2018 Kentucky Derby, Race Description
Because the Derby was held on a rainy day, the surface of the track was sealed to mitigate the effect of heavy rain on the footing. Nonetheless, the track condition was sloppy. By post time, more than 2.8 inches (7.1 cm) of rain had been recorded that day at nearby Louisville International Airport, breaking the Derby Day precipitation record of 2.31 inches (5.9 cm) that had been set in 1918. Despite the rain, a crowd of 157,813 attended the event, the eighth largest in Derby history, and the wettest of all time. A record $149.2 million was bet on the Derby itself from all sources, while the full card earned an all-source handle of $225.7 million, up 8% from the previous year's record.


2018 Kentucky Derby, Race Description
On the track, Justify's jockey Mike Smith used the colt's early speed to gain vantage position near the rail moving into the first turn. He was positioned just a length after Promises Fulfilled and maintained this position down the backstretch. Following them closely were Flameaway, Bolt d'Oro and Good Magic. Although the opening fractions (22.24 for the first quarter, 45.77 for the half, 1:11.01 for the three-quarters) were fast, Smith said Justify felt "very comfortable".


2018 Kentucky Derby, Race Description
In the final turn, Bolt d'Oro and later Good Magic were both put to a drive, while Promises Fulfilled began to drop back. Justify responded to urging to open up a lead of 1+1⁄2 lengths as they turned into the stretch, widening to 2+1⁄2 lengths at the finish line. Bolt d'Oro tired, eventually finishing in twelfth place, but Good Magic persevered to finish second. Audible closed from twelfth place to finish third, just a head behind Good Magic.


2018 Kentucky Derby, Race Description
It was the fifth Derby win for Baffert and the second for Smith.


2018 Kentucky Derby, Race Description
Mendelssohn, who went off as the third choice in the betting, broke well from post position 14 but was hit hard shortly after the start by Magnum Moon, who veered over from post position 16. Losing ground and "banged around in traffic", Mendelssohn was eased and finished last. On the other hand, Instilled Regard, who broke from post position 15 and was also involved in the initial bumping incident, rallied from 17th place to finish fourth.


2018 Kentucky Derby, Results
Times: 1⁄4 mile – 22.24; 1⁄2 mile – 45.77; 3⁄4 mile – 1:11.01; mile – 1:37.35; final – 2:04.20. Splits for each quarter-mile: (22.24) (23.53) (25.24) (26.34) (26.85)


2018 Kentucky Derby, Subsequent Grade I wins
Several horses went on from the Derby to post Grade I wins. Most notably, Justify completed the American Triple Crown and was named Horse of the Year.


2018 Kentucky House of Representatives election
The 2018 Kentucky House of Representatives elections were held on November 6, 2018, as part of the biennial United States elections. All 100 of Kentucky's state representatives were up for reelection. In Kentucky, members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms. Accordingly, they are up for reelection in both presidential and midterm election years.


2018 Kentucky House of Representatives election
Democrats, who had long been the dominant party at the state level in Kentucky, held a majority in the State House from 1922 to 2017. In 2016, Republicans made large gains in the chamber, winning a majority of 64 seats. Both parties flipped several seats in 2018, with Republicans grabbing six seats from the Democrats and Democrats taking eight from the Republicans, for a net gain of two Democratic seats. Many of the Democratic gains were in suburban areas, including around Louisville, Lexington, and Owensboro. Republicans made gains in some of Democrats' remaining rural districts, though they significantly underperformed in ancestrally Democratic Appalachian Eastern Kentucky, where Democrats picked up multiple seats.


2018 Kentucky House of Representatives election
Several races were decided by extremely narrow margins. Four seats—Districts 13, 27, 91, and 96—were all decided by seven votes or fewer. Republicans ultimately maintained their majority in the chamber, winning 61 seats to the Democrats' 39.


2018 Kentucky House of Representatives election, Election results
All results are official and certified by the Kentucky State Board of Elections.


2018 Kentucky Senate Bill 151
Senate Bill 151, also known as SB 151, is a pension bill passed on March 29, 2018 by the Kentucky Senate and the Kentucky House of Representatives. The bill includes increases for cost of living, ends the inviolable contract for new teachers hired after January 1, 2019, and requires employees hired between 2003 and 2008 to pay an additional 1 percent of their pay for health care benefits in retirement. The bill received numerous criticism, especially from teachers. The bill was overturned on December 13, 2018 by the Kentucky Supreme Court as “unconstitutional”, which prevents the bill from going into effect on January 1, 2019.


2018 Kentucky Senate Bill 151, Legislative history
Senate Bill 151 was introduced in the Senate on February 15, 2018. On March 29, 2018, it was passed by the Kentucky Senate by a vote of 22-15 and the Kentucky House with a vote of 49-46. The bill was sent to Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin’s desk. It was received by Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes, and signed by Bevin on April 10, 2018. On December 13, 2018, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled against SB 151, labeling it as "unconstitutional", which means the bill will not go into effect on January 1, 2019.


2018 Kentucky Senate Bill 151, Opposition to SB 151
The decision to pass Senate Bill 151 on March 29, 2018 sparked outrage from teachers across Kentucky. As a result, schools in 25 counties closed on March 30, 2018. Teachers rallied in Frankfort to protest the bill and chanted phrases such as “120 strong” and “united we stand, divided we fall.” On June 20, 2018, Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd ruled the bill as unconstitutional and stated that the legislature violated Section 46 of the Constitution by failing to give the bill three readings on three separate days in each chamber.


2018 Kentucky Senate Bill 151, Opposition to SB 151, Lawsuit filed by Andy Beshear
After SB 151 was passed, Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear announced his intentions to file a lawsuit to stop the bill. On April 11, 2018, Beshear, the Kentucky Education Association and the Kentucky State Lodge Fraternal Order of Police filed a lawsuit against Bevin and other lawmakers following the decision to sign the bill. Bevin responded by filing a motion to dismiss Beshear from the lawsuit for conflicts of interest. On April 25, 2018, Bevin’s request to disqualify Beshear was denied by the Franklin Circuit Court.


2018 Kentucky Senate Bill 151, Opposition to SB 151, Lawsuit filed by Andy Beshear
Bevin called for Phillip Shepherd to step down, as well as referring to him as a “hack”, but the judge refused to step down. Bevin’s request to dismiss Shepherd was denied by the Kentucky Supreme Court on June 6. On June 13, Bevin filed a amended petition, but was denied on July 11. On August 10, 2018, the Kentucky Supreme Court announced that September 20, 2018 would be the date for hearing the case. On September 20, the case was taken to court. On December 13, 2018, the Supreme Court ruled against SB 151 on grounds that the bill did not receive the required three days of public readings, as mandated by the Kentucky Constitution. This ruling handed Beshear a victory over Bevin.


2018 Kentucky Senate Bill 151, Reactions to Supreme Court decision
After the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled SB 151 "unconstitutional", the decision received praise from the Kentucky Public Pension Coalition and the Kentucky Democratic Party, and criticism by the Kentucky Republican Party. Justice Daniel J. Venters wrote that the bill did not comply with the requirements established in the constitution. Teachers celebrated the decision and called it a "win for democracy". However, Matt Bevin criticized the decision as "unprecedented power grab by activist judges".


2018 Kentucky Wildcats baseball team
The 2018 Kentucky Wildcats baseball team represents the University of Kentucky during the 2018 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Wildcats are a member of the Southeastern Conference. They are led by head coach Nick Mingione, who is in his second year at Kentucky. The 2018 season marks the 50th and last season to play their home games at Cliff Hagan Stadium. The Wildcats will open their new stadium on Alumni Drive for the 2019 season.


2018 Kentucky Wildcats football team
The 2018 Kentucky Wildcats football team represented the University of Kentucky in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Wildcats played their home games at Kroger Field in Lexington, Kentucky and competed in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by sixth-year head coach Mark Stoops.


2018 Kentucky Wildcats football team
The season was one of the most successful in Kentucky's history. In Kentucky's second game of the season, the team ended the then-longest current losing streak in an uninterrupted series in FBS when they defeated Florida for the first time since 1986, and the first time in Gainesville since 1979, ending a losing streak of 31 games. Two weeks later, the Wildcats upset No. 14 Mississippi State, and entered the AP Poll for the first time since 2007. Kentucky ended the regular season tied for second in the SEC East Division with a conference record of 5–3. They were invited to the Citrus Bowl, where they defeated No. 13 Penn State, their first bowl win since 2008. Kentucky ended the season with a record of 10–3 and were ranked 12th in the final AP Poll, the most wins and highest poll finish for the program since 1977.


2018 Kentucky Wildcats football team
The team's highly touted defense was anchored by unanimous All-American linebacker Josh Allen, who was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year and led the conference in sacks and tackles for loss. Allen won several national awards for defensive excellence, including the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Chuck Bednarik Award, and the Lott Trophy; he became the first Kentucky player to receive any of these awards. On offense, the team was led by first-team All-SEC running back Benny Snell, who finished second in the conference in rushing with 1,449 yards and 16 touchdowns. Offensive lineman Bunchy Stallings was also named first-team all-conference. Quarterback Terry Wilson led the team in passing, finishing with 1,889 yards and 11 touchdowns. Head coach Mark Stoops was named SEC Coach of the Year.


2018 Kentucky Wildcats football team, Previous season
The Wildcats finished the 2017 season 7–6, 4–4 in SEC play to finish in a tie for third place in the Eastern Division. They were invited to the Music City Bowl where they lost to Northwestern.


2018 Kentucky Wildcats football team, Offseason, Spring game
The spring game took place on April 13 at Kroger Field.


2018 Kentucky Wildcats football team, Offseason, 2018 signing class
The 2018 football recruiting cycle was the first in which the NCAA authorized two signing periods for high school seniors in that sport. In addition to the traditional spring period starting with National Signing Day on February 7, 2018, a new early signing period was introduced, with the first such period falling from December 20–22, 2017.


2018 Kentucky Wildcats football team, Offseason, 2018 signing class
Notably, the Wildcats did not sign a single in-state player in their 2018 class—the first time this had happened since 1940.


2018 Kentucky Wildcats football team, Preseason, SEC media poll
The SEC media poll was released on July 20, 2018 with the Wildcats predicted to finish in fifth place in the East Division.


2018 Kentucky Wildcats football team, Preseason, Preseason All-SEC teams
The Wildcats had four players selected to the preseason all-SEC teams.


2018 Kentucky Wildcats football team, Personnel, Coaching staff
Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops enters his sixth season as the Wildcat's head coach for the 2018 season. During his previous five seasons he led the Wildcats to an overall record of 26 wins and 36 losses.


2018 Kentucky Wildcats men's soccer team
The 2018 Kentucky Wildcats men's soccer team represented the University of Kentucky during the 2018 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. It was the 28th season of the university fielding a men's varsity soccer program, and their 14th season playing in Conference USA as an associate member since their main conference, the Southeastern Conference does not sponsor men's varsity soccer.


2018 Kentucky Wildcats men's soccer team
The 2018 season proved to be the program's most successful season ever. Kentucky finished the regular season ranked third in the United Soccer Coaches men's soccer poll, as well as the Conference USA Men's Soccer Tournament and regular season champions. The program made their deepest run in the NCAA Tournament, reaching the Elite Eight before being eliminated by Maryland.


2018 Kentucky Wildcats men's soccer team, Background
During the 2017 season, Kentucky finished with an 8–6–4 overall record and a 4–2–2 record in Conference USA matches. An early season surge had the Wildcats ranked as high as 13th in the nation. A dip in form saw the Wildcats fall out of the rankings and eventually out of the NCAA Tournament picture. Kentucky were seeded third in the 2017 Conference USA Men's Soccer Tournament, where they were upset by Marshall, 0–1, in the quarterfinals. They did not receive an at-large bid to the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament.


2018 Kentucky Wildcats men's soccer team, Squad, Roster
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2018 Kentucky elections
Kentucky state elections in 2018 were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2018, with the primary elections being held on May 22, 2018. These midterm elections occurred during the presidency of Republican Donald Trump and the governorship of Republican Matt Bevin, alongside other elections in the United States. All six of Kentucky's seats in the United States House of Representatives, nineteen of the 38 seats in the Kentucky State Senate, all 100 seats in the Kentucky House of Representatives, and one of the seven seats on the Kentucky Supreme Court were contested. Numerous county and local elections were also contested within the state.


2018 Kentucky elections
In the United States House of Representatives, all six of Kentucky's incumbent congressional representatives won their individual elections. With 59.59% of ballots cast in favor of the Republican congressional candidates, the Republican party maintained its five-seat majority within the congressional delegation; Representative John Yarmuth of Kentucky's 3rd congressional district maintained his position as the only Democrat in the United States Congress from Kentucky. All six of Kentucky's incumbent representatives were reelected with at least 60% of the vote in their respective districts. Aside from the election in Kentucky's 1st congressional district, all incumbents were challenged by at least one Libertarian or Independent candidate, though no third-party candidates were able to obtain more than 2.5% of the vote.


2018 Kentucky elections
In the Kentucky General Assembly, Democrats made a net gain of one seat, while Republicans maintained their supermajorities in both chambers of the state legislature. As the office of governor was not contested in the 2018 elections, Republicans maintained their state-level trifecta established in the 2016 elections. As Kentucky's judicial elections are non-partisan, there was no change in the partisan makeup of the Kentucky Supreme Court.


2018 Kentucky elections
While voter turnout in the United States as a whole reached its highest point seen in a midterm election since 1914, Kentucky voter turnout remained unaffected. With approximately 45.90% of Kentucky's 3.4 million registered voters casting ballots in the election, turnout as a percentage of registered voters remained unchanged from 2014 levels, although the total number of ballots cast did increase.


2018 Kentucky elections
During the campaign, Democrats focused heavily on public education and teacher pay, frequently attacking Republicans for their support of, among other issues, a controversial overhaul to Kentucky's teacher pension system. Republican messaging centered around a theme of maintaining their trifecta, with claims that a divided legislature would not be able to get anything done.


2018 Kentucky elections, Congress, House of Representatives
In the 2018 elections, Democrats sought to take control of the United States House of Representatives for the first time since the 2010 elections. As all 6 of Kentucky's voting seats in the 435 member House of Representatives were up for election to serve two-year terms, the Kentucky Democratic Party sought to capitalize on an expected increase in voter turnout to take control of at least two of Kentucky's House seats.


2018 Kentucky elections, Congress, House of Representatives
While nationwide the 2018 House elections saw the largest number of retirements by incumbents of any election cycle since at least 1992, none of Kentucky's incumbent Representatives chose to retire. The lack of Republican retirements may have harmed Democratic prospects in the 2018 mid-term elections due to the incumbency advantage.


2018 Kentucky elections, Kentucky General Assembly, Kentucky House of Representatives
In the 2018 elections, Democrats sought to regain control of the Kentucky House of Representatives, which had been lost following the 2016 elections. All 100 voting seats in the House of Representatives were up for election to serve two-year terms. At the time of the election, Republicans held a supermajority of 62 seats to Democrats 37, with one vacant seat.


2018 Kentucky elections, Kentucky General Assembly, Kentucky House of Representatives
The 2018 House elections saw fifteen of the state House's members retiring. Prior to the election, 7 House Republicans and 8 House Democrats had announced their retirement or resignation, with most declining to run for reelection in order to pursue higher office.


2018 Kentucky elections, Kentucky Supreme Court
The Kentucky Supreme Court is composed of seven justices who are elected in nonpartisan elections by voters. A full term on the court is eight years. Kentucky's nonpartisan judicial elections take place during its general elections. These are usually held in even-numbered years but can be held in odd-numbered years. While no Judicial terms were set to expire in 2018, an election was held for the 3rd Supreme Court district due to incumbent Justice Daniel J. Venters announcing he would retire from his position in early 2019.


2018 Kentucky elections, Ballot Measures and Amendments
The Constitution of Kentucky does not provide for citizen-initiated ballot measures and referendums at the state level. Under the state Constitution, aside from Constitutional amendments, approval from the Kentucky General Assembly is required to put anything to a statewide vote.


2018 Kenya handshake, Background information
For long periods of time Kenya has been privy to divisive politics rising from periodical general elections that have been allegedly marred by rigging, and subsequent political motivated violence. Kenya has an extensive record of political violence that has been ethnically mobilized and the exacerbation of militias supported by politicians. Kenya's tribal war did not start yesterday, it goes way back to the times of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, where parties were formed based on one's tribe.


2018 Kenya handshake, Background information
Detrimental effects of the disputed general elections have been witnessed since time immemorial, that is from 1997, when Kenya's ruling party then, Kenya African National Unity (KANU) unleashed terror in order to coerce the citizens and  to forge forward their devolution agenda. The Digo Community was mobilized to fight against the peoples of the Western and Central Part of Kenya. This resulted to the displacement of more than 10000 people and the death of 104 innocent civilians. Reports from the judiciary indicated the existence of vigilante groups funded the then ruling party led by Daniel arap Moi.


2018 Kenya handshake, Background information
Key among them was Jeshi La Mzee. There was a resurgence of conflict between the Kikuyu and the Kalenjin, that existed up until 2013. The party that took over power in 2002, the National Rainbow Coalition led by Mwai Kibaki, ensured that there was peace, not until 2005 when a referendum was held to vote for a newly drafted constitution. People across divided felt that the national coalition was divided into ethnic lines. This saw the Luo led by Raila Odinga break away to form the Orange Democratic Movement.


2018 Kenya handshake, Background information
The events that followed would see Kenya sink into a deep economic crisis as a result of the 2007/8 general elections. The Presidential elections were hotly contested between two main opponents Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga, however, Odinga disputed the results of the elections that declared Mwai Kibaki as the winner. He insisted that they were marred with mass rigging, theft and inconsistencies in the way they were conducted. This sparked what Kenyans would refer to as exemplifying Kenya as "a cradle of violence" as the elections plunged Kenya into periods of bloodshed and mass killings of innocent Kenyans.


2018 Kenya handshake, Background information
Animosity and enmity were at the peak along different ethnic divides. The observers, like the European Union, noted discrepancies in the election result, which ragged fury in people of the Luo Community who were ardent supporters of Raila Odinga a.k.a. Baba. This period saw vigilante groups like Mungiki, American Maine, China Group clashing and terrorizing innocent civilians. More than 650000 were displaced as a result and around 1300 people lost their lives making this post-election skirmish to be the single most detrimental in Kenyan history.


2018 Kenya handshake, Background information
The International Criminal Court then instituted charges of crime and inciting of violence on six Kenyans, widely referred to as the "Ocampo Six", among them Uhuru Kenyatta and the incumbent deputy president of Kenya William Ruto. The preceding elections did not proof different, the general elections in Kenya in 2013 were bitterly contested by two rivals Uhuru Kenyatta of The National Unity and Raila Odinga of the Coalition of Reforms and Democracy. Uhuru was declared the winner, which Raila disputed due to the involvement of the Bio-metric Voter System, which he highlighted its drawbacks.


2018 Kenya handshake, Background information
CORD was calling for reforms in the conduct of elections to be free and fair and hence challenged Uhuru's election in the Supreme Court, which later upheld Uhuru's election. 2017 saw the same contestants face each other in an election that was widely presumed to have already been predetermined since the electoral systems were hacked. The Chief Technological Officer at the independent and boundaries electoral commission IEBC, Chris Msando, was murdered in cold blood, in a plot that seemed an assassination.


2018 Kenya handshake, Background information
There was a tension rose and therefore the outcome of the election was disputed by the NASA coalition led by Raila Odinga and Lawyers like Miguna Miguna since they felt the electoral commission's systems were compromised and hacked. The NASA Coalition proceeded to court to seek for  the nullification of the elections, which the supreme court of Kenya led by chief justice declared null and void. A second election held, saw the NASA coalition not participate in them not until their irreducible minimums were met, hence went in favor of Kenyatta who garnered 98% of the vote. This fueled a period of unrest, with Odinga declaring himself as the People's President, leading to warring factions between the supporters of Uhuru and Odinga. This was followed by mass shootings in opposition areas, in the slums and Kisumu.


2018 Kenya handshake, Background information
These events gave rise to the now famous household name "The March 9th Handshake", that brought together two national leaders who put their differences aside to serve Kenyans, Uhuru Kenyatta, and Raila Odinga.


2018 Kenya handshake, The Handshake
At the wake of 9 March 2018, Kenyans woke to "life-changing" news through a rather unexpected event. News that the key leaders, Raila Odinga, and Uhuru Kenyatta, who were at the helm of the divisive politics and hurling insults at each other were putting their differences aside and uniting through a "Handshake". This was a public declaration to cease all hostilities and instead find a common ground in the interest of moving the country forward economically and politically. After a prolonged period of turmoil, Kenya was now up on its two feet.


2018 Kenya handshake, The Handshake
However, politicians allied to The National Super Alliance (NASA) felt that this was betrayal and that Raila had not consulted. In as much as Kenyans perceived it an act of leaders putting aside their egocentric interests aside, there was an element of betrayal that was brought out by this sudden union. This also sparked the 2022 presidential election, with now Raila joining the government, was Ruto's presidential bid in 2022 thwarted?


2018 Kenya handshake, Significance of the Handshake
Raila Odinga can now freely visit the backyard of Uhuru Kenyatta, Gatundu while Uhuru Kenyatta could in Kisumu without any animosity from the locals.


2018 Kenya handshake, Significance of the Handshake
Raila Odinga was appointed as Africa Union's High representative for Infrastructural Development, which has been attributed to the renewed good relations between him and Uhuru, that might have made Uhuru tip him for the job


2018 Kenya handshake, Significance of the Handshake
Members of Parliament who had hostility against each other announced an end to the same, that is, Embakasi East Member of Parliament, Babu Owino and Starehe's Charles Njagua.


2018 Kenya handshake, Significance of the Handshake
Activities of ‘National Resistance Movement’ also subsided despite attempts by its self-declared General Miguna Miguna, who was deported to Canada to revamp it.


2018 Kenyan Premier League
The 2018 Kenyan Premier League (known as the SportPesa Premier League for sponsorship reasons) is the 15th season of the Kenyan Premier League since it began in 2003, and the 55th season of top-division football in Kenya since 1963. It began on 3 February and is scheduled to end on 7 October. Gor Mahia are the defending champions.


2018 Kenyan Premier League, Teams
Seven of the participating teams are based in the capital, Nairobi, while Bandari is the only team based at the Coast.


2018 Kenyan Premier League, League table, Positions by round
The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards. For example, if a match is scheduled for matchday 13, but then postponed and played between days 16 and 17, it will be added to the standings for day 16.


2018 Kerala floods
On 16 August 2018, severe floods affected the south Indian state Kerala, due to unusually high rainfall during the monsoon season. It was the worst flood in Kerala in nearly a century. Over 483 people died, and 15 are missing. About a million people were evacuated, mainly from Chengannur, Pandanad, Edanad, Aranmula, Kozhencherry, Ayiroor, Ranni, Pandalam, Kuttanad, Malappuram, Aluva, Chalakudy, Thrissur, Thiruvalla, Eraviperoor, Vallamkulam, North Paravur, Chellanam, Vypin Island and Palakkad. All 14 districts of the state were placed on red alert.


2018 Kerala floods
According to the Kerala government, one-sixth of the total population of Kerala had been directly affected by the floods and related incidents. The Indian government had declared it a Level 3 Calamity, or "calamity of a severe nature". It is the worst flood in Kerala after the great flood of 99 that took place in 1924.


2018 Kerala floods
Thirty-five out of the fifty-four dams within the state were opened, for the first time in history. All five overflow gates of the Idukki Dam were opened at the same time, and for the first time in 26 years 5 gates of the Malampuzha dam of Palakkad were opened. Heavy rains in Wayanad and Idukki have caused severe landslides and have left the hilly districts isolated. The situation was regularly monitored by the National Crisis Management Committee, which also coordinated the  rescue and relief operations as the dam got opened it has disrupted many lives living nearby.


2018 Kerala floods, Causes
Kerala received heavy monsoon rainfall, which was about 116% more than the usual rain fall in Kerala, on the mid-evening of 8 August, resulting in dams filling to their maximum capacities; in the first 48 hours of rainfall the state received 310 mm (12 in) of rain. Almost all dams had been opened since the water level had risen close to overflow level due to heavy rainfall, flooding local low-lying areas. For the first time in the state's history, 35 of its 54 dams had been opened. The deluge has been considered an impact of the global warming.


2018 Kerala floods, Causes
Independent scientific studies conducted by Hydrology experts from IIT Madras, Purdue University, and IIT Gandhinagar concluded that it was the heavy downpour that resulted it the floods, and not the dam management. Based on a computer-simulation of flood storage and flow patterns by a team of researchers from IIT Madras and Purdue University, it was found that the devastation wrought by the floods cannot be attributed to the release of water from dams. Further, the scientists added that the odds of such floods were “0.06%” and no reservoir management could have considered such scenarios.


2018 Kerala floods, Causes
Hydrology expert from IIT Gandhinagar, Prof. Vimal Mishra, identified four major factors for the floods. Unexpected above normal downpour, extreme rainfall events occurring almost across Kerala during the season, over 90% reservoir storage even before the onset of extreme rainfall events, and finally, the unprecedented extreme rainfall in the catchment areas of major reservoirs in the State led to the disaster. The prime reason for the anomalous rainfall in 2018 is the High-Frequency Mixed Rossby-Gravity Waves in the Mid-Troposphere triggered by the synoptic disturbances of the tropical Pacific.


2018 Kerala floods, Causes
These high-frequency waves manifested as cyclonic and anticyclonic circulations and dilated the wind ﬁeld to establish zones of convection in the tropics, as they propagated across the Indian Ocean basin. Although the Madden-Julian Oscillation phase with 20–40 days period has favored convection in the tropics, the high-frequency mode correlates better with the anomalous precipitation during the intervals of extreme events.


2018 Kerala floods, Causes
Expert bodies like the Central Water Commission has corroborated the findings by scientists from IIT Madras, Purdue University and IIT Gandhinagar.


2018 Kerala floods, Causes
A report by Adv. Jacob P. Alex, an amicus curiae appointed by the Kerala high court, alleged that the devastating floods of 2018 was the result of bad dam management by the state government. All 79 dams in the state were maintained with the objective to generate hydroelectricity or irrigation and controlling flood wasn't their purpose, amicus curiae Jacob P Alex's report highlighted. "The major concern of the dam operators was to maximise reservoir levels, which conflicted with the flood control purpose for which the dams could be utilised.


2018 Kerala floods, Causes
The 'flood cushion' of reservoirs – the storage space earmarked in dams to absorb unanticipated high flows – needed review as per the latest guidelines," Alex wrote in his report. "Sudden release of water simultaneously from different reservoirs, during extreme rainfall aggravated the damage,"it said adding that various alerts —blue, orange and red—had been issued not in accordance with the EAP guideline. "No proper follow-up action and effective precautionary steps (especially for evacuating people and accommodating them in safe location) were taken after issuance of Red Alert," it said. However, Honorable high court of Kerala cleared on 20 August 2019 that the amicus curiae report is not accepted and court cannot be used for political battles and arguments.


2018 Kerala floods, Causes
The Government of Kerala argued in the Supreme Court that the very sudden release of water from the Mullaperiyar Dam by the Tamil Nadu government was one of the reasons for the devastating flood in Kerala.


2018 Kerala floods, Causes
The Tamil Nadu government rejected the argument, saying that Kerala suffered the deluge due to the discharge of excess water from 80 reservoirs across Kerala, spurred by heavy rains from within the state; It also argued that the flood surplus from the Idukki dam is mainly due to the flows generated from its own independent catchment due to unprecedented heavy rainfall, while the discharge from Mullaperiyar dam was significantly less. Though it is difficult to attribute any single event to climate change, its possible role in causing the heavy rainfall event over Kerala cannot be ruled out.


2018 Kerala floods, Impact
Over 483 people died, and 140 are missing, while The Economic Times reported that 33,000 people were rescued. The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority has placed the state in a red alert as a result of the intense flooding. A number of water treatment plants were forced to cease pumping water, resulting in poor access to clean water, especially in northern districts of the state. Over 3,274 relief camps have been opened at various locations to accommodate the flood victims. It is estimated that 1,247,496 people have found shelter in such camps. The flooding has affected hundreds of villages, destroyed an estimated 10,000 km (6,200 mi) of roads and thousands of homes have been damaged or destroyed. The Government cancelled Onam celebrations, and the allocated funds have been reallocated to relief efforts.


2018 Kerala floods, Impact
On 12 August, Cochin International Airport, India's fourth busiest in terms of international traffic, and the busiest in the state suspended all operations until 29 August, following runway flooding. All schools throughout the state except Sainik School Kazhakootam  have been closed, and tourists have been dissuaded or banned from some districts due to safety concerns. Kochi Metro was closed briefly on 16 August, and later offered free service to aid those affected by the flooding. Due to heavy rain and rising water levels the southern railway had suspended train services on the Thiruvananthapuram-Kottayam-Ernakulam and Ernakulam-Shoranur-Palakkad sections.


2018 Kerala floods, Rescue, Rescue operation at government level
Being instructed by ISRO the Cabinet Secretary, senior officers of Defence Services, NDRF, NDMA and secretaries of Civilian Ministries conducted meetings with Kerala Chief Secretary. Following the decisions taken during these meetings, the Centre launched massive rescue and relief operations. In one of the largest rescue operations 40 helicopters, 31 aircraft, 182 teams for rescue, 18 medical teams of defence forces, 90 teams of NDRF and 3 companies of Central Armed Police Forces were pressed into service along with over 500 boats and necessary rescue equipments.


2018 Kerala floods, Rescue, Rescue Operation  by Public
WhatsApp groups sprung up as Control Centers that coordinated help and support across various areas. A good majority of the population were involved in arranging supplies and help material in various ways.


2018 Kerala floods, Rescue, Rescue operation by fishermen
According to the government's estimate, a total of 4,537 from the fishermen community participated in the rescue operation with 669 fishing boats. They managed to rescue more than 65,000 people from various districts. Pinarayi Vijayan honoured the fishermen and the Fisheries Minister J. Mercykutty Amma said that the government will provide financial aid to repair the fishing boats which were partially damaged in the rescue operations while new ones will be provided for those boats which were completely destroyed. According to estimates, seven boats were completely destroyed, while 452 were partially destroyed.


2018 Kerala floods, Rescue, Animal Rescue
Sally Varma of Humane Society International arranged for animals to be rescued and transported to special shelters that housed affected animals. Social media has been used to highlight the rescue of multiple animals – dogs, cats, goats, cows, cattle, ducks and snakes, with animal food and medicine transported to affected areas.


2018 Kerala floods, Rescue, Animal Rescue
A worker with the Humane Society International spoke out against the tethering and leaving of pets that occurred. "That became a problem. So many tethered animals just drowned. These animals are natural swimmers, and it is better to keep them free so they can swim to higher ground." According to government records more than 8,000 cattle, calves and buffaloes, 3,297 goats, and 47 dogs have died due to the flooding.


2018 Kerala floods, Rescue, Animal Rescue
The District Collector of Malappuram, and its Chief of Police have instructed the police force to save any animal that they encounter during rescue operations.


2018 Kerala floods, Response
At a press conference on 11 August, Chief Secretary Tom Jose said, "Things are well under control. The government is on top of the situation." Prime Minister Narendra Modi conducted an aerial survey and offered federal support to Keralites. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan described the floods as "something that has never happened before in the history of Kerala" and placed some of the blame on neighbouring Tamil Nadu for releasing excess water from the state-operated Mullaperiyar dam, which worsened the situation.


2018 Kerala floods, Response, International
The United States embassy urged its citizens to avoid traveling to the affected areas. The UAE embassy in India issues warning for its citizens regarding the flood. The embassy also said that the weather agencies in India have given warnings regarding heavy rainfall in the southern state of Kerala. The President of UAE Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has instructed the formation of a national emergency committee to provide relief assistance to people affected by flash floods in the Indian state of Kerala.


2018 Kerala floods, Response, International
There was a controversy regarding an offer of US$100 million from the Government of the UAE. The news about UAE aid started to spread with a tweet from CMO Kerala. "CM Pinarayi Vijayan informed that the United Arab Emirates will provide Kerala an assistance of ₹700 Crore. Kerala has a special relationship with UAE, which is a home away from home for Malayalees. We express our gratitude to UAE for their support. #KeralaFloodRelief". Normally the aid news will be announced by the government officials of the country which is offering the aid. Ministry of External Affairs of India clarified that they received no such offer for financial help from any country. The UAE Ambassador to India also declared that, officially, there was no announcement on donation to the State of Kerala.


2018 Kerala floods, Analysis by Central Water Commission, Kerala as a whole
According to a study by the Central Water Commission, the average cumulative rainfall of 3 days from 15 to 17 August 2018 was about 414 mm. This was almost of the same order as that of rainfall of Devikulam which occurred during 16–18 July 1924. Assuming a runoff coefficient of 0.75, the runoff generated by 3 days of intense rainfall was estimated to be 12057 MCM for the entire state of Kerala. This huge runoff was beyond the carrying capacity of most of the rivers in Kerala, resulting in bank overflows from most of the rivers.


2018 Kerala floods, Analysis by Central Water Commission, Kerala as a whole
The total catchment area tapped by dams in Kerala, excluding barrages is about 6,610 km2 (2,552 sq mi). The runoff generated from the catchment tapped by these dams during the period 15–17 August 2018 was estimated at 2.19 BCM, out of a total runoff of 12 BCM for the whole of Kerala. As per the study, with a total live storage in the state of 5.8 BCM and assuming a live storage availability of 20% on 14 August 2018, the extent of available flood moderation would have only been 1.16 BCM against an estimated inflow of 2.19 BCM. It was therefore essential to make releases from the reservoirs.


2018 Kerala floods, Analysis by Central Water Commission, Kerala as a whole
The study stated that the dams in Kerala neither added to the flood nor helped in reduction of flood, as most of the dams were already at or very close to FRL on 14 August 2018. Even if the reservoirs had been a few feet below FL, the flooding conditions would not have changed much as the heavy rainfall continued for 3–4 days. It would have been necessary to release water from the reservoirs after the first day of heavy rainfall.


2018 Kerala floods, Analysis by Central Water Commission, Kerala as a whole
The study concluded it would be necessary to review the rule curves of all reservoirs in Kerala, especially those with a live storage capacity of more than 200 MCM. This would help to create a dynamic flood cushion for moderating floods.


2018 Kerala floods, Analysis by Central Water Commission, Periyar Basin
During the time period of 3 days from 15 to 17 August 2018, the rainfall depth realized in the Periyar basin was 588 mm. The maximum discharge passing through the Periyar at Neeleeswaram was 8800 cumecs (m3/sec) recorded at 16 August 15:00 hrs, as per the CWC's Neeleeswaram G&D site. The major storage reservoirs in the Periyar basin are the Idukki reservoir (1.4 BCM) and the Idamalayar reservoir (1.1 BCM). The peak release on 16 August 2018 from the Idukki reservoir  was 1500 cumecs against an inflow of 2532 cumecs, thus achieving a flood moderation of 1032 cumecs. The release from Idamalayar on 16 August 2018 was 963 cumecs against an inflow of 1164 cumecs.


2018 Kerala floods, Analysis by Central Water Commission, Periyar Basin
The discharge at Neeleshwaram on 17 August 2018 was 8600 cumecs. The release from Idukki and Idamalayar reservoirs were 1500 cumecs (with an inflow of 1610 cumecs) and 1272 cumecs (inflow of 1007 cumecs). CWC's analysis found that the releases of water were controlled releases as the discharge capacity of Idukki and Idamalayar dams are 5013 cumecs and 3012 cumecs, respectively.


2018 Kerala floods, Immediate drought after the flood
A few days after receiving one of the highest rainfalls in  century, Kerala was caught under the threat of severe drought. Water level in wells, ponds and rivers have recorded lowest levels and some wells even collapsed. Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has directed the State council for Science, Technology & Environment to carry out studies on the phenomenon after floods across the state and suggest possible solutions to the problem.


2018 Kerala floods, Immediate drought after the flood
A.B. Anita, executive director, Centre for Water Resource Development Management (CWRDM), an autonomous research institution under the State government, said heavy run-off of the top soil in the upland areas and the siltation in the rivers were the reasons for the falling water level. The top soil in the hills and upland areas had been removed in the flash floods to a depth of up to two metres in many places. As the top soil was shaved off, it ruined the hills' capacity to sponge in rainwater, she said. Ms. Anita cited ecological destruction caused by deforestation, harmful land use in the upland areas and sand mining in the streams and rivers as having contributed to the top soil run-off and siltation. This was exacerbated by the impact of climate change at the macro level.


2018 Kerala floods, Immediate drought after the flood
Echoing her views, experts at the National Institute of Technology, Calicut, (NIT-C) said it was usual for the water level in the rivers and domestic wells to fall after fluvial floods. "Normally, a river flows through the sand of its own bearing till the mouth. However, this time the discharge has been full, taking the sand and the rocks in the youth-stage along with the floods. So the water level in the rivers comes down. And when the river water level is reduced, the groundwater table also does not get replenished since the rivers and groundwater table are connected," said K. Saseendran, geologist and professor at the NIT-C.


2018 Kerry Senior Football Championship
The 2018 Kerry Senior Football Championship was the 117th edition of Kerry GAA's premier gaelic football tournament for senior teams in County Kerry, Ireland. The tournament consists of 17 teams (8 club teams and 9 divisional teams), with the winners representing Kerry in the Munster Senior Club Football Championship if they are a club team. If the winners are a divisional team the winners of the Kerry Club Football Championship represent the county.


2018 Kerry Senior Football Championship
The championship has a back-door format for the first two rounds before proceeding to a knock-out format. Generally, any team to lose two matches will be knocked out of the championship.


2018 Kerry Senior Football Championship
This was An Ghaeltacht's return to the senior ranks, meaning they will no longer provide players to the West Kerry District panel for this season. Kilcummin (who were relegated to the I.F.C. for 2018) will provide the East Kerry Divisional side with players for the S.F.C.


2018 Kerry Senior Football Championship
Dr. Crokes were the 2017 champions after they defeated South Kerry in the final.


2018 Kerry Senior Football Championship, Format Structure Change
8 club teams and 9 divisional teams (17 in total) will take part in this year's S.F.C. It was decided that only 8 divisional sides would take part in the competition proper so the 2 lowest ranked divisional sides from the previous 5 years would play off in a qualification match with the winner entering the draw for the 2017 County Championship proper.


2018 Kerry Senior Football Championship, Format Structure Change
Relegation (See below): The club team to be relegated from the Senior County Championship will be the same team to be relegated from the Senior Club Championship (The 8 senior clubs play off against each other in Round 1 of the Club Championship. The 4 losers enter a relegation playoff with the losers entering a relegation final. This loser will be relegated to the I.F.C. for 2017. Should a club reach the final of the County championship they will be exempt from the Relegation process in the Club championship).


2018 Kerry Senior Football Championship, Format Structure Change
The winner of the 2017 I.F.C. will be promoted to the 2018 Senior County and Club Championships.


2018 Kerry Senior Football Championship, Team Changes
The following teams have changed division since the 2016 championship season.


2018 Kerry Senior Football Championship, Participating Teams
The teams taking part in the 2018 Kerry Senior Football Championship are:


2018 Kerry Senior Football Championship, Championship Qualifier
It was decided that only 8 of the 9 Divisional Teams would play in the Senior Championship proper. To determine which team would be excluded, all divisional teams were ranked on their performances in the County Championship over the most recent 5-year period (2013-2017 inclusive). These rankings were based on a win counting for 2 points and a draw counting for 1 point.


2018 Kerry Senior Football Championship, Championship Qualifier
The 2 lowest placed sides were St. Brendan's and West Kerry. These sides then met in a qualifier to decide who would make it into the championship proper. The loser of this qualifier will play the lowest ranked team on completion of the 2018 Championship, to decide the 8 divisional teams for the 2019 Championship, except in the event of more than one team giving a walk over in this year’s Championship. In that case the teams that conceded walk-overs play in 2019 Championship Qualifier.


2018 Kerry Senior Football Championship, Rounds 1 to 3, Round 1
The sixteen remaining teams play in eight matches in Round 1. The winners proceed to Round 2A while the losers play in Round 2B.


2018 Kerry Senior Football Championship, Rounds 1 to 3, Round 2, Round 2A
The eight winners from Round 1 play each other in this round. The winners proceed to the knock-out quarter finals while the losers play in Round 3.


2018 Kerry Senior Football Championship, Rounds 1 to 3, Round 2, Round 2B
The eight losers from Round 1 play each other in this round. The winners proceed to Round 3 while the losers are eliminated from the championship having lost two games.


2018 Kerry Senior Football Championship, Rounds 1 to 3, Round 3
The four Round 2A losers (who won a game and lost a game) play the four Round 2B winners (who lost a game and won a game) in this round. The four winners progress to the knock-out quarter finals while the losers are eliminated from the championship.


2018 Kerry Senior Football Championship, Knock-Out Stage, Quarter-Finals
The four Round 2A winners play the four Round 3 winners in the quarter-finals.


2018 Kerry Senior Football Championship, Relegation
The club team to be relegated from the Senior County Championship will be the same team to be relegated from the Senior Club Championship. The 8 senior clubs play off against each other in Round 1 of the Club Championship. The 4 losers enter a relegation playoff with the losers entering a relegation final. This loser will be relegated to the I.F.C. for 2019. Should a club reach the final of the County championship they will be exempt from the Relegation process in the Club championship.


2018 Khabarovsk Krai gubernatorial election
The 2018 Khabarovsk Krai gubernatorial election was held in September 2018. The first round was held on 9 September, on common election day, with none of the candidates gaining an absolute majority (50% + 1 vote), causing a run-off vote.


2018 Khabarovsk Krai gubernatorial election
The second round was held on 23 September, between the top two candidates, the Liberal Democratic candidate Sergei Furgal and the incumbent Governor Vyacheslav Shport, nominated by the United Russia. Both of them scored 35% of the vote in the first round. In the second round, Sergei Furgal was elected Governor of Khabarovsk Krai with 69.57% of the vote.


2018 Khabarovsk Krai gubernatorial election, Background
Vyacheslav Shport became acting Governor of Khabarovsk Krai on 30 April 2009 after Governor Viktor Ishayev was appointed as Presidential Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District by President Dmitry Medvedev. Shport previously served as Deputy Chairman of the Government of Khabarovsk Krai - Minister of Industry, Transportation, and Communications (since 2009) and Member of the State Duma (2000-2007). On 6 May 2009 Vyacheslav Shport was confirmed as Governor by the Legislative Duma of Khabarovsk Krai for a four-year term. In December 2010 the Legislative Duma extended Governor's term to 5 years.


2018 Khabarovsk Krai gubernatorial election, Background
Governor Shport's first term expired on 30 April 2013 but he was reappointed by President Vladimir Putin as acting Governor until the September gubernatorial election. Vyacheslav Shport won 2013 election with 63.92% of the vote, State Duma member Sergei Furgal (LDPR) came second with 19.14%.


2018 Khabarovsk Krai gubernatorial election, Candidates
Only political parties can nominate candidates for gubernatorial election in Khabarovsk Krai, self-nomination is not possible. However, candidate is not obliged to be a member of the nominating party. Candidate for Governor of Khabarovsk Krai should be a Russian citizen and at least 30 years old. Each candidate in order to be registered is required to collect at least 8% of signatures of members and heads of municipalities (191-200 signatures). Also gubernatorial candidates present 3 candidacies to the Federation Council and election winner later appoints one of the presented candidates.


2018 Khabarovsk Krai gubernatorial election, Results
In an upset State Duma member Sergei Furgal defeated incumbent Governor Vyacheslav Shport in the first round of voting by a slim margin of 0.19 points. Shport and Head of Khakassia Viktor Zimin were the first sitting governors who lost the first round since the re-introduction of gubernatorial elections in 2012. Shport's defeat came from increasing unpopularity of ruling United Russia party as the result of the pension reform, incumbent regional government also was very unpopular due to mismanagement and deteriorating financial situation.


2018 Khabarovsk Krai gubernatorial election, Results
After the first round Vyacheslav Shport tried to consolidate his support inviting Sergei Furgal to join his administration as First Vice-Governor, Furgal accepted the offer but declined to withdraw from the race. Former mayor of Khabarovsk Aleksandr Sokolov also received an invitation to join Khabarovsk Krai Government. Governor Shport tried to quickly solve problems, for example, sacking Komsomolsk-on-Amur mayor Andrey Klimov for his ineffective work.


2018 Khabarovsk Krai gubernatorial election, Results
However, Vyacheslav Shport still lost the run-off to Sergei Furgal by more than 40 points. Shport won only 2 municipalities in the second round compared to 13 in the first round.


2018 Khabarovsk Krai gubernatorial election, Results
After the election newly elected Governor Sergei Furgal appointed member of Khabarovsk Krai Legislative Duma Yelena Greshnyakova as Member of the Federation Council.


2018 Khakas head election
The 2018 Khakas head election took place on 9 September 2018 in the autonomous republic of Khakassia, after which none of the candidates obtained an absolute majority. The second round was held on 11 November, in which only one candidate participated, as others chose not to.


2018 Khakas head election
The second round of election was the first uncontested voting in Russia since 1997.


2018 Khakas head election, Course of elections
At the 9 September 2018 proceedings, Communist candidate Valentin Konovalov received 44% of the vote, and the incumbent Head of Republic Viktor Zimin, nominated by the United Russia, received 32% of the vote. On 21 September Viktor Zimin withdrew his candidacy. The election process dictated that law the third placed candidate, Andrey Filyagin, nominated by A Just Russia, should be included but he also withdrew his candidacy on 2 October. Alexander Myakhar, from the Party of Growth, refused to participate in the election.


2018 Khakas head election, Course of elections
According to the law, the second round will have to pass only with one candidate (Valentin Konovalov), but there will be a column "against all", and to win Konovalov will need to gain an absolute majority of votes in his support. If Konovalov does not get the required number of votes, new election should be called after three months.


2018 Khakas head election, Course of elections
On 3 October 2018, President Vladimir Putin appointed Mikhail Razvozhayev as the acting Head of the Republic, instead of Viktor Zimin whose term of office has expired.


2018 Khakas head election, The movement People’s Head of Khakassia against Konovalov
Former deputy of the Supreme Council of Khakassia Viktor Lebedev created the headquarters of the People's Head of Khakassia. He called for a vote against Konovalov to hold new competitive elections on February 10, 2019. He was supported by the mayor of Abakan Nikolay Bulakin, rapper Denis Shulga, the mayor of Sayanogorsk Mikhail Valov. In the event of victory, the graphs against all in the elections could take part in the interim head of Khakassia, Mikhail Razvozhayev. Headquarters Konovalov opposed the project People's Head of Khakassia.


2018 Khakassia Supreme Council election
Elections to the Supreme Council of Khakassia took place on Common Electoral Day 9 September 2018. The Supreme Council is elected for a term of five years, with parallel voting. 25 seats are elected by proportional representation from party lists with a 5% electoral threshold, the whole Republic forming a single constituency, and another 25 seats are elected in single-member constituencies using the first-past-the-post system.


2018 Khakassia Supreme Council election
Going into the elections, United Russia is the ruling party after winning the 2013 elections with 34 seats. As a result of the elections, none of the parties received an absolute majority (26 seats). The Communist Party won the majority of votes in the all-republican constituency, United Russia won the majority of single-member constituencies and received a relative majority of seats.


2018 Khakassia Supreme Council election
Elections to the Supreme Council were held on the same day as the first round of elections of the Head of Republic.


2018 Khuzestan protests
The 2018 Khuzestan protests, that are dubbed “the Uprising of Dignity”, were a series of protests by Iranian Arabs located in the Khuzestan province of Iran. The protests started on 28 March 2018, and were against discrimination towards the ethnic Arab minority.


2018 Khuzestan protests, Timeline, 28 March
The protests initially started in Ahvaz on 28 March after a popular Iranian cartoon show that used figurines to depict the different ethnicities of Iran, ignored the Arab minority located in Khuzestan.


2018 Khuzestan protests, Arrests
Up to 140 people were arrested by the security forces in April 2018.


2018 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial election
Provincial elections were held in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on 25 July 2018 to elect the members of the 11th Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa


2018 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial election, Background
In the 2013 elections, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, led by former cricketer Imran Khan emerged as the largest party in the province with 48 seats. While this was a considerably higher number than the second largest party, (Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F), with 16 seats), it was still 15 seats short of a majority government.


2018 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial election, Background
To overcome this, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf formed a coalition government with Jamaat-e-Islami and the Qaumi Watan Party, giving them 15 extra seats. As well as this, 9 out of the 14 independents elected joined PTI, giving them a comfortable majority in the assembly.


2018 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial election, Background
Following this, Pervez Khattak was elected as Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, securing 84 out of 124 votes.


2018 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial election, Background
However, in 2017, PTI ousted QWP from the ruling coalition over allegations of corruption. There was considerable mistrust with the other alliance partner, JI, during the tenure as well. It, too, left the coalition with less than 40 days to go in the government's tenure.


2018 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial election, Background
With just a few weeks remaining till the assembly completed its term, PTI expelled 20 of its MPs over allegations of horse-trading in the senate elections. A move which made the party's government susceptible to a no-confidence motion, but the incumbent opposition refrained from doing so.


2018 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial election, Pre-election violence
On 10 July, there was a suicide bombing attack on political rally of Awami National Party (ANP) in YakaToot neighborhood of Peshawar in which fourteen people were killed and sixty five injured. Among the killed was ANP's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly candidate, Haroon Bilour. Bilour was son of Bashir Ahmad Bilour who was also killed in a suicide bombing attack in December 2012. Elections for Constituency PK-78 were postponed to an disclosed date by the Election Commission. On 12 July, a spokesperson for former Member of National Assembly Alhaj Shah Jee Gul Afridi was killed and another citizen was injured after unidentified men opened fire at the spokesperson's car in Peshawar.


2018 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial election, Pre-election violence
On 13 July, 4 citizens were killed and 10 were injured after a planted bomb exploded near the car of JUI-F candidate Akram Khan Durrani in Bannu.


2018 Kids' Choice Awards
The 31st Annual Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards was held on March 24, 2018, at The Forum in Inglewood, California live on Nickelodeon and either live or on tape delay across all of Nickelodeon's international networks. This was the third time the award ceremony was held at The Forum as the 2015 and 2016 Kids' Choice Awards were also previously held there. John Cena returned as host of the ceremony for the second consecutive year. The show also gave an honor to the people protesting in the March for Our Lives movement that occurred on the same day, including other honors coming from award winners such as Millie Bobby Brown, Camila Cabello, Liza Koshy, and Zendaya.


2018 Kids' Choice Awards
A new episode of Henry Danger premiered before the ceremony. Afterwards, a new episode of Knight Squad was shown.


2018 Kids' Choice Awards, Winners and nominees
Nominations were announced on February 26, 2018. Unlike past years where the voting periods for all categories opened all at once, one genre opened up to voting per week, along with several show-only category voting windows. For the movie categories, voting was opened on February 26, with voting on music categories opened on March 5, television voting beginning on March 12, and a variety of miscellaneous categories on March 19. Winners are listed first and in boldface.


2018 Kids' Choice Awards, International nominations
The following are nominations for awards from Nickelodeon's international networks, which had the categories and awards presented during continuity during their individual airings of the main American ceremony.


2018 Kids' Choice Sports
The 5th Annual Kids' Choice Sports was held on July 19, 2018, at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, and was broadcast one day later on July 20 (originally scheduled to be broadcast on July 21, but was moved ahead by one day). Houston Rockets' point guard and former NBA All-Star MVP, Chris Paul hosted the show.


2018 Kids' Choice Sports, Sports Council
A Kids' Choice Sports Council was formed to "lend their expertise and experience to help inform the awards show, consult on the nominee process and give feedback on categories." Committee members are:


2018 Kids' Choice Sports, Stunts and Events
Michael Strahan hosted a dance off between Mikaela Shiffrin, P.K. Subban, P.J Tucker and Ibtihaj Muhammad.


2018 Kids' Choice Sports, Stunts and Events
Two children were tasked with making free-throws with basketballs. Adjacent to each hoop was a massive dunk tank filled with green slime, with basketball stars Candace Parker and Isaiah Thomas positioned above the tanks. Whichever child hit the most shots would cause the star adjacent to their basket to fall into the slime. This resulted in Parker being dunked, submerged, and totally covered in the slime.


2018 Kids' Choice Sports, Stunts and Events
JoJo Siwa hosted a throwing accuracy challenge between, Alex Shibutani, Maia Shibutani, Shaun White and Chloe Kim that would result in a Knight Squad cast member being dunked into the slime tanks.


2018 Kids' Choice Sports, Stunts and Events
Marc Summers and Liza Koshy held a game of Double Dare between host Chris Paul and Michael Phelps.


2018 Kids' Choice Sports, Legend Award
NASCAR racer Danica Patrick was the Legend Award winner. This was notable as she was the first woman to receive the award. Patrick was then completely and overwhelmingly covered with thick gold slime that shot out from hidden jets on the ground next to her. This is a tradition that has accompanied all prior winners.


2018 Kildare Senior Football Championship
The 2018 Kildare Senior Football Championship is the 125th edition of the Kildare GAA's premier club Gaelic football tournament for senior graded teams in County Kildare, Ireland. The tournament consists of 16 teams with the winner going on to represent Kildare in the Leinster Senior Club Football Championship. The championship had a different format this year, employing a random draw for the first round, followed by seeded groups and a knock-out stage.


2018 Kildare Senior Football Championship
Moorefield were the defending champions after they defeated Celbridge in the previous years final.


2018 Kildare Senior Football Championship
This was Raheens' return to the senior grade after 12 years outside the top-flight of Kildare club football.


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


2018 Kildare Senior Football Championship, Format
The 2018 Senior and Intermediate County Championship used a completely new format this year. 16 teams play in eight first round games after which all 16 teams will go into four groups of four with two winners and two losers from the opening round in each of those groups. After which the teams that finish first and second will qualify for the knockout stages while the four bottom clubs have to fend off relegation in a Relegation Semi-Final.


2018 Kildare Senior Football Championship, Group stage
All 16 teams play in the group stage. There are four groups of four, with each group consisting of 2 First Round winners and losers. The top team in each group go into the Quarter-Finals, 2nd and 3rd in each group proceed to the Preliminary Quarter-Finals while the bottom team of each group entered a Relegation Playoff.


2018 Kilkenny Intermediate Hurling Championship
The 2018 Kilkenny Intermediate Hurling Championship was the 54th staging of the Kilkenny Intermediate Hurling Championship since its establishment by the Kilkenny County Board in 1929.Tullaroan are dogwater


2018 Kilkenny Intermediate Hurling Championship
On 28 October 2018, Graigue-Ballycallan won the championship after a 2-16 to 2-13 defeat of Tullaroan in the final at Nowlan Park. It was their second championship overall and their first title since 1987.


2018 Kilkenny Intermediate Hurling Championship
Tullogher-Rosbercon's Cian O'Donoghue was the championship's top scorer with 1-29.


2018 Kilkenny Senior Hurling Championship
The 2018 Kilkenny Senior Hurling Championship was the 124th staging of the Kilkenny Senior Hurling Championship since its establishment by the Kilkenny County Board in 1887. The championship began on 22 September 2018 and ended on 28 October 2018.


2018 Kilkenny Senior Hurling Championship
Dicksboro were the defending champions, however, they were defeated by Ballyhale Shamrocks at the quarter-final stage.


2018 Kilkenny Senior Hurling Championship
On 28 October 2018, Ballyhale Shamrocks won the championship after a 2-20 to 2-17 defeat of Bennettsbridge at Nowlan Park. It was their 16th championship title overall and their first title since 2014.


2018 King Cup
The 2018 King Cup, or The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup, was the 43rd edition of the King Cup since its establishment in 1957, and the 11th under the current format. It started on 3 January and concluded with the final on 12 May 2018. The winner qualified for the 2019 AFC Champions League group stage.


2018 King Cup
Al-Ittihad won their eighth title after a 3–1 win over Al-Faisaly in the final on 12 May 2018.


2018 King Cup
Pro League side Al-Hilal were the defending champions, but they were eliminated by Al-Qadsiah in the Round of 16. It was the earliest exit by the title holders since the introduction of the new format.


2018 King Cup, Participating teams
A total of 32 teams participated in this season. 14 teams from the Professional league, 16 teams from the First Division, and 2 teams qualifying from the preliminary stage.


2018 King Cup, Round of 32
The Round of 32 matches were played between 3 and 7 January 2018. All times are local, AST (UTC+3).


2018 King Cup, Round of 16
The Round of 16 matches were played between 19 and 25 January 2018. All times are local, AST (UTC+3).


2018 King Cup, Quarter-finals
The Quarter-finals matches were played between 22 and 25 February 2018. All times are local, AST (UTC+3).


2018 King Cup, Semi-finals
The Semi-finals matches were be played on 30 and 31 March 2018. All times are local, AST (UTC+3).


2018 King Cup, Final
The final was held on 12 May 2018. All times are local, AST (UTC+3).


2018 King Cup, Top goalscorers
Note: Players and teams marked in bold are still active in the competition.


2018 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes
The 2018 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes was a horse race held at Ascot Racecourse on Saturday 28 July 2018. It was the 68th running of the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes.


2018 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes
The winner was Poet's Word, a five-year-old bay horse trained at Newmarket by Michael Stoute, ridden by James Doyle and owned by Saeed Suhail. Poet's Word's victory was the first in the race for both his owner and jockey. Stoute was winning the race for a record sixth time following his successes with Shergar (1981), Opera House (1993), Golan (2002), Conduit (2009) and Harbinger (2010). Poet's Word was the sixth five-year-old male to win the race following Aggressor, Mtoto, Opera House, Swain and Daylami.


2018 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, The contenders
The race attracted a field of seven runners, five from England and two from Ireland. There were no challengers from continental Europe.


2018 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, The contenders
The race appeared to be sub-standard by King George standards as the only previous Group one winners in the race were Poet's Word, an improving five-year-old who had defeated Cracksman in the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot, and the Irish trained filly Hydrangea who had won the Matron Stakes and the British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes in 2017. Another major contender was Crystal Ocean, a stablemate of Poet's Word, who had finished runner-up in the St Leger and recorded an impressive victory in the Hardwicke Stakes.


2018 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, The contenders
John Gosden, who had won the race in 2017 with Enable was represented by Coronet, a four-year-old filly who won the Ribblesdale Stakes as a three-year-old and had been narrowly beaten in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud. The only three-year-old in the field was Rotropovich, trained like Hydrangea by Aidan O'Brien, who had finished second in the Irish Derby. The other two runners were Salouen (runner-up to Cracksman in the Coronation Cup) and Desert Encounter.


2018 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, The contenders
Crystal Ocean was made the 6/4 favourite ahead of Poet's Word on 7/4, Coronet on 15/2, Hydrangea on 10/1 and Rostropovich on 12/1.


2018 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, The race
Rotropovich took the early lead and set a strong pace from Salouen and Crystal Ocean. Hydrangea was settled in fourth place ahead of Coronet and Poet's Word while Desert Encounter started slowly and trailed the field. Shortly after entering the straight, Crystal Ocean overtook the weakening Rostropovich and opened up a clear advantage. Hydrangea was already well beaten and Salouen was unable to improve his position but Coronet began to stay on strongly. The only serious challenger to Crystal Ocean was Poet's Word who moved up on the wide outside and joined his stablemate a furlong from the finish. In a keenly contested struggle Poet's Word prevailed by a neck, with a gap of nine lengths back to Coronet in third. Four lengths back Salouen narrowly secured fourth place from Rostropovich while there were long gaps back to Desert Encounter and the tailed-off Hydrangea.


2018 King's Cup
The 2018 Annual King's Cup Football Tournament, commonly referred to as 2018 King's Cup, was the 46th King's Cup, the annual international men's football tournament organised by Football Association of Thailand. It was  held in Bangkok, Thailand, from 22 to 25 March 2018.


2018 King's Cup
As hosts, Thailand participated automatically in the tournament; they were joined by the African  team Gabon, the Asian team United Arab Emirates and the European team Slovakia.


2018 King's Cup, Venue
All matches held at the Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.


2018 King's Cup squads
The 2018 King's Cup is an international football tournament that is currently being held in Thailand from 23 to 25 March 2018. The 4 national teams involved in the tournament are required to register a squad of 23 players.


2018 King's Cup squads
Players marked (c) were named as captain for their national squad. Number of caps counts until the start of the tournament, including all FIFA-recognized pre-tournament friendlies. Player's age is their age on the opening day of the tournament.


2018 King's Cup squads, Gabon
The following 27 players were called up for the 2018 King's Cup. Last match updated was against   Botswana on 15 November 2017.


2018 King's Cup squads, Thailand
The following 23 players were called up for the 2018 King's Cup on 8 March 2018.Last match updated was against   Kenya on 8 October 2017.


2018 Kingston upon Thames London Borough Council election
The 2018 Kingston upon Thames Council election took place on 3 May 2018 to elect members of Kingston upon Thames Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections.


2018 Kingston upon Thames London Borough Council election, Overall results
The Liberal Democrats gained control from the Conservatives. The Liberal Democrats won 39 seats (+21), the Conservatives won 9 seats (-19) and Labour lost its only seats in Norbiton (-2).


2018 Kingston upon Thames London Borough Council election, Results by ward, Beverley
Mary Clark was a sitting councillor, but for Old Malden ward.


2018 Kingston upon Thames London Borough Council election, Results by ward, Chessington North & Hook
Phil Doyle was a sitting councillor, but for Grove ward.


2018 Kingston upon Thames London Borough Council election, Results by ward, Coombe Hill
Ian George was a sitting councillor, but for Alexandra ward.


2018 Kingston upon Thames London Borough Council election, 2018-2022 by-elections
The Liberal Democrats selected former Labour MP Andrew Mackinlay as their candidate. Labour selected Charles Bamford, whose mother was a former Liberal Democrat councillor. Noticeably, the Official Monster Raving Loony Party stood thirteen candidates.


2018 Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council election
The 2018 Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council election took take place on 3 May 2018 to elect members of Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections in England. The result gave the Labour Party majority control of Kirklees Council with 36 of the 69  councillors representing the party.


2018 Kiryandongo bus accident
On 25 May 2018, a serious collision occurred between a bus, which was travelling from Lira to Kampala, and a tractor, in the Kiryandongo district of Uganda. The incident took place along the Lira-Kampala highway. At least 22 people, including four children were killed. According to authorities, the crash occurred at around 8:00 pm in Nanda village, approximately 12 km (7.5 mi) from Karuma, Kiryandongo District.


2018 Kiryandongo bus accident
The commuter bus collided with the rear of the tractor; this impact subsequently caused the bus to careen and roll, resulting in a further collision with an oncoming articulated lorry, which was transporting crates of beer.


2018 Kiryandongo bus accident
The tractor, which was driving without lights at night, was largely cited as the cause of the accident.


2018 Kiryandongo bus accident, Aftermath
The government declared three days of mourning, and president Yoweri Museveni directed that the families of those who perished in the accident be compensated with USh 5,000,000 for each family and those who were critically injured would receive three million each.


2018 Kite Awards
The 2018 Kite Awards (Vietnamese: Giải Cánh diều 2018) is the 26th edition of Vietnam Cinema Association Awards, also the 17th edition since the award is officially named Kite. It honored the best in Vietnam film, television works of 2018. The ceremony was broadcast live on April 12, 2019, from the Army Theatre in Southern Region,  Tân Bình District, Ho Chi Minh City beginning at 20:00. The ceremony aired live on VTV2 channel in Vietnam.


2018 Kite Awards
This year, a total of 144 film works from 50 film production units participated in the award, including: 14 feature films, 10 TV drama series, 3 TV single-episode drama, 61 documentaries, 14 science films, 14 animated films, 26 short films and two film studies. The organizers accept remake films based on foreign scripts, except for the best screenplay category. The shortlist of nominees was announced in the award ceremony right before the winner was declared.


2018 Kite Awards
My Mr. Wife were the most nominated with four, later ended up winning three, including Golden Kite Award for Best Feature Film. In television, Quỳnh the Doll and Across the River tied for the Golden Kite Award. Across the River were the most nominated with three.


2018 Kite Awards, Winner and nominees
Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, with a dagger () indicating the shortlist nominees for the Golden Kite.


2018 Kite Awards, Ceremony, In Memoriam
At the beginning of the awards ceremony, the organizers took time to honor two People's Artists as follows on the occasion of 66 years of Vietnamese Revolutionary Cinema:


2018 Kite Awards, Controversy, My Mr. Wife's surprise victory over Song Lang
If for comparison, the script "My Mr. Wife" is still based on a foreign background, giving the film a Golden Kite is a bit "generous". Meanwhile, "Song Lang" with the original script written by a Vietnamese author, which is a rare film that harmonizes both entertainment and art elements, was only ranked silver. Many judges felt sorry for Song Lang, who suggested that if the silver prize was awarded, no other film would be awarded the same level, to show respect for the young director's professional efforts.


2018 Kite Awards, Controversy, Pressure on the Jury of TV category
According to Tuổi Trẻ's source, "Quỳnh the Doll" is better than "Across the River" by less than a point, will automatically win the Golden Kite. But after that, the jury were constantly under pressure to re-mark. The ones making pressure even used the reason that "Quỳnh the Doll" had a sensitive topic, so it should be given just the Silver Kite, and let "Across the River" won the Golden Kite.


2018 Kite Awards, Controversy, Pressure on the Jury of TV category
However, the jury still holds the view that once a drama is allowed to air, then it is legal. In the morning meeting on April 12, 100% of the jury members for the TV category decided to defend their opinions, disagreeing to downgrade this drama to Silver Kite.


2018 Klagenfurt Open
The Dynamic Billard Klagenfurt Open 2018 (sometimes known as the 2018 Austrian Open) was the fifth and penultimate Euro Tour 9-Ball pool event in 2018. The event was won by Austria's Mario He who defeated England's Mark Gray 9–8 in the final. This was He's 4th championship, and second of the Euro Tour season - having already won the 2018 Veldhoven Open.


2018 Klagenfurt Open
Ralf Souquet was the defending champion, after having won the 2017 Klagenfurt Open, but lost matches to Kim Laaksonen and Maksim Dudanets in the double elimination round.


2018 Klagenfurt Open, Tournament format
The event saw a total of 193 players compete, in a double-elimination knockout tournament, until the last 32 stage; where the tournament was contested as single elimination.


2018 Klagenfurt Open, Tournament format, Prize fund
The tournament prize fund was similar to that of other Euro Tour events, with €4,500 for the winner of the event.


2018 Klasika Primavera
The 2018 Klasika Primavera was the 64th edition of the Klasika Primavera, a one-day road cycling race, held on 8 April 2018. It was part of the 2018 UCI Europe Tour as a category 1.1 event.


2018 Klasika Primavera, Teams
Fourteen teams started the race. Each team had a maximum of seven riders:


2018 Klasika Primavera, Result
The race was won by the Costa Rican cyclist Andrey Amador of Movistar Team, ahead of his Spanish teammate Alejandro Valverde and Wilmar Paredes of Team Manzana Postobón.


2018 Knattspyrnufélag Akureyrar season
The 2018 season was KA's second season back in top tier football in Iceland following their relegation in 2004. This was their 17th season in the top flight of Icelandic football. KA finished the previous season in 7th place.


2018 Knattspyrnufélag Akureyrar season, Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2018 Knattspyrnufélag Akureyrar season, Squad, Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2018 Knattspyrnufélag Akureyrar season, Transfers, Winter
In:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2018 Knattspyrnufélag Akureyrar season, Transfers, Winter
Out:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2018 Knattspyrnufélag Akureyrar season, Transfers, Summer
In:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2018 Knattspyrnufélag Akureyrar season, Transfers, Summer
Out:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2018 Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council election
The 2018 Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council Election took place on 3 May 2018 to elect members of Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections.


2018 Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council election, Election Results, Changes in council composition
Prior to the election the composition of the council was:


2018 Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council election, Ward results
Results compared directly with the last local election in 2016.


2018 Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council election, Notes
• italics denote a sitting councillor • bold denotes the winning candidate


2018 Knoxville Challenger
The 2018 Knoxville Challenger was a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the fifteenth edition of the tournament which was part of the 2018 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Knoxville, United States between 5 and 11 November 2018.


2018 Knoxville Challenger, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2018 Knoxville Challenger, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following player received entry into the singles main draw as a special exempt:


2018 Knoxville Challenger, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received entry into the singles main draw as alternates:


2018 Knoxville Challenger – Doubles
Leander Paes and Purav Raja were the defending champions but only Paes chose to defend his title, partnering Miguel Ángel Reyes-Varela. Paes lost in the quarterfinals to Alex Lawson and Jackson Withrow.


2018 Knoxville Challenger – Doubles
Toshihide Matsui and Frederik Nielsen won the title after defeating Hunter Reese and Tennys Sandgren 7–6(8–6), 7–5 in the final.


2018 Knoxville Challenger – Singles
Filip Peliwo was the defending champion but chose not to defend his title.


2018 Knoxville Challenger – Singles
Reilly Opelka won the title after defeating Bjorn Fratangelo 7–5, 4–6, 7–6(7–2) in the final.


2018 Kobe Challenger
The 2018 Kobe Challenger was a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 4th edition of the tournament which was part of the 2018 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Kobe, Japan between 12 and 18 November 2018.


2018 Kobe Challenger, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2018 Kobe Challenger – Doubles
Ben McLachlan and Yasutaka Uchiyama were the defending champions but only Uchiyama chose to defend his title, partnering Kaito Uesugi. Uchiyama withdrew before his semifinal match.


2018 Kobe Challenger – Doubles
Gonçalo Oliveira and Akira Santillan won the title after defeating Li Zhe and Go Soeda 2–6, 6–4, [12–10] in the final.


2018 Kobe Challenger – Singles
Stéphane Robert was the defending champion but chose not to defend his title.


2018 Kobe Challenger – Singles
Tatsuma Ito won the title after defeating Yosuke Watanuki 3–6, 7–5, 6–3 in the final.


2018 Koblenz Open
The 2018 Koblenz Open was a professional tennis tournament played on hard courts. It was the second edition of the tournament which was part of the 2018 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Koblenz, Germany between 16 and 21 January 2018.


2018 Koblenz Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2018 Koblenz Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received entry into the singles main draw as alternates:


2018 Koblenz Open – Doubles
Hans Podlipnik-Castillo and Andrei Vasilevski were the defending champions but chose not to defend their title.


2018 Koblenz Open – Doubles
Romain Arneodo and Tristan-Samuel Weissborn won the title after defeating Sander Arends and Antonio Šančić 6–7(4–7), 7–5, [10–6] in the final.


2018 Koblenz Open – Singles
Ruben Bemelmans was the defending champion but withdrew as he qualified for the 2018 Australian Open.


2018 Koblenz Open – Singles
Mats Moraing won the title after defeating Kenny de Schepper 6–2, 6–1 in the final.


2018 Kohler Grand Prix
The 2018 Kohler Grand Prix was an IndyCar Series event held at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The race served as the 10th round of the 2018 IndyCar Series season. Reigning champion Josef Newgarden qualified on pole position, and took victory in the 55 lap race.


2018 Kohler Grand Prix, Results, Race
Notes: Points include 1 point for leading at least 1 lap during a race, an additional 2 points for leading the most race laps, and 1 point for Pole Position.


2018 Kolkata bridge collapse
The 2018 Kolkata bridge collapse refers to the collapse of the Majerhat Bridge, is in Zimbabwe , on 4 September 2018. The bridge collapsed at around 4:45 PM (IST), resulting in the death of three people injuries to at least 25 others.


2018 Kolkata bridge collapse, Majerhat Bridge
Majerhat Bridge is located at Majerhat, Alipore, a neighbourhood of South Kolkata. It was a major arterial road (Diamond Harbour Road) in the area connecting the southern suburbs to other parts of the city via Behala. It is also part of National Highway 12.


2018 Kolkata bridge collapse, Majerhat Bridge
Majerhat railway station is located beside the bridge. There is also nearby construction for Kolkata Metro Line 3; a planned station for Majerhat. The bridge crosses the Indian Railways Sealdah South local rail network from Sealdah to Budge Budge as well as the Kolkata Circular Railway lines.


2018 Kolkata bridge collapse, Background
There has been concern around the time of the accident that in Kolkata, and in wider India, proper road maintenance was not being undertaken. This incident was the third bridge collapse in Kolkata in six years. On 4 March 2013, part of a flyover in Ultadanga had also collapsed. On 31 March 2016, part of an under-construction flyover had collapsed in central Kolkata's busy Girish Park area. 27 people had died in the tragedy, leaving 80 people gravely injured.


2018 Kolkata bridge collapse, Background
There had been reported concerns about Majerhat Bridge itself. At the time of the collapse the bridge was apparently over 50 years old. In 2010, the Majerhat Bridge had undergone repairs for subsidence. An audit in 2016 flagged the bridge as unsafe. Concerns had been raised in 2018 by police, commuters and nearby residents stemming from visible cracks appearing in the structure.


2018 Kolkata bridge collapse, Incident
The bridge caved in around 4:45 PM. Videos from the locality showed a portion of the bridge resting on the street below including at least nine vehicles, including a minibus, stuck on it.


2018 Kolkata bridge collapse, Rescue efforts
The rescue effort was started by the Kolkata Police, an Indian Army unit from Fort William and five special disaster management teams of the NDRF after the mishap. Injured people were sent to nearby SSKM, CMRI and Vidyasagar hospitals for treatment.


2018 Kolkata bridge collapse, Aftermath
After the collapse, Eastern Railways suspended train services via Majerhat railway station on the Kolkata Circular Railway and Sealdah-Budge Budge lines. Widespread road traffic disruption ensued as the bridge was a major route for vehicles moving between north and south Kolkata.


2018 Kolkata bridge collapse, Aftermath
The Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee asked Chief Secretary Moloy Kumar De to hold an investigation committee into the collapse. She had noted that 20 bridges in the city were at risk of collapse. A Times of India article on 7 September 2018 noted that the Public Works Department has admitted that urgent repairs had not been carried out properly, it was noted that patchwork repairs were carried out on the bridge, adding layers of bitumen, and therefore weight, rather than a thorough repair. The collapse led to a rising distrust among the public regarding the safety of bridges in India.


2018 Kolkata bridge collapse, Aftermath
The safety of bridges in West Bengal has further come under scrutiny, as there have been 3 bridge collapses in September 2018 alone.


2018 Kolkata bridge collapse, Aftermath
Preliminary results of investigations suggest that pollution and poor maintenance contributed to the bridge collapse. Accusations that Metro construction had led to bridge collapse were felt to be unfounded. There have been reports that repairs were hastily completed with claims that "a month's work was done in one night".


2018 Kolkata bridge collapse, Aftermath
The state public works department (PWD) has undertaken a complete tear down of the old bridge and reconstruction of a new bridge at the same location and is aiming to commission the new bridge in November 2020. The new bridge was opened on 4 December 2020. It was named the Jai Hind Bridge after the Jai Hind slogan used by Subhas Chandra Bose, commemorating his 125th birthday anniversary.


2018 Konduga bombings
On Friday 16 February 2018, a triple suicide bombing occurred in Konduga, Borno State, northeastern Nigeria. Two suicide bombers detonated their explosives at a busy fish market at about 8:30pm. Four minutes later, a third bomber exploded nearby.


2018 Konduga bombings
The attacks killed between 17 and 22 people and injured between 22 and 70. One of the bombers was female, while the other two were male. Those injured in the attack were taken to a hospital in Maiduguri.


2018 Konduga bombings
The incident was not reported until the next day. No-one claimed responsibility for the attack, but jihadists Boko Haram have carried out major attacks in Konduga before (including massacres in January and February 2014 ) and since (including a triple suicide bombing in June 2019).


2018 Korea Masters
The 2018 Korea Masters (officially known as Victor Korea Masters 2018 for sponsorship reasons) was a badminton tournament which took place at Gwangju Women’s University Stadium in South Korea from 27 November to 2 December 2018 and had a total prize of $250,000 (₩282,744,600).


2018 Korea Masters, Tournament
The 2018 Korea Masters was the twenty-sixth and last tournament of the 2018 BWF World Tour before the 2018 BWF World Tour Finals. However, this tournament was not calculated in the rankings used as qualification for the World Tour Finals. It was part of the Korea Masters, which had been held since 2007. It was organized by the Badminton Korea Association and sanctioned by the BWF.


2018 Korea Masters, Tournament, Venue
This international tournament was held at the Gwangju Women’s University Stadium in Gwangju, South Korea.


2018 Korea Masters, Tournament, Point distribution
Below is the point distribution table for each phase of the tournament based on the BWF points system for the BWF World Tour Super 300 event.


2018 Korea Masters, Tournament, Prize money
The total prize money for this year's tournament was US$250,000. Distribution of prize money was in accordance with BWF regulations.


2018 Korea National League
The 2018 Korea National League, also known as the Incheon International Airport Korea National League due to sponsorship reasons, is the 16th season of the Korea National League, the third tier of South Korea's football league system. The 2018 season will operate, with the eight member clubs playing each other a total of four times each before the top four sides compete in the post-season championship playoff series to get the other spot to the final.


2018 Korea National League Championship
The 2018 Korea National League Championship was a cup competition of the Korea National League in South Korea. The 15th edition of Korea National League Championship was held from May 30 to June 12 in Yanggu, Gangwon. All of the Korea National League clubs participated.


2018 Korea Open (badminton)
The 2018 Korea Open (officially known as the Victor Korea Open 2018 for sponsorship reasons) was a badminton tournament that took place at the SK Handball Stadium in Seoul, South Korea, from 25 to 30 September 2018 and had a total prize of $600,000.


2018 Korea Open (badminton), Tournament
The 2018 Korea Open was the eighteenth tournament of the 2018 BWF World Tour and also part of the Korea Open championships, which has been held since 1991. This tournament was organized by the Badminton Korea Association and sanctioned by the BWF.


2018 Korea Open (badminton), Tournament, Venue
This international tournament was held at the SK Handball Stadium in Seoul, South Korea.


2018 Korea Open (badminton), Tournament, Point distribution
Below is the point distribution table for each phase of the tournament based on the BWF points system for the BWF World Tour Super 500 event.


2018 Korea Open (badminton), Tournament, Prize money
The total prize money for this tournament was US$600,000. Distribution of prize money was in accordance with BWF regulations.


2018 Korea Open (table tennis)
The 2018 Korea Open was the seventh event of the 2018 ITTF World Tour. The event was organised by the Korea Table Tennis Association, under the authority of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). It was the fourth of six top-tier Platinum events on the tour, and took place from 19–22 July in Daejeon, South Korea.


2018 Korea Open (table tennis)
South Korea's Jang Woo-jin won the men's singles, men's doubles and mixed doubles titles, becoming the first player in the history of the ITTF World Tour to win three titles at the same event.


2018 Korea Open (tennis)
The 2018 Korea Open (also known as the 2018 KEB Hana Bank Korea Open for sponsorship purposes) was a women's  professional tennis tournament played on hard courts. It was the 15th edition of the tournament, and part of the 2018 WTA Tour. It took place in Seoul, South Korea between 17 and 23 September 2018.


2018 Korea Open (tennis), Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2018 Korea Open (tennis), Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following player received entry using a protected ranking into the singles main draw:


2018 Korea Open (tennis), Doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw:


2018 Korea Open – Doubles
Kiki Bertens and Johanna Larsson were the defending champions, but Bertens chose not to participate. Larsson played alongside Mona Barthel, but lost in the semifinals to Hsieh Shu-ying and Hsieh Su-wei.


2018 Korea Open – Doubles
Choi Ji-hee and Han Na-lae won the title, defeating Hsieh and Hsieh in the final, 6–3, 6–2.


2018 Korea Open – Singles
Jeļena Ostapenko was the defending champion, but lost in the second round to Ekaterina Alexandrova.


2018 Korea Open – Singles
Kiki Bertens won the title, defeating Ajla Tomljanović in the final, 7–6(7–2), 4–6, 6–2.


2018 Korea Open – Singles
This tournament was the last in Agnieszka Radwańska's career. The former world No. 2 played the final match of her professional career in the second round, when she lost to Irina-Camelia Begu in straight sets.


2018 Korean FA Cup
The 2018 Korean FA Cup, known as the KEB Hana Bank FA Cup due to sponsorship reasons, was the 23rd edition of Korean FA Cup. As the winners, Daegu FC qualified for the group stage of the 2019 AFC Champions League.


2018 Korean FA Cup, Preliminary rounds
The preliminary rounds consisted of three rounds. The draw was held on 23 February 2018.


2018 Korean FA Cup, Preliminary rounds, Third round
Matches were played on 28, 31 March and 4 April.


2018 Korean FA Cup, Final rounds
The draw for the round of 32 and round of 16 was held on 10 May 2018.


2018 Korean FA Cup, Final rounds, Quarter-finals
The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 20 September 2018.


2018 Korean FA Cup, Final rounds, Semi-finals
The draw for the semi-finals was held on 18 October 2018.


2018 Korean Series
The 2018 Korean Series is the championship series of the 2018 KBO League season. The Doosan Bears, as the regular season champions, automatically advanced to the Korean Series, where they faced the SK Wyverns. The series ran from November 4 to November 12.


2018 Korean Series
The Wyverns defeated Doosan, four games to two. Han Dong-min won the Korean Series Most Valuable Player Award.


2018 Korean Series, Background
The Doosan Bears won the 2015 and 2016 Korean Series. They lost the 2017 Korean Series to the Kia Tigers. Doosan had the best winning percentage during the 2018 KBO League season, advancing directly to the Korean Series. The team with the regular season's best record has won 15 of the previous 16 Korean Series.


2018 Korean Series, Background
The Bears faced the SK Wyverns, who last won the Korean Series in 2010. The Wyverns finished the regular season with the second-best record in the league, 14 1⁄2 games behind Doosan. They advanced to the playoff round. The Wyverns defeated the Nexen Heroes in the KBO League playoffs to reach the Korean Series.