Year 2018
Events
January
January 13 - The killing of Naqeebullah Mehsud in a fake encounter
staged by the police officer Rao Anwar in Karachi, Pakistan sparked
countrywide protests against extrajudicial killings. The Pashtun Tahafuz
Movement (Pashtun Protection Movement), led by Manzoor Pashteen,
launched a campaign to seek justice for Mehsud.
January 20 - Turkey, led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, announces
the beginning of a military offensive to capture a portion of northern
Syria from Kurdish forces, amidst the ongoing Kurdish-Turkish conflict.
January 20-22 - The United States government enters a federal government
shutdown as a result of a dispute over Deferred Action for Childhood
Arrivals.
January 24 - Scientists in China report in the journal Cell the creation
of the first monkey clones using somatic cell nuclear transfer, named
Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua.
January 31 - A total lunar eclipse takes place. The Moon appears as
supermoon, with perigee being on January 30. It is also the first blue
moon eclipse since 1983. It was also referred to as the super blue blood
moon.
February
February 6 - SpaceX successfully conducts its maiden flight of its most
powerful rocket to date, the Falcon Heavy, from LC39A at John F. Kennedy
Space Center in Florida.
February 9-25 - The 2018 Winter Olympics are held in Pyeongchang, South
Korea.
February 10 - Kay Goldsworthy becomes the first female archbishop in the
Anglican Communion on her installation in the Anglican Diocese of Perth,
Western Australia.
February 11 - Saratov Airlines Flight 703 crashes shortly after take-off
from Moscow, killing 71 people on board.
February 14
Jacob Zuma resigns as President of South Africa after nine years in
power.
A school shooting occurs at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in
Parkland, Florida, killing 17 people and injuring 17.
February 18 - Iran Aseman Airlines Flight 3704 crashes in the Zagros
Mountains, en route from Tehran to Yasuj. All 65 passengers and crew
members perish.
March
March 4 - Former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and daughter Yulia
are poisoned by the Novichok nerve agent in Salisbury, England. UK
counter-terrorism police investigate amid speculation the Kremlin was
behind the incident.
March 9-18 - The 2018 Winter Paralympics are held in Pyeongchang, South
Korea.
March 9 - President of the United States Donald Trump accepts an
invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for a meeting in May to
discuss the denuclearisation of North Korea.
March 11 - China's government approves a constitutional change that
removes term limits for its leaders, granting Xi Jinping the status of
"President for Life". Xi is also the General Secretary of the Communist
Party of China (paramount leader).
March 12 - Flight BS211 crashes in Nepal, killing 51 on board.
March 14 - In response to gun violence in the United States, and
particularly triggered by the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in
Parkland, Florida, thousands of high school students across the country
participate in an organized protest they called the National School
Walkout.
March 18 - In the Russian presidential election, Vladimir Putin is
elected for a fourth term.
March 19 - The world's last male northern white rhinoceros dies in
Kenya, making the subspecies functionally extinct.
March 23 - An Islamic terrorist attack in Carcassonne and Trèbes,
France, kills five people, including the perpetrator.
March 24 - In over 900 cities internationally, people participate in
demonstrations against gun violence and mass shootings, calling for
stronger gun control in the "March for Our Lives".
March 25
Qantas launches direct non-stop Boeing 787 Dreamliner flights between
Perth Airport and Heathrow Airport, making it the first commercially
non-stop service between Australia and the United Kingdom.
At least 64 people die in a fire at a shopping and entertainment complex
in the Russian city of Kemerovo.
March 26 - More than 100 Russian diplomats are expelled by more than 20
countries in the wake of the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal.
March 28
North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-un meets Chinese paramount leader
Xi Jinping, leaving the country for the first time since assuming office
in 2011.
At least 78 people die in a fire in the police headquarters of Valencia,
Venezuela.
April
April 4-15 - The 2018 Commonwealth Games are held in Gold Coast,
Queensland, Australia.
April 5 - Former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is given
an arrest warrant after a vote by the Supreme Court voted 6-5 in favor
of denying his habeas corpus, due to corruption and other scandals.
April 6 - A semi-truck collides with a bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos
ice hockey junior team in Saskatchewan, Canada, killing 16 and injuring
13 people.
April 8 - Syrian Civil War: At least 70 people are reported to have died
and hundreds suffering injuries after a sarin chemical attack in Douma,
the last rebel-held town in Syria's Eastern Ghouta.
April 11 - 257 people are killed after an Ilyushin Il-76 belonging to
the Algerian Air Force crashes near Algiers.
April 14 - Syrian Civil War: The United States, the United Kingdom and
France order the bombing of Syrian military bases in response to the
sarin attack allegedly by the Bashar al-Assad regime on civilians in
Ghouta.
April 18
In Nicaragua, protests begin against announced reforms of Social
Security which would decrease retirement pension benefits. An estimated
number of 34 protesters are killed by police.
Cinemas open in Saudi Arabia for the first time since 1983 with the
American film Black Panther chosen as the first to be screened.
NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is launched.
April 19
Miguel Díaz-Canel is sworn in as President of Cuba, marking the first
time since 1959 that Cuba has had a president other than Fidel or Raúl
Castro.
Swaziland changes its English name, officially becoming the Kingdom of
Eswatini.
April 23 - A vehicle-ramming attack kills 10 people and injures 16 in
Toronto. A 25-year-old suspect, Alek Minassian, is arrested.
April 27 - Kim Jong-un crosses into South Korea to meet with President
Moon Jae-in, becoming the first North Korean leader to cross the
Demilitarized Zone since its creation in 1953.
April 30 - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accuses Iran of not
holding up its end of the Iran nuclear deal after presenting a cache of
over 100,000 documents detailing the extent of Iran's nuclear program.
Iran denounces Netanyahu's presentation as "propaganda".
May
May 3
The separatist group ETA officially announces its final dissolution
after 40 years of conflict and more than 800 deaths in Spain.
The 2018 lower Puna eruption causes destruction of structures and forces
many citizens of Hawaii to evacuate as lava floods the land.
May 5 - NASA's unmanned spaceprobe InSight is launched. It is expected
to land on Mars in November and use a drill to conduct geological
science.
May 8 - U.S. President Donald Trump announces his intention to withdraw
the United States from the Iranian nuclear agreement. In a statement,
former U.S. President Barack Obama calls the move "a serious mistake".
May 8-12 - The Eurovision Song Contest 2018 is held in Lisbon, Portugal,
and is won by Israeli entrant Netta Barzilai with the song "Toy".
May 9 - The opposition-led Pakatan Harapan coalition, led by former
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, secures a parliamentary majority in the
Malaysian Parliament, ending the 61-year rule of the Barisan Nasional
coalition since independence in 1957.
May 16 - The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Muhammad V, pardons Malaysian
opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim who is immediately released.
May 18 - Cubana de Aviación Flight 972 crashes shortly after take-off
near José Martí International Airport in Havana, killing 112 and leaving
only one survivor.
May 19 - The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is held at St
George's Chapel, England, with an estimated global audience of 1.9
billion.
May 20 - The Venezuelan presidential election, 2018 was held with
incumbent President Nicolás Maduro reelected with 67.8% of the vote and
the lowest turnout in Venezuela's modern democratic history since the
1958 coup d'état. The elections were denounced as a "sham" by several
Latin American countries, the United States, Canada, the Organization of
American States and the European Union.
May 24 - Foreign journalists report that tunnels in the Punggye-ri
nuclear test site have been destroyed by the North Korean government in
a move to reduce regional tensions.
May 25
The European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) goes into
effect, imposing strict privacy controls for European citizens
worldwide.
A constitutional referendum on whether to repeal the ban on abortion in
Ireland takes place, with a landslide win of 66.4% to 33.6% for the
repeal side.
May 31 - The U.S. announces that it will extend its tariffs on imported
steel (25%) and aluminium (10%) to include the EU, Mexico and Canada,
starting at midnight.
June
June 3 - At least 109 people are killed and hundreds wounded by the
eruption of Volcán de Fuego, Guatemala's deadliest volcano for over a
century.
June 8-9 - The 44th G7 summit is held in Canada. President Trump pushes
for the reinstatement of the G8 (to include Russia). He also proposes
the elimination of tariffs.
June 12
The 2018 North Korea-United States summit is held in Singapore. It is
the first summit between a United States President and the North Korean
leader.
Greece and the Republic of Macedonia reach a deal to end a 27-year
naming dispute between both countries, which would result in Macedonia
being officially renamed the Republic of North Macedonia.
June 13 - FIFA awards hosting rights for the 2026 World Cup to a joint
bid from Canada, Mexico and the United States.
June 14 - July 15 - The 2018 FIFA World Cup is held in Russia and is won
by France.
June 16 - Seventeen people die in Caracas, Venezuela following the El
Paraíso stampede after a tear gas canister is detonated in a crowded
club.
June 19
The United States announces it will withdraw from the United Nations
Human Rights Council.
Canada becomes the first major industrialised country to legalise
cannabis for recreational use. The Bill which legalises cannabis took
effect on October 17.
June 22 - July 1 - The 2018 Mediterranean Games are held in Tarragona,
Spain.
June 24 - Saudi Arabia allows women to drive.
July
July 5
Lithuania becomes the 36th member of the OECD.
The 2018 North American heat wave takes place, killing 33 people in the
Canadian province of Quebec.
July 6
Former Aum Shinrikyo leader Shoko Asahara and six other main members of
Aum Shinrikyo, who led the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack, are executed
by hanging.
U.S. tariffs on US$ 34 billion of Chinese goods come into effect, as
President Trump suggests the final total could reach $550bn. China
accuses the U.S. of starting the "largest trade war in economic history"
and announces immediate retaliatory tariffs.
July 9 - Eritrea and Ethiopia officially declare an end to their
twenty-year conflict.
July 10 - Twelve boys and their football coach are successfully rescued
from the flooded Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Thailand, following a
17-day ordeal that gained worldwide attention.
July 11-12 - The 2018 Brussels NATO summit is held in Belgium.
July 17 - The EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement is signed, the
world's largest bilateral free trade deal, creating an open trade zone
covering nearly one-third of global GDP.
July 25 - Scientists report the presence of a subglacial lake on Mars,
1.5 km (0.93 mi) below the southern polar ice cap and extending sideways
about 20 km (12 mi), the first known body of water on the planet.
July 26
Heavy wildfires in Greece leave 87 dead and more than a hundred
buildings destroyed.
The share price of Facebook drops by almost 20 percent after the company
warns investors that user growth has slowed following the data leak
scandal. Over $109 billion is wiped from its market value, the largest
single day loss in corporate history.
July 27 - The longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century occurs,
and Mars makes its closest approach to Earth since 2003.
August
August 1 - The 2018 Kivu Ebola outbreak begins in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo. It becomes the second-deadliest outbreak of the
Ebola virus on November 29, surpassed only by the 2013 West African
Ebola virus epidemic.
August 2 - Apple Inc. becomes the world's first public company to
achieve a market capitalization of $1 trillion.
August 7 - The United States reimposes sanctions on Iran.
August 10-20 - Heavy rainfall causes severe floods in the Indian state
of Kerala. It is the worst flood to hit the state in a century.
August 12
The five littoral states - Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Iran and
Turkmenistan - sign the Convention on the legal status of the Caspian
Sea, ending the 20-year long dispute over the Caspian Sea's legal
status.
NASA launches the unmanned Parker Solar Probe to study the Sun at close
range and the solar wind.
August 14 - Part of the Morandi Bridge collapses after a violent storm
in Genoa, Italy, causing 43 fatalities. Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di
Maio and transport minister Danilo Toninelli blame private company
Autostrade per l'Italia.
August 18 - September 2 - The 2018 Asian Games are held in Jakarta and
Palembang, Indonesia.
August 23 - Ecuador withdraws from ALBA.
August 24 - Scott Morrison succeeds Malcolm Turnbull as Prime Minister
of Australia following a Liberal Party leadership ballot. Morrison is
sworn in as Prime Minister later that evening.
September
September 2 - A fire destroys the National Museum of Brazil in Rio de
Janeiro.
September 6 - The Supreme Court of India decriminalises homosexuality.
September 20 - The MV Nyerere capsizes on Lake Victoria, killing at
least 228 passengers.
September 22 - An attack at a military parade kills at least 29 people
in Ahvaz, Iran.
September 28 - A magnitude 7.5 earthquake hits Sulawesi, Indonesia,
causing a tsunami that kills at least 2,256 people and injures more than
10,679 others.
October
October 2 - Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi is murdered
inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, triggering a diplomatic crisis
for Saudi Arabia.
October 8 - The IPCC releases its Special Report on Global Warming of
1.5ºC, warning that "rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in
all aspects of society" are needed to ensure that global warming is kept
below 1.5 °C.
October 10 - Hurricane Michael makes landfall at Mexico Beach, Florida,
with winds of 155 mph and a minimum pressure of 919 mbar. It is the most
intense hurricane to hit the mainland United States since Camille in
1969.
October 16 - Canada legalises the sale and use of cannabis, becoming the
second country in the world to do so, after Uruguay in 2013.
October 19
At least 59 people are killed and at least 100 injured when a train runs
through a crowd at a Hindu festival in Punjab, India.
The unmanned European-Japanese spacecraft BepiColombo is launched on a
seven-year journey to Mercury.
October 20
700,000 people march through central London demanding a second
referendum on the final Brexit deal. The event is the second most
attended protest of the 21st century in the United Kingdom after the
"Stop the War" anti-Iraq War march in 2003.
President Trump announces that the US will "terminate" the
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty over alleged Russian
violations.
October 23 - The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, the world's longest sea
crossing bridge, is opened by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
October 27
Michael D. Higgins is officially declared President of Ireland after
receiving 822,566 first preference votes.
11 people are killed during the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting at the
Tree of Life Synagogue.
October 28 - The far-right Jair Bolsonaro is elected as the next
President of Brazil, with 55% of the vote.
October 29 - Lion Air Flight 610 crashes off the coast of Java, with 189
passengers on board.
October 30 - NASA's Kepler mission ends after the spacecraft runs out of
fuel.
November
November 1 - NASA's Dawn mission concludes after it runs out of
hydrazine fuel.
November 4 - New Caledonia holds an independence referendum, with 56.4%
voting against independence versus 43.6% in favour.
November 8 - The Camp Fire ignites in Butte County, California. It
becomes California's deadliest and most destructive wildfire, with 88
deaths and 18,804 buildings destroyed.
November 11 - Many nations around the world, particularly ones in Europe
and the Commonwealth, along with the United States, commemorate the
ending of the World War I centenary with Armistice Day, Veterans Day,
and Remembrance Day ceremonies, speeches, parades, and memorials.
November 26 - NASA's InSight probe successfully lands on the surface of
Mars.
November 27 - Ukrainian crisis: Ukraine declares martial law after an
armed incident in which Russia seized three Ukrainian ships in the
disputed Kerch Strait two days earlier.
November 28 - Chinese scientist He Jiankui, at a public conference in
Hong Kong, announces that he has altered the DNA of twin human girls
born earlier in the month to try to make them resistant to infection
with the HIV virus; he also reveals the possible second pregnancy of
another gene-modified baby.
December
December 1-8 - France experiences its worst civil unrest since the
protests of 1968 due to the yellow vests movement. Protests in Paris
morph into riots, with hundreds of people injured and thousands
arrested; over 100 cars are burned, the Arc de Triomphe is vandalized
and numerous other tourist sites are closed, both in the capital and
elsewhere in the country.
December 3 - NASA reports the arrival of the OSIRIS-REx probe at Bennu,
the agency's first sample-return mission to an asteroid.
December 7 - The U.N.'s International Telecommunication Union reports
that, by the end of 2018, more than half - a full 51.2 percent - of the
world's population are now using the Internet.
December 15 - At the Katowice Climate Change Conference, nearly 200
nations agree rules on implementing the 2015 Paris agreement.
December 21 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes at 22,445 after
its worst week since 2008.
December 22
A tsunami hits the Sunda Strait, Indonesia, killing at least 430 people
and injuring nearly 1,500.
The United States government enters a second government shutdown,
arising over a dispute over funding for the U.S.-Mexico border wall. The
shutdown, which lasted until January 25, 2019, is the longest government
shutdown in U.S. history.
December 24 - Burundi moves its capital from Bujumbura to Gitega.
December 26 - After weeks of losses the Dow Jones Industrial Average
posts its largest ever one-day point gain: 1,086 points.
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