first podium in what was just his 7th start.


2016 Italian motorcycle Grand Prix, Classification, Moto2
The race, scheduled to be run for 21 laps, was red-flagged after Xavi Vierge crashed causing damage to an airfence and was later restarted over 10 laps.


2016 Italian motorcycle Grand Prix, Championship standings after the race (MotoGP)
Below are the standings for the top five riders and constructors after round six has concluded.


2016 Italian oil drilling referendum
An abrogative referendum on oil and natural gas drilling was held in Italy on 17 April 2016. The referendum was on the proposed repealing of a law that allows gas and oil drilling concessions extracting hydrocarbon within 12 nautical miles of the Italian coast to be prolonged until the exhaustion of the useful life of the fields.


2016 Italian oil drilling referendum
Although 86% voted in favour of repealing the law, the turnout of 31% was below the majority threshold required to validate the result.


2016 Italian oil drilling referendum
It was the first referendum requested by at least five Regional Councils in the history of the Italian Republic: all 66 previous referendum questions since 1974 were called after the collection of signatures.


2016 Italian oil drilling referendum, Background
The search for hydrocarbon liquids and/or gases in the Italian sea is possible - with some restrictions for the coastal and environmental protection - only in certain "marine areas" identified by the Italian Parliament or by the Ministry of Economic Development. From 2013, new drilling is prohibited in the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the marine protected areas and in the waters within 12 nautical miles from the coast; however, the concessions approved before 2013 may continue until all of the resources are extracted.


2016 Italian oil drilling referendum, Background
Italy authorized a total of 79 offshore platforms: 31 are located over 12 miles from and 48 within 12 miles.


2016 Italian oil drilling referendum, Background, Off-shore production of hydrocarbons in Italy
Within 12 miles, 9 concessions are authorized (with 39 platforms) and their permits have expired and they have asked for an extension: if the "yes" vote wins in the referendum, the 9 expired concessions can not be extended. During 2015 those installations extracted about 622 million cubic meters of natural gas (equivalent to 9% of the national production and 1.1% of total consumption in 2014).


2016 Italian oil drilling referendum, Background, Off-shore production of hydrocarbons in Italy
Under the 12 mile limit, there are 17 other concessions expiring between 2017 and 2027, which in 2015 extracted 1.21 billion cubic meters of gas (17.6% of national production and 2.1% of national consumption in 2014) and 500,000 tons of oil (about 9.1% of national production and 0.8% of consumption in 2014). These concessions, in the event of a victory for 'yes' in the referendum, will not be extended after 2027.


2016 Italian oil drilling referendum, Referendum initiative
The referendum was proposed by several regional governments after the national government passed a law allowing drilling concessions to last until oilfields or gasfields are empty. On 19 January 2016 the Constitutional Court approved the referendum. On 12 February the Five Star Movement asked President Sergio Mattarella to delay the referendum until June to allow it to be held alongside local elections in order to raise turnout and save money.


2016 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament
The 2016 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament was an under-18 international ice hockey tournament held in Břeclav, Czech Republic and Bratislava, Slovakia from 8 to 13 August 2016.


2016 Ivorian constitutional referendum
A constitutional referendum was held in Ivory Coast on 30 October 2016. Voters were asked whether they approve of a proposed new constitution. The new constitution would create a Senate, remove the nationality clause from the presidential requirements and establish the post of Vice-President. The constitution was approved by 93.42% of votes with a 42.42% turnout, as announced by the president of the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI).


2016 Ivorian constitutional referendum, Background
The holding of the referendum was approved by the National Assembly on 22 July 2016 by a vote of 233 to 6 with seven abstentions.


2016 Ivorian constitutional referendum, New constitution
The new constitution includes several changes to the current constitution, including the removal of a requirement for both parents of presidential candidates to be natural-born Ivorians and not to have had any other citizenship. It would also create the post of Vice-President and a Senate composed of former public servants. The President, Vice-President and two thirds of the Senate is to be elected at the same time as parliamentary elections, with the remaining third appointed by the president-elect.


2016 Ivorian constitutional referendum, New constitution
There is speculation that President Alassane Ouattara may seek a third term in 2020 if the clauses in the current constitution that requires presidential candidates to be younger than 75 is scrapped. However, he has continued to promise that he would retire from politics in 2020 after two five-year terms (2010–2015 and 2015–2020).


2016 Ivorian constitutional referendum, Campaign
Campaigning for the referendum was held between 22 and 29 October. The proposed constitution was supported by the Rally of Houphouëtists for Democracy and Peace, an alliance composed of the Rally of the Republicans, the Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire, the Union for Democracy and Peace in Côte d'Ivoire, the Movement of the Forces of the Future and the Union for Ivory Coast, and some other parliamentary parties, including the Ivorian Workers' Party. It was opposed by a coalition of 23 parties headed by former president Laurent Gbagbo due to the lack of public consultation during the drafting process.


2016 Ivorian constitutional referendum, Conduct
On polling day there was violence in pockets of Abidjan, where youth groups mainly from the opposition ransacked schools and several polling stations. The youth groups have been reported as being opposition members, who prevented people from voting in opposition strong holds. The interior minister Hamed Bakayoko declared that there was reported violence at over 100 polling stations in the city.


2016 Ivorian parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Ivory Coast on 18 December 2016. The new constitution, which was approved in a referendum in October, reduced the term for the 255 members of the National Assembly from five to four years.


2016 Ivorian parliamentary election
The presidential coalition, the Rally of Houphouëtists for Democracy and Peace (composed of the Rally of the Republicans, the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast – African Democratic Rally and some minor parties) won more than the half the seats in the National Assembly.


2016 Ivorian parliamentary election, Electoral system
The 255 members of the National Assembly were elected from 169 single-member constituencies and 36 multi-member constituencies with between two and six seats. In single-member constituencies voters cast a vote for one candidate who is elected by first-past-the-post voting; whereas in multi-member constituencies candidates were elected by plurality-at-large voting, where voters cast a single vote for a closed list, with the list receiving the most votes winning all seats in the constituency.


2016 Ivorian parliamentary election, Campaign
A total of 1,336 candidates contested the elections, 597 representing 38 political parties and 739 as independents. The Rally of Houphouëtists for Democracy and Peace had the most candidates (248), with the Ivorian Popular Front (which had boycotted the 2011 elections) the only other party to run candidates in more than half of constituencies, having nominated 187 candidates. Sixteen parties contested only one seat.


2016 Ivorian parliamentary election, Results
In constituency 34 there was a tie between two candidates, with the independent candidate Léonard Guéi Desseloue  and Marius Sarr Bohe (RHDP) both receiving 1,231 votes. A second round of voting took place within 15 days. Léonard Sahé won the last constituency achieving 52.69% while Marius Sarr got 46.31%.


2016 Ivorian parliamentary election, Aftermath
When the National Assembly began meeting for the new parliamentary term, Guillaume Soro, an RHDP deputy, was re-elected as President of the National Assembly on 9 January 2017. He received 230 votes from the 252 deputies present; Evariste Méambly, an independent deputy, received 12 votes, and there were 10 spoilt votes.


2016 Ivy League Baseball Championship Series
The 2016 Ivy League Baseball Championship Series was held at Bill Clarke Field, home field of the Gehrig Division champion Princeton Tigers on May 14 and 15. The series matched the regular season champions of each of the league's two divisions. Princeton won their league-best eighth championship series and claimed the Ivy League's automatic berth in the 2016 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.


2016 Ivy League Baseball Championship Series
Princeton won the Gehrig Division while Dartmouth and Yale tied for the Rolfe Division title with identical 11–9 records. Yale won a one-game playoff on May 7 to advance to the Championship Series.


2016 Ivy League men's soccer season
The 2016 Ivy League men's soccer season was the 62nd season of men's varsity soccer in the conference.


2016 Ivy League men's soccer season
The Dartmouth Big Green are the defending champions, by virtue of winning the regular season (there is no conference tournament).


2016 Ivy League men's soccer season, All-Ivy League awards and teams
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2016 J&T Banka Prague Open
The 2016 J&T Banka Prague Open was a professional tennis tournaments played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 7th edition of the tournament, and its second as part of the International category of the 2016 WTA Tour. It took place at the Sparta Prague Tennis Club in Prague, Czech Republic, from 25 to 30 April 2016.


2016 J&T Banka Prague Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2016 J&T Banka Prague Open – Doubles
Belinda Bencic and Kateřina Siniaková were the defending champions, but Bencic chose not to participate this year. Siniaková played alongside Barbora Krejčíková, but lost in the first round to Margarita Gasparyan and Andrea Hlaváčková. Gasparyan and Hlaváčková went on to win the title, defeating María Irigoyen and Paula Kania in the final, 6–4, 6–2.


2016 J&T Banka Prague Open – Singles
Karolína Plíšková was the defending champion, but lost in the semifinals to Lucie Šafářová.


2016 J&T Banka Prague Open – Singles
Šafářová went on to win the title, defeating Samantha Stosur in the final, 3–6, 6–1, 6–4.


2016 J.League Cup
The 2016 J.League Cup (also known as the 2016 Yamazaki Nabisco Cup, later changed to J.League YBC Levain Cup for sponsoring purposes) is the 41st edition of the most prestigious Japanese football league cup tournament and the 24th edition under the current J.League Cup format.


2016 J.League Cup, Format
Teams from the J1 League will take part in the tournament. Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Gamba Osaka, Urawa Red Diamonds and FC Tokyo were given a bye to the quarter-finals due to qualification in the 2016 AFC Champions League. The remaining 14 teams started from the group stage, where they were divided into two groups of seven. The group winners and the runners-up of each group qualified for the quarter-final along with the four teams which qualified for the AFC Champions League.


2016 J.League Cup, Knock-out stage, Quarter-finals, Second leg
2–2 on aggregate. Yokohama F. Marinos won on away goals


2016 J.League Cup, Top scorers
Updated to games played on 15 October 2016Names of players in bold are still active. Source:


2016 J.League Cup Final
2016 J.League Cup Final was the 24th final of the J.League Cup competition. The final was played at Saitama Stadium 2002 in Saitama on October 15, 2016. Urawa Reds won the championship.


2016 J1 League
The 2016 Meiji Yasuda J1 League (2016 明治安田生命J1リーグ) season was the 51st season of top-flight football in Japan, and the 24th since the establishment of the J.League in 1993.


2016 J1 League
For a five-year period starting in 2015, the J.League changed to a newly conceived multistage system, with the year split into two halves and a third and final championship stage. The winners of the first and second stages and the highest ranking club of the aggregate table (other than the first or second stage winners) qualified for the Championship Stage. Kashima Antlers, the winner of the Championship Stage, advanced to the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup as the host nation's entrant.


2016 J1 League, Format
Teams play a single round-robin in the first stage and a single round-robin in the second stage. After that an overall table is calculated and a championship stage is played. The winners of the first and second stages and any team that finishes in the top 3 of the overall rankings advance to the championship stage. The team that finishes atop the overall table automatically qualifies for the final, while the remaining teams play-off for the other spot in the final.


2016 J1 League, Championship stage
The Championship stage consisted of a knockout tournament involving the champions of the First and Second stages, and any team that finishes in the top 3 of the overall table. The team with the best aggregate record earned a bye to the final. The remaining teams playoff for the other spot in the final.


2016 J1 League, Attendances
These are the attendance records of each of the teams at the end of the home and away season. The table does not include the Championship stages attendances.


2016 J1 League, Attendances
Updated to games played on 3 November 2016Source: Notes:† Team played previous season in J2.


2016 J2 League
The 2016 Meiji Yasuda J2 League (2016 明治安田生命J2リーグ) season is the 45th season of second-tier club football in Japan and the 18th season since the establishment of J2 League.


2016 J2 League, Clubs
Omiya Ardija have stayed in the second division for just a year, winning promotion as the champions. Júbilo Iwata have spent only 2 seasons in J2 after their first relegation from the J1 League in 2013 after 20 seasons. Third-placed Avispa Fukuoka won the promotion playoffs and will return to the first division after playing in the J2 for four years. Matsumoto Yamaga were relegated from the J1 immediately after their inaugural promotion. Shimizu S-Pulse also suffered their first relegation to the J2 after 23 seasons in the J1, while Montedio Yamagata returned after one season.


2016 J2 League, Clubs
On the other end of the table, Renofa Yamaguchi have been promoted from the 2015 J3 League as the champions of the second season of the J3 League, replacing Tochigi SC and becoming the first club based in Yamaguchi Prefecture to play in the second tier since Eidai SC back in 1973. J3 runners-up Machida Zelvia were also promoted by beating Oita Trinita in the promotion-relegation playoffs.


2016 J2 League, Positions by round
Last updated: 20 November 2016Source: Note 1: Two games for Matchday 8 (V. Varen Nagasaki vs. Mito HollyHock; Kyoto Sanga FC vs. Roasso Kumamoto) scheduled on 17 April 2016 were affected by the series of earthquakes in Kumamoto prefecture.


2016 J2 League, Positions by round
Note 2: Matchday 8 schedule for Zweigen Kanazawa vs. Ehime FC, scheduled on 17 April 2016, was postponed due to severe storms in the area. The match was rescheduled on May 18 and results were included on Matchday 14 Ranking. Note 3: Fixtures of Roasso Kumamoto for Matchdays 9 (Roasso Kumamoto vs. Yokohama FC), 10 (Montedio Yamagata vs. Roasso Kumamoto), 11 (Roasso Kumamoto vs. Ehime FC) and 12 (Consadole Sapporo vs. Roasso Kumamoto) were postponed by the J. League due to series of earthquakes in Kumamoto prefecture.


2016 J2 League, Attendances
Updated to games played on 20 November 2016Source: Notes:†from J1‡from J3


2016 J3 League
The 2016 Meiji Yasuda J3 League (2016 明治安田生命J3リーグ) is the 20th season of the third tier in Japanese football, and the 3rd season of the professional J3 League.


2016 J3 League, Clubs
To participate, a club must have held an associate membership, or have submitted an application before 30 June 2015, and then passed an inspection to obtain a participation license issued by the J.League Council. The J.League has confirmed the following clubs participating in the 2016 J3 season:


2016 J3 League, Competition rules
For this season, the league is played in two rounds (home-and-away), each team playing a total of 30 matches.


2016 J3 League, Competition rules
Each team must have at least 3 players holding professional contracts. Also for this season, three foreign players are allowed per team, plus 1 more from the ASEAN partner country of J.League or from other AFC countries. The matchday roster will consist of 18 players, and up to 3 substitutes will be allowed in a game. The three under-23 clubs can have up to three overage players and one of them must be a goalkeeper.


2016 J3 League, Competition rules, Promotion and relegation
Rules for promotion to J2 are largely similar to those of the Japan Football League in recent seasons: to be promoted, a club must hold a J2 license and finish in top 2 of the league. The champions will be promoted directly, in exchange with the 22nd placed J2 club, and the runners-up will participate in the playoffs with the 21st placed J2 club. If either or both top 2 finishers are ineligible for promotion, the playoffs and/or direct exchange will not be held in accordance with the exact positions of promotion-eligible clubs.


2016 J3 League, Competition rules, Promotion and relegation
Also, if an under-23 squad finishes in either one of the top 2 or both positions, the next-placed, promotion-eligible club takes automatic promotion to J2. Another next-placed eligible club will contest the playoff if any under-23 club occupies third to fourth place or both and the J3 champion is eligible for promotion.


2016 J3 League, Competition rules, Promotion and relegation
No relegation to the JFL is planned. Up to 2 clubs may be promoted if they are licensed by the J.League for J3 participation and finish within the top 4 of the JFL.


2016 J3 League, Attendances
Updated to games played on 20 November 2016Source: Notes:† from J2, ‡ from JFL


2016 JAFA Division I football season
The 2016 Japan college football season, play of college football in Japan organized by the Japan American Football Association (JAFA) at the Division I level.


2016 JSM Challenger of Champaign–Urbana
The 2016 JSM Challenger of Champaign–Urbana is a professional tennis tournament played on hard courts. It was the twenty-first edition of the tournament which was part of the 2016 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Champaign, Illinois, United States between November 14 and November 19, 2016.


2016 JSM Challenger of Champaign–Urbana, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2016 JSM Challenger of Champaign–Urbana – Doubles
David O'Hare and Joe Salisbury were the defending champions but lost in the quarterfinals to Dominik Köpfer and Alex Lawson.


2016 JSM Challenger of Champaign–Urbana – Doubles
Austin Krajicek and Tennys Sandgren won the title after defeating Luke Bambridge and Liam Broady 7–6(7–4), 7–6(7–2) in the final.


2016 JSM Challenger of Champaign–Urbana – Singles
Henri Laaksonen was the defending champion and successfully defended his title.


2016 JSM Challenger of Champaign–Urbana – Singles
Laaksonen won the title after defeating Ruben Bemelmans 7–5, 6–3 in the final.


2016 Jackson State Tigers football team
The 2016 Jackson State Tigers football team  represented Jackson State University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Tigers were led by first-year head coach Tony Hughes. They played their home games at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium. They were a member of the East Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. They finished the season 3–8 overall and 3–6 in SWAC play to tie for third place in the East Division.


2016 Jacksonville Armada FC season
The 2016 Jacksonville Armada FC season is the club's second season of existence. The club will play in North American Soccer League, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid.


2016 Jacksonville Armada FC season, Transfers, Winter
In:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2016 Jacksonville Armada FC season, Transfers, Winter
Out:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2016 Jacksonville Armada FC season, Transfers, Summer
In:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2016 Jacksonville Armada FC season, Transfers, Summer
Out:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2016 Jacksonville Dolphins football team
The 2016 Jacksonville Dolphins football team represented Jacksonville University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Ian Shields and played their home games at D. B. Milne Field. They were members of the Pioneer Football League (PFL). They finished the season 5–5, 4–3 in PFL play to finish in fifth place.


2016 Jacksonville Jaguars season
The 2016 Jacksonville Jaguars season was the franchise's 22nd season in the National Football League and the fourth and final under head coach Gus Bradley, who was fired after the Week 15 game against the Houston Texans. The Jaguars missed the playoffs for the ninth consecutive season.


2016 Jacksonville Jaguars season, Schedule
On November 25, 2015, the NFL announced that the Jaguars would play host to the Indianapolis Colts in the International Series at Wembley Stadium in London, England, in the fourth consecutive home game for the Jaguars in the International Series. The game occurred during Week 4 on Sunday, October 2, and was aired by CBS in the United States. The kickoff time was announced on April 14, with the Jaguars having their bye the following week. The remainder of the Jaguars' 2016 schedule, with exact dates and times, was finalized and announced on April 14.


2016 Jacksonville Jaguars season, Schedule, Regular season
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. #  Blue/Red indicates the International Series game in London.


2016 Jacksonville Sharks season
The 2016 Jacksonville Sharks season was the seventh season for the franchise in the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was coached by Les Moss for the first fourteen games of the season before he was fired and replaced by interim head coach Bob Landsee. The Sharks played their home games at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena.


2016 Jacksonville Sharks season, Schedule, Regular season
The 2016 regular season schedule was released on December 10, 2015


2016 Jacksonville Sharks season, Roster
Rookies in italics updated August 10, 201624 Active, 11 Inactive


2016 Jacksonville State Gamecocks football team
The 2016 Jacksonville State Gamecocks football team represented Jacksonville State University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by third-year head coach John Grass and played their home games at Burgess-Snow Field at JSU Stadium. They were a member of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 10–2 overall and 7–0 in OVC play to win the conference championship. They received the OVC's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs, where they lost in the second round to Youngstown State.


2016 Jakarta attacks
On 14 January 2016, multiple explosions and gunfire were reported near the Sarinah shopping mall in central Jakarta, Indonesia, at the intersection of Jalan Kyai Haji Wahid Hasyim and Jalan MH Thamrin. One blast went off in a Burger King restaurant outside the mall. The attack occurred near a United Nations (UN) information centre, as well as luxury hotels and foreign embassies. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) confirmed that a Dutch UN official was seriously injured in the attacks.


2016 Jakarta attacks
It was reported an armed stand-off took place on the fourth level of the Menara Cakrawala (Skyline Building) on Jalan MH Thamrin. At least eight people—four attackers and four civilians (three Indonesians and an Algerian-Canadian)—were killed, and 23 others were injured due to the attack. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed responsibility.


2016 Jakarta attacks, Background
Though Indonesia is far from the conflicts of the Middle East, the country has experienced several attacks by Islamist militants in the past two decades that have killed hundreds.


2016 Jakarta attacks, Background
This was the first major attack in Jakarta since the 2009 Jakarta bombings, which were carried out by Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and killed 7 plus 2 suicide bombers. JI is an al-Qaeda-linked group seeking to unite Indonesia, Malaysia, and the southern Philippines under an Islamic state. Since the 2002 Bali bombings, in which over 200 were killed, Indonesia has stepped up attempts to crack down on violent extremism. A law was enacted by the Indonesian legislature in 2003 in this regard.


2016 Jakarta attacks, Background
According to a spokesman for the Indonesian National Police, the police had received information in November 2015 about a warning from ISIL that there would be an attack in Indonesia. In 2015, it was reported by the Jakarta-based Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict that at least 50 Indonesians had joined the thousands of foreign fighters who have travelled to Syria to fight for extremist groups trying to create an Islamic state there.


2016 Jakarta attacks, Attacks
On 14 January 2016 at 10:40 a.m. local time, several blasts followed by gunfire were reported to have occurred in Central Jakarta, which is home to many luxury hotels, offices and embassies. According to a spokesman for the Indonesian National Police, the attack involved an unknown number of assailants with grenades and guns. A total of six explosions were counted by news media.


2016 Jakarta attacks, Attacks
The attack targeted a traffic police post at a major intersection, not far from the front doors of a Starbucks coffee shop and a Burger King franchise. The post was heavily damaged by explosions. Although three explosions in Cikini, Slipi, and Kuningan neighbourhoods, near Turkish and Pakistan embassies were reported, the Jakarta police later denied these explosions, as well as attacks in Simatupang and Palmerah, as a hoax. One explosion went off in front of a shopping centre called the Sarinah mall, near the UN office.


2016 Jakarta attacks, Attacks
Footage later emerged purportedly showing two attackers huddling together outside the Starbucks outlet when one of their suicide bombs was activated and they were blown up.


2016 Jakarta attacks, Attacks
A series of pictures showed two gunmen opening fire against a crowd which gathered on Jalan M.H. Thamrin around a police post damaged by the bombings. The first gunman appears to shoot at two police officers, and the crowd disperses. The second gunman then shoots another policeman at close range. A police spokesman said the first gunman then took two hostages, a Dutchman and an Algerian, in the Skyline building car park, and both gunmen were later shot dead by police.


2016 Jakarta attacks, Perpetrators
According to Jakarta police, an ISIL-linked Indonesian extremist, Bahrun Naim, was the mastermind behind the attack. Naim, thought to be a native of Pekalongan city in Central Java, relocated to Raqqa, Syria sometime before the attacks; he has been known to authorities since at least 2010. Naim appeared to maintain a blog in which he praises terrorist attacks, including the November 2015 Paris attacks, and calls on Indonesians to carry out such attacks in the archipelago. Naim was arrested in November 2010 at his home in Solo, Indonesia on suspicion of terrorism connections and was convicted in June 2011 on weapons charges, with the court finding insufficient evidence to convict him of terrorism.


2016 Jakarta attacks, Perpetrators
An Indonesian national police official said three men had been detained in the investigation into a four-hour siege in the nation's capital Thursday that left seven people dead.


2016 Jakarta attacks, Perpetrators
Police were able to name one of the attackers, the subject of a widely shared image that became the face of the attack, Afif Sunakim, who was seen carrying a gun and rucksack during the attacks. He was earlier sentenced to seven years for attending a militant camp.