2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, 2022 bids, Australia
Australia's largest stadiums are currently used by other major Australian sports whose domestic seasons overlap with the World Cup. The Australian Football League and National Rugby League claimed that loss of access to these major venues for eight weeks would severely disrupt their seasons and impact the viability of their clubs. The AFL in particular had previously advised it would not relinquish Etihad Stadium in Melbourne for the entire period required. On 9 May 2010 the AFL, NRL, and FFA announced a Memorandum of Understanding guaranteeing that the AFL and NRL seasons would continue, should the bid be successful.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, 2022 bids, Australia
Compensation for the rival football codes would be awarded as a result of any disruptions caused by hosting the World Cup. AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou came out in support of the bid, despite initially not supporting the bid. Franz Beckenbauer indicated that the issue of factional disputes between the FFA, NRL and, AFL were not considered by the FIFA Executive Committee. Although initially Australia seemed to be a popular contender to host the tournament, the final Australian World Cup bid received only one vote astonishing Franz Beckenbauer and experts alike.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, 2022 bids, Japan
Japan bid to become the first Asian country to host the World Cup twice; however, the fact that they were co-hosts so recently in 2002 was expected to work against them in their bid. Although Japan did not have an 80,000-seat capacity stadium, its plan was based on a proposed 100,000-seat stadium that would have gone on to be a centrepiece of 2016 Olympics, for which Tokyo was bidding.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, 2022 bids, Japan
Japan also pledged that if it had been granted the rights to host the 2022 World Cup games, it would develop technology enabling it to provide a live international telecast of the event in 3D, which would allow 400 stadiums in 208 countries to provide 360 million people with real-time 3D coverage of the games projected on giant screens, captured in 360 degrees by 200 HD cameras. Furthermore, Japan will broadcast the games in holographic format if the technology to do so is available by that time.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, 2022 bids, Japan
Beyond allowing the world's spectators to view the games on flat screens projecting 3D imaging, holographic projection would project the games onto stadium fields, creating a greater illusion of actually being in the presence of the players. Microphones embedded below the playing surface would record all sounds, such as ball kicks, in order to add to the sense of realism.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, 2022 bids, Japan
The Olympic bid was unsuccessful, coming third in the bidding process that concluded in October 2009. The Vice-President of the Japan Football Association, Junji Ogura, had previously admitted that if Tokyo were to fail in its bid, its chances of hosting either the 2018 or 2022 World Cup would not be very good. On 4 May 2010, Japan announced that it was withdrawing its bid for the 2018 tournament to focus on 2022, amidst rising speculation that the 2018 edition will be held in Europe.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, 2022 bids, Qatar
Qatar made a bid for only the 2022 World Cup. Qatar was attempting to become the first Arab country to host the World Cup. Failed bids from other Arab countries include Morocco (1994, 1998, 2006 and 2010), Egypt and a Libya-Tunisia joint bid withdrew in the 2010 World Cup bidding process. Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, son of the former Emir of Qatar, was the chairman of the bid committee.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, 2022 bids, Qatar
Qatar planned to promote the bid as an Arab unity bid and hoped to draw on support from the entire Arab world and were positioning this as an opportunity to bridge the gap between the Arab and Western worlds. The bid launched an advertising campaign across the nation in November 2009.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, 2022 bids, Qatar
Some concerns with Qatar's bid deal with the extreme temperatures. The World Cup is always held in the European off-season in June and July and during this period the average daytime high in most of Qatar is in excess of 40 °C (104 °F), with the average daily low temperatures not dropping below 30 °C (86 °F). Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the 2022 Qatar bid chairman, responded saying "the event has to be organised in June or July. We will have to take the help of technology to counter the harsh weather.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, 2022 bids, Qatar
We have already set in motion the process. A stadium with controlled temperature is the answer to the problem. We have other plans up our sleeves as well." The first five proposed stadiums are planned to employ cooling technology capable of reducing temperatures within the stadium by up to 20 degrees Celsius. Additionally, the upper tiers of the stadiums will be dis-assembled after the World Cup and donated to countries with less developed sports infrastructure.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, 2022 bids, Qatar
President of FIFA Sepp Blatter endorsed the idea of having a World Cup in the Middle East, saying in April 2010, "The Arabic world deserves a World Cup. They have 22 countries and have not had any opportunity to organise the tournament." Blatter also praised Qatar's progress, "When I was first in Qatar there were 400,000 people here and now there are 1.6 million. In terms of infrastructure, when you are able to organise the Asian Games (in 2006) with more than 30 events for men and women, then that is not in question."


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, 2022 bids, Qatar
Qatar's bid to host the 2022 World Cup received a huge boost on 28 July 2010 when Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President Mohammed Bin Hammam threw his weight behind his country's campaign. Speaking in Singapore, Bin Hammam said: "I have one vote and, frankly speaking, I will vote for Qatar but if Qatar is not in the running I will vote for another Asian country." Qatar has already hosted the AFC Asian Cup in 1988, FIFA U-20 World Cup 1995 and the 2011 AFC Asian Cup.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, 2022 bids, South Korea
South Korea bid only for the 2022 World Cup. They were bidding to become the first Asian country to host the World Cup twice; however, the fact that they were co-hosts so recently in 2002 was expected to work against them in their bid. Han Seung-joo, a former South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs, was appointed as the Chairman of the Bidding Committee in August 2009. He met with FIFA President Sepp Blatter in Zürich, Switzerland. In January 2010, President Lee Myung-bak visited the headquarters of FIFA in Zurich, Switzerland to meet Sepp Blatter in support of the South Korean bid.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, 2022 bids, South Korea
Although South Korea did not have an 80,000 capacity stadium, it planned to upgrade an existing venue to meet that capacity. There are three grounds which can seat over 60,000 people—Seoul Olympic Stadium, Seoul World Cup Stadium and Daegu Stadium. Another 70,000 seat stadium is scheduled to be built in Incheon as the main stadium for the 2014 Asian Games. Other venues meet hosting requirements as they were built for the 2002 World Cup. The 12 cities selected to hold the finals were South Korea to win the bid were selected in March 2010 and were Busan, Cheonan, Daegu, Daejeon, Goyang, Gwangju, Incheon (2 venues), Jeonju, Seogwipo, Seoul (2 venues), Suwon and Ulsan.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, 2022 bids, United States
U.S. Soccer first said in February 2007 that it would bid for the 2018 World Cup. On 28 January 2009, U.S. Soccer then announced that it would submit bids for both the 2018 and 2022 Cups. David Downs, president of Univision Sports, was executive director of the bid. Other committee members included president of U.S. Soccer Sunil Gulati, U.S. Soccer chief executive officer Dan Flynn, Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber, and Phil Murphy, the former national finance chairman for the Democratic National Committee.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, 2022 bids, United States
The vice president of FIFA, Jack Warner, who is also the president of CONCACAF, originally said he would try to bring the World Cup back to the CONCACAF region. However, Warner also stated that he preferred the USSF change their plans to make a bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, 2022 bids, United States
In April 2009, the bid committee identified 70 stadiums in 50 communities as possible venues for the tournament, with 58 confirming their interest. The list of stadiums was trimmed two months later to 45 in 37 cities, and then in August 2009 to 32 stadiums in 27 cities. In January 2010, 18 cities and 21 stadiums were selected for the final bid. The cities were Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston (Foxboro), Dallas, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle, Tampa, and Washington, D.C.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, 2022 bids, United States
The cities with multiple qualifying stadiums were Los Angeles, Seattle, Dallas and Washington. With several large American football stadiums, the 21 venues were to have an average capacity of 77,000; none seated fewer than 65,000. Seven of the stadiums seat at least 80,000. Two proposed stadiums would be used by Major League Soccer during the summer.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, 2022 bids, United States
In October 2010, the United States withdrew from the 2018 bid process, to focus solely on the 2022 competition.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, Cancelled bids
Two countries had to cancel bids for the 2018 or 2022 FIFA World Cups before individual evaluations began. Mexico cancelled its bid for both cups, while Indonesia was only bidding for the 2022 World Cup.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, Cancelled bids, Indonesia
In January 2009 the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) confirmed their intention to bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, with government support. In February 2009, PSSI launched the "Green World Cup Indonesia 2022" campaign. This campaign included a $1 billion plan to upgrade supporting infrastructure beside stadiums to meet FIFA's requirements. The funds to construct stadiums were to come from regional governments. Indonesia had previously made World Cup history when it became the first Asian nation to play in a World Cup, at the 1938 tournament in France under its colonial name of the Dutch East Indies. Indonesia also had tournament hosting experience as the co-host of 2007 AFC Asian Cup.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, Cancelled bids, Indonesia
In the campaign presentation, PSSI president Nurdin Halid said he believed Indonesia stood a chance to win FIFA's approval to host the 2022 World Cup, despite the relatively poor infrastructure, coupled with the low quality of the national squad compared to other candidates. He said Indonesia had proposed a "Green World Cup 2022", hoping to capitalise on the current green and global warming movement worldwide: "Our deforestation rate has contributed much to world pollution. By hosting the World Cup, we wish to build infrastructure and facilities that are environmentally friendly so we can give more to the planet."


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, Cancelled bids, Indonesia
The bid was launched at a moment when there were strong pressures from Indonesian football fans for Halid to step down from his position as chairman of PSSI. There was no official support from the government of Indonesia until 9 February 2010, the deadline for the country's government to file a letter of support for the bid. Secretary General of PSSI Nugraha Besoes did not deny that Indonesia could be disqualified from the bidding process because the Indonesian government did not support the bid.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, Cancelled bids, Indonesia
On 19 March 2010, FIFA rejected Indonesia's bid to host the 2022 World Cup because the government stated that their concern is for the people of the country and so could not support the bid as FIFA requested. As a consequence, PSSI threw their support behind Australia's bid for the 2022 tournament.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, Cancelled bids, Mexico
Former Mexican Football Federation President, Alberto de la Torre, announced their intention to bid for the cup in 2005, but was ineligible because of the rotation policy at that time.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, Selection, Voting rounds
On 2 December 2010, FIFA president Sepp Blatter announced the winning bids at FIFA's headquarters in Zurich. Russia was chosen to host the 2018 World Cup, and Qatar was chosen to host the 2022 World Cup. This made Russia the first Eastern European country to host the World Cup, while Qatar would be the first Middle Eastern country to host the World Cup. Blatter noted that the committee had decided to "go to new lands" and reflected a desire to "develop football" by bringing it to more countries.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, Selection, Voting rounds
In each round a majority of twelve votes was needed. If no bid received 12 votes in a round, the bid with the fewest votes in that round was eliminated, and accordingly each remaining bid should receive no fewer votes in subsequent rounds than in preceding rounds. Multiple bids received fewer votes in voting round 2 compared to voting round 1 (Netherlands/Belgium, Qatar and Japan), at least 2 voting members in each of the 2018 and 2022 votes changed their votes between voting rounds despite their initial bid not being eliminated in voting round 1. The actual votes cast were as follows:


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, Selection, Allegations of vote-buying
Shortly after the voting in December 2010, ESPN published allegations linking Qatar's successful bid to Football Dreams, a youth development program that channeled money from the Qatari government to football programs in 15 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia—six of which had representatives on the FIFA executive committee. In February 2011, Blatter admitted that the Spanish and Qatari bid teams did try to trade votes, "but it didn't work".


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, Selection, Allegations of vote-buying
In May 2011, the former England 2018 bid chief Lord Treisman told a House of Commons select committee that four FIFA committee members approached him asking for various things in exchange for votes. Among the accused were FIFA Vice President Jack Warner, who asked for £2.5 million to be used for projects, and Nicolás Leoz, who allegedly asked to be knighted. The Sunday Times further reported that month that Issa Hayatou and Jacques Anouma were given $1.5 million in exchange for their votes in favor of Qatar.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, Selection, Allegations of vote-buying
On 30 May 2011, FIFA President Sepp Blatter rejected the evidence in a press conference, while Jack Warner, who had been suspended that day for a separate ethics violations pending an investigation, leaked an email from FIFA General Secretary Jérôme Valcke which suggested that Qatar had "bought" the rights to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Valcke subsequently issued a statement denying he had suggested it was bribery, saying instead that the country had "used its financial muscle to lobby for support". Qatar officials denied any impropriety. Theo Zwanziger, President of the German Football Association, also called on FIFA to re-examine the awarding of the Cup to Qatar.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, Selection, Allegations of vote-buying
In July 2012, FIFA appointed former U.S. Attorney Michael J. Garcia to investigate allegations of vote-buying in the selection process. He submitted the report in September 2014, which FIFA at the time declined to release in full. Instead, FIFA released a summary that Garcia described as "materially incomplete," leading Garcia to resign in protest. FIFA ultimately published the report in 2017, after German tabloid Bild announced they would publish a leaked copy. The report detailed dozens of allegations but didn't provide hard evidence for vote-buying.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, Selection, Allegations of vote-buying
In May 2015, as members gathered in Zürich for the 65th FIFA Congress, U.S. federal prosecutors disclosed cases of corruption leading to the arrest of seven. More than 40 individuals were indicted, including 2018 and 2022 voters Luis Bedoya, Chuck Blazer, Nicolás Leoz, Rafael Salguero, Ricardo Teixeira, and Jack Warner. The resulting cases led FIFA to suspend many members, including Issa Hayatou, and the end of Sepp Blatter's presidency of the organization.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, Selection, Allegations of vote-buying
In April 2020, the United States Department of Justice unsealed further indictments against voters Nicolás Leoz, Ricardo Teixeira, Julio Grondona of Argentina, and Jack Warner. The indictments spelled out how shell corporations and sham consulting contracts were used to pay voters between $1–5 million for their support. Other voters who had previously pleaded guilty to accepting bribes, including Rafael Salguero of Guatemala, aided in the indictments, which when included with previous cases, mean that more than half of the voters were accused of wrongdoing related to their votes.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, Selection, Allegations of vote-buying
Voter Franz Beckenbauer has also been accused by Swiss prosecutors of embezzlement and money laundering related to voting in the 2006 FIFA World Cup host selection, while Ángel María Villar was arrested in July 2017 for embezzlement, after previously being fined for failure to cooperate with investigations into vote-buying in the 2018 and 2022 host selection.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, Reactions
In reaction to the announcement there were celebrations on the streets of Russia and Qatar. The Qatar Stock Exchange responded strongly with increased participation in trading following the announcement.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, Reactions
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told his Qatari counterpart that hosting the tournament "is a big athletic event which can promote football in the Persian Gulf area and Middle East region." He also said Iran was ready to help Qatar in hosting the event, while saying he hoped its neighbours "could achieve a reasonable share to attend the games." al-Thani "underlined [a] necessity of cooperation between regional countries to use and take advantage of the sport opportunity." He also added that Qatar's initiative would motivate its neighbours to "promote and develop their football."


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, Reactions
Roger Burden, who had been acting chairman of England's Football Association, withdrew his application for the permanent post days after the vote, saying he could not trust FIFA members due to their actions. England's bid executive Andy Anson said "I think it has to [change] because otherwise why would Australia, the United States, Holland, Belgium, England ever bother bidding again?"


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, Reactions
There was also a backlash from the media in the losing countries; the majority of British newspapers alleged that the World Cup had been "sold" to Russia, and the Spanish El Mundo, Dutch Algemeen Dagblad, and the Japanese Nikkei made comments about the financial power of Russia and Qatar's commodity and energy reserves. American newspapers the Seattle Times and Wall Street Journal alleged collusion and corruption.


2018 anti-ICERD rally
The Anti- ICERD (International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination) Rally or Himpunan Aman Bantah ICERD (Malay) is a rally that was held in Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 8 December 2018. The rally was organised by opposition right-wing political parties Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) and United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), with the support of various non-governmental organisations.


2018 anti-ICERD rally
The rally was held in response to the new Malaysian government's plan to ratify the United Nations convention known as International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD). The opposition parties from UMNO and PAS seriously deny the ratification of the convention, as it is contrary to the Constitution of Malaysia. The constitution recognizes special rights for the Malay and Bumiputra . Even though the government has announced that it would not ratify the convention on 23 November 2018, the organiser decided to push on with the rally and shifted its main focus towards celebrating government's decision on not ratifying ICERD.


2018 anti-ICERD rally, Background
The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) is a United Nations convention which commits its members to the elimination of racial discrimination and the promotion of understanding among all races. Malaysia is one of the 18 countries in the world that have not ratified this convention, it is also one of the two Muslim-majority countries that have yet to ratified along with Brunei.


2018 anti-ICERD rally, Background
On 28 September 2018, the prime minister Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad addressed the UN General Assembly where new government has to "ratify all remaining core UN instruments related to the protection of human rights", this include ICERD and other five unratified conventions. However, Khairy Jamaluddin debating the UN address that raised concerns about ICERD's impact on bumiputra privileges and special position of Malay and Islam in the country.


2018 anti-ICERD rally, Background
On 19 November 2018, in Parliament, Waytha Moorthy, who is in charge of National Unity and Social Wellbeing, started speaking on the intention of the government in ratifying ICERD and said that consultations with relevant stakeholders would be held in the first quarter of 2019. This was opposed by the opposition and started to attack him.


2018 anti-ICERD rally, Background
On 23 November 2018, the Prime Minister's Office have announced to not ratify the convention and continue defending the Federal Constitution which contains a social contract that has been agreed upon by all races during the formation of the country.


2018 anti-ICERD rally, Participants
While the organizers have set a target of half-million people to attend the rally, the Kuala Lumpur police's official figures have estimated 55,000 people attending the rally (mostly PAS supporters), including PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang and former prime minister Najib Razak. In Kelantan, the state government have declared public holiday on the next day (9 December 2018) to allow Kelantanese people to attend the rally in Kuala Lumpur. The organisers, however, claimed that the amount of participants reached more than 300,000 based on their own estimation.


2018 anti-ICERD rally, Rally
On the day of the rally before the rally started in 2pm, the silat alliance Pertubuhan Gabungan Silat Pertahan Perlembagaan (PERTAHAN) submitted a memorandum to the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong to express their protest over ICERD and other issues.


2018 anti-ICERD rally, Rally
The rally started at 2pm with mass crowds marching to Dataran Merdeka from Masjid Negara, Masjid Jamek and Sogo complex and ended early at 5pm due to heavy rain.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka
The Sri Lankan anti-Muslim riots were a series of religious riots targeting Muslims that began in the Sri Lankan town of Ampara on 26 February 2018, spreading to Kandy District by 2 March until its end on 10 March 2018. Muslim citizens, mosques and other properties were attacked by mobs of Sinhalese Buddhists,The Government of Sri Lanka undertook a forceful crackdown on the rioting by imposing a state of emergency and deploying the Sri Lankan Armed Forces to assist the Police in the affected areas. The situation was brought under control by 9 March. Two fatalities and ten injuries were reported among Sinhalese, Muslims and Police. According to the police, forty five incidents of damage to houses and businesses have been reported, while four places of worship have been attacked. The police arrested 81 persons in connection with rioting.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka
Rioting in Kandy District began in Udispattuwa and Teldeniya, later spreading to Digana, Tennekumbura and other areas. It was sparked when a middle-aged truck driver of Sinhalese ethnicity was assaulted by four Muslim youth following a traffic accident. The truck driver died of his injuries four days later.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka
On 5 March Sinhalese mobs began attacking Muslim properties in the region, resulting in widespread damage to property while some groups of local Sinhalese youth organized by Buddhist monks protected mosques from attackers; cricketers Mahela Jayawardena, Kumar Sangakkara, and Sanath Jayasuriya condemned the attacks and nearly 300 mostly Sinhalese volunteers rebuilt a Muslim business in Anamaduwa. The riots, the first large-scale Buddhist-Muslim sectarian violence since similar riots in 2014, prompted the Government of Sri Lanka to declare a State of Emergency for a period of ten days, in addition to the police curfew already imposed on the district. The state of emergency is the first such since 2011.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka
Social media networks including WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram were blocked in parts of the country in an effort to prevent mobs from organizing their attacks and spreading propaganda. However, the block on the social media networks were uplifted after 72 hours and the cabinet minister, Harsha de Silva further stated that the social media networks have been returned to normal conditions by 10 March 2018.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka
After three days of raid in the main town of Kandy, at least 81 people were reported to have been arrested including the main suspect, Amith Jeevan Weerasinghe by the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) of the Sri Lankan police in connection to the incident as the situation has been under controlled by the forces. However, a curfew has been reimposed in the Kandy town until 9 March 2018.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka
The police officers state that the unusual situation which prevailed in the country for few days has been brought under control but tight securities have been imposed in few parts of the nation as the predicted threats have been focused on the Muslim prayers on 9 March 2018 which is a Friday. The riots were denounced by Buddhist monks and many Sinhalese and Buddhist monks rallied to protect and help Muslims and Mosques during the prayers across the country. According to the Government, Independent observers, Muslims and Sinhalese in the area the majority of the rioters came from other areas of Sri Lanka to carry out the riots.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka
The government revealed that about nearly 465 houses, businesses and vehicles were destroyed and promised to compensate for the families who were severely affected due to the communal violence.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka
A few weeks after the end of the anti-Muslim riots, new CCTV footage revealed that some police officials aided the rioters. Further politicians of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa's SLPP were seen during the riots and claimed to be trying to calm the rioters while the Government accused them of helping rioters. They were arrested on charges of torching a mosque but were granted bail after it was found that the alleged mosque was not torched. It was confirmed that the deficiencies and ineffective attitudes of the police are to be investigated and questioned by the Sri Lankan government.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, Background
Despite mostly coexisting peacefully, many Sinhalese are suspicious of Muslims, believing that their slightly higher birth rates threaten their demographic supremacy, while others view Muslim businessmen as exploiting poor Sinhalese. Some political analysts believe that Sinhalese extremists are trying to transfer remaining hostility against Tamils onto the mostly Tamil-speaking Muslim population. Another factor is increasing Arab influence over Sri Lankan Muslim culture in recent years including the building a number of mosques using money coming from Arab countries and the adoption of the niqab by Muslim women which diverges from traditional dress in the area.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, Background
Sri Lanka has seen several communally charged incidents between the majority Sinhala community and the country's Muslim minority. Ampara District had experienced tensions since 2017, with Buddhist groups accusing Muslims of forced conversions and vandalising Buddhist archaeological sites.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, Background
The recent communal violence in Kandy is the first since the Black July violence which occurred in 1983 between Tamils and Sinhalese Buddhists. This violence is also the first time such communal violence has occurred between Muslims and Buddhists in the district of Kandy since the 1915 Ceylonese riots which was incited by the British administration.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, Background, Ampara
Late at night on 26 February, a group of youths arrived at a restaurant on D.S. Senanayake Street in Ampara town. The meal served by the restaurant contained elements resembling tablets. The youth shared a video of the owner, a Muslim man, supposedly admitting that the food contained sterilization pills. The owner of the restaurant was physically attacked by a mob, who then spread the word about the incident. The police arrested the restaurant owner as a result of the video.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, Background, Ampara
The claim made by the video was later proven to be false; the owner had in fact nodded his head in fear of the angry mob, without actually knowing the Sinhala word wandapethi (sterilization pills), and thus without understanding the question he had been asked. according to sources Sinhalese mobs are not arrested.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, Background, Kandy District
At 2 PM on 22 February 2018, a Sinhalese lorry driver from Ambala, Medamahanuwara was assaulted by four Muslim youths in Karaliyadda, Teldeniya. The victim was admitted to the intensive care unit of the Kandy General Hospital and died on the night of 2 March from his injuries. The victim's assistant (also traveling in the lorry) was assaulted, admitted to hospital, and later discharged after treatment.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, Background, Kandy District
The motive behind the attack has not been clearly established. Some reports state it stemmed from a road accident where the trucker had damaged the wing mirror of an auto rickshaw the assailants had been travelling in while attempting to overtake it; all four suspects were reported to have been intoxicated. The suspects were arrested by the Sri Lanka Police on the day of the attack and remanded until 7 March.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, Riots and violence, Ampara
An aggressive mob had launched attacks on several shops in the surrounding area of Ampara. Hotels in the vicinity of the mosque were also attacked by the mobs, with the police unable to bring the situation under control. The Special Task Force and police reinforcements were then dispatched from nearby police stations which led to the mob dispersing.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, Riots and violence, Ampara
Areas with larger Muslim populations in Maruthamunai, Sammanthurai, Akkaraipattu, Addalaichenai and Kalmunai in Ampara District were conducting Hartals, as response against the anti-Muslim riots. The protests resulted in 8 buses being damaged, while Tamil media reporters were protected by the police. 31 Muslims were arrested who were damaging public properties and released after warning.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, Riots and violence, Kandy District
The first signs of violence were reported from Udispattuwa on the night of 2 March as the body of the victim was being taken to Ambala. Groups set light to tires on the road as a sign of protest against the killing; the police, anticipating violence, deployed 1000 Special Task Force personnel in and around the area, encompassing Moragahamula, Udispattuwa, Teldeniya and Ambagahalanda. Despite these efforts, two Muslim-owned shops in Moragahamula were subjected to arson on the night of 4 March- 28 suspects were arrested for their involvement.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, Riots and violence, Kandy District
General disorderly behaviour and assorted violence associated to the killing by the residents of Teldeniya and outlying areas were also reported. The unrest spread to Digana on the morning of 5 March, when a large mob converged on the town, setting fire to a mosque, shops and houses. In response, police used tear gas and water cannons in an attempt to disperse the crowd, which saw retaliation from the mob through various projectiles while the violence spread to more residences, shops and nearby vehicles.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, Riots and violence, Kandy District
Traffic along the A26 was forced to a halt, and by 3 PM, the police requested the support of the Sri Lanka Army, which deployed 200 troops from the Sinha Regiment base in Digana in the evening. The police then followed up by declaring a state of curfew district-wide in Kandy until 6 AM on 6 March; the same curfew was reimposed on Teldeniya and Pallekele at 8 PM on 6 March, after the body of a 24-year-old Muslim male was discovered within the remains of a shop in Digana. By the evening of 6 March, a total of 4 mosques, 37 houses, 46 shops and 35 vehicles were damaged or destroyed as a result of the riots in both Digana and other locations in the Kandy District; 1 confirmed fatality was reported.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, Riots and violence, Kandy District
On the night of 6 March, mobs were observed in Lewella and Balagolla, moving towards Tennekumbura and the general direction of Kandy- an arson attack on a mosque in Tennekumbura was reported. High ambulance activity was reported from Menikhinna, and 7 people were arrested there for disorderly behaviour and for causing unrest. The curfew put in place on the evening of 6 March was lifted briefly on the morning of the 7th, but soon reimposed. 7


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, Riots and violence, Kandy District
March also saw Muslim residents of Mullegama barricading themselves inside a local mosque after a Sinhalese mob attacked their homes alleging theft of a donation box from a nearby Buddhist temple; the Muslims accused the police of inaction in the face of the mobs. One Sinhalese male was reported to have died and another injured in an explosion of unknown origin in the course of the Mullegama attacks. Some media reported his injuries sustained in an attack carried out by Muslim men.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, Riots and violence, Kandy District
A reaction that a Buddhist monk at the Mullegama temple said was precipitated by a projectile attack against his temple by Muslims earlier in the day. Katugastota also saw anti-Muslim violence and arson, while a mob assembled in the Ambatanna town center after a rumor of a temple being attacked: the mob then proceeded to damage property and engage in rioting.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, Riots and violence, Other districts
Small incidents were reported in other districts against Muslims. Unknown group burnt a tire in front mosque in Medina Nagar, Vavuniya. However, police and army controlled the situation and gave security to the mosque. Some shops belongs to Muslims were damaged and assaulted on workers on those shops in Ambatenna, Matale. A grenade blast has also occurred in the ongoing communal violence in the nation as a hand grenade has been made to blast by a group of people leaving one dead. The following incident has been reported following few hours after the ban on social media networks.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, Response
Sri Lankan police arrested at least 81 rioters including Amith Jeevan Weerasinghe, the leader of the Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist Mahason Balakaya who is believed to be the leading figure among the rioters alongside Suredha Suraweera who was also arrested. Ampitiye Sumanarathana Thera was also seen alongside Amith during the riot and also demanded the release of those arrested by the police but the thera was not arrested. Sumanarathana thera is known for his active participation in violence against Tamils and Muslims. Further the main suspects were brought to Colombo for further enquiries.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, Response
A panel of three retired judges are set to be appointed by the Sri Lankan President to probe into the anti-Muslim riots to inquire into the incidents which held in areas such as Digana, Teldeniya.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, Response
The newly appointed law and order minister, Ranjith Madduma Bandara stated that the current Sri Lankan government is planning to fresh legislation to ensure a code of conduct for the operation of social media networks in Sri Lanka in accordance with the international practices to avoid unethical false claims, rumours which have been spread by many suspicious people through social media. The minister also said that the law enforcement authorities and agencies have arrested people for conducting alleged hate campaigns regarding the ethnic riots between Muslims and Buddhists which prevailed in Kandy for about a week.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, Response
Poilce raided the Mahason Balakaya office at Naththaranpotha in Kundasale after interrogating Amith Weerasinghe which revealed bottles used to make petrol bombs as well as equipment and propaganda materials such as leaflets, posters, notices, letters, banners, a large number of documents and wristbands, which were used in propagating hate speech. Further the police found computer central processing units (CPUs), several bank accounts, bank slips and several vehicle permits.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, Response, Ampara
Obstetricians and gynaecologists denied that pills can cause permanent sterility and stressed the need of surgical procedures such as vasectomy on males and tubal ligation surgery on females to cause permanent sterility. Director General of Health Services Dr. Anil Jasinghe also released a statement denying the existence of a method to sterilize a person through pills. Sri Lankan lecturer Dr. Mohamed Najimudeen from Melaka Manipal Medical College in Malaysia has also offered a prize of Rs. 1,000,000 to anyone able to prove sterilization medicines are being added to clothes or food in the country by various individuals. Health minister Rajitha Senaratne also claimed that there are no such medicines ever discovered to sterilize a male.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, Response, Ampara
Dr. Razia Pendse, the World Health Organization representative in Sri Lanka issued a state claiming, "There is no medication or 'pills' currently known or available that can permanently make a human being sterile. The information on the use of an 'infertility pill' or 'sterilization pill' mixed with food is baseless with no scientific evidence". United Nations Population Fund Sri Lanka Representative Ritsu Nacken in her statement noted that the incidents show the lack of access to accurate reproductive health information in Sri Lanka.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, Response, Ampara
Sociologists and senior lecturers at University of Sri Jayewardenepura's Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Dr. Praneeth Abeysundara and B.A. Tennyson Perera, called for authorities and media to create awareness and dialogues among community leaders and clerics to counter such paranoia.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, Response, Ampara
On 8 March, the country's Government Analyst's Office confirmed the contents of particles alleged to be infertility/sterilization tablets were carbohydrate-based clumps of flour.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, Response, Kandy District
The Government urged calm on 5 March, while the Ministry of Education ordered the closure of schools in the Kandy District. It also imposed a State of Emergency (the first since 2011) over the country on 6 March for a period of 10 days, granting the state powers to arrest and detain suspects indefinitely, and deploy armed forces at its will. The CID was tasked with an investigation into the event and its background.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, Response, Kandy District
The police came under heavy criticism for its failure to impose order and its alleged hesitation in preventing property damage at the start of the riots. Several government and opposition MPs criticized the police and its decision-making, while others called for calm and harsh punishments to perpetrators of racially motivated violence. A group of Sinhalese Buddhist citizens and Buddhist clergy held a protest outside the Digana police station on 6 March demanding the release of all suspects arrested for their involvement in the riots.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, Response, Kandy District
The government and the opposition party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna alleged an organized, political effort to inflame sectarian tensions in Kandy. The Bodu Bala Sena, at the center of the 2014 riots, accused the public of unfairly linking it to incidents of communal violence in the country as BBS was earlier accused and criticised by the critics and other political leaders for aggravating the violence between Muslims and Buddhists, which was later revealed that Bodu Bala Sena was unnecessarily blamed for the incident. BBS Secretary General Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara visited the assault victim's home on 4 March, and claimed he had urged residents of the area to remain calm.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, Response, Kandy District
In an effort to prevent mobs from organizing online through social media platforms, internet access to the Kandy District was restricted by order of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC). Access to Facebook was blocked, and the Ministry of Defence instructed the TRC to report on individuals spreading hate speech on social media platforms. The Centre for Policy Alternatives, a think-tank based in Colombo, released a statement claiming videos containing "false information" that sought to incite sectarian violence were going viral online.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, Response, Kandy District
Following the violence in Kandy, several foreign tourists have cancelled their visits to the historic Kandy town. This was evident despite the attempts taken by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority to provide further updates to the foreign tourists about the country's current situation. But the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority stated that Kandy is returning to the normal situation and foreign tourists could resume their visits to the country.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, Response, Kandy District
The riots affected both Sinhalese and Muslim communities in the areas with businesses run by Sinhalese in properties rented from Muslims being also burned by the mobs. After the riots ended citizens of Balagalla joined to help the Muslims affected by the riots. Pathadumbara Thalpotha Dhammajothi Thera the Chief Incumbent of the Balagolla Viharaya organized efforts to provide dry rations to Muslim families displaced due to riots. Many Buddhist monks also visited Muslim churches during the Friday prayers in 9 March to express solidarity with Muslims. An organization with the name, Citizens Against Racism has staged a peaceful protests on 8 March 2018 to combat ethnic minority violence in the country. Hundreds of Buddhists monks from the National Bhikku Front also launched a peaceful protest in Colombo accusing the rioters of destroying national unity.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, Response, Kandy District
In addition Sinhalese and Buddhist volunteers actively participated in reconstruction efforts and one Muslim owned eatery which was set ablaze by rioters was repaired by over 300 volunteers with around 200 being Sinhalese within 12 hours attracting media attention


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, Response, Kandy District
The schools in the administrative Kandy District were re-opened on 12 March 2018 (Monday) following the gradual improvement in Kandy after the communal violence. The schools had been closed for about one week since 5 March 2018 due to the imposition of the state of emergency.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, Response, Kandy District
Australia, Denmark, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States issued travel advisories warning their citizens to remain vigilant, avoid large crowds and protests, and to follow instructions by local authorities.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, Response, Kandy District
Sri Lankan cricketers including Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Sanath Jayasuriya strongly condemned the situation, and asked the populace to come together to make the country united again. Former Sri Lankan cricketer, Muttiah Muralitharan pointed that his family members are feeling safe in Kandy and also said that there is no need to worry about the country following the declaration of the state of emergency.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, Response, Kandy District
Former Sri Lankan president, Mahinda Rajapaksa accused and blamed the government for not acting in a more responsive manner to control the ethnic riots. He further mentioned that some cabinet ministers tried to blame the police officials rather than being responsible to control and manage the unusual situation which has spread in the nation. Further, Mahinda Rajapaksa has also been reported to have met the heads of diplomatic missions of few Islamic countries in order to discuss about the communal violence which erupted in the nation a few weeks ago. In addition, he also went onto visit Kandy on 9 March 2018 to discuss about the current situation in the area following the violence.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, Response, Kandy District
Indian test cricketer, Ravichandran Ashwin has also deeply expressed his condolences and disarray towards the people of Sri Lanka and pointed out that Sri Lankan people of any cast are generally good. He further mentioned in his Twitter account, Sri Lanka would become great again after sometime. Human rights activist, Meenakshi Ganguly from India has also warned the Sri Lankan government for not taking immediate actions to eradicate communal violences in the nation.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, Economic Impact
The riots negatively impacted the Economy of Sri Lanka as well as the local economy of Kandy. In addition to the destruction of many shops employing both Sinhalese and Muslims many tourists cancelled visits to Sri Lanka which heavily depends on the tourism industry.


2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, Economic Impact
The violence in Kandy affected the Nuwara Eliya season in April where there was a 40% drop in tourist arrivals both local and foreign compared to the last year. Tourism Development Minister John Amaratunga planned to invite Ambassadors of the various countries that imposed travel advisories with a site visit for diplomats mainly from the European and Middle Eastern nations on 13–14 May with cultural events and tours to assure them about the country returning to normalcy.


2018 attack on the High National Elections Commission in Tripoli, Libya
On May 2, 2018, suicide bombers attacked the High National Elections Commission (HNEC) in Tripoli, Libya, killing at least 16 people, injuring 20 and setting fire to the building.


2018 attack on the High National Elections Commission in Tripoli, Libya, Responsibility
The Islamic State's Tripoli Province claimed responsibility for the attack and declared that it came in response to the recent speech of the group's spokesman to hit election centers and activists.


2018 attacks on Hindi-speaking migrants in Gujarat
In October 2018, there were incidents of attacks on Hindi-speaking migrants; from the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh; in Gujarat after the alleged rape of a 14-month-old in a village near Himmatnagar in north Gujarat. The attacks triggered the exodus of the migrants.


2018 attacks on Hindi-speaking migrants in Gujarat, Background
The 14-months old girl from a Thakor community was allegedly raped by a migrant labourer from Bihar on 28 September 2018. He worked at the ceramic factory at Dhundhar village near Himmatnagar, Sabarkantha district in north Gujarat where the incident took place. He was arrested by the police next day. It angered the Thakor community which held protests across Gujarat.


2018 attacks on Hindi-speaking migrants in Gujarat, Attacks and exodus
On 2 October, a mob, allegedly led by Kshatriya Thakor Sena members, attacked on the migrant workers in a factory near Vadnagar in Mehsana district. The police had arrested the twenty people for rioting. The next day, Alpesh Thakor, a leader of Koli Thakor Sena and Indian National Congress MLA; had announced the fast from 8 October to seek justice of the rape survivor. He had reportedly demanded the preference to the local people in jobs in industries in the state while addressing the protest. He had also accused the government of filing false cases against the members of his community and demanded their release.


2018 attacks on Hindi-speaking migrants in Gujarat, Attacks and exodus
On 3 October, there was an attack in Chandlodiya, Ahmedabad. There were further incidents of attacks on the migrant labourers and the factories employing them by the Thakor community and others. By 7 October, the six districts were affected including Sabarkantha, Mehsana, Gandhinagar, Patan, Banaskantha, Aravalli and Ahmedabad district. The first two districts were the worst affected. The attacks were chiefly in industrial estates and industrial belts. On 8 October, there were attacks in villages near Vadodara also. No incidents of attack reported after 9 October.


2018 attacks on Hindi-speaking migrants in Gujarat, Attacks and exodus
The attacks triggered exodus of the more than thousand labourers from Gujarat to their native states. The Director General of Police denied the exodus and attributed the leaving migrants to the upcoming festive season. Uttar Bharatiya Vikas Parishad, an outfit supporting north Indian migrants, claimed that around 20,000 people had left Gujarat by 8 October.


2018 attacks on Hindi-speaking migrants in Gujarat, Government action
By 8 October, total 55 FIRs were lodged and 431 people were arrested. Ten people were arrested for spreading  rumours and hatred on social media. The government of Gujarat provided security to more than hundred factories. Apart from State Police, seventeen companies of State Reserve Police (SRP) were deployed in the affected districts.


2018 attacks on Hindi-speaking migrants in Gujarat, Government action
The Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) urged the government to restore the peace as the industries were affected.


2018 attacks on Hindi-speaking migrants in Gujarat, Political reactions
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Indian National Congress (INC), two major political parties in Gujarat assembly, appealed for peace and harmony. The opposition INC state chief Amit Chavda reasoned the rising unemployment in youth behind the anger and criticised the attackers. INC President Rahul Gandhi called the attacks "completely wrong" and attributed it to unemployment and shutdown of the factories.


2018 attacks on Hindi-speaking migrants in Gujarat, Political reactions
BJP blamed Alpesh Thakor and his outfit for the violence. Alpesh Thakor denied his involvement and appealed for peace to his community. He kept "goodwill" fast in Ahmedabad for a day on 11 October. The Government of Gujarat appealed to the migrants to return.


2018 attacks on Hindi-speaking migrants in Gujarat, Political reactions
"When Thakor was in Congress, BJP opposed his action against the North Indians. If he joins the BJP and dons saffron stole, will his sins be washed away? We have not forgotten the wounds inflicted by Thakor and his aides on us. Many BJP leaders are keen to see Alpesh in BJP. I think BJP is waiting for LS elections to get over before inducting Alpesh so that its North Indian votes remain intact.


2018 attacks on Hindi-speaking migrants in Gujarat, Political reactions
My contention is simple: If Alpesh can spread so much fear being a Congress MLA, imagine what he can do after joining the BJP which is in power in Gujarat and Centre. If BJP gives him entry, it will lose our support. We will protest in Gujarat and North India to stop him from entering BJP."


2018 attacks on Hindi-speaking migrants in Gujarat, Political reactions
In July 2019, after Lok Sabha Elections, Alpesh Thakor joined BJP after quitting INC. Legitimate questions regarding his involvement in violence would disappear slowly.


2018 attacks on Hindi-speaking migrants in Gujarat, Political reactions
Yogi Adityanath and Nitish Kumar, the chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar respectively, spoke with Vijay Rupani, Gujarat Chief Minister for their concerns. Tejashwi Yadav, a leader of Rashtriya Janata Dal, a opposition political party from Bihar; criticised the Central Government led by BJP leader Narendra Modi who belongs to Gujarat, alleging that BJP/RSS had "turned Gujrat into a nursery of hatred & violence against poor, dalits & minorities."


2018 belairdirect BC Men's Curling Championship
The 2018 belairdirect BC Men's Curling Championship was held from January 30 to February 4 at the Parksville Curling Club in Parksville, British Columbia. The winning Sean Geall rink represented British Columbia at the 2018 Tim Hortons Brier in Regina, Saskatchewan.


2018 collapse of the rue d'Aubagne
On 5 November 2018, two buildings, numbers 63 and 65 in Rue d'Aubagne, collapsed in the center of Marseille. Eight bodies were found in the rubble, when the search for survivors came to an end on 9 November. Over the following days, more than a thousand people, most of whom were from the ethnic minorities living in such buildings, were moved from their houses to safer accommodation.


2018 collapse of the rue d'Aubagne
After the collapse, the tenants of the houses in the center of Marseille cited laziness on the part of the town hall because most buildings in the center of Marseille are dilapidated and not maintained.


2018 collapse of the rue d'Aubagne
During a march to honour the victims on 10 November, which gathered 8000 people according to the authorities, a balcony collapsed, injuring three.


2018 collapse of the rue d'Aubagne
The indictments began in November 2020 with those of Marseille Habitat (owner of No. 63), Julien Ruas (close to Jean-Claude Gaudin and his deputy in charge of the risk management and prevention department), and the Liautard firm (co-ownership manager in charge of No. 65). The investigation could last for many more years.


2018 collapse of the rue d'Aubagne, The Dilapidation of Marseille's Housing
The accident revealed the dilapidated state of Marseille's housing (100,000 Marseillais live in slums according to the Fondation Abbé Pierre, and 13% of Marseille's housing is considered to be substandard), as well as the mayor's inaction.


2018 collapse of the rue d'Aubagne, The Dilapidation of Marseille's Housing
In 2015, a report from the honorary inspector general of the administration of sustainable development titled "Private Real Estate in Marseille"  ordered and made public by the minister of housing, Silvia Pinel, had already overwhelmed the municipality. It concluded that "100,000 people live in unsanitary housing in Marseille."


2018 collapse of the rue d'Aubagne, The Dilapidation of Marseille's Housing
After the collapse, the Haut comité pour le logement des personnes défavorisées (High Committee for the Housing of Disadvantaged Persons) publicized on 21 November a report submitted to President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Édouard Philippe with the evocative title "Marseille: From Housing to Humanitarian Crisis." In the report, it is claimed that "the collapses of the buildings on rue d'Aubagne were not accidental and unforeseeable events. They resulted from a continuity of disfunction from public actors," thus pointing the finger at the City Council and the French government, reminding that "the prefect could have given the city formal notice to investigate the claims of the city's insalubrity."


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal
The 2018 Cricket Pitch Fixing scandal refers to the alleged doctoring of the pitch, a central strip of the playing field, in the home test matches of the Sri Lankan cricket team at the Galle International Stadium, as well as during the home test matches of the Indian cricket team.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Revelation
Revealed by Al Jazeera, a documentary claimed that the groundsmen at these matches deliberately altered the nature of the pitch in order to produce results that favored the home team. The news reports claimed that two of the four-pitch fixing offenses occurred in Galle, with the groundsmen at Chennai being accused of pitch-fixing charges after hosting the final Test Match of the series between India and England in 2016.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Revelation
On 29 May 2018, the International Cricket Council (ICC) criticized Al Jazeera for failing to share conclusive evidence of pitch-fixing before broadcasting the documentary regarding the match-fixing allegations. Critics also speculated whether the Al Jazeera news network deliberately revealed false allegations, citing that Al Jazeera's findings may have been edited and modified before releasing its documentary film. However, on 26 May 2018, a shocking development revealed that the curator of Galle International Stadium, Tharanga Indika, had indeed been involved in the operation, with the discovery of camera footage linking him to the scandal. Indika subsequently admitted to doctoring the pitch to manipulate match outcomes. The match-fixing issue remains under investigation by the ICC.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Revelation
The Al Jazeera news network has continuously refused to provide the pitch-fixing related evidence to the ICC stating that the lives of journalists are at risk. In July 2018, Australian cricketer Glenn Maxwell was indirectly accused by Al Jazeera's documentary as a chief suspect in the possible match-fixing allegations during the third Test match held between India and Australia which happened at Ranchi, a match where Maxwell recorded his maiden test century. However, Maxwell denied all of the allegations leveled against him and replied that he didn't have any need to do such a thing to spoil the moment of cricket.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Background
The pitch tampering incident involving both India and Sri Lanka is a developing controversy in international cricket following the 2018 Australian ball-tampering scandal.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Background
Match fixing scandals in Sri Lanka have flared up in recent times, including alleged misconduct during a domestic first class cricket match between Panadura Cricket Club and Kalutara Physical Culture Club in 2017 with Chamara Silva who was the captain of the Panadura Cricket Club and Manoj Deshapriya being caught and banned by SLC for a certain period for being named in corruption allegations. Manoj Deshapriya, the captain of the Kalutara Physical Culture Club was also found guilty of match-fixing after the unusual scoring rate by Panadura side in a first class cricket match held in January 2017.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Background
The match-fixing probe which has raised questions about the legitimacy of test cricket results was revealed by Al Jazeera just a few days after the announcement was made by the ICC that they were scrapping the traditional method of a coin toss in Test cricket matches to determine who would bat or bowl first. With regards to the match-fixing probe, the ICC cited that the host nation had been accused and found guilty of changing the pitch conditions to suit themselves in these longer format games.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Background
The ICC also introduced a new rule on banning the use of smart watches and other electronic appliances on the field during play and in dressing rooms. The ICC called a ban on smart watches to avoid possible match fixing by implementing the new rule with immediate effect during the test series between England and Pakistan in 2018 barring the Pakistani players from wearing the smart watches during the first test.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Development
Robin Morris, a professional cricketer from Mumbai, was suspected by the ICC of playing a major role in match fixing during Sri Lanka home Test series against both Australia in 2016 and against India in 2017.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Development
The Al Jazeera news channel allegedly discovered that the groundsman of the Galle International Stadium and Robin Morris had planned to fix the 1st test match between England and Sri Lanka held in Galle. Robin Morris told the under cover reporters that he bribed the groundsman to monitor and alter the conditions of the pitch in order to guarantee certain outcomes. Al Jazeera's documentary Cricket's Match-Fixers has identified the groundsman and Robin Morris along with another Sri Lankan, Tharindu Mendis, for planning to alter the pitch conditions. Al Jazeera also stated that it would telecast the documentary. The ICC has launched an investigation into the Al Jazeera's findings about the pitch tampering issue. The ICC has also asked for the evidence and relevant material from Al Jazeera.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Development
Meanwhile, Al Jazeera has also claimed that two more Sri Lankans including former Sri Lankan national cricketers Jeevantha Kulatunga and Dilhara Lokuhettige were involved in a match fixing controversy during a T-20 series in the United Arab Emirates. However, in a press release on 28 May 2018, Jeevantha Kulatunga has declined the allegations made by Al Jazeera.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Development
The Pakistani first-class cricketer, Hasan Raza, who did not take part in the conversation with Robin Morris, Tharanga Indika, and Tharindu Mendis, according to the Al Jazeera documentary, has also been identified as the suspect linked to the fixing scandal. He is seen seated near Robin Morris (who he played with during his time at the Mumbai Champs team in the Indian Cricket League) in the Al Jazeera documentary. However, Hasan Raza denied the allegations made against him and replied that his name was unnecessarily dragged into the match-fixing controversy.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Development
The groundsman of the Galle International Stadium who is also the assistant manager of the stadium gave a statement to Al Jazeera that he can manage pitches in such a way that it would favour either batsmen or bowlers.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Development
The Al Jazeera's Investigation Unit also revealed that Hasan Raza, Jeevantha Kulatunga, and Dilhara Lokuhettige were preparing to make money by organizing and arranging a fake tournament in the UAE solely to make a huge collection of money to fix matches in the future. Al Jazeera also claimed that another businessman from India, Aneel Munawar, who also has close connections with crime boss Dawood Ibrahim is assumed to have dealt with a few international cricketers so as to have them underperform on the international cricket level by giving them huge bribes.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Development
Al Jazeera also released photographs which were taken in Sri Lanka's Cinnamon Grand Colombo related to Aneel Munawar, who was standing just some distance away from the former English cricketers, Tim Bresnan and Graeme Swann. Both of them were part of the England's squad at the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 which was held in Sri Lanka.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Development
It was also later identified that the former Secretary of the Galle District Cricket Association, Halambage Premasiri, who was shot dead in 2016 along with his son was also subsequently revealed to have connections regarding Galle pitch fixing. It was evident that Al Jazeera started investigations on pitch tampering incident just before the planned murder of Halambage Premasiri, which still remains a mystery.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Development, West Indies v Sri Lanka 2018 ball tampering controversy allegations targeting Sri Lankan team
Considering the pitch fixing allegations probed by Al Jazeera-based mainly on Sri Lanka, apparent ball-tampering allegations were made by the match officials and umpires against the Sri Lankan team during their test series against the West Indies. Prior to the start of Day 3 of the second test match, the Sri Lankan cricket team marched protests against umpires' decision on starting the third day's play with a new ball, thereby replacing the old ball. The Sri Lankan cricket team, led by Dinesh Chandimal, refused to take the field on the third day of the test match after showing his disagreement on change of the ball, causing an hour delay to the start of the day after the apparent ball-tampering allegations made by the umpires.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Development, West Indies v Sri Lanka 2018 ball tampering controversy allegations targeting Sri Lankan team
Chandimal was found to be guilty of making ball tampering incidence. Video evidence indicated that on the second day's play, Chandimal was taking sweets out from his left pocket, putting them in his mouth, and applying saliva to the ball within the space of a few seconds. Two on-field umpires Ian Gould, Aleem Dar, television umpire Richard Kettleborough, and match referee Javagal Srinath observed the incidence carefully and charged him with one Test ban and two demerit points.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Development, West Indies v Sri Lanka 2018 ball tampering controversy allegations targeting Sri Lankan team
At the end of the match, the hearing with match referee Javagal Srinath, his team management, and other match officials took place with Chandimal and he wasn't able to recall what it was in his mouth when he polished the ball with saliva. As a result, match referee handed Chandimal the maximum punishment available under the ICC Code of Conduct, which was two suspension points and a fine of 100% of his match fee.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Development, West Indies v Sri Lanka 2018 ball tampering controversy allegations targeting Sri Lankan team
However, before finishing the match, Chandimal pleaded not guilty for the ball tampering incidence and this caused trouble at the start of Day 3 test match. The conflict started in the morning, where two umpires asked to change the ball used in the previous day with a new ball. Sri Lankan players did not accept that and refused to go into the field for the match. The incidence got worse when coach Chandika Hathurusinghe and manager Asanka Gurusinha also got involved with the match referee and umpires. Over the next two hours, several animated discussions took place between management and cricket officials.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Development, West Indies v Sri Lanka 2018 ball tampering controversy allegations targeting Sri Lankan team
With that, Srinath took a decision and asked Sri Lanka to take the field before 11:30 am (the scheduled start had been 9:30), or forfeit the game. Players finally agreed to play the match "under protest". The Match referee awarded West Indies five penalty runs in the match after the incident.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Development, West Indies v Sri Lanka 2018 ball tampering controversy allegations targeting Sri Lankan team
On 11 July 2018, ICC concluded its hearing on the trio, who had pleaded guilty to a level-three spirit of cricket offense. His hearing took place before the start of the first Test match against South Africa, and he was found guilty. He received a two-match ban, with Suranga Lakmal captaining the side in his place. On 16 July 2018, independent Judicial Commissioner handed down a further eight suspension points with maximum possible punishment for their spirit of cricket offense and suspension for four ODIs as well.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Development, Postponement of 2018 Lanka Premier League
The scheduled inaugural edition of the Lankan Premier League which was supposed to be held in August 2018 was indefinitely postponed as a result of the change in country's cricket administration. This was also assumed to have been postponed due to Al Jazeera's claims on match fixing probe in Sri Lanka.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Galle pitch fixing
The groundsman, Tharanga Indika, who is in-charge of the cricket ground was found guilty for helping the bookmakers to engage in match-fixing after allowing them to doctor the pitch conditions. The allegations were revealed by the Al Jazeera news network which filmed both the groundsman and the other match fixers on their targets of match-fixing.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Galle pitch fixing
Robin Morris was intended to have influenced in fixing allegations relating to Sri Lankan home matches for attempting pitch tampering by the ICC during Sri Lanka's 2nd test match against Australia in Galle and Sri Lanka's 1st test match against India in Galle. Morris was reported to have given bribes to groundsman, Tharanga Indika, who works as the groundsman at the Galle International Stadium to monitor the pitch conditions in those two home matches played by Sri Lanka against Australia in 2016 and India in 2017, and was noticed to have earned from betting after analyzing the Galle pitch conditions. However, he denied all of the allegations against him, as revealed by Al Jazeera. He later revealed that he didn't place money for betting after analyzing the Galle pitch conditions in 2016 and 2017.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Galle pitch fixing
On 30 May 2018, the SLC said that a new pitch was formed replacing the pitch referred by Al Jazeera in its documentary film.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Galle pitch fixing, Sri Lanka v Australia 2016
Robin Morris explained that the Galle pitch was prepared in favour of the bowlers of the Sri Lankan cricket team during the 2nd test against Australia in 2016 where Sri Lanka managed to win the match by a massive margin of 229 runs. Australia lost all 20 wickets within 3 days and batting 501 balls. The groundsman said that the Galle wicket for the Australian test was prepared deliberately for the bowlers by preparing the pitch poorly without using a roller.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Galle pitch fixing, Sri Lanka v Australia 2016
He also ensured the bookmakers that the five-day test match would finish within three days rather than end in a draw. After knowing about the pitch conditions, the match-fixers made money by betting that the match would not end in a draw. The Australian cricket team also raised concerns over the pitch conditions at the time of the test match as they felt that the pitch didn't help the batters. Australian players including Steve Smith, David Warner, and Nathan Lyon complained to the match officials about the poor pitch conditions after a thrashing loss to Sri Lanka.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Galle pitch fixing, Sri Lanka v India 2017
The Galle pitch for the Indian test was said to be prepared as batsmen friendly pitch where India piled up big first innings score of over 600 in the first innings, and also piled up 240 runs for the loss of only 3 wickets to demolish Sri Lanka and win the match. It was evident that Sri Lanka was restricted under 300 runs in both the innings and lost the match by 304 runs.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Galle pitch fixing, Sri Lanka v England 2018
Robin Morris, along with Dubai based business person Gaurav Rajkumar, Galle groundsman Tharanga Indika, and Sri Lankan first-class cricketer Tharindu Mendis have also been investigated by the ICC for attempting another pitch tampering at Galle in Sri Lanka's first test match against England as part of the England's series against Sri Lanka in November 2018. Concerns were raised by the English Cricket Board whether to play the series against Sri Lanka over the planned pitch tampering at the Galle Cricket Stadium for the first Test match or not.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Pitch fixing in India, India v England 2016
The 5th and the final test match between England and India which was held in Chennai with India winning the match by an innings and 75 runs has been accused by Al Jazeera as the findings prove that the certain sessions of the test match may have been fixed by bookmakers. India posted a mammoth total of 759/7 with Karun Nair scoring a triple century in the 2nd innings of the match. The English cricket coach, Trevor Bayliss, denied Al Jazeera's allegations. He stated that the allegations are outrageous and he knew that such a documentary would be showcased in future. English skipper Joe Root also criticized and branded the match-fixing allegations against India in 2016 as ridiculous.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Response, Sri Lanka Cricket
In a media release on 26 May 2018,  Sri Lanka Cricket  (SLC) announced that it would cooperate with any kind of investigation undertaken by the ICC following the allegations. The current President of the Sri Lanka Cricket, Thilanga Sumathipala, announced that independent groundsmen would, with immediate effect, be appointed in the future  to supervise ground preparation. Sri Lanka Cricket suspended Tharindu Mendis and Tharanga Indika with immediate effect, and reported the case to the Criminal Investigation Department of Sri Lanka.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Response, Sri Lanka Cricket
In a press meet, the SLC vice-president Mohan de Silva commented that he and the SLC were finding it difficult to believe any of the allegations mounted by Al Jazeera on the Galle fixing scandal.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Response, Sri Lanka Cricket
The SLC also refuted some of the allegations made by Al Jazeera, claiming that it is not a strange thing to prepare a turning bouncy track in Galle for test matches. The SLC defended Al Jazeera's claims on preparing a spin-friendly turning pitch to favour the spin bowlers during the 2016 Galle test match between Sri Lanka and Australia where Australia lost 18 out of the 20 wickets to Sri Lankan spinners in the Galle test. The SLC also reacted negatively to the documentary's claims on pointing out the involvement of the Galle groundsman, stating that the person didn't have any authoritative powers to alter the conditions of the pitch.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Response, Sri Lanka Cricket
The SLC later revealed that the future test matches scheduled against England and South African cricket team at the Galle cricket stadium in 2018 would be shifted to other cricket grounds following the controversy. However, SLC planned not to shift the matches from Galle due to the unavailability of other cricket grounds to host test matches.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Response, Sri Lanka Cricket
During the renovations, another problem emerged that threatened to stop the construction. One of the new buildings being constructed blocked the view of the adjacent fort, which is a UNESCO world heritage site. The Galle Heritage Foundation and some other organisations expressed concern over this, pointing out that this may result in the fort being removed from the UNESCO world heritage sites. This issue was later resolved and the construction re-continued after some time.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Response, Sri Lanka Cricket, Postponement of SLC Elections
The corruption allegations revolving around the SLC Board and the breakout of the pitch fixing scandal has ultimately led a stay order against conducting the SLC Board elections, scheduled to be held on 31 May 2018. The Court of Appeal issued a stay order against holding elections for the SLC until 14 June after a petition filed by Arjuna Ranatunga's younger brother, Nishantha Ranatunga, against Thilanga Sumathipala from contesting in the elections.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Response, Sri Lanka Cricket, Postponement of SLC Elections
Former Sri Lankan world cup winning captain, Arjuna Ranatunga, also condemned and blamed the corruption allegations linking SLC Board and the president of the Board, Thilanga Sumathipala, while criticising the ICC's anti-corruption investigation unit for not taking proper actions against corruption allegations after referring to Al Jazeera's findings on alleged spot-fixing row.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Response, Sri Lanka Cricket, Postponement of SLC Elections
Prior to the scheduled SLC elections, the actor and politician, Ranjan Ramanayake, criticized the SLC elections as illegal and called Thilanga Sumathipala as a well known bookmaker.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Response, Sri Lankan government
The Sri Lankan government also requested SLC to inquire into the pitch fixing probe which has damaged the reputation of the history of cricket in Sri Lanka. The newly appointed Sri Lankan sports minister, Faiszer Musthapha, said that he watched the Al Jazeera documentary and told the reporters that he wrote a letter to the SLC on addressing the issue to the CID of Sri Lanka.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Response, Board of Control for Cricket in India
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) stated that it would take necessary actions against Robin Morris who is accused as the main suspect of the match fixing allegations. The BCCI announced that they will take legal actions against him only if he is found guilty in the ongoing investigations conducted by the ICC on corruption charges.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Response, Pakistan Cricket Board
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has commenced investigations on the influence of cricketer Hasan Raza over the alleged betting scandal and told that appropriate sanctions would be imposed on him if he is found guilty of being involved in corruption allegations. PCB contacted Hasan Raza and had been reviewing reports whether the disgraced cricketer took part in the spot-fixing allegations. The PCB banned Hasan Raza to take part in the 2018–19 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Response, Cricket Australia
Following the release of Al Jazeera's documentary, the CEO of the Cricket Australia, James Sutherland stated that he is not aware of any credible evidence linking the Australian cricket players in connection to the suspected match-fixing allegations in the fourth and the final test match between India and Australia in 2016.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Response, Cricket Australia
The interim Australian test captain, Tim Paine, uttered that he is confident of the current situation of the Australian cricket team and responded that none of the Australian players would have been involved in such a match-fixing controversy after suffering from a major Australian ball-tampering scandal in March 2018.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Response, Cricket Australia
Despite Cricket Australia denying any wrongdoing by its team, Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell was reported by Al Jazeera to have been possibly involved in a match-fixing affair without mentioning his name directly in its documentary film. These accusations were, however, refused by the cricketer himself, and both Cricket Australia and Maxwell went on to say that it was just an act to target him unnecessarily and an attempt to spoil his moment after scoring his first test century against India in the Ranchi test, a match which was suspected by Al Jazeera in its documentary.


2018 cricket pitch fixing and betting scandal, Response, England and Wales Cricket Board
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) denied the match-fixing allegations reported by Al Jazeera during the final test match of England's test tour in India which was held in Chennai. Former English captain, Michael Atherton, claimed that the allegations made by Al-Jazeera regarding the Australian and English cricketers are ridiculous.


2018 deaths in American television
The following deaths of notable individuals related to American television occurred in 2018.


2018 elections in India
Elections in the Republic of India in 2018 included by-elections to the Lok Sabha, elections to the Rajya Sabha, elections to of eight states and numerous other by-elections to state legislative assemblies, councils and local bodies.


2018 elections in India
The elections were widely considered crucial to the ruling National Democratic Alliance and the opposition United Progressive Alliance in lieu of the upcoming general elections in 2019. In seven of the eight states that went to polls this year, the Bharatiya Janata Party was in direct contest with the Indian National Congress. Further, the election results in the states of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and Rajasthan are considered a barometer of the pulse of the public before the general elections. Elections to the upper house where the ruling National Democratic Alliance does not command a majority are by kicking on the part of all the political leaders expected to strengthen its position.


2018 elections in India, Background, Political System
According to the Constitution of India, elections should take place to the parliament and state legislative assemblies every five years, unless an emergency is under operation. Further, any vacancy caused by death or resignation must be filled through an election within six months of occurrence of such vacancy. The elections to the lower houses (in Parliament and in the states) use first past the post system - the candidate with a plurality of the votes wins the election.


2018 elections in India, Background, Political System
Elections to one-third of the seats of the upper house of the Parliament - the Rajya Sabha are conducted every two years. The members of the upper house are elected indirectly by the state legislative assemblies on the basis of proportional representation. Members to the state legislative councils (in states which have an upper house) are elected indirectly through local bodies.


2018 elections in India, Background, Political System
All the elections at the central and state level are conducted by the Election Commission of India while local body elections are conducted by state election commissions.


2018 elections in India, Parliamentary By-election, By-elections to the Lok Sabha, May
4 parliamentary seats were contested on 28 May 2018. The counting of votes took place on May 31. This election saw the ruling BJP party lose their majority in the lower house of the Indian Parliament


2018 elections in India, Parliamentary By-election, By-elections to the Lok Sabha, May
3 parliamentary seats had been contested on 3 November 2018 in Karnataka. Results were declared on 6 November 2018.


2018 elections in India, Legislative assembly elections, Tripura
Elections were held in Tripura on 18 February 2018 in 59 out of 60 constituencies of the Legislative Assembly. The Left Front led by Manik Sarkar sought re-election, having governed Tripura since the 1998 election. The region in general had been under the political control of the Communist Party for 25 years prior to the election, leading to the region being dubbed a "red holdout". The incumbent Left Front government was defeated after 25 years of office, with the Bharatiya Janata Party and Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura winning a large majority of seats. The Indian National Congress, which was the second largest party in the 2013 election, lost all its seats and most of its vote share.


2018 elections in India, Legislative assembly elections, Meghalaya
Elections were held in Meghalaya on 27 February 2018 to elect 59 of 60 members to the Legislative Assembly. The incumbent Indian National Congress government controlled the state in a coalition with smaller parties prior to the election, and sought to retain office. The elections resulted in a hung assembly with no single party or alliance getting the requisite majority of 31 seats in the Vidhan Sabha. Conrad Sangma, leader of the National People's Party, announced that he would form a government with the support of the United Democratic Party and other regional parties. He was sworn in as the Chief Minister, along with eleven other ministers.


2018 elections in India, Legislative assembly elections, Nagaland
Elections were held in Nagaland on 27 February 2018 in 59 out of 60 constituencies of the Legislative Assembly. The scheduled election in Northern Angami II constituency did not take place as only incumbent MLA Neiphiu Rio was nominated and was therefore declared elected unopposed. The ruling Naga People's Front was challenged by the newly established Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The NDPP and its allies won a majority, with former Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio returning to government.


2018 elections in India, Legislative assembly elections, Karnataka
Elections were held in Karnataka on 12 May 2018 in 222 out of 224 constituencies of the Legislative Assembly. The incumbent Indian National Congress (INC) was seeking re-election, having governed the state since elections in 2013. The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (Secular) (JD(S)) sought to regain office. The election led to a hung assembly, with the Bharatiya Janata Party emerging as the single largest party, with 104 seats, but failing to win a majority of seats and popular votes. The Indian National Congress (INC) won the popular vote.


2018 elections in India, Legislative assembly elections, Karnataka
Following the election, B. S. Yeddyurappa was appointed Chief Minister and tasked with forming a minority BJP government, but resigned two days later on being unable to prove majority in the assembly. Thereafter the INC and JD(S) which had entered into a post-poll agreement formed a majority coalition government. H.D. Kumaraswamy of Janata Dal (Secular) was subsequently appointed Chief Minister.


2018 elections in India, Local body elections, Jammu and Kashmir
Panchayat elections and municipal elections were held in Jammu and Kashmir in 2018 from October 8 till December 11. The last time Panchayat elections were held in the state were in 2011 and the last time municipal elections were held were in 2005.


2018 elections in India, Local body elections, Uttarakhand
On 18 November, elections to the local bodies were held in Uttarakhand.


2018 end-of-year rugby union internationals
The 2018 end of year rugby union tests, also referred to as the Autumn internationals in the Northern Hemisphere, were a number of rugby union test matches played during October and November, primarily involving countries from the Northern Hemisphere hosting those from the Southern Hemisphere. Also involved in matches are those from second-tier teams. These international games count towards World Rugby's ranking system, with a team typically playing from two to four matches during this period.


2018 end-of-year rugby union internationals, Bledisloe Cup – Test 3
Touch judges:Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)Rasta Rasivhenge (South Africa)Television match official:Marius Jonker (South Africa)


2018 end-of-year rugby union internationals, 3 November
Touch judges:Damon Murphy (Australia)Graham Cooper (Australia)Television match official:Damien Mitchelmore (Australia)


2018 end-of-year rugby union internationals, 3 November
Touch judges:Wayne Barnes (England)Frank Murphy (Ireland)Television match official:Rowan Kitt (England)


2018 end-of-year rugby union internationals, 3 November
Touch judges:Jérôme Garcès (France)Ben Whitehouse (Wales)Television match official:Olly Hodges (Ireland)


2018 end-of-year rugby union internationals, 3 November
Touch judges:Romain Poite (France)Alexandre Ruiz (France)Television match official:David Ardrey (United States)


2018 end-of-year rugby union internationals, 10 November
Touch judges:Frank Murphy (Ireland)Shuhei Kubo (Japan)Television match official:Graham Hughes (England)


2018 end-of-year rugby union internationals, 10 November
Touch judges:Luke Pearce (England)Karl Dickson England)Television match official:Ben Skeen (New Zealand)


2018 end-of-year rugby union internationals, 10 November
Touch judges:Jaco Peyper (South Africa)Marius Mitrea (Italy)Television match official:Marius Jonker (South Africa)


2018 end-of-year rugby union internationals, 10 November
Touch judges:Romain Poite (France)Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)Television match official:Simon McDowell (Ireland)


2018 end-of-year rugby union internationals, 10 November
Touch judges:Angus Gardner (Australia)Ludovic Cayre (France)Television match official:David Grashoff (England)


2018 end-of-year rugby union internationals, 10 November
Touch judges:Matthew Carley (England)Tom Foley (England)Television match official:Rowan Kitt (England)


2018 end-of-year rugby union internationals, 17 November
Touch judges:Andrew Brace (Ireland)Mike Adamson (Scotland)Television match official:Simon McDowell (Ireland)


2018 end-of-year rugby union internationals, 17 November
Touch judges:Ben Whitehouse (Wales)Sam Grove-White (Scotland)Television match official:Brian MacNeice (Ireland)


2018 end-of-year rugby union internationals, 17 November
Touch judges:Angus Gardner (Australia)Shuhei Kubo (Japan)Television match official:Olly Hodges (Ireland)


2018 end-of-year rugby union internationals, 17 November
Touch judges:Nigel Owens (Wales)Dan Jones (Wales)Television match official:Marius Jonker (South Africa)


2018 end-of-year rugby union internationals, 17 November
Touch judges:Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand)Frank Murphy (Ireland)Television match official:Ben Skeen (New Zealand)


2018 end-of-year rugby union internationals, 17 November
Touch judges:Mathieu Raynal (France)Marius Mitrea (Italy)Television match official:Rowan Kitt (England)


2018 end-of-year rugby union internationals, 17 November
Touch judges:Matthew Carley (England)Ian Davies (Wales)Television match official:David Grashoff (England)


2018 heat wave
In 2018, several heat waves with temperatures far above the long-time average and droughts were recorded in the Northern Hemisphere: The earth's average surface temperature in 2018 was the fourth highest in the 140 years of record keeping. It is assumed that the jet stream  is slowing down, trapping cloudless, windless and extremely hot regions of high pressure. The jet stream anomalies could be caused by polar amplification, one of the observed effects of global warming.


2018 heat wave
According to the World Meteorological Organization, the severe heat waves across the Northern Hemisphere in the summer of 2018, are linked to climate change, as well as events of extreme precipitation. The results were an increase in mortality of the elderly, severe declines in crop yields, as well as the biggest algae bloom in the Baltic Sea in decades. This had the effect of poisoning water both for human and animal use. Additionally, nuclear power plants in Europe were having issues, because the water in the rivers, that is used for cooling the reactors, was too warm. This had the effect of electricity grids crashing across four continents. The impacts were severe, even in the countries that are considered well prepared to deal with the impacts of climate change.


2018 iHeartRadio MMVAs
The 2018 iHeartRadio MMVAs were held on August 26, 2018 outside 299 Queen Street West in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Unlike previous years, the 2018 show aired live at the end of August instead of Father's Day. It was hosted by Awkwafina.


2018 iHeartRadio MMVAs, Winners and nominees
Nominees were announced on August 1, 2018. For the nominations, most awards categories were changed from being video-oriented to artist-oriented. Two new categories were also introduced: Song of the Summer and Best Collaboration. Shawn Mendes has the most nominations with eight, with Drake behind at seven. Winners were announced on August 26, 2018.


2018 iHeartRadio Music Awards
The 2018 iHeartRadio Music Awards were held on March 11, 2018 at The Forum in Inglewood, California. The list of nominations was announced on January 10, 2018. DJ Khaled and Hailey Baldwin hosted the ceremony. TBS, TNT, and truTV broadcast the ceremony in the United States, while the red carpet was broadcast live on the network's social media pages. The telecast aired following the 2018 NCAA Selection Show on TBS. Taylor Swift premiered the music video for her single "Delicate" at the show. 2018 marked the show's final simulcast on TBS, TNT, and truTV, as it returned to broadcast television the following year, and aired on new partner network FOX for the first time.


2018 iHeartRadio Music Awards, Winners and nominees
iHeartRadio presented the winners of seven categories in the seven days leading up to the Sunday telecast. Winners are highlighted in boldface.


2018 in 100 metres
2018 in 100 metres lists the World Best Year Performance in the year 2018 in both the men's and the women's 100 metres.


2018 in Absolute Championship Berkut
The year 2018 is the 6th year in the history of the Absolute Championship Berkut, a mixed martial arts, kickboxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu promotion based in Russia.


2018 in Absolute Championship Berkut, ACB 78: Young Eagles 24
Absolute Championship Berkut 78: Young Eagles 24 was a mixed martial arts event held by Absolute Championship Berkut on January 13, 2018 at the Sports Hall Coliseum in Grozny, Russia.


2018 in Absolute Championship Berkut, ACB JJ 10: Panza vs. Rocha
Absolute Championship Berkut Jiu-Jitsu 10: Panza vs. Rocha was a Brazilian jiu-jitsu event held by Absolute Championship Berkut on January 26, 2018 at the Club Hebraica in São Paulo, Brazil.


2018 in Absolute Championship Berkut, ACB 79: Agujev vs. Alfaya
Absolute Championship Berkut 79: Agujev vs. Alfaya was a mixed martial arts event held by Absolute Championship Berkut on January 27, 2018 at the Sports Hall Coliseum in Grozny, Russia.


2018 in Absolute Championship Berkut, ACB 79: Agujev vs. Alfaya
BackgroundThe card was originally headlined by a title fight between champion Askar Askarov and Rasul Albaskhanov for the ACB Flyweight Championship. On January 13, it was announced Askarov had to withdraw due to heavy angina. The title fight between Askarov and Albaskhanov has been temporarily postponed.


2018 in Absolute Championship Berkut, ACB 79: Agujev vs. Alfaya
Batraz Agnaev had to withdraw due to an injury and is not able to defend his Light-Heavyweight title against Döwletjan Ýagşymyradow from Turkmenistan and the bout was canceled. Luis Fernando Miranda will step in as a replacement against Ýagşymyradow.


2018 in Absolute Championship Berkut, ACB 79: Agujev vs. Alfaya
Magomed Magomedov was to face Walter Pereira Jr. at this event but had to withdraw due to illness. The bout has been temporarily postponed to ACB 81.


2018 in Absolute Championship Berkut, ACB 79: Agujev vs. Alfaya
Islam Isaev, Said-Khamzat Avkhadov, Thiago Bonifacio Silva and Zach Makovsky were injured during training camp. So they were removed from the card.


2018 in Absolute Championship Berkut, ACB 80: Tumenov vs. Burrell
Absolute Championship Berkut 80: Tumenov vs. Burrell was a mixed martial arts event held by Absolute Championship Berkut on February 16, 2018 at the Basket-Hall in Krasnodar, Russia.


2018 in Absolute Championship Berkut, ACB 80: Tumenov vs. Burrell
BackgroundThe card was originally headlined by a title fight between champion Mukhamed Berkhamov and Albert Tumenov for the ACB Welterweight Championship. On January 1, it was announced Berkhamov had to withdraw due to a broken arm. Nah-Shon Burrell will step in as a replacement against Tumenov.


2018 in Absolute Championship Berkut, ACB 80: Tumenov vs. Burrell
Initially Muhammed Kokov was supposed to face Bubba Jenkins, but Jenkins withdrew from the fight due to injury. The Brazilian Alexandre Bezerra will step in as a replacement against Kokov.


2018 in Absolute Championship Berkut, ACB 81: Saidov vs. Carneiro
Absolute Championship Berkut 81: Saidov vs. Carneiro was a mixed martial arts event held by Absolute Championship Berkut on February 23, 2018 at The Dome - Dubai Sports City in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.


2018 in Absolute Championship Berkut, ACB 81: Saidov vs. Carneiro
BackgroundYoni Sherbatov had to withdraw due to a shoulder injury and is not able to fight against Josiel Silva. Sam Halliday will step in as a replacement against Silva.


2018 in Absolute Championship Berkut, ACB KB 13: From Paris with war
ACB KB 13: From Paris with war was a kickboxing event held by Absolute Championship Berkut on February 24, 2018 at the Halle Georges Carpentier in Paris, France.


2018 in Absolute Championship Berkut, ACB JJ 11: Ramos vs. Najmi
Absolute Championship Berkut Jiu-Jitsu 11: Ramos vs. Najmi was a Brazilian jiu-jitsu event held by Absolute Championship Berkut on March 3, 2018 at the Pavelló Olímpic de Badalona in Badalona, Spain.


2018 in Absolute Championship Berkut, ACB 82: Silva vs. Kolobegov
Absolute Championship Berkut 82: Silva vs. Kolobegov was a mixed martial arts event held by Absolute Championship Berkut on March 9, 2018 in São Paulo, Brazil.


2018 in Absolute Championship Berkut, ACB KB 14: Diamonds
ACB KB 14: Diamonds will be a kickboxing event held by Absolute Championship Berkut on March 23, 2018 at the Grinn Center in Orel, Russia.


2018 in Absolute Championship Berkut, ACB 83: Borisov vs. Kerimov
Absolute Championship Berkut 83: Borisov vs. Kerimov will be a mixed martial arts event held by Absolute Championship Berkut on March 24, 2018 at the Serhedchi Olympic Sport Center in Baku, Azerbaijan.


2018 in Absolute Championship Berkut, ACB 83: Borisov vs. Kerimov
BackgroundEfrain Escudero did not reach Baku because of airplane delays in Germany, his fight against Khamzat Aushev was canceled.


2018 in Absolute Championship Berkut, ACB 84: Agujev vs. Burrell
Absolute Championship Berkut 84: Burrell vs. Agujev was a mixed martial arts event held by Absolute Championship Berkut on April 7, 2018 at the Ondrej Nepela Arena in Bratislava, Slovakia.