2016 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team, Aftermath
Sablan, whose one-year contract expired on May 31, 2017, had undergone a surgical procedure on his gallbladder on May 15 was unable to coach the team during the tournament. Assistant coaches Tylon Dar Juan and Bam Ledesma took over practices and coaching duties.


2016 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team, Aftermath
Sablan has belittled the rumors of his replacement, pointing out that there was not much time left for a new coach to prepare the team in time for the September 9 tournament opening.


2016 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team, Aftermath
Dar Juan and incoming team captain Marvin Lee have also come out to Sablan's defense.


2016 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team, Aftermath
Lee denied the report that some of his teammates wanted to leave the team by explaining that the players were given permission by the coaching staff to go on leave. He was referring to Regie Boy Basibas, Zach Huang, and Joco Macasaet who were all absent during the game against the San Beda Red Lions.


2016 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team, Aftermath
Dar Juan, on the other hand told reporters that Sablan was not in physical shape to coach the team after going through surgery, but added that the head coach was actually present during the May 21 game against the Letran Knights.


2016 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team, Aftermath
According to a tweet from former Varsitarian sports editor Alex Cerado on June 20, Sablan's contract has been renewed for another year.


2016 UT Martin Skyhawks football team
The 2016 UT Martin Skyhawks football team represented the University of Tennessee at Martin during the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 11th-year head coach Jason Simpson and played their home games at Graham Stadium. They were a member of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 7–5, 6–2 in OVC play to finish in second place.


2016 UTEP Miners football team
The 2016 UTEP Miners football team represented the University of Texas at El Paso in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Miners played their home games at the Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, Texas, and competed in the West Division of Conference USA (C–USA). They were led by fourth-year head coach Sean Kugler. They finished the season 4–8, 2–6 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for fifth place in the West Division. UTEP averaged 23,001 fans per game.


2016 UTEP Miners football team, Schedule
UTEP announced its 2016 football schedule on February 4, 2016. The 2016 schedule consisted of seven home and five away games in the regular season. The Miners host C–USA foes Florida International (FIU), North Texas, Old Dominion, and Southern Miss, and traveled to Florida Atlantic, Louisiana Tech, Rice, and UTSA.


2016 UTEP Miners football team, Schedule
The team play four non-conference games, three home games against Army, Houston Baptist from the Southland Conference and New Mexico State from the Sun Belt Conference, and one road game against the Texas Longhorns from the Big 12 Conference.


2016 UTSA Roadrunners football team
The 2016 UTSA Roadrunners football team represented The University of Texas at San Antonio in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Roadrunners played their home games at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas and competed in the West Division of Conference USA (C–USA). They were led by first-year head coach Frank Wilson. They finished the season 6–7, 5–3 in C-USA play to finish in second place in the West Division. They were invited to the New Mexico Bowl, the school's first ever bowl game, where they were defeated by New Mexico.


2016 UTSA Roadrunners football team, Schedule
UTSA announced its 2016 football schedule on February 4, 2016. The 2016 schedule consists of 6 home and away games in the regular season. The Roadrunners will host C–USA foes Charlotte, North Texas, Southern Miss, and UTEP, and will travel to Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, Old Dominion, and Rice.


2016 UTSA Roadrunners football team, Schedule
The team will play four non–conference games, two home games against Alabama State from the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) and Arizona State from the Pac-12 Conference, and two road games which are against the Colorado State Rams from the Mountain West Conference and the Texas A&M Aggies from the Southeastern Conference (SEC).


2016 UWLX season
The 2016 United Women's Lacrosse League season, the first in the history of the UWLX, started on May 28, 2016 and ended with the league championship game on July 31, 2016 in which the Long Island Sound defeated the Boston Storm in a 13-8 final.


2016 UWLX season
The first game in league history took place on May 28, 2016 at Goodman Stadium at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Opposing the Baltimore Ride, Long Island prevailed by a 13-12 tally. The team's first-ever goal was scored by McKinley Curro, who would also score the league's first-ever two-point goal. Devon Wills served as the starting goaltender, allowing the first goal in UWLX history to Baltimore's Beth Glaros, while also registering the first win in league history.


2016 UWLX season, Offseason, 2016 UWLX Draft results
In the inaugural draft, Maryland Terrapins alumnus and former US national team player Katie Schwarzmann would be the first ever player selected, taken by the Baltimore Ride with the top pick. Other players selected in the first round of the inaugural draft were also current or former members of the US national team. Said players included Liz Hogan (Boston), Michelle Tumolo (Philly) and Devon Wills (Long Island).


2016 UWLX season, Schedule
with Eyekonz FH and LAX League and Strawberry Mansion HS GLAX


2016 UWLX season, Postseason
Inaugural Championship Weekend was held on July 31 on Homewood Field at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. The Long Island Sound defeated the Boston Storm, 13-8. The Sound's goalkeeper, Devon Wills (#3), was named MVP.


2016 UWLX season, Postseason
Trivia: the semi-final games were originally scheduled to be played on Friday, July 30, but they were both rescheduled due to a thunderstorm - the underway results of the Sound vs Force game were vacated (the Sound were leading 5-4 before the initial lightning delay), and all three games were played on July 31.


2016 UWLX season, Awards and honors, All-Star teams
On August 31, 2016, the league named its All-Star Team, as the Long Island Sound featured the most players named, with 10.


2016 Uber Cup group stage
This article lists the complete results of the group stage of the 2016 Uber Cup in Kunshan, China.


2016 Uber Cup qualification
The 2016 Uber Cup qualification process is a series of tournaments organised by the five BWF confederations to decide 15 of the 16 teams which will play in the 2016 Uber Cup, with China qualifying automatically both as hosts, and trophy holder.


2016 Uber Cup qualification, Qualification process
The number of teams participating in the final tournament is 16. The allocation of slots for each confederation is 4 from each Asia and Europe, and 1 from each Africa, Oceania and Pan Am. Two automatic qualifiers are the host and defending champion. The remaining quota will be filled by World Team Ranking.


2016 Uber Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, Badminton Confederation of Africa
The qualification for the African teams was held from 16 to 19 February 2016, at the National Badminton Centre in Rose Hill, Mauritius. The winners of the African qualification will qualified for the Uber Cup.


2016 Uber Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, Badminton Asia
The qualification for the Asian teams was held from 15 to 21 February 2016, at the GMC Balayogi Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad, India. The semi-finalist of the Asian qualification will qualified for the Uber Cup. China qualifying automatically as hosts and trophy holder.


2016 Uber Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, Badminton Europe
The qualification for the European teams was held from 15 to 21 February 2016, at the Kazan Gymnastics Center in Kazan, Russia. The semi-finalist of the European qualification will qualified for the Uber Cup.


2016 Uber Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, Badminton Oceania
The qualification for the Pan Am teams was held from 19 to 20 February 2016, at the X-TRM North Harbour Centre in Auckland, New Zealand. The winner of the Oceania qualification will qualified for the Uber Cup.


2016 Uber Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, Badminton Pan Am
The qualification for the Pan Am teams was held from 17 to 20 February 2016, at the CODE II Jalisco in Guadalajara, Mexico. The winner of the Pan Am qualification will qualified for the Uber Cup.


2016 Uber Cup qualification, World team rankings
Below is the chart of the BWF World Team Ranking calculated by adding World Ranking of top three Women's Singles players and top two Women's Doubles pairs on 3 March 2016.


2016 Ugandan general election
General elections were held in Uganda on 18 February 2016 to elect the President and Parliament. Polling day was declared a national holiday.


2016 Ugandan general election
Presidential candidates included incumbent Yoweri Museveni, in power since 1986, Kizza Besigye, who had run against Museveni in 2001, 2006 and 2011, former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi, Abed Bwanika who has also challenged Museveni in 2001, 2006 and 2011, former Makerere University Vice Chancellor Venansius Baryamureeba, retired Army General Benon Biraaro, Joseph Mabirizi and former presidential advisor Faith Kyalya. Claims of rigging and violence at polling stations were reported and voting was extended in several locations after reports of people not being allowed to cast their votes. According to the Electoral Commission, Museveni was re-elected with 61% of the vote to Besigye's 35%.


2016 Ugandan general election
Opposition candidates claimed that the elections were marred by widespread fraud, voting irregularities, the repeated arrest of opposition politicians and a climate of voter intimidation. The European Union and United States have since criticised the election for lack of transparency and detentions of opposition candidates. Overseers from the Commonwealth of Nations were critical of the misuse of state powers in favour of the incumbent.


2016 Ugandan general election, Electoral system
The President of Uganda was elected using the two-round system, with candidates needing to receive at least 50% of the vote to be elected in the first round. Chapter 142 of the Presidential Elections Act of 2000 of Uganda stipulates that presidential candidates must be a citizen of Uganda by birth, between 35 and 75 years old and be qualified to be an MP. Candidates were also required to be of sound mind and have no formal connection with the Electoral Commission of Uganda. Term limits were abolished in 2005.


2016 Ugandan general election, Electoral system
Members of the Parliament of Uganda were elected in single-member constituencies using first-past-the-post voting. In addition, a number of seats were reserved for female candidates. The Parliament elected in 2011 had 375 seats, but voted to increase the number of constituencies to 418 for the 2016 elections.


2016 Ugandan general election, Electoral system
The elections were supervised by the Electoral Commission of Uganda, which registered 15,277,198 voters.


2016 Ugandan general election, Presidential candidates
Eight candidates contested the presidential elections. Four candidates were from a generation called the Bush War revolutionaries, and were part of the guerrilla armies that toppled the previous government in 1986. Yoweri Museveni was running for his seventh term in office in 2016. He took power in 1986 after winning a guerrilla war against President Tito Okello. Museveni has been president for 30 years in a country where 78% of the population was under the age of 30 at the time of the elections. Museveni's main rival was four-time rival Kizza Besigye, who ran under the Forum for Democratic Change ticket and has lost the past three elections against Museveni. Besigye was Museveni's personal physician and a military officer who broke ties with the NRM government in 2001.


2016 Ugandan general election, Presidential candidates
Amama Mbabazi, a former Prime minister of Uganda and a founding member of the NRM, ran against the incumbent president under the Go Forward ticket. Mbabazi was sacked as prime minister in 2014 in a power struggle with Museveni. The Go Forward party was part of the Democratic Alliance, an alliance between Mbabazi, the Democratic Party, Uganda Peoples Congress and the Justice Forum (JEEMA). The alliance initially also included the FDC; however, due to disagreements in electing the alliance candidate for the election, the FDC split from the alliance.


2016 Ugandan general election, Presidential candidates
Abed Bwanika, a veterinarian, also ran for a third time. The doctor ran under the People's Development Party (PDP) banner. Though it was Bwanika's third time running for the presidency, he had failed to rally much support for his previous campaigns.


2016 Ugandan general election, Campaign, First presidential debate
Uganda held its first ever televised presidential debate on 15 January 2016. The debate took place at the Serena Hotel in Kampala and was led by BBC Newsday presenter Alan Kasujja and KTN journalist Nancy Kacungira. The presidential debate was attended by all presidential aspirants, except the incumbent president Yoweri Museveni, who was not present. Topics such as Uganda's growing national debt, corruption, education and job creation were at the centre of all candidates' manifestos.


2016 Ugandan general election, Campaign, Second presidential debate
The second presidential debate was held on 13 February 2016 at the Serena hotel. Unlike the first debate, the debate was attended by President Museveni. All eight candidates appeared at the debate, although Joseph Mabirizi arrived at the debate late. The debate was moderated by Dr. Shaka Ssali, who is a host of VOA's Straight Talk Africa, Dr. Joel Serunkuma Kibazo, the director of communications and external relations at the African Development Bank, and Dr. Suzie Muwanga, the head of political science and public administration at Makerere University. Foreign policy, national security and the economy were at the centre of the debate topics.


2016 Ugandan general election, Conduct
Uganda has not seen a single peaceful transition of power in the country since its independence. Many observers believed that post-election demonstrations will occur and many protests will be under the risk of state sanctioned violence.


2016 Ugandan general election, Conduct, Violence
The New York Times reported that at least two people had been killed and 20 injured in riots during the week of the election.


2016 Ugandan general election, Results
Museveni was declared the winner on 20 February 2016. Results from the electoral commission showed him with 60.8% of the vote against 35.4% for Besigye. He was sworn in at a ceremony in Kampala on 12 May 2016.


2016 Uhrencup
The 2016 Uhrencup was a summer football friendly tournament. Matches were played in Grenchen and Biel. Swiss clubs Young Boys (Super League) and Zürich (Challenge League) were joined by Borussia Mönchengladbach (Germany) and Galatasaray (Turkey). It was the 52nd edition of the Uhrencup, but the first since 2013.


2016 Uhrencup, Overview, Standings
The tournament consisted of four matches, with three points given for a win, two for a penalty shoot-out win, one for a penalty shoot-out loss or a draw, and zero for a loss. A penalty shoot-out was used to determine the winners if tied after 90 minutes. However, after the final match between Galatasaray and Young Boys finished as a 1–1 draw, Galatasaray mathematically became champions, therefore no penalty shoot-out took place.


2016 Ukrainian Cup Final
The 2016 Ukrainian Cup Final was a football match that was played on 21 May 2016 in Lviv. For the first time the cup final was held in Lviv. The match was the 25th Ukrainian Cup Final and was contested by Zorya Luhansk and Shakhtar Donetsk.


2016 Ukrainian Cup Final, Road to Lviv
All fourteen Ukrainian Premier League clubs do not have to go through qualification to get into the competition (Ukrainian Cup), so Zorya and Shakhtar both qualified for the competition automatically.


2016 Ukrainian Cup Final, Previous encounters
This was not only the first Ukrainian Cup Final between the two teams, but also the first time they meet in this competition. Previously Zorya and Shakhtar met in the Soviet Cup in total of six game (the record was two wins for Zorya and four wins for Shakhtar with Zorya scoring six goals and Shakhtar scoring seven).


2016 Ukrainian Cup Final, Previous encounters
It was first Cup Final appearance for Zorya, while their opponents Shakhtar had appeared in 15 Cup Finals winning nine.


2016 Ukrainian Football Amateur League
The 2016 Ukrainian Football Amateur League season is the 20th since it replaced the competition of physical culture clubs. It started on April 16, 2016.


2016 Ukrainian Football Amateur League
There are 24 teams competing during the season which will consist of two phases, the first phase will be a group stage with six groups of four teams and the second phase will be a final playoff stage. All group winners and two best second placed teams will advance to playoffs which will start from quarterfinals.


2016 Ukrainian Football Amateur League
The last season winner Balkany Zorya will be the defending champions.


2016 Ukrainian Football Amateur League, Teams, Withdrawn
List of clubs that took part in last year competition, but chose not to participate in 2016 season.


2016 Ukrainian Football Amateur League, Playoffs
Advanced teams: Balkany Zorya (21 May), Yednist Plysky (28 May), Tavria-Skif Rozdol (28 May), FC Malynsk (29 May), ODEK Orzhiv (29 May), Ahrobiznes Volochysk (29 May), Zhemchuzhyna Odessa (29 May), FC Vradiyivka (29 May)


2016 Ukrainian Football Amateur League, Playoffs, Quarterfinals
The stage draw took place on 6 June 2016 in the FFU House of Football. Games were played on 11/12 and 15/18 June 2016.


2016 Ukrainian Football Amateur League, Playoffs, Semifinals
Games were played on 25/26 June and 2/3 July 2016. The draw took place on 20 June 2016 in the House of Football.


2016 Ukrainian Football Amateur League, Promotion
On 2 June 2016, FFU issued professional licenses to most of clubs of the Professional Football League of Ukraine, while some clubs were given additional time to apply. Among the clubs that received licenses were five former amateur clubs. Following amateur teams were awarded professional licenses for the 2016–17 Ukrainian Second League: FC Balkany Zorya, FC Nyva-V Vinnytsia, FC Podillya Khmelnytskyi, FC Rukh Vynnyky, and FC Zhemchuzhyna Odesa. On 17 June 2016, the Professional Football League of Ukraine (PFL) announced that FC Metalurh Zaporizhia also was allowed to compete at the Second League.


2016 Ukrainian Football Amateur League, Promotion
After the PFL Conference on 24 June 2016, the Second League might be also able to accept FC Illichivets-2 Mariupol and FC Inhulets-2 Petrove. On 15 June 2016, three more clubs were given extension by the FFU Executive Committee to apply for professional licenses, among which are FC Sudnobudivnyk Mykolaiv, FC Teplovyk Ivano-Frankivsk, and FC Lutsk.


2016 Ukrainian Super Cup
The 2016 Ukrainian Super Cup became the thirteenth edition of Ukrainian Super Cup, an annual football match contested by the winners of the previous season's Ukrainian Top League and Ukrainian Cup competitions.


2016 Ukrainian Super Cup
The match was played at the Chornomorets Stadium, Odesa, on 16 July 2016, and contested by league winner Dynamo Kyiv and cup winner Shakhtar Donetsk. Shakhtar won it on penalty shootout.


2016 Ulster Senior Club Football Championship
The 2016 AIB GAA Football Ulster Senior Club Championship is the 49th instalment of the annual competition organised by The Ulster GAA. It is one of the four provincial competitions of the 2016 AIB GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Club Championship.


2016 Ulster Senior Club Football Championship
Crossmaglen Rangers (Armagh) were the reigning champions following their victory in the 2015 final over Scotstown (Monaghan).


2016 Ulster Senior Club Football Championship, Teams
The Ulster championship is contested by the winners of the nine county championships in the Irish province of Ulster. Ulster comprises the six counties of Northern Ireland as well as Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland.


2016 Ulster Senior Football Championship
The 2016 Ulster Senior Football Championship was the 128th instalment of the annual Ulster Senior Football Championship held under the auspices of the Ulster GAA. It is one of the four provincial competitions of the 2016 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. The competition ran from to 15 May to 17 July 2016.


2016 Ulster Senior Football Championship
The draw for the Championship was made on 16 October 2015. As in the previous two seasons, the two sides were named as A and B, to allow for teams to more easily predict the dates of their qualifier matches. Armagh, Cavan, Derry, and Tyrone were named to the A side, with Antrim, Donegal, Down, Fermanagh and Monaghan on the B side.


2016 Ulster Senior Football Championship
Monaghan were the defending champions following their victory over Donegal in the final of the 2015 Championship.


2016 Ulster Senior Football Championship
Tyrone beat Donegal 0-13 to 0-11 in the 2016 final.


2016 Ulster Senior Football Championship, Teams
The Ulster championship is contested by the nine traditional counties in the Irish province of Ulster. Ulster comprises the six counties of Northern Ireland as well as Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland.


2016 Ulster Senior Hurling Championship
The 2016 Ulster Senior Hurling Championship was the 68th staging of the Ulster hurling championship since its establishment by the Ulster Council in 1901.


2016 Ulster Senior Hurling Championship
The final is traditionally played on the second Sunday in July. The winners receive the Liam Harvey Cup.


2016 Ulster Senior Hurling Championship, Format
A two-tier format was introduced in 2016. Antrim no longer receive a bye to the final.


2016 Ulster Senior Hurling Championship, Format
Antrim, Armagh, Derry and Down compete in the top tier in a knock-out format.


2016 Ulster Senior Hurling Championship, Format
A second tier, the Ulster Senior Hurling Shield, was created. Donegal, Fermanagh, Monaghan and Tyrone compete in a knock-out format, with the winner gaining promotion to the top tier for 2017.


2016 Ulster Senior Hurling Championship, Format
The beaten semi-finalists in this year's Senior Championship compete in a relegation play-off with the losing team relegated to the Senior Shield for 2017.


2016 Umaglesi Liga
The 2016 Umaglesi Liga was a special transitional season of top-tier football in Georgia. Dinamo Tbilisi were the defending champions. This transitional season is a result of the Georgian Football Federation's decision to change the Umaglesi Liga season from an Autumn–Spring schedule to a Spring–Autumn one. The season began on 7 August 2016 and concluded with the second leg of the championship final on 11 December 2016.


2016 Umaglesi Liga, Teams and stadiums
Sapovnela Terjola and Merani Martvili were relegated at the end of the previous season; they were not replaced. The league contracted from 16 teams to 14 this season; this will further be reduced to 10 for next season.


2016 Umaglesi Liga, Regular season
For this transitional season only, the 14 teams were divided into two groups of seven teams, Group Red and Group White. Each team played home-and-away against the other six teams within their own group only, resulting in 12 games each played (a decrease on the 30 games played in the previous season).


2016 Umaglesi Liga, Regular season
At the end of the regular season, the two group winners, Samtredia and Chikhura Sachkhere, met in the Championship final, this two-legged tie decided the overall champion and the berth for 2017–18 UEFA Champions League; the loser had the consolation of a berth in 2017–18 UEFA Europa League.


2016 Umaglesi Liga, Regular season
The four teams finishing in second and third in each group took part in the Bronze play-offs, the winning team clinched overall third place in the league (and bronze medals), and also a berth in 2017–18 UEFA Europa League.


2016 Umaglesi Liga, Regular season
The fifth and sixth-placed teams took part in relegation play-offs, the two losers joined the two bottom-placed teams in the 2017 Erovnuli Liga 2.


2016 Umaglesi Liga, Play-offs, Bronze play-offs, Final
Dinamo Batumi qualified for the 2017–18 Europa League first qualifying round.


2016 Umaglesi Liga, Play-offs, Relegation play-offs
Dila Gori won 2–0 on aggregate and retained their place for 2017 Erovnuli Liga; Guria Lanchkhuti were relegated to 2017 Erovnuli Liga 2.


2016 Umaglesi Liga, Play-offs, Relegation play-offs
Shukura Kobuleti won 5–4 on aggregate and retained their place for 2017 Erovnuli Liga; Sioni Bolnisi were relegated to 2017 Erovnuli Liga 2


2016 Umaglesi Liga, Play-offs, Championship final
A draw was made on 28 November 2016 to determine the order of the legs.


2016 Umaglesi Liga, Play-offs, Championship final
Samtredia won 4–2 on aggregate and qualified for 2017–18 Champions League second qualifying round; Chikhura Sachkhere qualified for 2017–18 Europa League first qualifying round.


2016 Una flogging incident
In July 2016, seven members of a Dalit family were assaulted by a group of people in pretext of cow protection in Una in Gujarat, India. The video of the incident was circulated on the social media resulting in statewide protests in following months. Forty-three people including four police officers were arrested and the case is under trial since August 2018.


2016 Una flogging incident, Background, Cow vigilantism
In September 2015, Mohammed Akhlaq was lynched to death in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh by people who suspected that he had beef in his fridge. In March 2016, Mustain Abbas was killed in Haryana while transporting newly purchased bullocks to use on his fields. His family said that the police was threatening them instead of helping them get justice. Mustain Abbas was allegedly killed by the cow protection group called Gau Raksha Dal in Kurukshetra, Haryana.


2016 Una flogging incident, Background, Cow vigilantism
On 27 March Abbas was the only one out of his friends to not escape the Gau Raksha Dal when confronted after purchasing a cow to plow the fields. Mustain’s family filed police reports but they went unheard, and the case was passed from court to court. On 2 April the family received a call to identify a body that had been found in a ditch. Abbas's wounds consisted of stab wounds, a mutilated face, broken limbs, and he was wearing clothes different to the day of the original capturing. Evidence suggested he had gone through torture, and was given no chance to prove his innocence.


2016 Una flogging incident, Background, Cow vigilantism
In the same month, two Muslim cattle traders including a 12-year-old boy were hanged from a tree in Latehar, Jharkhand by a group claiming to be cow protectors. The police had been ignoring several complaints from the Muslim community against local cow vigilante groups. In June 2016, three people accused of transporting cows were thrashed by a mob of around 150 claiming to be gau rakshaks (cow protectors) in Rajasthan's Pratapgarh district.


2016 Una flogging incident, Background, Cow vigilantism
Other instances with alleged "Cow Protectors" include the burning of Zahid Ahmed, 19 years old, in his truck (in Jammu and Kashmir), and Khushnood Khan was killed on his way to vote. Khan was from the same village as Abbas. Zahid was accused of allegedly slaughtering a cow, and Khan was accused of allegedly consuming beef.


2016 Una flogging incident, Una incident
On 11 July 2016, the seven members of a Dalit family were skinning the carcasses of dead cow in Mota Samadhiyala village near Una in Gir Somnath district of Gujarat state of India. They had bought the carcass from Bediya village. They were approached by persons in two cars who claimed to be member of cow protection group and accused them of killing cows. Dalits tried to convince them that they were skinning dead cows. They were not convinced and tied Dalits to the car and beat them with sticks, iron pipes and a knife.


2016 Una flogging incident, Una incident
Four of them were brought to Una town in car and stripped and assaulted again in public. When police arrived, the attackers fled in their car. The assault was recorded on video and circulated on social media. The Dalits were moved to hospital in Una and later to Rajkot civil hospital on 14 July.


2016 Una flogging incident, Aftermath, Protests
The videos of thrashing went viral on internet and sparked the protests across the state. On 12 July 2016, a huge protest rally was at first organized in Chandkheda area in Ahmedabad by various Dalit leaders in which more than 2,000 Dalits attended and blocked the state highway. On 13 July 2016, hundreds of Dalits hold protest rally against the incident and later occupied Trikon Baug, the main square in Una for an hour. On 21 July, the issue was discussed in Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Parliament. The protests spread across Saurashtra region. Twelve Dalit youth attempted suicide in protest across the region and one of them died. Twelve people including seven police personnel were injured in the protest and one of them died. Bystanders who attempted to interfere were also beaten.


2016 Una flogging incident, Aftermath, Protests
Jignesh Mevani, an activist, led the protest march called Dalit Asmita Yatra from Ahmedabad to Una which culminated on 15 August 2016 which was attended by some 20,000 Dalits, including women, who took a pledge to give up their traditional jobs of removing cow carcasses. He demanded the land for upliftment of Dalits. In August 2016, 10 Dalits were injured and vehicles were torched when a mob attacked them returning from Una after attending a flag-hoisting ceremony to mark the end their 10-day Azadi Kooch (freedom march). The government denied the incident.


2016 Una flogging incident, Aftermath, Protests, Other incident
On 25 April 2018, two of the victims of the Una incident were again attacked by one of the accused who was out on bail. They were returning from shopping in Una in preparation for their conversion to Buddhism.


2016 Una flogging incident, Arrests
The Gujarat Crime Investigation Department (CID) arrested 43 people in September 2016 including two minors and four police officers. Later, 35 of them were released on bail and one arrested police officer died of jaundice in September 2017. The prime accused was released on bail on the condition of not entering the limits of Una. Thirty-four of them were charged for attempt to murder, robbery, kidnapping, assault to dishonour person, wrongful confinement, rioting, hurting by weapon and criminal conspiracy. They were also charged for atrocities and recording the video of the incident. The charge sheet was filed in December 2016.


2016 Una flogging incident, Government response
Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel visited Mota Samadhiyala and promised that the victims would be given Below Poverty Line cards, housing plots, five-acre agricultural land and government jobs. However, in 2018, the BJP government told the Gujarat Legislative Assembly that there was no record of the promises. Jignesh Mevani, who had asked the question in the Assembly, accused the state government of reneging on its promise.


2016 Una flogging incident, Government response
The victims had protested with hunger strike against the government and sought mercy killing for not fulfilling the promise.


2016 Una flogging incident, In popular culture
The 2019 Hindi film Article 15 portrayed the flogging incident.


2016 Under 18 Men's Australian Championships
The 2016 Men's Under 18 Australian Championships was a field hockey tournament held in the Tasmanian city of Launceston from 8–17 July.


2016 Under 18 Men's Australian Championships
WA won the gold medal, defeating NSW State 2–1 in penalties after the final finished a 3–3 draw. VIC Blue won the bronze medal by defeating TAS 3–2 in the third place playoff.


2016 Under 18 Women's Australian Championships
The 2016 Women's Under 18 Australian Championships was the a field hockey tournament held in the Tasmania city of Launceston between 8–17 July 2016.


2016 Under 18 Women's Australian Championships
Queensland 1 won the gold medal by defeating New South Wales State 2–1 in the final. Western Australia won the bronze medal by defeating Victoria Blue 3–0 in the third and fourth place playoff.


2016 Under 18 Women's Australian Championships, Competition Format
The tournament is divided into two pools, Pool A and Pool B, consisting of five and six teams respectively, competing in a round robin format.


2016 Under 18 Women's Australian Championships, Competition Format
At the conclusion of the pool stage, the top two teams of Pools A and B progress through to the semi-finals, where the top placed teams of each pool compete against the second placed team of each pool, with the winners progressing to the final.


2016 Under 18 Women's Australian Championships, Competition Format
The third and fourth placed teams then progress to the fifth to eighth place classification, while the bottom placed teams progress to Pool C (carrying over points) for the ninth to eleventh place classification.


2016 Under 18 Women's Australian Championships, Teams
Unlike other National Australian Championships, teams from New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria are eligible to enter two teams.


2016 Under 21 Men's Australian Championships
The 2016 Men's Under 21 Australian Championships was a men's Field Hockey tournament held in the New South Wales city of Sydney.


2016 Under 21 Men's Australian Championships
The Victoria Under 21 team won the gold medal after defeating the New South Wales Under 21 team 2–0 in the final. Queensland won the bronze medal by defeating Victoria 4–3 in the third and fourth playoff.


2016 Under 21 Men's Australian Championships, Competition Format
The tournament is divided into two pools, Pool A and Pool B, consisting of four teams in a round robin format. Teams then progress into either Pool C, the medal round, or Pool D, the classification round. Teams carry over points from their previous match ups, and contest teams they are yet to play.


2016 Under 21 Men's Australian Championships, Competition Format
The top two teams in each of pools A and B then progress to Pool C. The top two teams in Pool C continue to contest the Final, while the bottom two teams of Pool C play in the Third and Fourth place match.


2016 Under 21 Men's Australian Championships, Competition Format
The remaining bottom placing teams make up Pool D. The top two teams in Pool D play in the Fifth and Sixth place match, while the bottom two teams of Pool C play in the Seventh and Eighth place match.


2016 Under 21 Women's Australian Championships
The 2016 Women's Under 21 Australian Championships was a women's Field Hockey tournament held in the New South Wales city of Sydney.


2016 Under 21 Women's Australian Championships
The Queensland Under 21 team won the gold medal after defeating the Western Australia Under 21 team 2–1 in the final. New South Wales won the bronze medal by defeating Victoria 4–3 in a penalty shoot-out following a 3–3 draw.


2016 Under 21 Women's Australian Championships, Competition Format
The tournament is divided into two pools, Pool A and Pool B, consisting of four teams in a round robin format. Teams then progress into either Pool C, the medal round, or Pool D, the classification round. Teams carry over points from their previous match ups, and contest teams they are yet to play.


2016 Under 21 Women's Australian Championships, Competition Format
The top two teams in each of pools A and B then progress to Pool C. The top two teams in Pool C continue to contest the Final, while the bottom two teams of Pool C play in the Third and Fourth place match.


2016 Under 21 Women's Australian Championships, Competition Format
The remaining bottom placing teams make up Pool D. The top two teams in Pool D play in the Fifth and Sixth place match, while the bottom two teams of Pool C play in the Seventh and Eighth place match.


2016 Under 21 Women's Australian Championships, Statistics, Goalscorers
There were 114 goals scored in 24 matches, for an average of 4.75 goals per match.


2016 Under-19 Cricket World Cup
The 2016 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup was an international limited-overs cricket tournament held in Bangladesh from 22 January to 14 February 2016. It was the eleventh edition of the Under-19 Cricket World Cup, and the second to be held in Bangladesh, after the 2004 event.


2016 Under-19 Cricket World Cup
The World Cup was contested by the national under-19 teams of sixteen International Cricket Council (ICC) members, and all matches played were held under-19 One Day International (ODI) status. Ten teams qualified automatically for the tournament through their status as ICC full members, while five others qualified by winning regional qualifying events. The final place at the tournament was taken by the winner of the 2015 Under-19 World Cup Qualifier, which was contested by the runners-up at the five regional qualifiers. However, on 5 January 2016, Cricket Australia announced that the Australian squad had pulled out of the tournament, citing security concerns. Ireland were invited as a replacement for Australia.


2016 Under-19 Cricket World Cup
Defending champions South Africa were knocked out of the tournament in the group stage, with back-to-back defeats to Bangladesh and Namibia. The West Indies eventually defeated India by five wickets, claiming their first title. Bangladesh's captain Mehedi Hasan was named player of the tournament, while England's Jack Burnham and Namibia's Fritz Coetzee led the tournament in runs and wickets, respectively.


2016 Under-19 Cricket World Cup squads
This is a list of the squads picked for the 2016 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.


2016 Under-19 Cricket World Cup squads, Group A, Scotland
Scotland's squad was announced on 22 December 2015. Scott Cameron was originally named in the squad, but was replaced by Cameron Sloman after injuring his back prior to the tournament.


2016 Under-19 Cricket World Cup squads, Group C, West Indies
West Indies named their squad on 31 December. Obed McCoy sustained an injury before the quarter finals took place and Chemar Holder was called in to replace him.


2016 Under-19 Cricket World Cup squads, Group D, Ireland
Ireland were added to the tournament on 6 January 2016 after Australia withdrew. They announced their squad two days later:


2016 Under-19 Cricket World Cup squads, Group D, Nepal
There were some concerns about the eligibility of Nepal's captain, Raju Rijal, with reports stating he was over 19 years of age. However, the ICC were satisfied that his date of birth was correct.


2016 Under-19 Cricket World Cup squads, Notes
Australia's squad was announced on 19 December 2015. However, on 5 January 2016, Cricket Australia announced that the Australian U19 squad have pulled out of the tournament, citing security concerns. Australia's squad consisted of the following players: Wes Agar, Michael Cormack, Kyle Gardiner, Jordan Gauci, Brooke Guest, David Grant, Sam Grimwade, Sam Harper, Liam Hatcher, Clint Hinchliffe, Henry Hunt, Caleb Jewell, Jonathan Merlo, Arjun Nair, Tom O'Donnell, Jonte Pattison, Patrick Page, Jhye Richardson, Jason Sangha, Ben Taylor and Henry Thornton.


2016 Under-19 Provincial Championship
The 2016 Under-19 Provincial Championship was the 2016 edition of the Under-19 Provincial Championship, an annual national Under-19 rugby union competition held in South Africa, and was contested from 17 June to 22 October 2016. The competition was won by  Golden Lions U19 who beat  Western Province U19 60–19 in the final played on 22 October 2016.


2016 Under-19 Provincial Championship, Competition rules and information
There were seven participating teams in the 2016 Under-19 Provincial Championship. These teams played each other twice over the course of the season, once at home and once away.


2016 Under-19 Provincial Championship, Competition rules and information
Teams received four points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus points were awarded to teams that scored four or more tries in a game, as well as to teams that lost a match by seven points or less. Teams were ranked by log points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).


2016 Under-19 Provincial Championship, Competition rules and information
The top four teams qualified for the title play-off semi-finals. The team that finished first had home advantage against the team that finished fourth, while the team that finished second had home advantage against the team that finished third. The final was played as a curtain raiser for the 2016 Currie Cup Premier Division final.


2016 Under-19 Provincial Championship, Teams
The following teams took part in the 2016 Under-19 Provincial Championship:


2016 Under-19 Provincial Championship, Standings
The final league standings for the 2016 Under-19 Provincial Championship was:


2016 Under-19 Provincial Championship, Standings
The top four teams qualified to the semi-finals, with the higher-placed team having home advantage.


2016 Under-19 Provincial Championship, Standings
Points breakdown:* 4 points for a win* 2 points for a draw* 1 bonus point for a loss by seven points or less* 1 bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match


2016 Under-19 Provincial Championship, Standings, Round-by-round
The table below shows each team's progression throughout the season. For each round, their cumulative points total is shown with the overall log position in brackets:


2016 Under-19 Provincial Championship, Matches
The following matches were played in the 2016 Under-19 Provincial Championship:


2016 Under-19 Provincial Championship, Honours
The honour roll for the 2016 Under-19 Provincial Championship was:


2016 Under-19 Provincial Championship, Players, Squads
The following squads were named for the 2016 Under-19 Provincial Championship:


2016 Under-19 Provincial Championship, Players, Points scorers
The following table contain points scored in the 2016 Under-19 Provincial Championship:


2016 Under-19 Provincial Championship, Players, Discipline
The following table contains all the cards handed out during the competition:


2016 Under-19 Provincial Championship, Referees
The following referees officiated matches in the 2016 Under-19 Provincial Championship:


2016 Under-20 Provincial Championship
The 2016 Under-20 Provincial Championship was the 2016 edition of the Under-20 Provincial Championship, an annual national Under-20 rugby union competition held in South Africa. The competition was contested from 27 May to 7 October 2016. This season was the first season of a new Under-20 competition. Previously, all South African provincial unions competed in both an Under-21 and an Under-19 competition each season. That format was retained for the seven leading provincial unions at youth level, but the competition for the remaining eight provincial unions was changed to an Under-20 competition from 2016 onwards. The tournament was won by  Griffons U20; they beat  Boland U20 22–16 in the final played on 7 October 2016.


2016 Under-20 Provincial Championship, Competition rules and information
There were eight participating teams in the 2016 Under-20 Provincial Championship. These teams played each other twice over the course of the season, once at home and once away.


2016 Under-20 Provincial Championship, Competition rules and information
Teams received four points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus points were awarded to teams that scored four or more tries in a game, as well as to teams that lost a match by seven points or less. Teams were ranked by log points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).


2016 Under-20 Provincial Championship, Competition rules and information
The top four teams qualified for the title play-off semi-finals. The team that finished first had home advantage against the team that finished fourth, while the team that finished second had home advantage against the team that finished third. The final was played as a curtain raiser for the 2016 Currie Cup First Division final.


2016 Under-20 Provincial Championship, Teams
The following teams took part in the 2016 Under-20 Provincial Championship:


2016 Under-20 Provincial Championship, Standings
The final league standings for the 2016 Under-20 Provincial Championship were:


2016 Under-20 Provincial Championship, Standings
The top four teams qualified to the semi-finals, with the higher-placed team having home advantage.


2016 Under-20 Provincial Championship, Standings
Points breakdown:* 4 points for a win* 2 points for a draw* 1 bonus point for a loss by seven points or less* 1 bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match


2016 Under-20 Provincial Championship, Standings, Round-by-round
The table below shows each team's progression throughout the season. For each round, their cumulative points total is shown with the overall log position in brackets:


2016 Under-20 Provincial Championship, Matches
The following matches were played in the 2016 Under-20 Provincial Championship:


2016 Under-20 Provincial Championship, Honours
The honour roll for the 2016 Under-20 Provincial Championship was as follows:


2016 Under-20 Provincial Championship, Players, Squads
The following squads were named for the 2016 Under-20 Provincial Championship:


2016 Under-20 Provincial Championship, Players, Points scorers
The following table contain points scored in the 2016 Under-20 Provincial Championship:


2016 Under-20 Provincial Championship, Players, Discipline
The following table contains all the cards handed out during the tournament:


2016 Under-20 Provincial Championship, Referees
The following referees officiated matches in the 2016 Under-20 Provincial Championship:


2016 Under-21 Provincial Championship
The 2016 Under-21 Provincial Championship was the 2016 edition of the Under-21 Provincial Championship, an annual national Under-21 rugby union competition held in South Africa, and was contested from 5 August to 22 October 2016. The competition was won by  Golden Lions U21 who beat  Western Province U21 38–34 in the final played on 22 October 2016.


2016 Under-21 Provincial Championship, Competition rules and information
There was seven participating teams in the 2016 Under-21 Provincial Championship. These teams played each other once over the course of the season, either at home or away.


2016 Under-21 Provincial Championship, Competition rules and information
Teams received four points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus points were awarded to teams that scored four or more tries in a game, as well as to teams that lost a match by seven points or less. Teams were ranked by log points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).


2016 Under-21 Provincial Championship, Competition rules and information
The top four teams qualified for the title play-off semi-finals. The team that finished first had home advantage against the team that finished fourth, while the team that finished second had home advantage against the team that finished third. The final was played as a curtain raiser for the 2016 Currie Cup Premier Division final.


2016 Under-21 Provincial Championship, Teams
The following teams took part in the 2016 Under-21 Provincial Championship:


2016 Under-21 Provincial Championship, Standings
The final league standings for the 2016 Under-21 Provincial Championship was:


2016 Under-21 Provincial Championship, Standings
The top four teams qualified to the semi-finals, with the higher-placed team having home advantage.


2016 Under-21 Provincial Championship, Standings
Points breakdown:* 4 points for a win* 2 points for a draw* 1 bonus point for a loss by seven points or less* 1 bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match


2016 Under-21 Provincial Championship, Standings, Round-by-round
The table below shows each team's progression throughout the season. For each round, their cumulative points total is shown with the overall log position in brackets:


2016 Under-21 Provincial Championship, Matches
The following matches were played in the 2016 Under-21 Provincial Championship:


2016 Under-21 Provincial Championship, Honours
The honour roll for the 2016 Under-21 Provincial Championship was:


2016 Under-21 Provincial Championship, Players, Squads
The following squads were named for the 2016 Under-21 Provincial Championship:


2016 Under-21 Provincial Championship, Players, Points scorers
The following table contain points scored in the 2016 Under-21 Provincial Championship:


2016 Under-21 Provincial Championship, Players, Discipline
The following table contains all the cards handed out during the competition:


2016 Under-21 Provincial Championship, Referees
The following referees officiated matches in the 2016 Under-21 Provincial Championship:


2016 UniCredit Czech Open
The 2016 UniCredit Czech Open is a professional tennis tournament played on clay courts. It is the 23rd edition of the tournament which is part of the 2016 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Prostějov, Czech Republic between 31 May and 4 June 2016.


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


2016 UniCredit Czech Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received entry as alternates into the singles main draw:


2016 UniCredit Czech Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received special entry into the singles main draw:


2016 UniCredit Czech Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received entry as lucky losers into the singles main draw:


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


2016 UniCredit Czech Open – Doubles
Julian Knowle and Philipp Oswald were the defending champions, but Oswald chose not to compete this year. Knowle instead competed with Marcelo Demoliner. Demoliner and Knowle lost in the first round to Facundo Bagnis and Sergio Galdós.


2016 UniCredit Czech Open – Doubles
Aliaksandr Bury and Igor Zelenay won the title, defeating Julio Peralta and Hans Podlipnik in the final, 6–4, 6–4.


2016 UniCredit Czech Open – Singles
Jiří Veselý was the defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Mikhail Kukushkin.


2016 UniCredit Czech Open – Singles
Kukushkin won the title, defeating Márton Fucsovics in the final, 6–1, 6–2.


2016 Union Pacific oil train fire
On June 3, 2016, a Union Pacific train with 96 tank cars carrying Bakken oil from New Town, North Dakota to U.S. Oil and Refining in Tacoma, Washington derailed in the Columbia River Gorge near Mosier, Oregon. 16 of the 96 cars derailed after the train's emergency brake system about 18 cars back from the engines engaged - several cars then caught fire. By 5pm large explosions were coming from the tankers. All of the tank cars were modern CPC-1232 design.


2016 Union Pacific oil train fire
Interstate 84 in Oregon was closed, with Washington State Route 14 being recommended as a detour.


2016 Union Pacific oil train fire
Washington Department of Ecology, US Coast Guard, Federal Railroad Administration, and Portland Airport's specialty airport fire tender carrying 1,300 U.S. gallons (4,900 L) of firefighting foam were among the 20 agencies that responded. As of 4:30pm firefighters were allowing the fire to burn the oil, simply monitoring it.


2016 Union Pacific oil train fire
Mosier residents were evacuated and the sewage treatment plant was shut down. An oil sheen was seen on the Columbia River by the following morning. Two days after the crash residents were allowed to return to their homes, and freight trains were running on the tracks, to the strong objection of the community. The community then passed an emergency motion asking Union Pacific to remove all oil from the damaged cars before resuming use of the tracks. Union Pacific pushed the damaged cars out of the way and limited the train speed to 10 miles per hour (16 km/h) in the section.


2016 Union Pacific oil train fire
42,000 US gallons (160,000 l) of oil were spilled. Much of it was consumed by fire, some went into the Columbia River, and 10,000 US gallons (38,000 l) were recovered from the city's sewage treatment plant.


2016 Union Pacific oil train fire, Non-Investigation Controversy
The National Transportation Safety Board declined to investigate due to the lack of injuries or fatalities and early information gathered after the incident occurred did not pose a significant safety issue.


2016 Union Pacific oil train fire, Non-Investigation Controversy
In response to the derailment and lack of investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, Oregon Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden introduced the Mandate Oil Spill Inspections and Emergency Rules (Mosier) Act which calls for a moratorium on oil train traffic after major wrecks and require the Department of Transportation to reduce the amount of volatile gases in the crude oil those trains have been hauling. The bill would die in committee.


2016 Union budget of India
2016 Union budget of India is the annual financial statement of India for the fiscal year 2016–2017. It was presented before the parliament on 29 February 2016 by the Finance Minister of India, Arun Jaitley. The printing of the budget documents began with a traditional Halwa ceremony on 19 February 2016. For Budget 2016-17, the government invited suggestions from citizens through Twitter for the first time, even conducting a series of polls to gauge public priorities and expectations from the Budget.


2016 Union budget of India, Key points
₹10.6 billion (US$150 million) revenue loss through direct tax proposals, and ₹206.7 billion (US$2.9 billion) revenue gain through indirect tax proposals. Revenue gain of ₹196 billion (US$2.7 billion) in Union Budget 2016 proposals. Surcharge was increased from 12% to 15% on tax on all incomes above ₹1 crore (US$140,000) and those earning dividend of over ₹10 lakh (US$14,000) per annum will now have to pay tax on it. Monetary limit for deciding an appeal by a single member Bench of ITAT enhanced from ₹15 lakh (US$21,000) to ₹50 lakh (US$70,000). STT (Securities Transaction Tax) was retained at 0.1% for delivery based equities.


2016 Union budget of India, Allocations
Complete list of allocations and receipts can be found on the official site


2016 Union budget of India, Reactions
Opposition member and former Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh termed it a "mixed bag Budget" with no big idea.


2016 United Bowl
The 2016 United Bowl was the championship game of the 2016 Indoor Football League season. It was played between the Intense Conference Champion Spokane Empire and the United Conference Champion Sioux Falls Storm. The game was played at Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.


2016 United Bowl
This was the Sioux Falls Storm's sixth United Bowl championship and seventh overall United Bowl appearance. It was the Spokane Empire's first United Bowl appearance.


2016 United Bowl, Venue
The game was played at Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, as the Sioux Falls Storm had the home field advantage by cause of having a better regular season record.


2016 United Bowl, Background, Spokane Empire
On September 1, 2015, the Spokane Shock left the Arena Football League for the IFL. They changed their names to the Empire, as the AFL owned the rights to the Shock name. The Empire finished the season with a conference best 12–4, earning the first seed in the Intense Conference and a first round bye. In the conference championship, they defeated the Nebraska Danger at home in a 55–44 contest.


2016 United Bowl, Background, Sioux Falls Storm
In 2016, the Storm began the regular season with four straight wins before their first road-bump in a loss to the Cedar Rapids Titans. They rebounded from that loss with eleven consecutive victories to finish the season with a 15–1 record, and first place in the United Conference. Sioux Falls clinched home field advantage and a first round bye due to their conference finish. In the conference championship, they defeated the Cedar Rapids Titans at home by a score of 54–28.


2016 United Football League
The 2016 United Football League was the seventh and last season of the UFL since its establishment as a semi-professional league in 2009. Division 2 is disbanded for this season with all teams competing in one division.


2016 United Football League
The league competition which started on April 30 and ended on October 24 will followed a pure double round robin match with no play-offs. For this edition the foreign player cap is reduced to four from five foreign players in a playing squad of 18 players, including 7 substitutes. At least one of the four maximum allowable foreign players must be from the Asian country. This was to align to the guidelines followed at the AFC Cup and AFC Champions League. However, a club with more than 25 players may have more than four foreign players in their whole squad provided that they comply with the 4-player foreign player limit rule during match day.


2016 United Football League
Global F.C. won the league with one game to spare.


2016 United Football League
The 2016 season was the last UFL season following the appointment of UFL President Randy Roxas as part of the task force for the upcoming Philippines Football League which had its inaugural season in 2017.


2016 United Football League, Season statistics, Hat-tricks
4 Player scored four goals 5 Player scored five goals6 Player scored six goals8 Player scored eight goals


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum
The United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, took place on 23 June 2016 in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar to ask the electorate whether the country should remain a member of, or leave, the European Union (EU). The result would then be facilitated through the European Union Referendum Act 2015 and the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. The referendum resulted in 51.9% of the votes cast being in favour of leaving the EU.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum
Although the referendum was legally non-binding, the government of the time promised to implement the result. Parliament gave legal effect to the referendum by passing the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Act 2017 and on 29 March 2017, the United Kingdom gave formal notice of intent to withdraw from the EU.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum
Membership of the EU had long been a topic of debate in the United Kingdom. The country joined the European Communities (EC), principally the European Economic Community (EEC) or Common Market, the forerunner to the European Union, in 1973, along with the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom). A referendum on continued membership of the Communities was held in 1975, with 67.2% of the population voting in favour of Britain remaining a member.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum
In May 2015, following a Conservative Party manifesto pledge, the legal basis for the EU referendum was established through the European Union Referendum Act 2015. Britain Stronger in Europe became the official group campaigning for the UK to remain in the EU, and was endorsed by the Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne. Vote Leave was the official group campaigning for the UK to leave the EU, and was fronted by Conservative MPs Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, along with Labour MP Gisela Stuart.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum
Other campaign groups, political parties, businesses, trade unions, newspapers and prominent individuals were also involved, with both sides having supporters from across the political spectrum. Parties in favour of 'remain' included Labour, the Liberal Democrats, the Scottish National Party (SNP), Plaid Cymru and the Green Party; while the UK Independence Party (UKIP) campaigned in favour of leaving the European Union; and the Conservative Party remained neutral. In spite of the official positions of the Conservative Party and Labour, both parties allowed their MPs to publicly campaign for either side of the issue.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum
Immediately after the result, financial markets reacted negatively worldwide, and Cameron announced that he would resign as Prime Minister and Leader of the Conservative Party, having campaigned unsuccessfully to remain in the European Union. It was the first time that a national referendum result had gone against the preferred option of the UK Government. Cameron was succeeded by Theresa May on 13 July 2016. The Labour Party also faced a leadership challenge as a result of the EU referendum.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Background
The European Communities were formed in the 1950s –  the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1952, and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom) and European Economic Community (EEC) in 1957. The EEC, the more ambitious of the three, came to be known as the "Common Market". The UK first applied to join them in 1961, but this was vetoed by France. A later application was successful, and the UK joined in 1973; two years later, the first ever national referendum on continuing membership resulted in 67.2% approval, with a 64.62% turnout. Political integration gained greater focus when the Maastricht Treaty established the European Union (EU) in 1993, which incorporated (and after the Treaty of Lisbon, succeeded) the European Communities.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Background, Growing pressure for a referendum
Prior to the 2010 general election, the then Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition David Cameron promised a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, which he backtracked on after all EU countries had ratified the treaty before the election.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Background, Growing pressure for a referendum
When they attended the May 2012 NATO summit meeting, UK Prime Minister David Cameron, Foreign Secretary William Hague and Ed Llewellyn discussed the idea of using a European Union referendum as a concession to energise the Eurosceptic wing of the Conservative Party. In January 2013, Cameron delivered the Bloomberg speech and promised that, should the Conservatives win a parliamentary majority at the 2015 general election, the British government would negotiate more favourable arrangements for continuing British membership of the EU, before holding a referendum on whether the UK should remain in or leave the EU.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Background, Growing pressure for a referendum
The Conservative Party published a draft EU Referendum Bill in May 2013, and outlined its plans for renegotiation followed by an in-out vote (i.e. a referendum giving options only of leaving and of remaining in under the current terms, or under new terms if these had become available), were the party to be re-elected in 2015. The draft Bill stated that the referendum had to be held no later than 31 December 2017.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Background, Growing pressure for a referendum
The draft legislation was taken forward as a Private member's bill by Conservative MP James Wharton which was known as the European Union (Referendum) Bill 2013. The bill's First Reading in the House of Commons took place on 19 June 2013. Cameron was said by a spokesperson to be "very pleased" and would ensure the Bill was given "the full support of the Conservative Party".


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Background, Growing pressure for a referendum
Regarding the ability of the bill to bind the UK Government in the 2015–20 Parliament (which indirectly, as a result of the referendum itself, proved to last only two years) to holding such a referendum, a parliamentary research paper noted that:


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Background, Growing pressure for a referendum
The Bill simply provides for a referendum on continued EU membership by the end of December 2017 and does not otherwise specify the timing, other than requiring the Secretary of State to bring forward orders by the end of 2016. [ ...] If no party obtained a majority at the [next general election due in 2015], there might be some uncertainty about the passage of the orders in the next Parliament.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Background, Growing pressure for a referendum
The bill received its Second Reading on 5 July 2013, passing by 304 votes to none after almost all Labour MPs and all Liberal Democrat MPs abstained, cleared the Commons in November 2013, and was then introduced to the House of Lords in December 2013, where members voted to block the bill.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Background, Growing pressure for a referendum
Conservative MP Bob Neill then introduced an Alternative Referendum Bill to the Commons. After a debate on 17 October 2014, it passed to the Public Bills Committee, but because the Commons failed to pass a money resolution, the bill was unable to progress further before the dissolution of parliament on 27 March 2015.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Background, Growing pressure for a referendum
At the European Parliament election in 2014, the UK Independence Party (UKIP) secured more votes and more seats than any other party, the first time a party other than the Conservatives or Labour had topped a nationwide poll in 108 years, leaving the Conservatives in third place.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Background, Growing pressure for a referendum
Under Ed Miliband's leadership between 2010 and 2015, the Labour Party ruled out an in-out referendum unless and until a further transfer of powers from the UK to the EU were to be proposed. In their manifesto for the 2015 general election, the Liberal Democrats pledged to hold an in-out referendum only in the event of there being a change in the EU treaties. The UK Independence Party (UKIP), the British National Party (BNP), the Green Party, the Democratic Unionist Party and the Respect Party all supported the principle of a referendum.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Background, Growing pressure for a referendum
When the Conservative Party won a majority of seats in the House of Commons at the 2015 general election, Cameron reiterated his party's manifesto commitment to hold an in-out referendum on UK membership of the EU by the end of 2017, but only after "negotiating a new settlement for Britain in the EU".


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Background, Renegotiation before the referendum
In early 2014, David Cameron outlined the changes he aimed to bring about in the EU and in the UK's relationship with it.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Background, Renegotiation before the referendum
These were: additional immigration controls, especially for citizens of new EU member states; tougher immigration rules for present EU citizens; new powers for national parliaments collectively to veto proposed EU laws; new free-trade agreements and a reduction in bureaucracy for businesses; a lessening of the influence of the European Court of Human Rights on British police and courts; more power for individual member states, and less for the central EU; and abandonment of the EU notion of "ever closer union". He intended to bring these about during a series of negotiations with other EU leaders and then, if re-elected, to announce a referendum.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Background, Renegotiation before the referendum
In November that year, Cameron gave an update on the negotiations and further details of his aims.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Background, Renegotiation before the referendum
The key demands made of the EU were: on economic governance, to recognise officially that Eurozone laws would not necessarily apply to non-Eurozone EU members and the latter would not have to bail out troubled Eurozone economies; on competitiveness, to expand the single market and to set a target for the reduction of bureaucracy for businesses; on sovereignty, for the UK to be legally exempted from "ever closer union" and for national parliaments to be able collectively to veto proposed EU laws; and, on immigration, for EU citizens going to the UK for work to be unable to claim social housing or in-work benefits until they had worked there for four years, and for them to be unable to send child benefit payments overseas.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Background, Renegotiation before the referendum
The outcome of the renegotiations was announced in February 2016. The renegotiated terms were in addition to the United Kingdom's existing opt-outs in the European Union and the UK rebate. The significance of the changes to the EU-UK agreement was contested and speculated upon, with none of the changes considered fundamental, but some considered important to many British people.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Background, Renegotiation before the referendum
Some limits to in-work benefits for EU immigrants were agreed, but these would apply on a sliding scale for four years and would be for new immigrants only; before they could be applied, a country would have to get permission from the European Council. Child benefit payments could still be made overseas, but these would be linked to the cost of living in the other country. On sovereignty, the UK was reassured that it would not be required to participate in "ever closer union"; these reassurances were "in line with existing EU law".


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Background, Renegotiation before the referendum
Cameron's demand to allow national parliaments to veto proposed EU laws was modified to allow national parliaments collectively to object to proposed EU laws, in which case the European Council would reconsider the proposal before itself deciding what to do. On economic governance, anti-discrimination regulations for non-Eurozone members would be reinforced, but they would be unable to veto any legislation.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Background, Renegotiation before the referendum
The final two areas covered were proposals to "exclude from the scope of free movement rights, third country nationals who had no prior lawful residence in a Member State before marrying a Union citizen" and to make it easier for member states to deport EU nationals for public policy or public security reasons. The extent to which the various parts of the agreement would be legally binding is complex; no part of the agreement itself changed EU law, but some parts could be enforceable in international law.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Background, Renegotiation before the referendum
The EU had reportedly offered David Cameron a so-called "emergency brake", which would have allowed the UK to withhold social benefits to new immigrants for the first four years after they arrived; this brake could have been applied for a period of seven years. That offer was still on the table at the time of the Brexit referendum, but expired when the vote determined that the UK would leave the EU. Cameron claimed that "he could have avoided Brexit had European leaders let him control migration", according to the Financial Times.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Background, Renegotiation before the referendum
However, Angela Merkel said that the offer had not been made by the EU. Merkel stated in the German Parliament: "If you wish to have free access to the single market then you have to accept the fundamental European rights as well as obligations that come from it. This is as true for Great Britain as for anybody else."


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Legislation
The planned referendum was included in the Queen's Speech on 27 May 2015. It was suggested at the time that Cameron was planning to hold the referendum in October 2016, but the European Union Referendum Act 2015, which authorised it, went before the House of Commons the following day, just three weeks after the election. On the bill's second reading on 9 June, members of the House of Commons voted by 544 to 53 in favour, endorsing the principle of holding a referendum, with only the Scottish National Party voting against. In contrast to the Labour Party's position prior to the 2015 general election under Miliband, acting Labour leader Harriet Harman committed her party to supporting plans for an EU referendum by 2017.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Legislation
To enable the referendum to take place, the European Union Referendum Act was passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It extended to include and take legislative effect in Gibraltar, and received royal assent on 17 December 2015. The Act was, in turn, confirmed, enacted and implemented in Gibraltar by the European Union (Referendum) Act 2016 (Gibraltar), which was passed by the Gibraltar Parliament and entered into law upon receiving the assent of the Governor of Gibraltar on 28 January 2016.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Legislation
The European Union Referendum Act required a referendum to be held on the question of the UK's continued membership of the European Union (EU) before the end of 2017. It did not contain any requirement for the UK Government to implement the results of the referendum. Instead, it was designed to gauge the electorate's opinion on EU membership. The referendums held in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in 1997 and 1998 are examples of this type, where opinion was tested before legislation was introduced.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Legislation
The UK does not have constitutional provisions which would require the results of a referendum to be implemented, unlike, for example, the Republic of Ireland, where the circumstances in which a binding referendum should be held are set out in its constitution. In contrast, the legislation that provided for the referendum held on AV in May 2011 would have implemented the new system of voting without further legislation, provided that the boundary changes also provided for in the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 were also implemented. In the event, there was a substantial majority against any change.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Legislation
The 1975 referendum was held after the re-negotiated terms of the UK's EC membership had been agreed by all EC Member States, and the terms set out in a command paper and agreed by both Houses. Following the 2016 referendum, the High Court confirmed that the result was not legally binding, owing to the constitutional principles of parliamentary sovereignty and representative democracy, and the legislation authorising the referendum did not contain clear words to the contrary.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Referendum question
Research by the Electoral Commission confirmed that its recommended question "was clear and straightforward for voters, and was the most neutral wording from the range of options ... considered and tested", citing responses to its consultation by a diverse range of consultees. The proposed question was accepted by the government in September 2015, shortly before the bill's third reading. The question that appeared on ballot papers in the referendum under the Act was:


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Referendum question
Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Referendum question
with the responses to the question to be (to be marked with a single (X)):


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Referendum question
Remain a member of the European UnionLeave the European Union


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Referendum question
A ddylai'r Deyrnas Unedig aros yn aelod o'r Undeb Ewropeaidd neu adael yr Undeb Ewropeaidd?


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Referendum question
with the responses (to be marked with a single (X)):


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Administration, Date
Prior to being officially announced, it was widely speculated that a June date for the referendum was a serious possibility. The First Ministers of Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales co-signed a letter to Cameron asking him not to hold the referendum in June, as devolved elections were scheduled to take place the previous month. These elections had been postponed for a year to avoid a clash with the 2015 general election, after Westminster had implemented the Fixed-term Parliament Act. Cameron refused this request, saying people were able to make up their own minds in multiple elections spaced a short time from each other.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Administration, Date
In February 2016, Cameron announced that the UK Government would formally recommend to the British people that the UK should remain a member of a reformed European Union and that the referendum would be held on 23 June, marking the official launch of the campaign. He also announced that Parliament would enact secondary legislation on 22 February relating to the European Union Referendum Act 2015. With the official launch, ministers of the UK Government were then free to campaign on either side of the argument in a rare exception to Cabinet collective responsibility.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Administration, Eligibility to vote
The right to vote in the referendum in the United Kingdom is defined by the legislation as limited to residents of the United Kingdom who were either also Commonwealth citizens under the British Nationality Act 1948 (which include British citizens and other British nationals), or those who were also citizens of the Republic of Ireland, or both. Members of the House of Lords, who could not vote in general elections, were able to vote in the referendum. The electorate of 46,500,001 represented 70.8% of the population of 65,678,000 (UK and Gibraltar). Other than the residents of Gibraltar, British Overseas Territories Citizens residing in the British Overseas Territories were unable to vote in the referendum.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Administration, Eligibility to vote
Residents of the United Kingdom who were citizens of other EU countries were not allowed to vote unless they were citizens (or were also citizens) of the Republic of Ireland, of Malta, or of the Republic of Cyprus.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Administration, Eligibility to vote
The Representation of the People Acts 1983 (1983 c. 2) and 1985 (1985 c. 50), as amended, also permit certain British citizens (but not other British nationals), who had once lived in the United Kingdom, but had since and in the meantime lived outside of the United Kingdom, but for a period of no more than 15 years, to vote.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Administration, Eligibility to vote
Voting on the day of the referendum was from 0700 to 2200 BST (WEST) (0700 to 2200 CEST in Gibraltar) in some 41,000 polling stations manned by over 100,000 staff. Each polling station was specified to have no more than 2,500 registered voters. Under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act 2000, postal ballots were also permitted in the referendum and were sent out to eligible voters some three weeks ahead of the vote (2 June 2016).


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Administration, Eligibility to vote
The minimum age for voters in the referendum was set to 18 years, in line with the Representation of the People Act, as amended. A House of Lords amendment proposing to lower the minimum age to 16 years was rejected.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Administration, Eligibility to vote
The deadline to register to vote was initially midnight on 7 June 2016; however, this was extended by 48 hours owing to technical problems with the official registration website on 7 June, caused by unusually high web traffic. Some supporters of the Leave campaign, including the Conservative MP Sir Gerald Howarth, criticised the government's decision to extend the deadline, alleging it gave Remain an advantage because many late registrants were young people who were considered to be more likely to vote for Remain. According to provisional figures from the Electoral Commission, almost 46.5 million people were eligible to vote.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Administration, Registration problems
Nottingham City Council emailed a Vote Leave supporter to say that the council was unable to check whether the nationality that people stated on their voting registration form was true, and hence that they simply had to assume that the information that was submitted was, indeed, correct.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Administration, Registration problems
Kingston upon Thames London Borough Council and the Electoral Commission stated that Jakub Pawlowski, a Polish voter in Kingston upon Thames declared himself as being British on his registration form, and hence, received a referendum polling card in the post, although he is not a UK citizen and did not have the right to receive such a polling card. The voter stated that he specified that he was a Polish citizen when registering on the electoral roll, but still had received the card in the post. The matter had been referred to the police.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Administration, Registration problems
3,462 EU nationals were wrongly sent postal voting cards, due to an IT issue experienced by Xpress, an electoral software supplier to a number of councils. Xpress was initially unable to confirm the exact number of those affected. The matter was resolved by the issuance of a software patch which rendered the wrongly recorded electors ineligible to vote on 23 June.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Administration, Crown Dependencies
Residents of the Crown Dependencies (which are not part of the United Kingdom), namely the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey, even if they were British citizens, were excluded from the referendum unless they were also previous residents of the United Kingdom (that is: England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland).


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Administration, Crown Dependencies
Some residents of the Isle of Man protested that they, as full British citizens under the British Nationality Act 1981 and living within the British Islands, should also have been given the opportunity to vote in the referendum, as the Isle and the Bailiwicks, although not included as if they were part of the United Kingdom for the purpose of European Union (and European Economic Area (EEA)) membership (as is the case with Gibraltar), would also have been significantly affected by the outcome and impact of the referendum.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Campaign
In October 2015, Britain Stronger in Europe, a cross-party group campaigning for Britain to remain a member of the EU, was formed. There were two rival groups promoting British withdrawal from the EU that sought to become the official Leave campaign: Leave.EU (which was endorsed by most of UKIP, including Nigel Farage), and Vote Leave (endorsed by Conservative Party Eurosceptics). In January 2016, Nigel Farage and the Leave.EU campaign became part of the Grassroots Out movement, which was borne out of infighting between Vote Leave and Leave.EU campaigners.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Campaign
In April, the Electoral Commission announced that Britain Stronger in Europe and Vote Leave were to be designated as the official remain and leave campaigns respectively. This gave them the right to spend up to £7,000,000, a free mailshot, TV broadcasts and £600,000 in public funds. The UK Government's official position was to support the Remain campaign. Nevertheless, Cameron announced that Conservative Ministers and MPs were free to campaign in favour of remaining in the EU or leaving it, according to their conscience. This decision came after mounting pressure for a free vote for ministers. In an exception to the usual rule of cabinet collective responsibility, Cameron allowed cabinet ministers to campaign publicly for EU withdrawal. A Government-backed campaign was launched in April. On 16 June, all official national campaigning was suspended until 19 June after the Murder of Jo Cox.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Campaign
After internal polls suggested that 85% of the UK population wanted more information about the referendum from the government, a leaflet was sent to every household in the UK. It contained details about why the government believed the UK should remain in the EU. This leaflet was criticised by those wanting to leave as giving the remain side an unfair advantage; it was also described as being inaccurate and a waste of taxpayers' money (it cost £9.3m in total).


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Campaign
In the week beginning on 16 May, the Electoral Commission sent a voting guide regarding the referendum to every household within the UK and Gibraltar to raise awareness of the upcoming referendum. The eight-page guide contained details on how to vote, as well as a sample of the actual ballot paper, and a whole page each was given to the campaign groups Britain Stronger in Europe and Vote Leave to present their case.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Campaign
The Vote Leave campaign argued that if the UK left the EU, national sovereignty would be protected, immigration controls could be imposed, and the UK would be able to sign trade deals with the rest of the world. The UK would also be able to stop membership payments to the EU every week. The Britain Stronger in Europe campaign argued that leaving the European Union would damage the UK economy, and that the status of the UK as a world influence was hinged upon its membership.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Responses to the referendum campaign, Party policies
The tables list political parties with representation in the House of Commons or the House of Lords, the European Parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Welsh Parliament, or the Gibraltar Parliament at the time of the referendum.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Responses to the referendum campaign, Party policies, Minor parties
Among minor parties, the Socialist Labour Party, the Communist Party, Britain First, the British National Party (BNP), Éirígí, Respect Party, Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC), the Social Democratic Party, Liberal Party, and Independence from Europe, and the Workers' Party of Ireland, supported leaving the EU. The Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) supported remaining in the EU. The Women's Equality Party had no official position on the issue.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Responses to the referendum campaign, Cabinet ministers
The Cabinet of the United Kingdom is a body responsible for making decisions on policy and organising governmental departments; it is chaired by the Prime Minister and contains most of the government's ministerial heads. Following the announcement of the referendum in February, 23 of the 30 Cabinet ministers (including attendees) supported the UK staying in the EU. Iain Duncan Smith, in favour of leaving, resigned on 19 March and was replaced by Stephen Crabb who was in favour of remaining. Crabb was already a cabinet member, as the Secretary of State for Wales, and his replacement, Alun Cairns, was in favour of remaining, bringing the total number of pro-remain Cabinet members to 25.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Responses to the referendum campaign, Business
Various UK multinationals have stated that they would not like the UK to leave the EU because of the uncertainty it would cause, such as Shell, BT and Vodafone, with some assessing the pros and cons of Britain exiting. The banking sector was one of the most vocal advocating to stay in the EU, with the British Bankers' Association saying: "Businesses don't like that kind of uncertainty". RBS warned of potential damage to the economy. Furthermore, HSBC and foreign-based banks JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank claim a Brexit might result in the banks' changing domicile.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Responses to the referendum campaign, Business
According to Goldman Sachs and the City of London's policy chief, all such factors could impact on the City of London's present status as a European and global market leader in financial services. In February 2016, leaders of 36 of the FTSE 100 companies, including Shell, BAE Systems, BT and Rio Tinto, officially supported staying in the EU. Moreover, 60% of the Institute of Directors and the EEF memberships supported staying.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Responses to the referendum campaign, Business
Many UK-based businesses, including Sainsbury's, remained steadfastly neutral, concerned that taking sides in the divisive issue could lead to a backlash from customers.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Responses to the referendum campaign, Business
Richard Branson stated that he was "very fearful" of the consequences of a UK exit from the EU. Alan Sugar expressed similar concern.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Responses to the referendum campaign, Business
James Dyson, founder of the Dyson company, argued in June 2016 that the introduction of tariffs would be less damaging for British exporters than the appreciation of the pound against the Euro, arguing that, because Britain ran a 100 billion pound trade deficit with the EU, tariffs could represent a significant revenue source for the Treasury. Pointing out that languages, plugs and laws differ between EU member states, Dyson said that the 28-country bloc was not a single market, and argued the fastest growing markets were outside the EU. Engineering company Rolls-Royce wrote to employees to say that it did not want the UK to leave the EU.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Responses to the referendum campaign, Business
Surveys of large UK businesses showed a strong majority favoured the UK remaining in the EU. Small and medium-sized UK businesses were more evenly split. Polls of foreign businesses found that around half would be less likely to do business in the UK, while 1% would increase their investment in the UK. Two large car manufacturers, Ford and BMW, warned in 2013 against Brexit, suggesting it would be "devastating" for the economy.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Responses to the referendum campaign, Business
Conversely, in 2015, some other manufacturing executives told Reuters that they would not shut their plants if the UK left the EU, although future investment might be put at risk. The CEO of Vauxhall stated that a Brexit would not materially affect its business. Foreign-based Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda confirmed that, whether or not Britain left the EU, Toyota would carry on manufacturing cars in Britain as they had done before.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Responses to the referendum campaign, Exchange rates and stock markets
In the week following conclusion of the UK's renegotiation (and especially after Boris Johnson announced that he would support the UK leaving), the pound fell to a seven-year low against the dollar and economists at HSBC warned that it could drop even more. At the same time, Daragh Maher, head of HSBC, suggested that if Sterling dropped in value so would the Euro. European banking analysts also cited Brexit concerns as the reason for the Euro's decline.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Responses to the referendum campaign, Exchange rates and stock markets
Immediately after a poll in June 2016 showed that the Leave campaign was 10 points ahead, the pound dropped by a further one per cent. In the same month, it was announced that the value of goods exported from the UK in April had shown a month-on-month increase of 11.2%, "the biggest rise since records started in 1998".


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Responses to the referendum campaign, Exchange rates and stock markets
Uncertainty over the referendum result, together with several other factors—US interest rates rising, low commodity prices, low Eurozone growth and concerns over emerging markets such as China—contributed to a high level of stock market volatility in January and February 2016. On 14 June, polls showing that a Brexit was more likely led to the FTSE 100 falling by 2%, losing £98 billion in value. After further polls suggested a move back towards Remain, the pound and the FTSE recovered.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Responses to the referendum campaign, Exchange rates and stock markets
On the day of the referendum, sterling hit a 2016 high of $1.5018 and the FTSE 100 also climbed to a 2016 high, as a new poll suggested a win for the Remain campaign. Initial results suggested a vote for 'Remain' and the value of the pound held its value. However, when the result for Sunderland was announced, it indicated an unexpected swing to 'Leave'. Subsequent results appeared to confirm this swing and sterling fell in value to $1.3777, its lowest level since 1985. On the following Monday when the markets opened, sterling fell to a new low of $1.32.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Responses to the referendum campaign, Exchange rates and stock markets
Muhammad Ali Nasir and Jamie Morgan two British economists differentiated and reflected on the weakness of the Sterling due to the weak external position of the UK's economy and the further role played by the uncertainty surrounding Brexit They reported that during the week of the referendum, up to the declaration of the result, exchange rate depreciation deviated from the long-run trend by approximately 3.5 per cent, but the actual immediate effect on the exchange rate was an 8 per cent depreciation. Furthermore, that over the period from the announcement of the referendum, the exchange rate fluctuated markedly around its trend and one can also identify a larger effect based on the “wrong-footing” of markets at the point when the outcome was announced.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Responses to the referendum campaign, Exchange rates and stock markets
When the London Stock Exchange opened on the morning of 24 June, the FTSE 100 fell from 6338.10 to 5806.13 in the first ten minutes of trading. It recovered to 6091.27 after a further 90 minutes, before further recovering to 6162.97 by the end of the day's trading. When the markets reopened the following Monday, the FTSE 100 showed a steady decline losing over 2% by mid-afternoon. Upon opening later on the Friday after the referendum, the US Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped nearly 450 points or about 2½% in less than half an hour.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Responses to the referendum campaign, Exchange rates and stock markets
The Associated Press called the sudden worldwide stock market decline a stock market crash. Investors in worldwide stock markets lost more than the equivalent of US$2 trillion on 24 June 2016, making it the worst single-day loss in history, in absolute terms. The market losses amounted to US$3 trillion by 27 June. The value of the pound sterling against the US dollar fell to a 31-year low. The UK's and the EU's sovereign debt credit rating was also lowered by Standard & Poor's.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Responses to the referendum campaign, Exchange rates and stock markets
By mid-afternoon on 27 June 2016, sterling was at a 31-year low, having fallen 11% in two trading days, and the FTSE 100 had surrendered £85 billion; however, by 29 June it had recovered all its losses since the markets closed on polling day and the value of the pound had begun to rise.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Responses to the referendum campaign, European responses
Marine Le Pen, the leader of the French Front national, described the possibility of a Brexit as "like the fall of the Berlin Wall" and commented that "Brexit would be marvellous – extraordinary – for all European peoples who long for freedom". A poll in France in April 2016 showed that 59% of the French people were in favour of Britain remaining in the EU.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Responses to the referendum campaign, European responses
Polish President Andrzej Duda lent his support for the UK remaining within the EU. Moldovan Prime Minister Pavel Filip asked all citizens of Moldova living in the UK to speak to their British friends and convince them to vote for the UK to remain in the EU.


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Responses to the referendum campaign, European responses
Spanish foreign minister José García-Margallo said Spain would demand control of Gibraltar the "very next day" after a British withdrawal from the EU. Margallo also threatened to close the border with Gibraltar if Britain left the EU.