2018 Canberra Rugby League, Teams
All 9 clubs fielded a team in the reserve grade competition. And 6 clubs will field a team in the under 18's competition.


2018 Canberra Rugby League, George Tooke Shield Results (Second Division), Teams
There were 9 teams playing in 2018. 3 teams from Canberra. 6 teams from New South Wales towns surrounding Canberra.


2018 Canberra Rugby League, George Tooke Shield Results (Second Division), Teams
5 clubs fielded a side in the second division under 18's competition.


2018 Canberra Tennis International
The 2018 Canberra Tennis International was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the fourth edition of the tournament and was part of the 2018 ATP Challenger Tour and the 2018 ITF Women's Circuit. It took place in Canberra, Australia, on 29 October–4 November 2018.


2018 Canberra Tennis International, Men's singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received a wildcard into the singles main draw:


2018 Canberra Tennis International, Women's singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received a wildcard into the singles main draw:


2018 Canberra Tennis International – Men's Doubles
Alex Bolt and Bradley Mousley were the defending champions but only Mousley chose to defend his title, partnering Akira Santillan. Mousley lost in the quarterfinals to Evan Hoyt and Wu Tung-lin.


2018 Canberra Tennis International – Men's Doubles
Hoyt and Wu won the title after defeating Jeremy Beale and Thomas Fancutt 7–6(7–5), 5–7, [10–8] in the final.


2018 Canberra Tennis International – Men's Singles
Matthew Ebden was the defending champion but chose not to defend his title.


2018 Canberra Tennis International – Men's Singles
Jordan Thompson won the title after defeating Nicola Kuhn 6–1, 5–7, 6–4 in the final.


2018 Canberra Tennis International – Women's Doubles
Asia Muhammad and Arina Rodionova were the defending champions, but Muhammad chose not to participate.


2018 Canberra Tennis International – Women's Doubles
Rodionova played alongside Ellen Perez and successfully defended her title, defeating Destanee Aiava and Naiktha Bains in the final, 6–7(5–7), 6–3, [10–7].


2018 Canberra Tennis International – Women's Singles
Olivia Rogowska was the defending champion, but lost in the final to Zoe Hives, 6–4, 6–2.


2018 Cannes Film Festival
The 71st annual Cannes Film Festival was held from 8 to 19 May 2018. Australian actress Cate Blanchett acted as President of the Jury. The Japanese film Shoplifters, directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, won the Palme d'Or.


2018 Cannes Film Festival
Asghar Farhadi's psychological thriller Everybody Knows, starring Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz and Ricardo Darín, opened the festival and competed in the Main Competition section. It was the second Spanish-language film to open Cannes, following Pedro Almodóvar's Bad Education, which screened on the opening night of the 2004 festival.


2018 Cannes Film Festival
The official festival poster features Jean-Paul Belmondo and Anna Karina from Jean-Luc Godard's 1965 film Pierrot le Fou. It is the second time the festival poster was inspired by Godard's film after his 1963 film Contempt at the 2016 festival. According to festival's official statement, the poster is inspired by and paid tribute to the work of French photographer Georges Pierre.


2018 Cannes Film Festival, Official selection, In competition
The following films were selected to compete for the Palme d'Or:


2018 Cannes Film Festival, Official selection, Un Certain Regard
The following films were selected to compete in the Un Certain Regard section:


2018 Cannes Film Festival, Official selection, Out of competition
The following films were selected to be screened out of competition:


2018 Cannes Film Festival, Official selection, Special screenings
The following films were selected be shown in the special screenings section:


2018 Cannes Film Festival, Official selection, Cannes Classics
The full line-up for the Cannes Classics section was announced on 23 April 2018.


2018 Cannes Film Festival, Official selection, Cinéma de la Plage
The Cinéma de la Plage is a part of the Official Selection of the festival. The outdoors screenings at the beach cinema of Cannes are open to the public.


2018 Cannes Film Festival, Parallel sections, International Critics' Week
The following films were selected for the International Critics' Week section:


2018 Cannes Film Festival, Parallel sections, Directors' Fortnight
The following films were selected to be screened in the Directors' Fortnight section:


2018 Cannes Film Festival, In the news, Netflix films
A ban on Netflix films in competition, which came about after the streaming giant refused to show them in French cinemas, has meant the issues of streaming and distribution have also been hot topics. The issue prompted Juror Ava DuVernay, who made 13th for Netflix, to make a plea for "flexibility of thought".


2018 Cannes Film Festival, In the news, Netflix films
In March and April 2018, weeks before general delegate Thierry Frémaux was set to unveil the official selection, reports suggested streaming service Netflix was to pull its already-selected films from premiering at the festival in retaliation for the barring of Netflix films from competing. They were still allowed to premiere in other sections, and many reportedly opted for an Out of Competition berth. The films affected were Alfonso Cuarón's Roma, Morgan Neville's They'll Love Me When I'm Dead, Orson Welles' final film The Other Side of the Wind, Paul Greengrass' Norway, and Jeremy Saulnier's Hold the Dark.


2018 Cannes Film Festival, In the news, Netflix films
Ultimately, Netflix pulled all of their films from selection. Notably, in the press conference announcement, Frémaux commented that he wanted The Other Side of the Wind and had planned to screen it as a special screening with the Welles-related documentary They'll Love Me When I'm Dead. He also noted that he had selected Roma for competition.


2018 Cannes Film Festival, In the news, Lars von Trier
Danish film director Lars von Trier returned to Cannes with his film The House That Jack Built, after he was declared "persona non grata" at the 2011 festival.


2018 Cannes Film Festival, In the news, Gender equality
The chair of the jury Cate Blanchett has called for gender parity at the Cannes Film Festival, calling it "almost a gladiatorial sport". However, she concedes that there has been improvements and the change "won't happen overnight".


2018 Cannes Film Festival, In the news, Gender equality
During the festival, 82 female film professionals, led by Jury president Cate Blanchett and veteran director Agnès Varda, took part to a demonstration on the red carpet, demanding more equality between men and women in the film industry, notably the end of the pay gap.


2018 Cannes Film Festival, In the news, Gender equality
The festival launched a sexual harassment hotline in partnership with France’s Ministry of Gender Equality where victims of harassment and abuse could receive support and guidance by calling a dedicated number.


2018 Cannock Chase District Council election
Elections to Cannock Chase District Council took place on 3 May 2018 on the same day as other local elections in England. A third of the council was up for election, meaning a total of 13 councillors were elected from all but two of the council's wards.


2018 Cannock Chase District Council election
The Labour Party held control of the council by maintaining its slim majority of one. Labour held the six seats they previously won at the 2014 election but did not gain any seats from other parties. Unlike previous years, several Labour candidates stood as joint Labour and Co-operative candidates and three were elected, giving the Co-operative Party its first representation on the council.


2018 Cannock Chase District Council election
The Conservatives strengthened their position as the largest opposition group on the council by increasing their number to 15 councillors. They were the main beneficiaries from the collapse in the UKIP vote, increasing their share by just over 20% which reversed the ground they had lost to UKIP at the 2014 election. Their numbers were previously boosted by the defection of two sitting UKIP councillors whose four-year terms were coming to an end; they held onto their seats in these areas whilst also gaining a seat from UKIP and another from an independent in Rugeley, leaving them with four gains. The Conservatives received the highest number of votes but won one seat less than Labour due to their large majorities compared with most Labour-held seats.


2018 Cannock Chase District Council election
Meanwhile, the Green Party were the only other party to gain a seat at this election after winning the Rawnsley ward which had previously been held by UKIP; this was the only direct Green gain from UKIP in the whole country and increased the size of the Green group on the council to three. The Greens stood candidates in all but two wards and gained a higher share of the vote than in 2015 and 2016.


2018 Cannock Chase District Council election
The Liberal Democrats fielded three candidates in their former stronghold of Rugeley. They held onto their last remaining seat in Brereton & Ravenhill but their vote continued to decline in other areas. UKIP stood candidates in seven wards but were not successful in maintaining their seat in Heath Hayes East & Wimblebury or regaining the other three seats they won in 2014. UKIP's share of the vote plummeted by 30%, dropping by as much as 37% in some wards where they stood a candidate. There were two independent candidates, including the sitting councillor for the Western Springs ward who lost his seat to Conservatives.


2018 Cannock Chase District Council election, Results, Council Composition
Prior to the election, the composition of the council was:


2018 Cannock Chase District Council election, Ward results
Vote share changes are based on the results achieved by parties in 2014 when these seats were last contested.


2018 Canoe Marathon European Championships
The 2018 Canoe Marathon European Championships is the fifteenth edition of the Canoe Marathon European Championships, which took place between 5 and 8 July 2018 at Metković, Croatia. The competition consisted of seventeen events – ten in kayak and seven in canoe – divided into junior, under–23 and senior categories.


2018 Canoe Slalom World Cup
The 2018 Canoe Slalom World Cup was a series of five races in 5 canoeing and kayaking categories organized by the International Canoe Federation (ICF). It was the 31st edition. The men's C2 event was removed from the World Cup program before the start of the season by the ICF and was replaced by the mixed C2 event. This was the first season when points were awarded also for the Extreme K1 events.


2018 Canoe Slalom World Cup, Calendar
The series opened with World Cup Race 1 in Liptovský Mikuláš, Slovakia (22–24 June) and ended with the World Cup Final in La Seu d'Urgell, Spain (7–9 September) for the traditional canoe slalom events. The World Championships counted for the overall world cup standings of the Extreme K1 events, but not for the traditional canoe slalom events.


2018 Canoe Slalom World Cup, Standings
The winner of each race was awarded 60 points (double points were awarded for the World Cup Final for all the competitors who reach at least the semifinal stage, double points were also awarded for the World Championships in Extreme K1 events). Points for lower places differed from one category to another. Every participant was guaranteed at least 2 points for participation and 5 points for qualifying for the semifinal run (10 points in the World Cup Final). If two or more athletes or boats were equal on points, the ranking was determined by their positions in the World Cup Final.


2018 Canoe Slalom World Cup, Results, World Cup Race 4
31 August – 2 September in Tacen, Slovenia. The semifinals and finals of the women's C1 and men's K1 events that were scheduled for 2 September were canceled due to floods. The results of the heats were taken as final results for the world cup standings. The extreme K1 events were also canceled.


2018 Canoe Sprint European Championships
The 2018 Canoe Sprint European Championships was the 30th edition of the Canoe Sprint European Championships, an international sprint canoe/kayak and paracanoe event organised by the European Canoe Association, and was held in Belgrade, Serbia, between 8 and 10 June.


2018 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs season
The 2018 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs season was the 84th in the club's history. Coached by Dean Pay, they finished the National Rugby League's 2018 Telstra Premiership in 12th place  and did not qualify for the finals.


2018 Cape Fear River coal ash spill
In September 2018, a dam failure caused by Hurricane Florence led to the leakage of coal ash into the Cape Fear River about five miles northwest of Wilmington, North Carolina. The coal ash came from two storage areas (ash ponds) owned and operated by Duke Energy. Contaminants from the coal ash may have leached into the water source but long term testing has yet to be done by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or other environmental agencies. Clean up efforts were led by Duke Energy and mostly consisted of skimming the coal ash off the top of the water.


2018 Cape Fear River coal ash spill, Incident
On September 14, 2018 Hurricane Florence hit the coast line of North Carolina. While the almost 2 feet (0.61 m) of water that the area received was bad for the dams and catch ponds of the area, the real issues came along when the storm moved inland, dumping more rain water into the Cape Fear River. The flood water produced by the storm damaged the earthen dams built around Sutton Lake, which is used as a reservoir for cooling water.


2018 Cape Fear River coal ash spill, Incident
The breach in the earthen dams allowed for water to rush into several coal ash storage areas where roughly 400,000 cubic yards (310,000 m3) of coal ash was stored. Once the water entered the storage areas the coal ash was able to flow out of the storage areas into the Sutton Lake and then into the Cape Fear River.


2018 Cape Fear River coal ash spill, Environmental impact
There are a few major issues that come along with coal ash spills into large bodies of water. The most visible issue is the turbidity of the coal ash that is dissolved into the water. This is more of a long term issue for the lake than the river because in the lake the ash will be more likely to settle onto the lake bottom, and only run the risk of being stirred up again during the next major storm or other event that will stir up the lake bottom.


2018 Cape Fear River coal ash spill, Environmental impact
The river is a high energy environment so it will be less likely to settle on the bottom and the coal ash will thus mostly flow along the river and eventually be deposited in the ocean. The second issue that arises from coal ash being introduced into the Cape Fear River is the high levels of heavy metals that will leach out of the coal ash. Examples of these metals are mercury, lead, selenium, all of which have negative effects on not only human health (when the water is used as drinking water, for example) but also on any wildlife that comes into contact with this contaminated water.


2018 Cape Fear River coal ash spill, Environmental impact
Duke Energy does not argue that coal ash has leaked into the water source but the company does argue whether the drinking water supplied by the Cape Fear has reached unsafe levels of heavy metals. Duke Energy implies that some of the research that is being released by environmental groups is creating uncalled for panic among the citizenry. According to Waterkeeper Alliance, the mercury levels in the present in Sutton Lake are over seventy times greater than safe levels.


2018 Cape Fear River coal ash spill, Economic impact
The economic impact has yet to be analysed but analysis of similar spills such as the 2014 Dan River coal ash spill shows that even a six month economic impact study is only a short term review of the possible issues. There are multiple costs that need to be considered, Including the ecological and recreational costs that will be add to this event will cripple the areas economy for years to come. Some of the costs may be passed through to Duke Energy customers in the form of higher rates.


2018 Cape Town mayoral election
An indirect mayoral election was held at a special sitting of the Cape Town City Council on 6 November 2018 to determine the successor of former Mayor Patricia de Lille after she resigned on 31 October. Former Mayor and Provincial Minister of Community Safety, Dan Plato, of the Democratic Alliance won the election as the party holds a two-thirds majority in the city council.


2018 Cape Town mayoral election, African National Congress selection, Nominated
Xolani Sotashe, Leader of the African National Congress in the Cape Town City Council; Mayoral candidate in 2016; Member of the Cape Town City Council


2018 Cape Town mayoral election, African Christian Democratic Party selection, Nominated
Grant Haskin, Leader of the African Christian Democratic Caucus; former Deputy Mayor of Cape Town; former Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament


2018 Cape Verdean Football Championships
The 2018 Cape Verdean Football Championship season is the 39th beginner level (likely amateur) competition of the first-tier football in Cape Verde. Also it was another season that it was sponsored by a clothing company Tecnicil, it was also known as the 2018 Cape Verdean Tecnicil football season or the 2018 Tecnicil Football Championships. The championship was governed by the Cape Verdean Football Federation. The season began earlier started on 7 April 2018 and finished on 2 June.


2018 Cape Verdean Football Championships
Académica da Praia won their only national championship title, their last Cape Verdean title was won in 1965 which was a provincial title, used until independence in 1975. Académica Praia will likely to participate in the CAF Champions League competition in 2018, no runner-up of the championships, Mindelense will participate in the  2017 CAF Confederation Cup


2018 Cape Verdean Football Championships, Overview
The triangular phase was used for the second straight time, fifth overall, it was also the second season with four clubs each and with playoffs. A total of 12 clubs participated in the competition, one from each island league and one who won the last season's title. The top club from each group qualified for the first time as well as the club with the most points of a second position of each group qualified into the semis.


2018 Cape Verdean Football Championships, Overview
The finals featured only one leg, the last time that the championship had one leg was in 1985. The final was played in Porto Novo, the most populated place in the island of Santo Antão. A week after the championship final, the cup final took place.


2018 Cape Verdean Football Championships, Overview
A total of 12 clubs participated in the national championship (Campeonato Nacional). Cape Verdean clubs of the nine inhabited islands played between late 2017 and early 2018 in the eleven regional leagues (Santiago and Santo Antão ha stwo each), where each championship (league) winner qualified for the national championship. The defending champions Sporting Praia also qualified, the club finished fourth in the regional season, four positions Académica Praia, made the next few seasons that a club qualified only as 2017 national champions.


2018 Cape Verdean Football Championships, Overview
The season was the second time featuring three groups where the top three qualifies alongside the second placed club with the most points (if one has the same, it may include the most goals scored) into the knockout phase.


2018 Cape Verdean Football Championships, Overview
FC Belo Horizonte, based in Juncalinho in the east of São Nicolau was the recent first timer into the national championships, also it was the next from that island in nearly 28 years being fourth ever.


2018 Cape Verdean Football Championships, Overview
Group A featured the champions of Boa Vista, Santo Antão South, Santiago South and São Vicente, Group B featured the champions of Brava, Santo Antão North, Santiago North and São Nicolau and Group C featured the national champion of the previous season and champions of Fogo, Maio and Sal.


2018 Cape Verdean Football Championships, Overview
Académica Praia and Mindelense met three times in the season, the group stage and the final, the next in two seasons, also it was the first that the club met twice in group stage and once in the final.


2018 Capital Football season
The 2018 Capital Football season was the sixth season under the new competition format in the Australian Capital Territory. The league premier for the new structure qualifies for the National Premier Leagues finals series, competing with the other state federation premiers in a final knockout tournament to decide the National Premier Leagues Champion for 2018.


2018 Capital Football season, League Tables, 2018 National Premier League ACT
The 2018 National Premier League ACT season was played over 18 rounds from  March to August 2018. The league ran with nine teams after the FFA cut funding to the FFA Centre of Excellence, which wound up following the conclusion of the 2017 season.


2018 Capital Football season, League Tables, 2018 ACT Capital League
The 2018 ACT Capital League is the sixth edition of the Capital League as the second level domestic association football competition in the ACT. There were 18 rounds in total with five matches contested per round. The season started on 7 April 2018 and ran until 12 August 2018.


2018 Capital Football season, League Tables, 2018 Capital Football Division 1
The 2018 ACT Capital Football Division 1 is the fourth edition of the Capital League Division 1 as the third level domestic association football competition in the ACT. The 2018 season consisted of 18 rounds with four matches played per round. The season started on 7 April 2018 and ran until 11 August 2018.


2018 Capital Football season, League Tables, 2018 Women's National Premier League ACT
The highest tier domestic football competition in the ACT is known as the ACT Women's National Premier League (WNPL). Each team played each other three times for a total of 21 rounds, plus a finals series for the top 4 teams.


2018 Capital Football season, Cup Competitions, 2018 Federation Cup
2018 was the 56th edition of the Capital Football Federation Cup. The Federation cup acts as the preliminary rounds for the FFA Cup in the ACT with the Cup winner entering the subsequent FFA Cup round of 32. In 2018, the Federation Cup, which is open to all senior men's teams registered with Capital Football, consisted of two rounds, quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final. NPL clubs entered the tournament in the second round. The Cup ran from 18 March 2018 (first round) till 16 June 2018 (final). Canberra FC secured its 18th cup title and qualification to the 2018 FFA Cup with a 3–2 victory over Gungahlin with former Sydney FC player Kofi Danning scoring the winning goal at Woden Park.


2018 Capital Football season, Cup Competitions, 2018 Charity Shield
2018 was the third edition of the annual ACT Charity Shield contested to kick off the 2018 Capital Football season. Money raised from the event goes towards a nominated charity, which in 2018 was Ronald McDonald House Canberra. Canberra Olympic and Tuggeranong United contested the Shield in 2018. Olympic claimed its second consecutive Charity Shield title with a 3–1 victory.


2018 Caracas drone attack
On 4 August 2018, two drones detonated explosives near Avenida Bolívar, Caracas, where Nicolás Maduro, the President of Venezuela, was addressing the Bolivarian National Guard in front of the Centro Simón Bolívar Towers and Palacio de Justicia de Caracas. The Venezuelan government claims the event was a targeted attempt to assassinate Maduro, though the cause and intention of the explosions is debated. Others have suggested the incident was a false flag operation designed by the government to justify repression of opposition in Venezuela.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Incident
Two small drones carrying explosives were detonated while President Maduro delivered an outdoor speech, possibly in attempt to attack the president and other government officials. The incident occurred in the middle of a speech he was giving commemorating the Bolivarian National Guard's 81st anniversary. The first drone hovered over Avenida Bolivar, detonating in the air over National Guardsmen standing in ranks. It was reported that seven National Guard officers involved in the parade were injured and treated in hospital, other sources later claim it was eight. After the explosion, bodyguards immediately protected Maduro with ballistic shields.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Incident
Maduro, his wife Cilia Flores, and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López, who were standing next to him, left the scene unharmed. A second explosion was then heard seconds later – hundreds of National Guardsmen fled the area, abandoning President Maduro, and the broadcast of the event was cut. Despite the images of National Guardsmen fleeing the scene that were broadcast to the public, Minister of Communication Jorge Rodríguez falsely stated that the troops maintained their ranks in the parade.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Incident
A second drone crashed into the Don Eduardo apartment block, located two blocks from where Maduro was speaking. Local journalists and residents shared images of smoke appearing from the apartment building's windows shortly after the incident. A woman living in the building said that a drone had crashed into one of the building's windows, injuring a girl who was taken to hospital.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Incident
Video footage shows two drones; amateur video of one drone exploding, a video showing few people in the area, and another video recorded by Telemundo cameraman Cesar Saavedra of a drone hitting the Don Eduardo apartment building.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Incident
Many members of the press were arrested immediately after the incident, preventing independent investigations and reporting. Reporters from VIVOplay and TVVenezuela were detained by National Guardsmen shortly after the incident.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Investigation, Government, Initial
In a televised address to the nation two hours after the incident, Maduro stated that an investigation had been opened immediately and a number of those connected to the attack had been apprehended and charged. Eleven journalists were detained during the attack and released afterwards. Six other suspects were initially arrested within hours of the incident, which later increased to seven. Reportedly, one of these was known to authorities because of his involvement in the 2014 protests, whilst another had an arrest warrant out for apparently taking part in the assault on Fort Paramacay.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Investigation, Government, Initial
President Maduro also laid blame on extreme right-wing elements in his own country acting together with extreme right-wing elements in neighbouring Colombia, and specifically named Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos as being behind the incident. A spokesperson for President Santos promptly denied the accusations. Maduro also suggested that Venezuelan exiles in the United States, particularly Miami, Florida, may have been involved.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Investigation, Government, Initial
According to Interior Minister Néstor Reverol only two DJI M600 drones were used, though Minister of Communication Jorge Rodríguez said that there were three drones used during the incident, and the reason they failed to reach their target was that radio inhibitors made them lose signal. Police at the scene had previously said that authorities shot down a drone.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Investigation, Government, Initial
Following a brief initial two-day investigation, Reverol presented its findings and explained that the two drones he claimed were involved were loaded with over 4lb combined of plastic explosive C4 elements, and that one was to be exploded above Maduro's head with the other intended to explode directly in front of the President. In one presentation, Maduro showed debris that he "insisted" revealed the drone by the stage was carrying gunpowder and lead, and only the one that hit the building was loaded with C4 as well as gunpowder.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Investigation, Government, Initial
On 6 August 2018, Prosecutor General of Venezuela, Tarek William Saab, announced that two individuals described to be the alleged pilots were arrested and "will be charged with the crimes of treason and intentional homicide" in addition to other crimes.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Investigation, Government, Post-arrests
Shortly after midnight VST on the morning of Tuesday, 7 August, Maduro said that he had "hard evidence" of "the Colombian oligarchy" planning the assassination, and that he would share it "in the next few hours". Maduro announced in a video at the same time that they now knew that the perpetrators were trained during April and June 2018 in Chinácota in Norte de Santander, Colombia, an area which borders the north of Venezuela. In this video he also said that he had been informed that Juan Manuel Santos had told former Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy that Maduro would be gone before he left office. The promised report had not surfaced by the afternoon.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Investigation, Government, Post-arrests
In the evening, Maduro gave a two-hour television presentation from Miraflores Palace which included a partially-censored video of former Venezuelan security official Juan Carlos Monasterios Vanegas, who said he was one of the "bombers", giving a statement blaming Julio Borges and Juan Requesens. President Maduro directly accused opposition leaders Borges and Requesens of being behind the incident, also saying that Borges lived in a mansion in Bogotá that the outgoing Colombian government paid for, though no details of his "alleged role" were revealed. During this time, agents belonging to the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN), Venezuela's intelligence agency, arrested Requesens and his sister, student leader Rafaela Requesens, though the latter was later released. In the video, Monasterios claimed Requesens told him "to kill the President".


2018 Caracas drone attack, Investigation, Government, Post-arrests
As members of the Venezuelan National Assembly, Borges and Requesens received parliamentary immunity. The arrest of Requesens was described as a violation of the Constitution of Venezuela, specifically Article 200 which states that "only the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, subject to authorization in advance from the National Assembly, shall have the power to order their arrest and prosecution". However, Diosdado Cabello, president of the disparate Constituent National Assembly, said he would "introduce legislation" to strip them of the protections. The protected status of the pair was then removed by the next day.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Investigation, Government, Post-arrests
In response to the accusations, Borges tweeted a statement from Bogotá telling Maduro that he was "not fooling anybody", calling the supposed attack a "farce" that Maduro "staged to justify the persecution of opponents". Cabello responded to this, telling him to "go find some good lawyers".


2018 Caracas drone attack, Investigation, Government, Post-arrests
Maduro's evening presentation claimed that everyone involved in the attack was offered $50 million USD as well as United States citizenship status. He also said that they had planned an attack on 5 July, which was postponed due to the drones not arriving on time. Two of those who were arrested and named by Maduro as being involved and providing evidence were a Colombian, Rayder Russo, who was accused of being a planner and financier of the alleged attack, and an American, Osman Delgado, who was accused of being another financier. Both Russo and Delgado were known by the Venezuelan resistance to be informants loyal to Maduro, with rebel leader Óscar Pérez previously revealing that the two were "moles" selling information to the Bolivarian government in December 2017.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Investigation, Government, Post-arrests
On Wednesday, 8 August, Saab said that investigators had so far connected nineteen people to the attack, and three had already been charged. Maduro also named wanted individuals living in Colombia and the US state of Florida, saying he wanted cooperation from these two nations and that he "[trusts] in the good faith of Donald Trump". On Thursday, 9 August, Reverol said that 25 people were under investigation, and Efecto Cocuyo reported that eight had been detained. Though Borges and Requesens are leaders of the Justice First party, Reverol revealed that "the majority of the suspects are from the resistance group Come Venezuela" (sic).


2018 Caracas drone attack, Investigation, Government, Post-arrests
Minister of Communication Jorge Rodríguez gave a national presentation on 10 August announcing that at least one of the drones involved was detonated from the United States, though a report by The Independent that was warning of drone threats said this could be done "from 5 kilometres" away only, as well as showing a supposed flight map of the drones path from Colombia all the way to Avenida Bolívar. Rodríguez also said that he had submitted a Red Notice to Interpol for the capture of "assassin" Julio Borges, and showed a video of Juan Requesens recorded in Helicoide.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Investigation, Government, Raids and seizures
One announcement of alleged perpetrators by Reverol on Thursday, 9 August, included details of several properties that the investigation had seized. They were owned by Delgado, who was accused of helping to finance the attack. Two cars and an apartment in his name were also seized and raided.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Investigation, Government, Raids and seizures
The SEBIN searched the Pestana Hotel, which is almost eight kilometers from the place of the incident, during the investigations of the events. Caracas Chronicles reported that the homes of Juan Requesens, Julio Borges and other deputies, Julio Mora and Jorge Mora, had been raided.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Investigation, Government, Raids and seizures
Rafaela Requesens, Juan's sister and student President of the Central University of Venezuela, expressed her anger that at least forty SEBIN agents broke into their house, also saying that the government wanted to plant false evidence to incriminate her brother. On 7 August, the SEBIN also raided the house of students Valeria Sosa and Luis Alfredo Sosa, from Andrés Bello Catholic University and Simón Bolívar University, respectively, and whose mother is accused of being involved in the drone attack. Roberto Rodríguez, a student leader at Andrés Bello, denounced that the raid was done without a search warrant, that the electricity was cut off from the building, that many belongings in the house were stolen, and that the family were forced to escape.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Investigation, Government, Requesens videos
During his 10 August presentation, Rodríguez showed a video of Requesens allegedly admitting to working with people involved in the supposed attack. In the video, Requesens named several of the suspects, including Borges, though this was limited to him saying that Borges "asked [him] for a favour to help a person get from Venezuela to Colombia". He added that this person was Monasterios and that they had written to Mauricio Jiménez, an immigration official in Colombia, for help with getting passage, who immediately offered it. Requesens gave no details relating to an attack on Maduro.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Investigation, Government, Requesens videos
The opposition condemned Rodríguez's actions, saying that Requesens was drugged and tortured into making a false confession. One source from Requesens' Justice First party assured journalists that the government drugged Requesens to obtain confessions and, when they realised he was still of sound mind, then continued to drug him until he became incontinent, as well as threatening to murder his parents and rape his sister. In a second video, Requesens is wearing only underwear which is visibly stained with faeces. Following the release of the videos, Requesens was moved from being held at the prison of SEBIN, El Helicoide, to the Palacio de Justicia. After five hours, he was returned to Helicoide with his hearing deferred and being denied to see his lawyer.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Investigation, Government, Requesens videos
Health professionals discussed the behavior of Requesens in the videos broadcast to the public. National Assembly deputy and doctor José Manuel Olivares stated that "[t]he clinical signs of Juan Requesens show that there is an alteration of cognitive conditions, which is clinically associated with the administration of drugs that affect the conscience or the will".


2018 Caracas drone attack, Investigation, Government, Requesens videos
An independent Venezuelan psychologist, Alberto Barradas, also observed his behavior, stating in a "subjective conclusion" that Requesens appears "drugged, beaten, threatened", later saying "[a]s a Venezuelan, I think we are outraged to see the images of a deputy full of faeces, of excrement, knowing he was tortured. I believe that as Venezuelans we must feel anger, pain and indignation". In a moment of protest and solidarity with Requesens, Venezuelans demonstrated in public while wearing underwear to share moral support for Requesens, who was seen in the government's video wearing underwear covered in faeces.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Investigation, Government, Requesens videos
Though he was originally transferred to the court building on 10 August, Requesens' hearing was deferred to Monday, 13 August. This hearing went ahead, lasting two days, and on Tuesday, 14 August he was denied bail. He was remanded in custody after being charged with seven crimes against Maduro and the State, to go on trial and face Venezuela's maximum punishment of 30 years in prison.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Investigation, Government, Requesens videos
On 12 August, the government shared a third video of Requesens. In it was Requesens again speaking to camera, in what they claimed was another part of the "confession" from the first video. Requesens says that he briefly had telephone contact with a man who identified himself as "Alexander", who confirmed that Monasterios had got to Colombia.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Investigation, Government, Requesens videos
However, at his hearing, Requesens told his lawyer, Joel García, that he doesn’t remember recording a confession video or any of the people he named. Requesens also told García that guards gave him the stained underwear to "mock him". None of the videos were submitted as evidence.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Investigation, Government, Further arrests
On 10 August, SEBIN arrested Luis Enrique Martínez Rico, the Coordinator of Security and Defense Commission of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), the government's political party. Reports stated that Martínez was arrested due to his alleged involvement in the incident. Colonel Garcia Palomo said in a 13 August statement delivered to La Patilla that "I have no connection with the events that took place in Caracas on 4 August, through the use of drones or the people who they abused, whom I do not know" (sic).


2018 Caracas drone attack, Investigation, Government, Further arrests
On 14 August, the number of suspects had increased to 34, fourteen of whom had been charged, with Saab saying it could rise further. It was also announced that Venezuela were now formally seeking extradition of suspects from Peru, with the government having issued 27 international arrest warrants to Interpol, as well as requesting account blocks and asset freezing for Osman Delgado and Julio Borges. On 22 August, the numbers of those implicated by the government rose again, Saab saying that 25 people had been charged with 43 total suspects involved. The previous Sunday he had named several of these extra suspects, and announced that there were now only 18 Interpol alerts out, with nine extradition orders between Colombia, the US, and Peru.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Investigation, Government, Further arrests
Cabello accused another deputy of the National Assembly, Ismael García, of being involved in the "conspiracy" on 15 August. García was a member of Primero Justicia with Borges and Requesens until he ran for candidacy with Acción Democrática on 10 August. García had been reportedly "in the sights" of the regime in the days before this, along with José Manuel Olivares, who had recently been forced into exile.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Investigation, Government, Further arrests
Maduro said during one speech that he knew that the attackers "were planning a transitional government" and that current politicians were intended to lead it.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Investigation, Independent
One early independent investigation by NGO Control Ciudadano alternatively claimed that "at least one drone belonged to the military", and that a drone was "shot", blaming the government but indicating that it would be unintentional.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Investigation, Independent
Some investigative journalism reports began appearing. Citizen journalism organization Bellingcat stated that two drones "likely" armed with explosives were involved and that "[d]espite apparent claims from one group, it is not possible to accurately attribute this apparent attack without further information".


2018 Caracas drone attack, Investigation, Independent
Though various bodies and countries asked for an independent investigation to be performed in Venezuela, the practice of censorship in the nation prevented this from happening. One of the leading independent investigatory organisations in Venezuela, Armando.Info, was completely blocked in August 2018, with four of its writers also having travel restrictions imposed, barring them from leaving.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Investigation, Independent
On 14 March 2019, CNN revealed new details about the plot, based on new videos.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Responsibility claims
Responsibility for the attacks "has been claimed by a confusing array of spokesmen", including groups named "The Resistance", "T-shirt Soldiers" and the "Phoenix Group".


2018 Caracas drone attack, Responsibility claims
A group named Soldados de Franelas ("T-shirt Soldiers") claimed responsibility for the attack on Twitter. Another group, called Operación Fénix ("Operation Phoenix"), made vague claims on Twitter, accusing the Maduro government of being involved in drug trafficking and stating that they sought to restore democracy in Venezuela. Three hours after the attack, Venezuelan journalist Patricia Poleo read a press release on her own YouTube channel from Miami, saying that militants from the Fénix group claimed the attack. Different sources have variously claimed both groups as having connections to the Venezuelan rebel leader Óscar Pérez, who had been killed by Venezuelan government armed forces in the El Junquito raid.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Responsibility claims
Salvatore Lucchese, a former Chief of Police of San Diego Municipality, Carabobo and former member of the Popular Will opposition party, claimed in an interview with Reuters in Bogotá that he largely organized the events, adding that the "armed struggle" would continue and "no dictator leaves power peacefully". On the evening of 7 August, Maduro acknowledged this claim, telling the people in his two-hour national broadcast that "[a] former police boss of the Venezuelan right has been claiming responsibility for leading the attack. Today he was a special guest at the swearing-in of Colombia's incoming president". The day after, Lucchese tweeted that he "didn’t do anything" and was "one more soldier fighting for freedom".


2018 Caracas drone attack, Responsibility claims
On his Spanish-language talk show, Bayly, Peruvian-American journalist Jaime Bayly claimed that he had known about the attack during the week before and he supported it. He warned that there would be more attacks coming up.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Responsibility claims
A man who said he was a military dissident said that he had been part of a group of similar dissenters from all branches of the Venezuelan armed forces plotting a coup in Bogotá to overthrow the Maduro government, but had no plans of assassination and were not involved in the attack on 4 August, having been infiltrated and disseminated some weeks before.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Responsibility claims
Instead, he says that in April a group of civilians approached his group wanting to join forces and kill Maduro, and he believes they will have performed the attack because of videos they showed of armed drones in Miami. Bloomberg gives credence to this account because of the lack of organisation that the attack appeared to have.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Suspects and arrests
Maduro and Reverol, acting as the Ministry of Interior, Justice and Peace, released the names of wanted people that informants named as committing the attack. The full names and photos of these people were released on wanted posters in Venezuela. El Nacional reported fifteen names on the afternoon of Thursday, 9 August. Diario Panorama and other news sources reported the addition of more names before the end of the day, and several more suspects were named and arrests were made in the following week.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Suspects and arrests
On 31 August, the family of Juan Requesens went to the International Red Cross to give them information about the medical conditions of Requesens. Here, they also spoke to the media there about the other people also incarcerated, who were likely experiencing the same treatment, and noted that several of those prisoners had not even been to court. Requesens' lawyer, Joel García, also mentioned his concern for the other prisoners.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Suspects and arrests
The sister of Colonel Zambrano said at this time that her brother had not been seen by family or lawyers, either, and that guards had told her he wouldn't be available for thirty days. She was also concerned for the colonel's health, because his custodians had been requesting antibiotics, serums, and diuretics for him. A lawyer representing several of those accused of the attack said she had not been given access to any of them or their files.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Suspects and arrests
Another Justice First deputy, Fernando Albán, was later arrested on suspicion of plotting the magnicide on Friday, 5 October. He was detained in the SEBIN HQ also, but was reported dead the following Monday, 8 October. Government officials claimed it was suicide, which was disputed. his friends, family, opposition political parties and Luis Almagro, Secretary General of the Organization of American States, argue that the councilor's death was murder.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Reactions, Domestic
The Venezuelan government referred to the incident as a "terrorist attack". A press release from the Venezuelan Constituent National Assembly, written by Diosdado Cabello, said that they "fiercely condemn the vile and cowardly attack against the constitutional President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela" and that the "act of terrorism shows the hopelessness and frustration of the fascist right", also expressing solidarity with "the patriotic soldiers who were injured". The leading opposition group in Venezuela, Frente Amplio Venezuela Libre ("Venezuelan Liberation Front"), expressed confusion as to the nature of the incident, saying that they can't know if it was "an attack, a fortuitous accident, or any of the other stories being shared on social media".


2018 Caracas drone attack, Reactions, Domestic
Two days after the explosions, on Monday 6 August, Maduro supporters rallied in downtown Caracas, waving flags and with painted faces. However, Reuters reporters on the scene said that there were only a few hundred people, most of whom were government workers, and with several telling the journalists that they had been instructed to attend to support Maduro's image.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Reactions, Domestic
There was immediate outcry among the opposition in the nation after Cabello incited a move to strip supposed plotters and National Assemblymen Julio Borges and Juan Requesens of their diplomatic immunity. The National Assembly Vice President Julio César Reyes spoke out against the move, saying that the "constitution is clear" and "only the Supreme Court of Justice has the authority to order a deputy's arrest, with congressional approval". On 9 August, the National Assembly – Venezuela's parliament – requested that other nations ignore the arrest warrant on Borges, saying that it was "political in nature and should not be recognised by any foreign court".


2018 Caracas drone attack, Reactions, Domestic
Chavista politician Sergio Sánchez reported that people voicing anti-Maduro sentiment in the wake of the attack were being punished, citing a family from Ciudad Tiuna in Caracas who were "evicted [...] for making a political comment about the attack against the President", adding that the government now "relies on the fear of the people to maintain power".


2018 Caracas drone attack, Reactions, Domestic
Following the release of a video of opposition leader Juan Requesens giving statements wearing underwear stained with faeces, Venezuelans protested in the streets wearing underwear in a statement of moral support for Requesens. A group brought some of Requesens' t-shirts as an offering for his release among other tributes for political prisoners during a mass service held in San Cristóbal, the capital of his home state Táchira.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Reactions, Domestic
The Bar Association of Venezuela released a statement condemning the arrest and imprisonment of Requesens, saying it was "arbitrary and illegal", campaigning for the government to release him and naming "numerous and gravely serious objections" to his imprisonment, with the worst being the "obscene, protuberant, impudent and even boastful [...] dissemination of [Requesens'] alleged self-incrimination", saying that they will seek action against the government and aim to prosecute those at fault "once the Rule of Law has been restored to our beloved Venezuela". The opposition deputy Gilber Caro stood in front of the National Assembly on 14 August and stripped to his underwear to send support to Requesens. He said that a man's dignity is not dependent on his state of dress.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Reactions, Domestic
On the Monday 13 August, a protest march called "La Patria Llama" ("The Fatherland Calls") was held starting at the edge of Petare, Miranda and travelled through the Greater Caracas area to Parque Carabobo station. It was organised by Cabello for supporters of the Maduro government who want to "bring to justice the extremists", Cabello adding that these people "would have to kill millions of Venezuelans" to change the country.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Reactions, International
The attack was condemned by the governments of El Salvador, Nicaragua and Bolivia, as well as the FARC, a former terrorist group from Colombia. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel further announced that his nation would supply unlimited aid to Venezuela and the Bolivarian Revolution. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone with Maduro, giving his best wishes to the President and to the soldiers injured in the incident.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Reactions, International
Uruguay and Spain both denounced the violence. The Spanish embassy also said that the crisis in Venezuela should be solved peacefully and democratically. Panama's president Juan Carlos Varela stated "that accusing former President Santos is irresponsible of President Maduro" and that "on one hand we condemn violence, but on the other hand we also condemn the fact that they are making baseless accusations against heads of state". Luis Almagro, Secretary General of the Organization of American States, stated that "[t]he null credibility of the Maduro regime prevents knowing the truth of what happened" and reiterated that he "will always condemn the use of violence as a political tool".


2018 Caracas drone attack, Reactions, International
A Brazilian court case was ongoing regarding the travel of Venezuelan migrants across the Brazil-Venezuela border, and it was closed on Sunday 5 August, the day after the attack, with Judge Helder Barreto suspending restrictions but closing the border to Venezuelans until stability was achieved on both sides. It was reopened shortly after the official bar, with the Brazilian Supreme Court saying the move was too reactionary and "not justified", commentators connecting the closure with an already strained situation gaining further "raised tensions" after the drone incident.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Reactions, International
The European Union promoted a "thorough and transparent investigation" and demanded the Venezuelan government to recognize "the constitutional powers of the National Assembly, including full respect for its prerogatives with respect to the parliamentary immunity of its members in accordance with the rights, legislation and established constitutional procedures". The Venezuelan government condemned the European Union's response, stating that it is "trapped in its irrational rhetoric" and that the European body intends to "ignore the terrorist actions". Vice President of the Subcommittee on Human Rights of the European Parliament, Beatriz Becerra, condemned the arrest of Juan Requesens, stating "Kidnapped, tortured, humiliated.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Reactions, International
[ Juan Requesens] [a]n elected deputy. With all the constitutional guarantees abolished in Venezuela by a dictatorial regime. Please, Federica Mogherini and Antonio Tajani let's fulfill our commitment with a winner of the Sakharov Prize". The Federal Foreign Office of Germany condemned the arrest of Requesens calling it a "clear violation of parliamentary immunity" and demanded a "thorough and transparent investigation".


2018 Caracas drone attack, Reactions, International, Colombia
The earliest and most prominent of blame accusations were those levelled against Colombia, with Maduro specifically naming the Colombian President Santos as orchestrating his assassination, saying he had "no doubt" about it. The Colombian government quickly denied this, stating that Santos was too preoccupied with his granddaughter's baptism to think about overthrowing Maduro. Another statement added that it is "customary for Maduro to blame Colombia for any kind of problem in his country", and on the following Monday Santos himself tweeted to Maduro telling him "not to worry himself", also restating his own attendance at the "more important" baptism on the Saturday.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Reactions, International, Colombia
Two days after the incident, on Monday, 6 August, the Colombian Civil Aviation Authority announced a ban on drones and multirotors at the Presidential procession for Iván Duque's inauguration the next day over fears of a similar incident, with the prohibition extending to a radius and altitude of 2 nautical miles, or 12,000 feet, from Plaza Bolívar, Bogotá. There were no drone attacks on the day, but it saw other attacks by FARC dissidents in which a police officer died and five people were injured.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Reactions, International, United States
In response to Maduro's accusations, the US National Security Advisor, John R. Bolton, denied US involvement in the attack and suggested that the incident could be "a pretext set up by the regime itself". Bolton also stated that if the Venezuelan government "has hard information that they want to present to [the US] that would show a potential violation of U.S. criminal law, [they'll] take a serious look at it." On Monday, 6 August, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo restated that the United States government had no involvement.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Reactions, International, United States
Telemundo reported that the US embassy told its citizens in Venezuela to "find a safe place to stay, maintain a low profile, and avoid protests". James Story, chargé d'affaires at the US embassy in Caracas, met with Saab and Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza in the week following the incident. Arreaza told Fox News that Story said it was "the will of the U.S. government to cooperate".


2018 Caracas drone attack, Reactions, International, United States
In response to the United States stating it would cooperate, Maduro said he would allow the FBI to investigate the incident, saying that if "the United States ratifies its offering for the FBI to cooperate in the investigations on the links in Florida [regarding] the plans of the 4 August assassination attempt and terrorist attack, [he] would accept it".


2018 Caracas drone attack, Reactions, International, United States
The United States Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley was visiting the Colombian-Venezuelan border at Cúcuta on Wednesday, 8 August, to discuss the migrant crisis, and commented that Maduro had caused the attack, that "he did this by creating this chaos" and that "everyone needs to be loud against Maduro and force him to leave". She also pledged US$9 million in aid to Colombia to help support the Venezuelan migrants there.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Reactions, Others
The Venezuelan Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent-winning satirical news site El Chigüire Bipolar posted an article the day after the detention of Juan Requesens showing a photoshopped image of Maduro holding a pokeball with the headline "Nicol-ash Maduro announces open season on capture of political prisoners", likening him to the character Ash from Pokémon who has the mission to "catch them all". The site attributed the fictional quote "We are going to catch them all, the 150 deputies that are out there, we already have Requesens, now we are going after Borges and Meowth of Team Rocket" to "Nicol-ash".


2018 Caracas drone attack, Controversy, Assassination legitimacy
The Guardian reported that the allegations made by Maduro were "too neat" and quoted commentators who doubt the assassination legitimacy. International Crisis Group consultant Phil Gunson stated that "[t]he official 'investigation' [is following course]: begin with the conclusions and work backwards", and senior fellow at the Washington Office on Latin America David Smilde added that "[Maduro will] use it to further restrict liberty and purge the government and armed forces".


2018 Caracas drone attack, Controversy, Assassination legitimacy
Peruvian newspaper La República also wrote that "[s]ome analysts suspect that the attack is a desperate farce" and that "[i]t would not be the first time that an unscrupulous government mounted this type of setup," comparing it to the burning of the Reichstag. The paper concluded that, "genuine attack or mounted farce, basically it does not matter: Maduro has taken things to this point, which suggests bloody outcomes".


2018 Caracas drone attack, Controversy, Assassination legitimacy
The German international news service Deutsche Welle said that the only certainty about the attack is that "[t]he only one benefitting from all this is Maduro himself", noting that the President "has claimed at least 20 coups or attacks against him, but not a single one has done him harm". They called the incident "'fake news'" because "[Maduro's] regime emerges from every actual or supposed attack stronger than before", relating this to the crisis in Venezuela by saying that "[e]ach incident further distracts from increasingly unbearable problems in the country".


2018 Caracas drone attack, Controversy, Firefighter narrative
According to initial reports after the explosion, the Associated Press stated that firefighters attended the scene and claimed that a gas tank located in the Don Eduardo apartment block had exploded during the rally, the explosion caught part of the building on fire and had to be put out. An independent investigation by NGO Control Ciudadano did conclude, in regards to drone explosions, that "[t]he nearby building explosion was coincidental."


2018 Caracas drone attack, Controversy, Firefighter narrative
Efecto Cocuyo visited the building and reported that all apartments received piped gas, which does not require gas tanks. They could not say if there was also a gas tank. Video later provided by Telemundo did indeed appear to show a drone crash into the side of the apartment building. Days after the event, Bellingcat's investigation stated that the report by firefighters was an "early narrative" and that a "second drone crashed and exploded [...] and is the most likely cause of the fire which the Venezuelan firefighters described".


2018 Caracas drone attack, Controversy, Use of drones
Media outlets in Spain and Ecuador quoted a soldier in the rally who claimed he saw no drones, but heard something "like a grenade". El País says Maduro's version of events is not credible. Former Venezuelan military aide Anthony Daquin talked to NTN24 about the incident and criticised the assassination theory, explaining that the event was a no-fly zone and any drones in the area would have been operated by the government.


2018 Caracas drone attack, Controversy, Use of drones
Another theory arose of accidental drone failure causing the incident, with The Guardian reporting an independent investigation had been opened by the NGO Control Ciudadano and its head Rocío San Miguel, a military expert, which claimed that "at least one drone belonged to the military, who lost control of the device inflight. Soldiers then shot it down." She repeated this statement later in a broadcast of Con La Luz with Efecto Cocuyo on 9 August, saying that "it was a mistake by the military and Presidential Honor Guard, and I believe that they destroyed the drones".


2018 Caracas drone attack, Controversy, Use of drones
According to former Venezuelan Vice Admiral Mario Carratu, claims that the drones were shot down by gunfire is inaccurate because "[p]lastic explosives can't be detonated with bullets. They more likely exploded prematurely due to poor preparations by the hit team".


2018 Caracas drone attack, Controversy, Use of drones
The Venezuelan ambassador to Barbados spoke on 7 August, saying that drones are actually completely banned in Venezuela. One of Maduro's television presentations had the President "insist" that the drone that exploded at the stage was loaded with gunpowder and lead, not C4, but the one that hit the building had gunpowder and C4.


2018 Cardiff National Eisteddfod
The 2018 Cardiff National Eisteddfod was held in Cardiff Bay, Wales, from 3 to 11 August 2018. It was the seventh time the National Eisteddfod of Wales had been held in Cardiff. The 2018 event was billed as the Eisteddfod with "No fences" because it dispensed with the traditional enclosed 'Maes', or entrance fees to the event location. It made a £290,000 loss, but its popularity led to the suggestion of future Eisteddfods without fences.


2018 Cardiff National Eisteddfod, Background
The National Eisteddfod of Wales has been held every year (with the exception of 1914) since 1861. It is hosted by a different region of Wales each year. Since 1950 all competitions have been held in Welsh. Around 6,000 competitions are held, in poetry, music, dance, drama and literature, giving it a claim to be the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. The main competition events are the Crowning of the Bard and the Chairing of the Bard.


2018 Cardiff National Eisteddfod, Background
The 2018 Eisteddfod was the seventh time it had been held in Cardiff. It was held for the first time in Cardiff in 1883, subsequently in 1899, 1938, 1960, 1978 and 2008. The 2008 Cardiff Eisteddfod was held in Pontcanna Fields, with a traditional fenced 'Maes' (festival grounds).


2018 Cardiff National Eisteddfod, Preparations
In August 2015 the Eisteddfod's chief executive, Elfed Roberts, announced he was in discussions with Cardiff Council about the idea of holding the 2018 event in permanent buildings in Cardiff city centre, rather than the traditional Maes. In April 2016 the Eisteddfod backed the plans, as a one-year experiment to attract more visitors, though the event would be held in Cardiff Bay rather than the city centre. Existing buildings in the Bay area, such as the Wales Millennium Centre, would be used. The plan was designed to avoid rent and reparation costs, possibly of up to £500,000, needed to site the Eisteddfod again in one of the public parks.


2018 Cardiff National Eisteddfod, Preparations
The target of £320,000 fundraising had been met a month before the Eisteddfod was due to start.


2018 Cardiff National Eisteddfod, The Maes
The main event locations of the Maes were sited around Roald Dahl Plass and the marina of Cardiff Bay. The Wales Millennium Centre became the main 'Pavilion' and 'Y Babell Lên' (Literature Pavilion), with daily tickets available for £10. The Pierhead Building hosted an 80th anniversary art exhibition by the Contemporary Art Society for Wales. It also performed the role of 'Maes D' (the Learners Area), in 2018 called 'Shw'mae Caerdydd'.


2018 Cardiff National Eisteddfod, The Maes
The Senedd building hosted 'Y Lle Celf' (English: The Art Place) with exhibitions of Wales' best contemporary art, craft and design.


2018 Cardiff National Eisteddfod, The Maes
The meeting rooms of the Senedd also became the Societies Pavillions.


2018 Cardiff National Eisteddfod, The Maes
'Maes B', traditionally the pop and rock music event, was held in the vacant Doctor Who Experience building 'Caffi Maes B', 'Ty Gwerin' (folk music) and 'Sinemaes' (the cinema) were held in large tents nearby.


2018 Cardiff National Eisteddfod, The Maes
The Welsh College of Music and Drama held concerts of harp, piano and woodwind music in the Norwegian Church.


2018 Cardiff National Eisteddfod, The Maes
Coronau, an exhibition of previous National Eisteddfod crowns, took place in Craft in the Bay.


2018 Cardiff National Eisteddfod, The Maes
Camping was available further afield, with 338 camping places for families at Pontcanna Fields and the 'Maes B' campsite (for younger revellers) at Fitzalan High School in Leckwith.


2018 Cardiff National Eisteddfod, Aftermath
In November it was announced that the Cardiff Eisteddfod had made an overall loss of £290,000. This was largely because of additional security requirements of the open event. The festival cost £4 million to stage. An estimated 500,000 visitors had attended the Eisteddfod, three times more than the 2017 event. Prior to 2018, the National Eisteddfod had made a profit every year since 2012, with a £93,000 surplus in 2017 despite the Anglesey festival almost being cancelled by the weather. The Eisteddfod council said that more public money would be needed to fund the tourism aspect and make similar open events viable in the future.


2018 Cardiff National Eisteddfod, Aftermath
In October 2018, a public meeting was held in Caernarfon to promote the idea of holding the 2021 National Eisteddfod in the town using existing permanent buildings.


2018 Cardiff National Eisteddfod, Aftermath
In May 2019 the Urdd Eisteddfod held its first festival without admission fees, which also took place in Cardiff Bay, with more than 100 stalls.


2018 Cardiff National Eisteddfod, Aftermath
The 2019 National Eisteddfod returned to the usual fenced Maes with daily entrance fees of £20 for visitors. However, the Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales, Elin Jones, announced she was keen to support a fenceless Eisteddfod for the 2020 event in Tregaron.


2018 Cargill strike
The 2018 Cargill strike was an American protest held by employees of the Dayton, Virginia United States plant of Cargill, a poultry manufacturing corporation.


2018 Cargill strike, Background
Plans of employees organizing and a union forming date back to late 2017 in the wake of reported employee abuse and poor working conditions at the plant. In November 2017, a solidarity community group, known as the Community Solidarity with Poultry Workers, formed in the wake of claimed employee abuse at Cargill. Specifically employees, and former employees claimed that the company would "dispose" of employees and not offer them proper health treatment.


2018 Cargill strike, Background
In February 2018, it was reported that local activists and Cargill union organizers had filed a charge against Cargill for retaliation against their employees for forming and organizing. Within the charge, the organizing committees stated that within the prior six months Cargill had retaliated against four union supporters by terminating employment, denying overtime opportunities, assigning "less favorable jobs," and denying or reducing work opportunities and hours – "solely because of their union activities."


2018 Cargill strike, Background
In response to terminated employees, the community of Dayton organized a series of protests during the Spring of 2018 to raise awareness of the strikes, and union organizing. The protests took place outside of the factory, but moved towards the parking lot as union leaders demanded to meet with plant leadership. In response the Dayton Police were dispatched and arrested nine protesters for trespassing on private property.


2018 Cargill strike, Reactions, Rockingham County
The Dayton Police Department were dispatched and arrested nine individuals for protesting on private property.


2018 Cargill strike, Reactions, Cargill
Cargill denied that the protestors and organized workers had scheduled a meeting with the plant's leadership, and denied that they fired three employees for forming a union.


2018 Cargill strike, Reactions, Cargill
There is a great deal of misinformation and confusion circulating around today’s events. We would like to clarify with what we know at this time:


2018 Cargill strike, Reactions, Cargill
First, there are claims that Cargill fired three employees for their efforts to organize a union. While we can’t share specific information about personnel matters, we can confirm that Cargill does not fire anyone for their union beliefs or for participation in a Union. Our Statement on Human Rights clearly states that Cargill follows the National Labor Relations Act, respecting freedom of association and the right to collectively bargain, enabling employees to join a union and voluntarily negotiate. We respect the rights and freedoms of our employees to either choose or not choose union representation as the law allows. In fact, there are dozens of unions who represent Cargill employees at facilities across the country.


2018 Cargill strike, Reactions, Cargill
Secondly, it is our understanding that several protestors at the facility were arrested by the Dayton Police Department. While we fully support the right to protest, it must be done legally and ethically. Any questions or concerns related to the arrests should be raised with the police department.


2018 Cargill strike, Reactions, Cargill
Thirdly, protest organizers are claiming that protestors had a meeting scheduled with Cargill leadership, who then backed out of the meeting. We can confirm that no meeting with management was scheduled


2018 Caribbean Club Championship
The 2018 Caribbean Club Championship was the 20th edition of the Caribbean Club Championship (also known as the CFU Club Championship), the first-tier annual international club football competition in the Caribbean region, held amongst clubs whose football associations are affiliated with the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), a sub-confederation of CONCACAF.


2018 Caribbean Club Championship
The winners of the 2018 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship would qualify to the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League, the second and third place teams would qualify to the 2018 CONCACAF League, while the fourth place team would play against the winners of the 2018 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield, as long as the Shield winners fulfill the CONCACAF Regional Club Licensing criteria, in a playoff match to determine the final Caribbean spot to the 2018 CONCACAF League.


2018 Caribbean Club Championship
Cibao were the title holders, but were not eligible to enter since they failed to reach the final of the 2017 Liga Dominicana de Fútbol. For the second season in a row, the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship was won by a team from the Dominican Republic, with Atlético Pantoja crowned champions and qualifying for the CONCACAF Champions League. Runners-up Arnett Gardens and third place Portmore United qualified for the CONCACAF League, but fourth-placed Central lost to Shield winners Club Franciscain in a playoff and failed to qualify for the CONCACAF League.


2018 Caribbean Club Championship, Teams
The CONCACAF Council, at its meeting on 25 July 2017 in San Francisco, California approved the implementation of the following two-tier competitions for affiliated clubs of Caribbean Member Associations starting in 2018:


2018 Caribbean Club Championship, Teams
The new two-tier format of the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship and CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield, as well as the teams participating in each tournament, were announced by CONCACAF on 15 December 2017. Among the 31 CFU member associations, four of them were classified as professional leagues and each may enter two teams in the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship.


2018 Caribbean Club Championship, Teams
A total of eight teams from four associations entered the 2018 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship (officially the 2018 Flow CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship for sponsorship reasons).


2018 Caribbean Club Championship, Group stage
The draw for the group stage was held on 21 December 2017, 11:00 EST (UTC−5), at the CONCACAF Headquarters in Miami, United States, and was streamed on YouTube. The eight teams were drawn into two groups of four. The two group stage hosts were placed in Pot 1, while the remaining six teams were placed in Pot 2. Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same group.


2018 Caribbean Club Championship, Group stage
The matches were played between 31 January – 4 February 2018 (Group A) and 7–11 February 2018 (Group B). The top two teams of each group advanced to the final stage.


2018 Caribbean Club Championship, Group stage, Group A
Host venue: Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva, Trinidad and Tobago. All times local, AST (UTC−4).


2018 Caribbean Club Championship, Group stage, Group B
Host venue: Estadio Cibao FC, Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic. All times local, AST (UTC−4).


2018 Caribbean Club Championship, Final stage
Jamaica was announced as the host nation of the final stage on 1 May 2018. The matches were played between 11–16 May 2018.


2018 Caribbean Club Championship, Final stage, Bracket
Host venue: Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex, Kingston, Jamaica. All times local, EST (UTC−5).


2018 Caribbean Club Championship, Final stage, Third place match
Winners qualified for 2018 CONCACAF League. Losers advanced to CONCACAF League playoff against the 2018 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield winners for a place in the 2018 CONCACAF League.


2018 Caribbean Club Championship, Final stage, Final
Winners qualified for 2019 CONCACAF Champions League. Losers qualified for 2018 CONCACAF League.


2018 Caribbean Club Championship, Final stage, CONCACAF League playoff
The CONCACAF League playoff was played between the 2018 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship fourth-placed team, Central, and the 2018 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield winners, Club Franciscain, with the winners qualifying for the 2018 CONCACAF League.


2018 Caribbean Club Shield
The 2018 Caribbean Club Shield was the first edition of the Caribbean Club Shield (also known as the CFU Club Shield), the second-tier annual international club football competition in the Caribbean region, held amongst clubs whose football associations are affiliated with the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), a sub-confederation of CONCACAF. The tournament was played in the Dominican Republic between 13–21 April 2018.


2018 Caribbean Club Shield
The winners of the 2018 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield, as long as they fulfill the CONCACAF Regional Club Licensing criteria, would play against the fourth place team of the 2018 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship in a playoff match to determine the final Caribbean spot to the 2018 CONCACAF League.


2018 Caribbean Club Shield
Club Franciscain won the inaugural CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield, and later defeated Central in a playoff to qualify for the CONCACAF League.


2018 Caribbean Club Shield, Teams
The CONCACAF Council, at its meeting on 25 July 2017 in San Francisco, California approved the implementation of the following two-tier competitions for affiliated clubs of Caribbean Member Associations starting in 2018:


2018 Caribbean Club Shield, Teams
The new two-tier format of the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship and CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield, as well as the teams participating in each tournament, were announced by CONCACAF on 15 December 2017. Among the 31 CFU member associations, 27 of them were classified as non-professional leagues and each may enter one team in the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield.


2018 Caribbean Club Shield, Teams
A total of 12 teams from 12 associations entered the 2018 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield.


2018 Caribbean Club Shield, Venues
The Dominican Republic was announced as the host nation on 15 February 2018. Host venues, all located at Santiago de los Caballeros, were:


2018 Caribbean Club Shield, Group stage
The draw for the group stage was held on 15 February 2018, 11:00 EST (UTC−5), at the CONCACAF Headquarters in Miami, United States, and was streamed on YouTube. The 12 teams were drawn into three groups of four without any seeding.


2018 Caribbean Club Shield, Group stage
The winners of each group and the best runners-up advanced to the semi-finals.


2018 Caribbean Club Shield, Knockout stage, Final
Winners advanced to CONCACAF League playoff against the 2018 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship fourth-placed team for a place in the 2018 CONCACAF League.


2018 Caribbean Premier League
The 2018 Caribbean Premier League (CPLT20) was the sixth season of the Caribbean Premier League, the domestic Twenty20 cricket league in the West Indies. Matches were played in seven countries – Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Guyana, Barbados, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, with three of the matches were played at Lauderhill, Florida, United States. The tournament started on 8 August 2018.


2018 Caribbean Premier League
In July 2018, two changes to the playing conditions were announced for the tournament. The first was a penalty to a team's net run rate for failing to bowl their overs in the given time. The second change was the introduction of a coin toss, to determine who will bat first if a Super Over is needed to decide the result of the match. The Decision Review System (DRS) was used in the last two matches of the tournament.


2018 Caribbean Premier League
Trinbago Knight Riders beat Guyana Amazon Warriors by eight wickets in the final to win their third CPL title.


2018 Caribbean Premier League, Squads
Shakib Al Hasan decided not to play in this edition, and he was replaced by Steve Smith


2018 Caribbean Series
The 2018 Caribbean Series (Serie del Caribe) was the 60th edition of the international competition featuring the champions of the Cuban National Series, Dominican Professional Baseball League, Mexican Pacific League, Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League, and Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. It took place from February 2 to 8, 2018 at the Estadio Panamericano in Guadalajara, Mexico. Criollos de Caguas of Puerto Rico won the tournament.


2018 Caribbean Series
The series was originally set to be hosted in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, but due to the socioeconomic crisis at the time it had to be moved to Mexico for a second consecutive year.


2018 Caribbean Series, Stadium
The Estadio Panamericano is located in Zapopan, within the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area. It is currently home to the Charros de Jalisco of the Mexican Pacific League, who have played there since their entry to the league for the 2014-15 season.


2018 Caribbean Series, Format
The Preliminary Round consisted of a ten-game round robin, after which the top 4 teams advanced to the Semifinal Round (1st vs. 4th, 2nd vs. 3rd). The winners of the semifinal games then squared off in the Final.


2018 Carinthian state election
The 2018 Carinthian state election was held on 5 March 2018 to elect the members of the Landtag of Carinthia.


2018 Carinthian state election
The centre-left Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) was the clear winner, taking 47.9% of votes, an eleven percentage point increase from 2013. The Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) gained six points, and the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) gained one. This was enabled by a collapse in support for other parties: Team Carinthia, which had split from defunct Team Stronach, lost half its voteshare; The Greens tumbled from 12% to 3% and lost their representation; and the Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ) collapsed from 6.4% to just 0.4%.


2018 Carinthian state election
The SPÖ fell one seat short of an absolute majority, and held exploratory talks with the three other parties in the Landtag. They ultimately formed a coalition government with the ÖVP.


2018 Carinthian state election, Background
Prior to amendments made in 2017, the Carinthian constitution mandated that cabinet positions in the state government be allocated between parties proportionally in accordance with the share of votes won by each; this is known as Proporz. As such, the government was a perpetual coalition of all parties that qualified for at least one cabinet position. In June 2017, the SPÖ, ÖVP, and Greens (all members of the government) as well as Team Carinthia voted to amend the constitution to remove this requirement. As such, the 2018 election was the first in post-war Carinthian history in which conventional coalition formation could take place.


2018 Carinthian state election, Background
In the 2013 election, the Freedom Party in Carinthia suffered the largest defeat of any party in Austrian history, falling from 45% to just 17%. Their collapse led to a highly fractious result, with five parties winning at least one state councillor. However, the SPÖ emerged as a clear victor with 37% of the vote. The FPK, having previously been the dominant party in the state, won only one state councillor. Shortly after the election, they voted to give up their independence and merge into the federal Freedom Party. The SPÖ subsequently formed a governing agreement with the ÖVP and Greens.


2018 Carinthian state election, Electoral system
The 36 seats of the Landtag of Carinthia are elected via open list proportional representation in a two-step process. The seats are distributed between four multi-member constituencies. For parties to receive any representation in the Landtag, they must either win at least one seat in a constituency directly, or clear a 5 percent state-wide electoral threshold. Seats are distributed in constituencies according to the Hare quota, with any remaining seats allocated using the D'Hondt method at the state level, to ensure overall proportionality between a party's vote share and its share of seats.


2018 Carinthian state election, Contesting parties
The table below lists parties represented in the previous Landtag.


2018 Carinthian state election, Contesting parties
In addition to the parties already represented in the Landtag, four parties collected enough signatures to be placed on the ballot.


2018 Carinthian state election, Aftermath
After the election, the SPÖ began exploratory talks with the three other parties in the Landtag. By the beginning of April, a coalition agreement had been reached with the ÖVP. However, after ÖVP leader Christian Benger unexpectedly resigned a few days later, the SPÖ led by Kaiser demanded the coalition be renegotiated, fearing the new ÖVP leadership may renege on promises made by their predecessors. On 9 April, the coalition was finalised and presented.


2018 Carlow Senior Football Championship
The 2018 Carlow Senior Football Championship is the 118th edition of the Carlow GAA's premier club gaelic football tournament for senior graded clubs in County Carlow, Ireland. The tournament consists of 8 teams, with the winner going on to represent Carlow in the Leinster Senior Club Football Championship. The championship starts with a group stage and then progresses to a knock out stage.


2018 Carlow Senior Football Championship
Éire Óg were the defending champions after they defeated Rathvilly in the previous years final.


2018 Carlow Senior Football Championship
This was the Kilbride's return to the senior grade after claiming the 2017 Carlow Intermediate Football Championship title, thus ending a 3-year exodus since being relegated in 2014. However, they were relegated straight back to the 2019 I.F.C. after losing their Relegation Playoff Final at the hands of Old Leighlin.


2018 Carlow Senior Football Championship, Team changes
The following teams have changed division since the 2017 championship season.


2018 Carlow Senior Football Championship, Group stage
There are two groups of four teams. The top two teams in each group compete in the semi-finals. The bottom team in each group compete in the relegation Final.


2018 Carlow Senior Football Championship, Knock-out stages, Finals
The winners and runners up of each group qualify for the quarter finals.


2018 Carlow Senior Football Championship, Relegation play off
The bottom team in each group compete in the relegation final. The team to lose will be relegated to the 2019 I.F.C.


2018 Carlson Hockey Games
The 2018 Carlson Hockey Games were played between 19 and 22 April 2018. The Czech Republic, Finland, Sweden and Russia played a round-robin for a total of three games per team and six games in total. Five of the games were played in Pardubice, Czech Republic, and one game in Yaroslavl, Russia. The tournament was won by the Czech Republic. The tournament was part of the 2017–18 Euro Hockey Tour.


2018 Carlson Hockey Games, Games
All times are local. Pardubice – (Central European Summer Time – UTC+2) Yaroslavl – (Central European Time – UTC+1)


2018 Carlton Football Club season
The 2018 AFL season is the 122nd season in the Australian Football League contested by the Carlton Football Club. In one of the club's worst ever seasons, the club finished in last place with a 2–20 win-loss record, the worst in club history. The club's women's team contested its second season of the AFL Women's competition, also finishing last in the competition. The club fielded a team in the VFL Women's competition for the first time.


2018 Carlton Football Club season, Club summary
The 2018 AFL season was the 122nd season of the VFL/AFL competition since its inception in 1897; and, having competed in every season, it was also the 122nd season contested by the Carlton Football Club. Carlton continued its alignment with the Northern Blues in the Victorian Football League, allowing Carlton-listed players to play with the Northern Blues when not selected in AFL matches. Carlton's primary home ground continued to be the Melbourne Cricket Ground; traditional home ground Ikon Park continued to serve as the training and administrative base.


2018 Carlton Football Club season, Club summary
The club fielded its women's team in the second season of the AFL Women's competition, running in February and March; Ikon Park served as the home ground for AFL Women's matches. The club also fielded its VFL women's team in the VFL Women's competition for the first time, splitting home games between RAMS Arena, Craigieburn and Ikon Park.


2018 Carlton Football Club season, Club summary
Car manufacturer Hyundai, which had been a major sponsor of the club continuously since 2008, and airline Virgin Australia, which had upgraded from a secondary sponsor to a major sponsor during the 2017 season, continued as the club's two major sponsors, each signing a five-year extension to their existing deals. In August, the club launched the Carlton College of Sports, a higher education institution in partnership with La Trobe University; it received its first intake of students in 2019 to study sports education diplomas, with much of the program operated out of the redeveloped grandstands at Ikon Park.


2018 Carlton Football Club season, Senior Personnel
Mark LoGiudice continued as club president, a role he had held since June 2014. CEO Steven Trigg resigned shortly after the 2017 season, and he was replaced by Richmond Chief Customer Officer Cain Liddle.


2018 Carlton Football Club season, Senior Personnel
Brendon Bolton continued as club coach for his third season in the role. Originally, it was the final season of Bolton's open-ended contract in which he was guaranteed a full payout if sacked; but over the off-season, the club and Bolton renegotiated to extend this period until the end of 2020. The club's coaching staff underwent some changes and expansions before the 2018 season. Director of Coaching Neil Craig retired from the football industry at the end of 2017 after more than four decades as a player and coach; John Barker took over as the club's head of strategy.


2018 Carlton Football Club season, Senior Personnel
Former player and development coach David Teague, who had been most recently serving as forward-line coach at Adelaide, returned to Carlton as an assistant coach, and former Melbourne player Cameron Bruce, who had most recently served as defensive coach at Hawthorn and had worked there with Brendan Bolton, joined Carlton as defensive coach. Recently retired Essendon midfielder Brent Stanton and Geelong Football League coach Jason Davenport both joined the club as development coaches.


2018 Carlton Football Club season, Senior Personnel
Marc Murphy retained his position as club captain for the sixth season. Kade Simpson stepped down as vice-captain after nine years in the role, but remained in the leadership group. Patrick Cripps and Sam Docherty named joint vice captains in his place – Docherty's nomination coming despite having already suffered a season-ending knee injury prior to the announcement.


2018 Carlton Football Club season, Senior Personnel
The rest of the extended leadership group comprised Ed Curnow, who held his place in the group from 2017, and Matthew Kreuzer, Lachie Plowman and (despite being on the rookie list) Alex Silvagni, who were all newly elevated, replacing Dennis Armfield and Bryce Gibbs, who both left the club at the end of 2017.


2018 Carlton Football Club season, Squad for 2018
Flags represent the state of origin, i.e. the state in which the player played his Under-18s football.


2018 Carlton Football Club season, Playing list changes
The following summarises all player changes which occurred after the 2017 season. Unless otherwise noted, draft picks refer to selections in the 2017 AFL draft.


2018 Carlton Football Club season, Playing list changes
As in the 2016/17 offseason, Bryce Gibbs was linked to Adelaide during the trade period. Originally South Australian, Gibbs was three years into a five-year contract, but sought a return to Adelaide for family reasons, nominating the Adelaide Crows as his preferred destination. No deal had been reached during the 2016/17 offseason, but successful negotiations in this offseason saw Gibbs traded to Adelaide for draft picks. Carlton made three recruits during the trade period, and entered the 2017 draft with two selections in the top ten.


2018 Carlton Football Club season, Season summary, AFLX
Carlton will participate in the inaugural pre-season AFLX competition. The club competed in Pool B at Etihad Stadium on Friday 16 February, playing its round-robin matches against Melbourne and North Melbourne. The club took a young team into the tournament, including several players new to the club in 2018, and Caleb Marchbank served as captain. Carlton lost both of its round robin games and failed to progress to the final.


2018 Carlton Football Club season, Season summary, Pre-season
The club will play two full-length practice matches as part of the JLT Community Series.


2018 Carlton Football Club season, Individual awards and records, John Nicholls Medal
The Carlton Football Club Best and Fairest awards night took place on 5 October. The John Nicholls Medal, for the best and fairest player of the club, as well as several other awards, were presented on the night.


2018 Carlton Football Club season, Individual awards and records, John Nicholls Medal
The runaway winner of the John Nicholls Medal was Patrick Cripps, who polled 166 votes to comprehensively beat Kade Simpson, who finished second with 108 votes, and Ed Curnow and Charlie Curnow who tied for third with 98 votes. It was Cripps' second John Nicholls Medal, having first won the medal in 2015.


2018 Carlton Football Club season, Individual awards and records, John Nicholls Medal
The following other awards were presented on John Nicholls Medal night:-


2018 Carlton Football Club season, Individual awards and records, Leading goalkickers
Charlie Curnow was Carlton's leading goalkicker for the season with 34 goals. It was Curnow's first time as Carlton's leading goalkicker.


2018 Carlton Football Club season, Individual awards and records, Other awards
One Carlton player, Paddy Dow was nominated for the 2018 AFL Rising Star award, nominated after his Round 14 performance against Collingwood. Dow received no votes for the final award.


2018 Carlton Football Club season, Individual awards and records, Other awards
For each of the AFLPA awards, one or three Carlton players were nominated by an internal vote of Carlton players; Marc Murphy was also nominated for the Best Captain award by default. Patrick Cripps placed second in the Leigh Matthews Trophy voting for Most Valuable Player, polling 529 votes compared with winner Tom Mitchell's 773. Kade Simpson also placed in the Robert Rose Award for Most Courageous Player, finishing fourth.


2018 Carlton Football Club season, Women's teams, AFL Women's
Key recruitments to the Carlton AFLW squad in the trade period were Brisbane marquee signing Tayla Harris and Collingwood best-and-fairest winner Nicola Stevens. Former first-round draft pick Bianca Jakobsson was traded to Melbourne, and Nat Exon and Bella Ayre were traded to Brisbane. Owing to traded draft picks, Carlton's top selection in the AFLW draft was in the second round (No. 12 overall), used to select Georgia Gee. Altogether, eleven new players joined the Carlton AFLW squad for 2018.


2018 Carlton Football Club season, Women's teams, AFL Women's
Brianna Davey was made captain of the team, having been a vice-captain in its first season; inaugural captain Lauren Arnell became vice-captain alongside Sarah Hosking. Damien Keeping continued as the team's coach for the second season, with assistant coach Nick Rutley also filling in as match day senior coach in two matches when Keeping was absent due to illness.


2018 Carlton Football Club season, Women's teams, AFL Women's
The following is the final senior squad as announced at the start of the season. Numbers in parentheses represent games played and goals kicked for Carlton in the season. Only supplementary players who played a senior match during the season are listed.


2018 Carlton Football Club season, Women's teams, AFL Women's
The team won its first two matches of the season, before falling dramatically from form to lose its last five games – mostly by wide margins – and finish last in the competition. Part of the club's on-field fall from grace was attributed to the season-ending knee injury suffered by captain Brianna Davey in round two.


2018 Carlton Football Club season, Women's teams, VFL Women's
Prior to the 2018 season, Carlton was one of six AFL clubs granted a licence in the VFL Women's competition, as part of a significant reconfiguration of that competition which saw all Victorian-based AFL clubs taking a direct or affiliative involvement in a VFLW team. Carlton fielded a women's team, branded as the Carlton Blues, in the VFLW competition from the 2018 season onwards. The team finished 7th out of 13 in the league with a win-loss record of 6–8.


2018 Carlton Football Club season, Northern Blues
The Carlton Football Club had full affiliation with the Northern Blues during the 2018 season. It was be the sixteenth season of the clubs' affiliation, which had been in place since 2003. Carlton senior- and rookie-listed players who were not selected to play in the Carlton team were eligible to play for the Northern Blues senior team in the Victorian Football League. The club's home matches were split between the VFL club's traditional home ground Preston City Oval, and Carlton's traditional home ground Ikon Park. The team finished 12th out of 15 in the 2018 VFL season with a win-loss record of 6–12.


2018 Carolina Challenge Cup
The 2018 Carolina Challenge Cup was the 14th edition of the Carolina Challenge Cup, an annual soccer tournament held in Charleston, South Carolina by the Charleston Battery. The tournament ran from February 17 to 24, with all matches played at MUSC Health Stadium in Charleston.


2018 Carolina Challenge Cup
In addition to the Charleston Battery of the United Soccer League (USL), three Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs participated: Columbus Crew SC and 2017 expansion franchises Atlanta United FC and Minnesota United FC.


2018 Carolina Panthers season
The 2018 season was the Carolina Panthers' 24th in the National Football League and their eighth under head coach Ron Rivera. It was the team's first season without former assistant head coach/defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, who became head coach of the Arizona Cardinals in the offseason and former offensive coordinator Mike Shula, who became the quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator of the New York Giants. The Panthers entered the season hoping to improve or match their 11–5 record from last year.


2018 Carolina Panthers season
After starting 6–2, the Panthers fell into a 7-game losing streak, failing to improve or match their previous season's record, and were eliminated from playoff contention following a loss to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 16. Although they went a dismal 1–7 in the second half of the season, the Panthers managed to end on a high note by defeating their division rival New Orleans Saints, 33–14.