December 28, 2016 (Wednesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
- An explosion in Kabul leads to several casualties. Afghan police report that the attack was aimed at a member of the National Assembly, Fakori Behishti. (Reuters)
- Colombian conflict
- As part of an ongoing peace process, the Congress of Colombia approves an amnesty law for thousands of demobilizing FARC rebels. The amnesty does not apply to FARC rebels who have committed war crimes or human rights violations. (Reuters)
Arts and culture
- American actress Debbie Reynolds has a stroke and dies one day after her daughter Carrie Fisher's death. (BBC)
- Pan Pan, the oldest male panda on Earth, dies at the age of 31. (BBC)
Disasters and accidents
- The Ajmer–Sealdah Express operated by Indian Railways derails in northern India killing at least two people and injuring dozens. Twenty four people have been hospitalised. (Daily Express) (The Telegraph)
- 2016 Djebel Jelloud train accident
Law and crime
- The Korea Fair Trade Commission fines U.S. company Qualcomm $852.9 million for alleged antitrust violations for restricting access of its competitors to its patents. (Bloomberg)
- The Attorney General of Israel Avichai Mandelblit orders a criminal investigation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged corruption in two different cases. (The Guardian)
Science and technology
- Pan-STARRS project releases its first astronomical catalog, consists of 2 petabytes of data collected over four years. An astronomer from collaborating institution also discloses that his group has studied new types of supernova explosions and the disruptions of stars by supermassive black holes from data of this Massive Digital Sky. (SciTech Daily) (The Indian Express)
Sports
- Former world number 1 tennis player Ana Ivanovic announces her retirement at the age of 29. (The Guardian)