October 18, 2018 (Thursday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- War in Afghanistan
- Afghan general and Kandahar police chief Abdul Raziq Achakzai is assassinated by one of his bodyguards during a high-level meeting inside the governor's compound with U.S. general Austin S. Miller. Gen. Miller escaped unharmed according to officials while the governor was critically injured. The Taliban claims responsibility. (BBC)
Business and economy
- Cobalt Air suddenly announces its dissolution, cancelling all future operations and leaving many passengers stranded in Cyprus. (BBC)
- The Federal Aviation Administration states that it will allow U.S. airlines to resume flights at three Ukrainian airports, at Kharkiv, Dnipro and Zaporizhia, and over parts of the Black Sea, citing improved safety and security in parts of Ukraine. (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
- Severe flooding in Texas kills at least two people and damages dozens of houses. Weather forecasters predict that more rain will come and possibly flood hundreds more houses. (CBS News)
Science and technology
- Astronomers discover Hyperion, an ancient proto-supercluster that appeared 2.3 billion years after the Big Bang. (CNET) (Reuters)
- The China space industry plans to launch the world's first "artificial moon" into orbit by 2020 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center to illuminate city streets after dark. (Straits Times) (Time)
Law and crime
- CumEx-Files
- A tax fraud scheme discovered in 2017. (The CumEx-Files)