Armed conflicts and attacks
- Northern Mali conflict
- Terrorism in Saudi Arabia
- A man shoots six people dead at an education centre in Jizan Province, Saudi Arabia. (BBC)
- War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
- Four policemen are killed and another seven wounded when one of their colleagues opened fire on them in Kandahar, Afghanistan. (Appeal Democrat)[permanent dead link]
Business and economics
- Uber, in San Francisco, California (U.S.), federal court, says it will pay $28.5 million to settle two lawsuits over misleading background check information. Prosecutors settled a similar lawsuit with competitor Lyft in 2014. (AP via ABC News)
Disasters and accidents
- 2016 Taiwan earthquake
- The death toll from the earthquake rises to 59 with 76 missing. (AAP via News Limited)
- Aliso Canyon gas leak
- Southern California Gas Company caps, at least temporarily, the natural gas leak that started last October and has forced thousands to flee their homes. (UPI) (Los Angeles Times)
- A Hellenic Navy helicopter crashes while taking part in a military exercise in the Aegean Sea, near the Greek island of Kinaros, three Greek naval airmen are feared dead. (Reuters)
Health
- A yellow fever outbreak has killed 37 people in Angola since December 2015. (AAP via News Limited)
International relations
- North Korea–South Korea relations
- South Korea starts withdrawing its nationals from the Kaesong Industrial Region in protest to recent actions by North Korea. (Yonhap)
- North Korea says it will freeze all South Korean assets and equipment at the jointly run Kaesong Industrial Park. (AP)
- South Korea shuts off the supply of electricity and water to the Kaesong Industrial Region. (Reuters)
Law and crime
- Occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
- All four remaining occupiers leave the refuge and surrender. (CNN)
- Topo Chico prison riot
- At least 52 inmates are killed in a riot and fire at Topo Chico prison in Monterrey, Mexico. (FOX News) (CNN)
Politics and elections
- Charlot Salwai is elected Prime Minister of Vanuatu following the January snap election. Salwai takes office the same day. (ABC News)
- José Ignacio Peralta is sworn in as Governor of Colima. (El Diario de Coahuila)
- Warren Truss, the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, announces his resignation as the leader of the National Party of Australia. Barnaby Joyce is elected as the new leader with Fiona Nash elected as the new deputy leader. (ABC News Australia) (ABC News)
- The French president François Hollande reshuffles his cabinet, bringing in three ministers from two green parties, Europe Ecology – The Greens and Écologistes !; former Prime Minister of France Jean-Marc Ayrault is named as the new Foreign Minister replacing Laurent Fabius who resigned earlier in the week. (The Guardian) (BBC)
- 2016 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums
- Protesters demanding a $15 minimum wage stormed the venue in front of local and national media prior to the start of the sixth debate, this one between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (UPI) (Fox 6 News)
Science
- The LIGO Scientific Collaboration experiment announces the first direct observation of gravitational waves. (Nature) (The Guardian) (The New York Times) (APS Journals)
Sports
- Sunderland A.F.C. terminate the contract of England international footballer Adam Johnson after he pleads guilty to two charges relating to child sexual abuse. (BBC)