10 Biggest Headlines of 2016

This year has been a terrible one, this is something I think most of us can agree on, so we decided to take a look at the 10 biggest headlines of 2016.

The year so far has been a mix of bad and worse stuff happening, with a few rays of light mixed in between. It’s been a hectic few months, with many massive events taking place. Going between terror attacks, union breakups, presidential elections, surprising Nobel awards, health threats at a global level, refugee issues and so on, it feels like we weren’t given a chance to catch our breaths. Speaking about refugees as one of the issues that has definitely marked this year, we have prepared you a list of 10 Countries that Have the Most Refugees, as well.

It wasn’t all bad, though. Some good things happened over this year, but they were difficult to pick. There were international accords taking place, scientific advancements, historical accords between churches and other events that we’ll talk about more in the pages that follow. While 2017 has a chance to be better than this year, things aren’t looking to be too bright in the future either. There’s still hope, though. Until then, however, let’s see which were some of the 10 biggest headlines of 2016.

10. Rest in peace

This isn’t a particular news we’re going to talk about, but multiples. This year has been a pretty tough one if you’re in any way invested in the entertainment business with many celebrities passing on, but also other personalities across the globe. Their deaths have affected many, fans and close ones alike, so it’s only natural that they should be mentioned. Their numbers were too high, however, to just mention a single one.

The year started off with the deaths of famous singer David Bowie and beloved actor Alan Rickman, signaling what was to be a terrible year. Then came writers Umberto Eco and Harper Lee, Nancy Reagan, former First Lady, and Hungarian Nobel author Imre Kertesz. Famous singer Prince died on April 21^st and Anton Yelchin, the Russian-born actor who died crushed by his own faulty car on June 19^th. Bud Spencer also passed on in June, alongside Muhammad Ali, a famous boxer, while July brought the deaths of Elie Wiesel, Nobel writer, and August the passing of Willy Wonka famed actor Gene Wilder. Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former President of Israel, Shimon Peres also died in September, and Leonard Cohen in November. Another death that took place in November is that of famous ex-Cuban president Fidel Castro, who passed away at the age of 90. There are many more, of course, and this terribly unlucky year is not yet over.

9. Bob Dylan awarded Nobel Prize for Literature

There’s been quite a bit of debate whether Dylan’s lyrics should have been awarded a Nobel Prize for Literature, but in the end, it doesn’t really matter. The committee agreed that Dylan should be awarded for all the wonderful lyrics he’s come up with, “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.”

The announcement ranks 9th in our list of biggest headlines of 2016. It has taken many by surprise since this is a prize that’s usually awarded to novelists, poets and the likes, people who publish their work in forms that can be bought in bookstores, not on record.

However, the folks over at the Swedish Academy where it gets decided who wins the Nobel Prize each year believe that Dylan is “a great poet in the great English tradition, stretching from Milton and Blake onwards.” His fans couldn’t agree more that his music should be rewarded in such a manner, but Dylan himself has been rather cold towards the whole business. It took five days for his official website to even acknowledge the award, and he hasn’t exactly been public about his excitement over the issue. The 75-year-old singer also decided he wouldn’t attend the ceremony in December, as it is accustomed, but will likely play a concert in the Swedish capital in 2017 instead where he might give his lecture.

8. An Olympic summer

We are continuing our list of biggest headlines of 2016 – this year, the Summer Olympics took place in Brazil. While this should have been a time for celebrating sports, it ended up being a time peppered with protests in Brazil, although this is known to happen all over the world given the money shelled out by governments to prepare for such an event.

Over 11,000 athletes from 205 National Olympic Committees participated in the event, and they were none too happy about the rooming situation. In the end, however, there were 306 sets of medals to be won in over 28 sports. The United States ended up winning 121 of the 974 total, with 46 of the medals being made out of gold. China followed with 70 medals in total (26 gold) and Great Britain with 67 medals (27 gold). Russia, Germany, France, Japan, Australia, Italy and South Korea wrap up the first ten countries on the list for this year. Be sure not to miss reading about 10 Countries that Have the Most Gold Medals in total so far.

7. Watch it go boom

This was a particularly bad year for Samsung when it comes to public image. You already know where I’m going with this since it’s impossible not to have heard about the exploding smartphones and faulty washing machines.

The Galaxy Note 7 devices have caused multiple fires and explosions due to issues with the incorporated batteries what – the headline that deserves the 7th place in our list of biggest headlines of 2016. We’ve heard this all through the summer with devices randomly catching fire, smoke billowing everywhere. The situation got so bad that such phablets were denied access on planes unless packed up in a special case that would stop anything bad from happening should the device go wild. Things got so bad that the Korean company decided to put a stop to production and recall the phones. Even the replacement phones they sent out started catching fire, indicating a massive problem.

If that wasn’t bad enough, early in November news came that Samsung was recalling millions of top loading washing machines due to the risk of explosion. Yes, you read that right. What is wrong with this company?! There seems to have been hundreds of reports of washing machines that excessively vibrate or had the top come off completely from the chassis, with multiple injuries taking place. 34 models have been recalled in total.

6. Zika Virus

News about the Zika virus rank 6th in our list of biggest headlines of 2016. It has gone global and it’s been mainly put into focus due to the hike in discovered cases and the fact that one of the main locations where this was happening was Brazil, the stage for the 2016 Summer Olympics. If you know which other countries are mainly affected to avoid traveling or learn more about the virus, check our our article on Top 10 Countries with Zika Virus in Americas.

The virus was linked to deformations in babies’ heads and brains and so, it was a threat mainly for pregnant women and women who wanted to become mothers one day. The World Health Organization has recently released a somewhat good news saying that the virus outbreak no longer poses a world health emergency. While it’s still an epidemic and a long-term issue for the medical community, WHO is trying to cool down the fears a bit.

5. North Korea nuclear tests

Twice this year news came that North Korea tested nuclear weapons; in January and September. The test performed in January was the country’s fourth nuclear detonation and it happened underground, causing a 5.1 or 4.9 magnitude earthquake at the location, depending on who gave the information – the US Geological Survey or the China Earthquake Networks Center. The North Korean leaders said they successfully tested a hydrogen bomb, although South Korean agencies said it was most likely a fission bomb instead.

The country’s fifth test also took place underground and brought on numerous international condemnations. The result of the test was a 5.3 magnitude seismic shock, making this the largest nuclear test of the North Koreans.

4. The refugee crisis

While the Syrian refugee crisis is certainly not a new problem, things have escalated during the past year, with millions of people fleeing the country and risking their lives on their trip towards Europe, hoping to get help and to live a better, safer life. No wonder this ended up in our list of biggest headlines of 2016.

According to data, about 1 million refugees fled Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria last year alone, making their way to Europe. In 2016, the incoming refugee rate is expected, by the International Organization for Migration, to be 17% higher. The death toll of those seeking refuge was also up by more than 15% in 2016, making for an extremely sad situation.

3. Terror attacks in Belgium and France

There have been many terror attacks across the world this year, including in Turkey, a country that is now home to millions of refugees trying to flee this exact type of situation. The most shocking, however, seemed to take place in Belgium and France, two countries that are the heart of the European Union.

On March 22 Brussels was the target of three coordinated suicide bombings – two at the Brussels Airport and one at the Maalbeek metro station in the center of the city. The perpetrators were part of the terrorist cell that was also responsible for the November 2015 Paris attacks. 35 people died, including the 3 perpetrators, and 340 were injured.

Then, later in July, in Nice, France, a 19-tonne cargo truck was deliberately driven into the crowds on the promenade celebrating Bastille Day. 86 people died that day, while another 434 were injured. The attack resulted in the extension of the state of emergency that had been declared following the November 2015 attacks. And now, let’s see the top two biggest headlines of 2016.

2. The UK votes to leave the European Union

We are continuing our list of biggest headlines of 2016 with the number two – in perhaps one of the most baffling moves the United Kingdom has ever made, the country decided to leave the European Union. Commonly known as Brexit, UK’s exit from the European Union signals for many a big change across the continent and to the pessimists even the beginning of the end. Nevertheless, there are still some Countries that Will Benefit from Brexit. 

On June 23 a referendum was organized and following heavy campaigning from both sides, 52% of the votes were cast in favor of leaving the European Union, leaving many surprised, even those that had voted “leave”. Now, the British government is left in a situation where it has to figure out how to exit the Union and how to negotiate new trade deals to suit its needs.

1. Trump gets elected as USA President

And the biggest news of the year and number one in our list of biggest headlines of 2016 is obviously the election of the new American President – Donald Trump. In a move that most didn’t see coming, the billionaire managed to win the votes of the electoral colleges across the country, dividing America and making the whole world worry about the future.

With Hillary Clinton winning the popular vote with some 1.5 million votes, the divide between the two supporting groups across the United States has given birth to many conflicts, especially as cases of sexism, racism, and xenophobia skyrocketed since the election day.

Considering the type of campaign Trump led, encouraging such behavior through his words and behavior, it’s really no surprise that his supporters feel entitled to act in a manner that was unacceptable until a few weeks ago. The president-elect has promised many changes during his campaign and has already backtracked on many of them. Some, however, are still quite possible and they’re just as worrying, including scrapping the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. On another note, as president-elect he’s made quite a few remarks that seek to silence those that oppose him, including the media by inviting leading anchors and TV executives in order to critique them and accuse them of dishonest reporting even when they had definitely had proof of Trump’s shortcomings and lies.

That being said, these have been some of the 10 biggest headlines of 2016.