December 9, 2016. Copyright 2016, Graphic News. All rights reserved Review of the Year 2016 By Julie Mullins LONDON, December 9, Graphic News: Captions accompany graphic GN34918 January 10. David Bowie, one of the most influential musicians of his era, dies aged 69 16. Crippling economic sanctions on Iran are lifted after the IAEA certifies Tehran has restricted sensitive nuclear activities 21. Women in Latin America and the Caribbean are warned to avoid pregnancy amid concerns over the Zika virus which causes severe birth defects —————————————— February 11. Scientists confirm the first direct observation of gravitational waves. The sound of two black holes colliding a billion light-years away fulfils the last prediction of Einstein's theory of general relativity 13. Pope Francis and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill hold the first meeting between their two churches since they split in 1054 —————————————— March 18. Turkey reaches a deal with the European Union to curb the tide of migrants heading for Greece, and take back migrants who are not eligible for asylum 20. President Barack Obama visits Havana, cementing the thaw in U.S.-Cuba relations after 54 years of enmity 22. Three suicide bombings in Brussels kill 35 people. So-called Islamic State claims responsibility —————————————— April 3. The "Panama Papers", 11.5 million leaked confidential documents, reveal how some of the super-rich funnel their assets into secretive shell companies in offshore tax havens 21. Pop superstar Prince is found dead at age 57 following an accidental drug overdose 30. Kenyan authorities burn the largest ever pile of contraband ivory, valued at over $172 million, to combat illegal trade —————————————— May 2. In one of the greatest ever sporting upsets, Leicester City football club wins the English Premier League 3. A massive wildfire in Canada forces the evacuation of the entire 88,000-strong population of the city of Fort McMurray. Over 2,500 buildings are destroyed 10. Rodrigo Duterte wins a landslide election victory to become President of the Philippines, vowing a relentless crackdown on crime —————————————— June 3. Boxing legend Muhammad Ali dies at the age of 74 12. A shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, kills 50 people in the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. 23. The UK votes in a referendum to leave the European Union. Prime Minister David Cameron announces his resignation as "Brexit" sends shockwaves around the globe —————————————— July 12. China rejects an international ruling in favour of the Philippines over territorial disputes in the South China Sea 13. Theresa May becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom as the fallout from Brexit continues 14. A truck ploughs into a crowd of revellers on Bastille Day in Nice, France, killing 84 people. The attacker is shot dead by police 15. An attempted coup in Turkey is foiled by forces loyal to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. A harsh crackdown on political opponents is still ongoing 18. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) concludes the Russian government was involved in an intensive doping programme 26. Solar Impulse 2 becomes the first solar-powered aircraft to circumnavigate the Earth, completing a 16-month voyage when it lands in Abu Dhabi —————————————— August 13. Rio 2016 stars include Usain Bolt, who wins a third trio of gold medals, and swimmer Michael Phelps, who takes his tally of Olympic golds to 23 24. The historic town of Amatrice is crushed when a 6.2 earthquake strikes central Italy, killing around 300 people 24. The Colombian government and Farc rebels agree a historic peace accord after 52 years of bitter conflict 31. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is impeached and removed from office —————————————— September 2. Mother Teresa is officially declared a saint of the Roman Catholic Church 9. North Korea conducts its fifth and largest nuclear test to date, bigger than the Hiroshima atom bomb of World War II 20. Syrian government and Russian forces launch a major offensive to retake all remaining rebel-held areas of Aleppo 30. The Rosetta space mission ends with a controlled crash landing on comet 67P/CG —————————————— October 4. Hurricane Matthew tears through Haiti, leaving up to 1,600 dead. It later slams into the U.S., killing 49 13. King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, the world's longest reigning monarch, dies at the age of 88 13. Bob Dylan becomes the first songwriter to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature 13. Nigeria’s Islamic militant group Boko Haram releases 21 of the 276 school girls kidnapped from Chibok in April 2014 16. Iraqi troops and Kurdish peshmerga fighters, backed by U.S.-led airstrikes, launch an offensive to retake the city of Mosul from Islamic State 16. French authorities begin clearing the makeshift camp at Calais known as the Jungle, home to up to 8,000 migrants who are relocated to temporary units throughout France —————————————— November 8. Donald Trump, Republican outsider and billionaire businessman, wins a shock election victory to become the first U.S. President never to have held public office or served in the military 25. Fidel Castro, former President of Cuba, dies at age 90 28. Most of Brazil's Chapecoense football team die in a plane crash en route to play in the Copa Sudamericana final in Colombia —————————————— December 4. Alexander Van der Bellen wins Austria's re-run presidential election, narrowly defeating Norbert Hofer of the far-right Freedom Party 4. Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi announces his resignation after losing a referendum on constitutional reform /ENDS