2018 Yerevan City Council election, Electoral code and voter data
The electoral code defines one vote per voter and a threshold of 6 percent of cast ballots for parties (50,900 votes at 100% turnout) and 8 percent for alliances (67,867 at 100% turnout), surpassing which is required for consideration during mandate allocations. Only if less than 3 parties/alliances pass the threshold, would all three best performing parties/alliances be allocated mandates. A “bonus” to the political force that wins at least 40 percent of the council seats will allow it to occupy majority of the seats and appoint the new mayor of Yerevan.


2018 Yerevan City Council election, Electoral code and voter data
Mandates will be allocated according to proportional representation principle, while regarding Yerevan as one multi-mandate electoral district.


2018 Yerevan City Council election, Election observation
Only one international organization, the International Expert Center for Electoral Systems (ICES) was registered for monitoring the election.


2018 Yerevan City Council election, Election observation
While 662 observers from 8 local organizations and 598 representatives of 49 media outlets participated. Ten of the representatives were from 5 foreign media outlets.


2018 Yerevan City Council election, Electoral fraud prevention and counteraction
Ahead of the September 23 election, in the second and final reading, the Armenian Parliament unanimously ratified a bill criminalizing electoral fraud. The amendments to Armenia’s Criminal Code make electoral fraud punishable by imprisonment whereas before, individuals charged with vote buying or selling were simply fined.


2018 Yerevan City Council election, Electoral fraud prevention and counteraction
Police established a telephone hot line which was used to report electoral fraud on election day. Anonymity of those who report corruption cases will be guaranteed.


2018 Yerevan City Council election, Election campaign
The campaign was marked by bitter accusations by leading candidates. Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, said the elections will be between "bright" and "dark" forces.


2018 Yerevan City Council election, Election campaign
After some candidates called for public debates and expressed their participation willingness, a debate was scheduled to be broadcast on public TV on the last campaign day, September 21 at 22:25 - just 95 minutes before "silence day" begins. The debate was recorded in advance, rather than broadcast live. For this reason, only one candidate, Naira Zohrabyan, representing Prosperous Armenia had declined participation and called for a live debate, while ten candidates confirmed their participation. If broadcast shall indeed end before midnight, assuming equal speaking time distribution to the candidates and taking into amount some time for moderation, it was expected that speaking time per candidate would amount to only about 7 (+-2) minutes.


2018 Yerevan City Council election, Opinion polls
On September 11, Gallup International published an opinion poll survey. According to the poll:


2018 Yerevan City Council election, Opinion polls
If these numbers held, only the top 3 parties/alliances (My Step, Prosperous Armenia, and Bright Alliance) would make it into city council, according to the rule of passing the electoral threshold and requiring a minimum of 3 parties/alliances to be represented in council.


2018 Yerevan City Council election, Results
The My Step Alliance won a landslide victory in the Yerevan City Council elections, according to preliminary data.


2018 Yerevan City Council election, Results
Well-known comedian and actor Hayk Marutyan, who heads the electoral list of the My Step Alliance, became the next mayor of Yerevan as the My Step Alliance garnered more than 50 percent of mandates, and according to law, the person who heads the electoral list of the winning political force is considered mayor-elect. Hayk Marutyan assumed office on 10 October 2018. He is elected for a term of 4 years.


2018 Yilan train derailment
On 21 October 2018, a passenger train derailed in Yilan County, Taiwan, killing 18 people and injuring 187. At the time, it was Taiwan's deadliest rail accident since a collision near Miaoli in 1991 that killed 30 people.


2018 Yilan train derailment, Accident
At 16:50 local time (UTC+8), a Puyuma express train, service 6432 from Shulin bound for Taitung, derailed on a curve with a radius of 300 metres (980 ft) when passing through the Xinma station in Yilan County, about 70 kilometres (43 mi) from Taipei. There were 366 passengers travelling on the train.


2018 Yilan train derailment, Accident
Of the eight carriages, numbers 3 through 8 toppled over and collided into each other in a "W" shape, while the rest went off the track with lesser damage. The front car was seen tipped over at an angle of 75 degrees, and most of the fatalities are believed to have been in this car. Survivor accounts claimed that the driver applied the emergency brake multiple times before the incident, and another claimed that the train sped up after the curve.


2018 Yilan train derailment, Accident
All trains in the eastern trunk line were halted in both directions, with replacement bus services provided. Hundreds of medics and firefighters, and 100 army troops responded to the scene. As of 21:35 local time all passengers, including the dead, had been removed/evacuated from the wreckage. The derailment is the worst train accident in Taiwan since 1991, when 30 people were killed in a collision near Miaoli.


2018 Yilan train derailment, Victims
At least 18 people were killed in the accident, with another 187 injured, all on board.


2018 Yilan train derailment, Victims
Six of the dead were reportedly under the age of 18. Taiwan's Railway Authority confirmed that 8 of the dead were of the same family, and the Health Ministry confirmed that 53 injured passengers remained in the hospital.


2018 Yilan train derailment, Investigation
The train involved in the accident was built by the Japanese company Nippon Sharyo in 2011, and underwent major maintenance work in 2017. On 22 October 2018, it was reported that the driver of the train reported an issue with the main air compressor just before the derailment. The Chief Secretary of Taiwan Railways Administration, Chu Lai-shun, said that a full failure of the main air compressor would cause insufficient power and problems with deceleration, but should not cause a derailment.


2018 Yilan train derailment, Investigation
In addition, the train's automatic train protection (ATP) was disabled shortly before the derailment, which, according to the driver was because of an earlier fault which delayed the train. Prosecutors accused him of negligence for not turning it on again afterwards. Investigators believe that without ATP enabled, the train's speed was not properly monitored, which led to the train approaching the curve at a speed of 140 km/h (87 mph), almost twice the speed limit.


2018 Yilan train derailment, Investigation
As part of the investigation, all 18 other Puyama trains in service on Taiwanese railways were thoroughly inspected. No fault was found. Nevertheless, a report by Chinese-language Apple Daily Sunday found that Taiwanese trains were experiencing problems with the ATP system, citing anonymous sources from within the TRA. As the investigation progressed, technical flaws with the connection of the train's protection system to the signalling centre were found with the Puyama trains, and Japanese manufacturer Nippon Sharyo promised the Taiwanese government it would fix the flaw by 11 November, with testing and certification expected to take a month.


2018 Yilan train derailment, Investigation, Driver
The driver of the train was granted bail of NT$500,000 (US$16,167) on 23 October, after he had been detained for investigation.


2018 Yilan train derailment, Investigation, Results
The conclusion of the investigation was announced by a press release on 6 June by the Taiwan Yilan District Prosecutors Office. The direct causes of the incident were found to be excessive speed in the curve and the disabling of the train protection system by the driver, in breach of relevant operating regulations. Issues with the main air compressor were found not to be a contributing factor.


2018 Yilan train derailment, Investigation, Results
Improper management of the testing process of Puyuma trains, which caused an absence of testing of the ATP remote monitoring system, resulted in an indictment of the former Deputy Director of the TRA's Department of Rolling Stock and of the Chief of TRA's Central Dispatch Office. Other staff involved in the incident, such as dispatchers and mechanics, were found not to be liable, and no evidence of corruption or neglect of duty by public officials was reported.


2018 Yilan train derailment, Investigation, Results
In response to views that there were shortcomings in the initial investigation, the Taiwanese government converted the Aviation Safety Council (ASC), which previously only dealt with aviation accidents and incidents, into the comprehensive Taiwan Transportation Safety Board (TTSB), which also covers maritime and train accidents and incidents.


2018 Yilan train derailment, Responses
President Tsai Ing-wen called the accident a "major tragedy" and directed the government and military to "step up" rescue efforts. The President also called for an investigation into the crash, that would "make clear the timing and situation of the whole accident". In addition, "drastic reform of the TRA to restore public confidence in the safety of railway transportation" is to be carried out.


2018 Yilan train derailment, Responses
As a result of the incident, the Democratic Progressive Party and Kuomintang halted campaigning for the November local elections.


2018 Yilan train derailment, Responses
The Taipei Blood Donation Centre issued a press release that highlighted local blood donation centres and urged blood donors to donate.


2018 Yilan train derailment, Responses, Memorials
President Tsai met with relatives of the dead and injured on 22 October. She joined Buddhist monks in prayer at an altar next to the hospital.


2018 Yilan train derailment, Responses, Legal
In March 2020, three people who worked for the TRA at the time of the derailment were impeached by the Control Yuan.


2018 Ykkönen
The 2018 Ykkönen was the 47th season of Ykkönen, the second highest football league in Finland. The season began on 28 April 2018 and ended on 27 October 2018. The winning team was directly promoted to the 2019 Veikkausliiga, while the second-placed team played a play-off against the eleventh-placed team from Veikkausliiga to decide who would play in that division. The bottom two teams were relegated to Kakkonen.


2018 Ykkönen, Overview
A total of ten teams contested in the league, including five sides from the 2017 season, HIFK and JJK who was relegated from Veikkausliiga and Klubi 04 and AC Kajaani who were promoted from Kakkonen after winning the promotion play-offs.


2018 Ykkönen, Overview
OPS, who was refused a license for Ykkönen, was replaced by FC KTP.


2018 Ykkönen, Overview
TPS, the champion of 2017 Ykkönen and FC Honka, the runner-up of 2017 Ykkönen were promoted to the 2018 Veikkausliiga.


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


2018 Yokohama F. Marinos season, Squad
The official club website lists the club mascot as player #0 and the supporters as player #12.


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


2018 Yongchuan International Tournament
The Tea Mountain Bamboo Forest Cup 2018 Yongchuan International Tournament (Chinese: 2018年茶山竹海杯永川国际女子足球邀请赛) was the 4th edition of the Yongchuan International Tournament, an invitational women's football tournament held in Yongchuan District, Chongqing, China.


2018 York Region municipal elections
Elections in the Regional Municipality of York of Ontario, Canada were held on October 22, 2018 in conjunction with municipal elections across the province.


2018 York Region municipal elections, Regional chair
The election was to be the first-ever direct election of the York Regional chair, but it was cancelled by the Ontario Government's passing of the Better Local Government Act.


2018 York Region municipal elections, East Gwillimbury
East Gwillimbury changed its council from 4 councillors elected "at large" from the town, to 6 councillors in a 3-ward system, with two councillors elected in each ward.


2018 York Region municipal elections, Markham, City Council, Regional Councillor
In Markham, Regional Councillors serve on both the City Council as well as York Region Council. Electors can vote for up to four candidates on their ballots, equal to the total number that may be elected. The four winning candidates are those whom receive the highest number of votes. The candidate with the highest number of votes received also serves as Deputy Mayor.


2018 York Region municipal elections, York Region District School Board, Trustee - Area 1 (Vaughan Ward 1 & 2)
Anna DeBartolo submitted her resignation from the Trustee position on January 9, 2019, citing personal reasons.


2018 York University strike
The 2018 York University strike was a strike by CUPE Local 3903, the union representing contract professors, teaching assistants, and graduate assistants at York University. At 143 days long it is the longest strike in the post-secondary sector in Canadian history, surpassing the previous record of the 1976 Laval University 108-day strike. It ended on July 25, when the Ontario Legislature passed the Urgent Priorities Act back-to-work legislation.


2018 York University strike, Background
On March 3, 2018, two days before the beginning of the strike, York University stated in a labour update that if all of CUPE 3903's 110 proposals were accepted, operating labour costs would increase by 57%, up from $70 million to $109 million over three years, out of a total spending of $715 million in labour costs annually.


2018 York University strike, Background
In this case, the $39 million difference between contracts (an additional $13 million per year) would not be possible given York University's annual surplus of only $36.4 million; otherwise, roughly 1/3rd of the annual surplus would be spent on CUPE 3903, which only represents 60% of teachers on campus, thus limiting York's ability to invest in capital projects.


2018 York University strike, Background
For these reasons, York University stated that "after extensive discussion Friday evening and following careful review of CUPE 3903's lengthy and largely unchanged list of demands shared through the mediator, CUPE 3903's positions remain too far apart from the University's best offer to return to bargaining at this time." At this point, both parties understood that a strike was imminent. York declared that the university would "remain open" and that certain classes would continue running.


2018 York University strike, Background
On the Friday of March 2, the newly founded Students Against Strike organized a small walk-out demonstration and demanded that undergraduate students deserved their own platform in the conflict between York University Administration and CUPE 3903.


2018 York University strike, The strike
The strike began on March 5, 2018 at 12:01 am EST. Despite the strike, the university remained open (with all major entrances blockaded via hard picket lines), and the few winter term courses that were able to continue, continued to run. Winter term ended on April 23 as originally scheduled. Students that refused to participate in academic activities during the labour disruption were promised reasonable accommodations.


2018 York University strike, The strike, Attempted bargaining
On March 12, 2018 the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development, Mitzie Hunter, contacted CUPE 3903 and the York University administration to encourage the two sides to bargain. CUPE 3903 re-affirmed its willingness to bargain.


2018 York University strike, The strike, Attempted bargaining
After little movement from either side, on March 18, 2018, York University announced that it would return to the bargaining table. CUPE 3903 was optimistic that the disruption might be resolved but expressed disappointment when York, despite movement from CUPE 3903, issues an ultimatum to capitulate on all important issues, or York walks away from the table.


2018 York University strike, The strike, Attempted bargaining
On March 20, York University presented a revised offer and exercised their statutory power to force a one-time mandatory ratification vote. York made its request on March 27, but the law stipulates a two-week delay between request and vote. The vote was held between April 6 and April 9. The university's offer was rejected by 85% of those who voted, with 2,320 "no" votes cast. With the ratification vote defeated, the strike continued. According to CUPE, the proposal under consideration was not meaningfully different from the offer that they rejected at the beginning of the strike.


2018 York University strike, The strike, Attempted bargaining
CUPE 3903 subsequently filed an unfair labor practices complaint with the Ontario Labour Relations Board. The complaint alleged that York publicly mischaracterized CUPE 3903 demands, incorrectly characterized the demands as illegal, and during a previous labour disruption appropriated the domain name CUPE3903.com to direct internet searches for information on CUPE to the university's own labour page. York responded that the objections were without merit.


2018 York University strike, The strike, Attempted bargaining
CUPE 3903 would learn that "CUPE3903.com" was billed to York University by Michael Schiff, an employee in the office of the Faculty of Graduate Studies.


2018 York University strike, The strike, Attempted bargaining
During the strike, a coalition of socialist student groups, Students for CUPE 3903, staged an occupation of the University Senate chambers in support of the strike. The sit-in lasted three months. Participants protested potential expense account issues from Lenton's term as Vice President Academic and President, in addition to various other tuition-oriented concerns. Simultaneously, a website publishing documents relating to Lenton's expenses, Yorked.me, was registered under a false identity. Yorked.me was taken down following a copyright complaint from the university, but resurfaced as Yorked.tk, using a free domain name.


2018 York University strike, The strike, Attempted bargaining
Early demands from Students for CUPE 3903 included the cancellation of classes that were not taught by CUPE 3903 members. The ultimate authority to make academic policy (of which disruption policy is a part), according to the York Act, rests with York's Senate. According to YUFA, the union representing full-time faculty (full-time faculty are not represented by CUPE): "Senate Executive clearly asserted that course directors are the best judge of how to ensure the academic integrity of their courses and whether those courses can be continued on that basis."


2018 York University strike, The strike, Attempted bargaining
President Rhonda Lenton and the Board of Governors asserted that it was their right to decide whether classes should be suspended or not and decided that there was no reason to do so. Many classes taught by members of York's full-time faculty continued, though many of these classes experienced varying levels of disruption ranging from marking not being completed to classes being suspended entirely. Classes taught by contract faculty were already suspended owing to their instructors being on strike.


2018 York University strike, The strike, Attempted bargaining
Lenton and the Board of Governor's move to take control of academic policy from the Senate received the unanimous censure of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), an organization representing most all academic staff in Canada. According to CAUT, not only was this in contravention with past practice, but it was also in contravention of the York Act, the act of the Legislature of Ontario that created York University.


2018 York University strike, The strike, Incidents of violence
Minor incidents of violence occurred as students were stopped at picket lines. A video was released by picketers showing a student dismantling barricades at the Northwest Gate picket line in an attempt to attend his Midterm exam. The student was placed in a chokehold by a picketer, upon breaking free the student kicked the picketer in retaliation. A picketer was injured after a vehicle forced its way past a picket line. Protesters demonstrated outside a university senate meeting and attempted to prevent senators from entering. During the melee, a teaching assistant senator was put in a headlock by security and prevented from entering. CUPE 3903 protestors picketed at the house of York University President Rhonda Lenton.


2018 York University strike, The strike, Province launches Industrial Inquiry Commission
On April 13, 2018, Kevin Flynn, Minister of Labour, appointed labour relations lawyer William Kaplan as the sole member of an Industrial Inquiry Commission. The purpose of such an inquiry is to create a report on the status of a labour dispute, for the minister, and in the process bring the two sides in a dispute together.


2018 York University strike, The strike, Province launches Industrial Inquiry Commission
CUPE revised their offer, with more concessions in favour of the employer. York University in its submission to the inquiry argues that CUPE 3903 is too radical to bargain with, and cites the writings of some of its members (all academics) as proof of a "mentality" that York cannot negotiate with. From the start of the labour disruption, York University adopted a hard line on its offer, and urged CUPE to accept it, or agree to arbitration.


2018 York University strike, The strike, Province launches Industrial Inquiry Commission
At the conclusion of the inquiry, Kaplan noted in his report that "the parties have reached an impasse and there is no reason to believe that they will be able to resolve their dispute through free collective bargaining. Their history indicates otherwise." Kaplan recommended to the Minister that he call upon the parties to enter into "consensual interest arbitration." Kaplan further recommended that "the government establish a task force on precarity in post-secondary education employment."


2018 York University strike, The strike, Province launches Industrial Inquiry Commission
The precise date that the report was made available to the province, the University and CUPE 3903 was not certain. However, details of the report (which was meant primarily for the Minister) were leaked to the press and made public on Friday May 4, 2018. CUPE 3903 maintained its position that bargaining and not arbitration was the means to resolve the impasse.


2018 York University strike, The strike, Province launches Industrial Inquiry Commission
While praising Commissioner Kaplan's recommendation for the creation of a government task force on precarity in postsecondary education employment, the Ontario Federation of University Faculty Associations condemned York and Kaplan's position that arbitration was the answer and that CUPE 3903 should be legislated back to work. In addition to undermining collective bargaining "such legislation subverts the bargaining process by signalling to employers that they can avoid meaningful engagement in collective bargaining by stonewalling and waiting for government intervention."


2018 York University strike, The strike, Province launches Industrial Inquiry Commission
Leading up to the Industrial Commission, York University claimed that its bargaining priorities had the support of York's academics, without reference or substantiation. The York University Faculty Association objected, and noted that the only basis for this claim was an open letter in support of these prioritise by a group of 152 full-time academics, which YUFA notes comprises 10% of its members. While not claiming that YUFA members are unanimous about various issues at stake in the labour dispute, YUFA rejected the idea that its membership was in favour of the University's position in the labour dispute. One signatory of the letter, Rose Steele, a professor in the School of Nursing, claimed that fear of "retributions" from CUPE 3903 and YUFA were suppressing public dissent among CUPE and YUFA members.


2018 York University strike, The strike, Summer Terms disrupted
On April 19, York University published a statement warning that S2 term (June–August) would be cancelled if the strike continued past April 30. On May 2, York University published a statement announcing they would commence the summer term (SU and S1 terms) on May 22. S2 term was cancelled.


2018 York University strike, The strike, Summer Terms disrupted
On May 7, York University issued an ultimatum to CUPE3903. The university demanded that CUPE accept a revised offer by May 10 at 11:59  EDT, or the university will not implement a back-to-work backpay protocols and would not offer employment to members of striking CUPE units during the summer term. CUPE rejected the university's demands and on May 10, issued a limited-time offer of a "framework for settlement" expiring May 14.


2018 York University strike, The strike, Summer Terms disrupted
On July 15, 2018, the strike continued. Criticism among students has been directed at both CUPE 3903 and York University President Rhonda Lenton's poor handling of the dispute.


2018 York University strike, The strike, Attempted back-to-work legislation
In light of Kaplan's recommendation, on May 7, the Ontario government introduced Bill 70, the York University Labour Disputes Resolution Act, 2018. The bill was introduced the day before the Legislature was set to be dissolved in preparation for the 2018 Ontario general election. Opposition from the Ontario NDP slowed the passage of the bill through first reading; it was eventually carried with division. The bill died before a second or third reading could be conducted after the government dissolved the Legislature earlier than expected. With the dissolution of the Legislature, the outcome of any legislation would be made after the 2018 Ontario general election.


2018 York University strike, The strike, Unit 2 accepts offer
On June 14 and June 15, Unit 2 members of CUPE 3903 held a ratification vote on an offer for Unit 2 sent by York University on June 6. CUPE 3903 condemned the offer as "backroom dealings of certain members of the [Unit 2] Bargaining Team." The vote came after the results of a previous vote on the same offer were rejected over alleged irregularities. 231 Yes votes were cast, while 122 No votes were cast. Following the vote, York University announced that Unit 2 members would return to work on the following Monday June 18. CUPE 3903 stated that other bargaining units would remain on strike.


2018 York University strike, The strike, New back-to-work legislation
On July 16, 2018, the newly elected 42nd Parliament of Ontario introduced Bill 2 into the legislature, formally called the Urgent Priorities Act. The omnibus bill included a clause to end the labour dispute at York University. Premier Ford argued that the back-to-work legislation was for the sake of the students, claiming that they were "the only people getting hurt" in the conflict between CUPE 3903 and York Administration. The chairman of CUPE 3903, Devin Lefebvre, spoke out against the legislation claiming that it was a violation of workers rights.


2018 York University strike, The strike, New back-to-work legislation
On July 25, 2018, Bill 2 received Royal Assent, effectively ending the York Strike. The legislation gives the government the power to fine members of the York union $2,000 each day and fines the Union $25,000 for each day it continues to strike. Back-to-work-legislation had influenced how some students voted in the 2018 Ontario general election and many were relieved that the strike was finally over.


2018 York University strike, Criticism of York University's handling of the strike
By May 2, 2018, several faculties and student groups at York University passed votes of non-confidence in Rhonda Lenton, President of York, and the Board of Governors for creating a crisis of governance and for their handling of the strike. The faculties include Glendon College, the Faculty of Education, the Faculty of Environmental Studies, and the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LAPS), not to mention York University Graduate Students' Association (YUGSA), and a number of departments and student associations. As noted by YUFA, almost half of York's full-time faculty teaches in the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, implying that altogether, representative bodies of about (if not more than) half of York's faculty have lost confidence in York's administration.


2018 York University strike, Criticism of York University's handling of the strike
Concerned academics and some student groups (including York's own full-time Faculty Association) continued to support CUPE 3903 with a call to York to return to the bargaining table.


2018 York University strike, Criticism of York University's handling of the strike
According to Richard Wellen, York University Faculty Association (YUFA) president, at the time of a press conference bringing together representatives from YUFA, the Ontario Federation of Labour, and York University's Graduate Student Association, it was "becoming clearer every day that the major reason for the continuation of this strike is the categorical refusal of the administration and board of governors to bargain with the union."


2018 York University strike, Criticism of York University's handling of the strike
He noted that the administration refused to make a new offer to the union, and that it habitually blamed the union for the strike by way of refusing to acknowledge that many union priorities were previously agreed to in bargaining three years ago. Wellen also observed that "the administration is determined to break the union and is putting that desire ahead of university and student interests"


2018 York University strike, Criticism of York University's handling of the strike
CUPE 3903 added that York Administration had; attempted to replace bargaining with a public relations campaign, misrepresented union processes, had red lines that it refuses to discuss, and that it had decided to not put students first in its labour dispute.


2018 Yorkshire Diamonds season
The 2018 season was Yorkshire Diamonds' third season, in which they competed in the Women's Cricket Super League, a Twenty20 competition. The side finished fifth in the group stage, winning three of their ten matches.


2018 Yorkshire Diamonds season
The side was captained by Lauren Winfield and coached by Paul Grayson. They played two home matches apiece at Headingley Cricket Ground and Clifton Park, and one at the North Marine Road Ground.


2018 Yorkshire Diamonds season, Squad
Yorkshire Diamonds announced their 15-player squad on 11 July 2018. Age given is at the start of Yorkshire Diamonds' first match of the season (22 July 2018).


2018 Youngstown State Penguins football team
The 2018 Youngstown State Penguins football team represented Youngstown State University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Bo Pelini and played their home games at Stambaugh Stadium. They were a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. They finished the season 4–7, 3–5 in MVFC play to finish in a three-way tie for sixth place.


2018 Youngstown State Penguins football team, Previous season
The Penguins finished the 2017 season 6–5, 4–4 in MVFC play to finish in a three-way tie for fifth place.


2018 Youngstown State Penguins football team, Preseason, Preseason MVFC poll
The MVFC released their preseason poll on July 29, 2018, with the Penguins predicted to finish in fourth place.


2018 Youngstown State Penguins football team, Preseason, Preseason All-MVFC Teams
The Penguins placed six players on the preseason all-MVFC teams.


2018 Yukon Men's Curling Championship
The 2018 Yukon Men's Curling Championship was held January 11 to 14 at the Whitehorse Curling Club in Whitehorse, Yukon. The winning Thomas Scoffin team represented the Yukon at the 2018 Tim Hortons Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship.


2018 Yukon Men's Curling Championship, Draw
Following new rules set out by the Yukon Curling Association, championships with 6-7 teams are to have a modified triple knock out format.


2018 Yukon Men's Curling Championship, Playoffs
Since Team Solberg played in every qualifying game for the playoffs, Team Solberg earns the bye to the final


2018 Yumbi violence
Between December 16 and 18, 2018, at least 890 people, mostly Banunus, were killed in Yumbi and three other nearby villages (Bongende, Nkolo and Camp Nbanzi) in Mai-Ndombe Province, 400 km (250 miles) north of Kinshasa. Some 465 houses and buildings were burned down or pillaged, including some public facilities. Bongende fishing village was worst hit, with many residents mutilated and at least 339 slain. About 16,000 Banunu people were displaced from Yumbi territory, as reported by the UNHCR. About 100 Banunus found refuge on Moniende island in the Congo River, while the remainder fled to Makotimpoko District in the Republic of Congo.


2018 Yumbi violence
The Banunus were slaughtered by members of the Batende community in a deep-rooted rivalry over monthly tribal duties, land, fields and water resources. Military-style tactics were employed in the bloodbath, and some assailants were clothed in army uniforms. Local authorities and elements within the security forces were suspected of lending them support. Both the OHCHR and national judicial authorities, have launched investigations into the reported attacks. Reports suggest the clashes started when members of the Banunu tribe wanted to bury one of their traditional chiefs on Batende land.


2018 Zagreb Ladies Open
The 2018 Zagreb Ladies Open was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the eighth edition of the tournament and was part of the 2018 ITF Women's Circuit. It took place in Zagreb, Croatia, on 3–9 September 2018.


2018 Zagreb Ladies Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received a wildcard into the singles main draw:


2018 Zagreb Ladies Open – Doubles
Maria João Koehler and Katalin Marosi were the defending champions, having won the previous event in 2011, but neither player chose to participate.


2018 Zagreb Ladies Open – Doubles
Andrea Gámiz and Aymet Uzcátegui won the title, defeating Elena Bogdan and Alexandra Cadanțu in the final, 6–3, 6–4.


2018 Zagreb Ladies Open – Singles
Dia Evtimova was the defending champion, having won the previous event in 2011, but chose not to participate.


2018 Zagreb Ladies Open – Singles
Tereza Mrdeža won the title, defeating Paula Ormaechea in the final, 2–6, 6–4, 7–5.


2018 Zambian Super League
The 2018 Zambia Super League is the 57th season of the Zambian top-tier football league. The season began on 17 March and ended on 28 October 2018.


2018 Zamboanga Valientes season
The 2018 Zamboanga Valientes season is the 1st season of the franchise in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL).


2018 Zhengzhou Women's Tennis Open
The 2018 Zhengzhou Women's Tennis Open was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the fifth edition of the tournament and part of the 2018 WTA 125K series, offering a total of $125,000 in prize money. It took place in Zhengzhou, China, on 16–22 April 2018.


2018 Zhengzhou Women's Tennis Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2018 Zhengzhou Women's Tennis Open, Doubles entrants, Other entrants
The following pair received a wildcard into the main draw:


2018 Zhengzhou Women's Tennis Open – Doubles
Han Xinyun and Zhu Lin were the defending champions, but chose not to participate together. Han partnered Vera Zvonareva, but lost in the semifinals to Duan Yingying and Wang Yafan. Zhu played alongside You Xiaodi, but lost in the first round to Prarthana Thombare and Xun Fangying.


2018 Zhengzhou Women's Tennis Open – Doubles
Duan and Wang went on to win the title, defeating Naomi Broady and Yanina Wickmayer 7–6(7–5), 6–3 in the final.


2018 Zhengzhou Women's Tennis Open – Singles
Wang Qiang was the defending champion, but chose not to participate.


2018 Zhengzhou Women's Tennis Open – Singles
Zheng Saisai won the title after defeating Wang Yafan 5–7, 6–2, 6–1 in the final.


2018 Zhuhai Open
The 2018 Zhuhai Open was a professional tennis tournament played on hard courts. It was the third (ATP) and fourth (ITF) editions of the tournament and part of the 2018 ATP Challenger Tour and the 2018 ITF Women's Circuit. It took place at the Hengqin International Tennis Center in Zhuhai, China between 5 and 11 March 2018.


2018 Zhuhai Open, Men's singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2018 Zhuhai Open, Women's singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2018 Zhuhai Open – Men's Doubles
Gong Maoxin and Zhang Ze were the defending champions but lost in the semifinals to Aliaksandr Bury and Peng Hsien-yin.


2018 Zhuhai Open – Men's Doubles
Denys Molchanov and Igor Zelenay won the title after defeating Bury and Peng 7–5, 7–6(7–4) in the final.


2018 Zhuhai Open – Men's Singles
Evgeny Donskoy was the defending champion but chose not to defend his title.


2018 Zhuhai Open – Men's Singles
Alex Bolt won the title after defeating Hubert Hurkacz 5–7, 7–6(7–4), 6–2 in the final.


2018 Zhuhai Open – Women's Doubles
Lesley Kerkhove and Lidziya Marozava were the defending champions, but Marozava chose not to participate.


2018 Zhuhai Open – Women's Doubles
Kerkhove partnered alongside Anna Blinkova and successfully defended her title, defeating Nao Hibino and Danka Kovinić in the final, 7–5, 6–4.


2018 Zhuhai Open – Women's Singles
Denisa Allertová was the defending champion, but lost to Vitalia Diatchenko in the first round.


2018 Zhuhai Open – Women's Singles
Maryna Zanevska won the title, defeating Marta Kostyuk in the final, 6–2, 6–4.


2018 Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League
The 2018 Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League is the 39th season of top-tier football in Zimbabwe. The season was initially scheduled to begin on 10 March 2018, but was postponed to 17 March 2018.


2018 Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League
Herentals College, Bulawayo Chiefs, Nichrut F.C., and Mutare City Rovers were all promoted before the start of the season.


2018 Zimbabwe Tri-Nation Series
The 2018 Zimbabwe Tri-Nation Series was a cricket tournament held from 1 to 8 July 2018 in Zimbabwe. It was a tri-nation series between Australia, Pakistan and Zimbabwe, with all the matches played as Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) at the Harare Sports Club. In the fourth T20I, Pakistan beat Zimbabwe by seven wickets, therefore Australia and Pakistan qualified for the final. Pakistan defeated Australia in the final by six wickets to win the series.


2018 Zimbabwe Tri-Nation Series
Originally, the tour was just going to feature Australia and Zimbabwe, with the two teams playing two Tests and three One Day Internationals (ODIs). In June 2018, the Zimbabwe team threatened to boycott the tour in a dispute over outstanding money that has not been paid to players. Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) paid one of the three months' worth of outstanding salaries, with the players giving ZC the deadline of 25 June 2018 to pay the rest, or face a boycott.


2018 Zimbabwe Tri-Nation Series
However, despite not being paid, the players are likely to call off the protest and play in the series, but the demand for the outstanding salaries payment deadline remains in place. Zimbabwe Cricket assured players that all the outstanding salaries would be paid by 25 July 2018, one month after the players' deadline. A few days later, Zimbabwe Cricket named a 22-man preliminary squad for the series, which was trimmed down to a final seventeen players. Zimbabwe did not initially name a captain, after Graeme Cremer was sacked following the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier tournament. A day before the first match, Hamilton Masakadza was named as Zimbabwe's captain.


2018 Zimbabwe Tri-Nation Series, Squads
After the first T20I, Kyle Jarvis was ruled out for the series due to injury and was replaced by Donald Tiripano in Zimbabwe's squad.


2018 Zimbabwean Presidential Election Petition
The Zimbabwe Presidential election petition 2018 aimed to overturn the Zimbabwe's presidential elections results which declared Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa as victor. The election was held on Monday July 30.


2018 Zimbabwean Presidential Election Petition, Background
On 20 August Movement for Democratic Change Alliance (MDC Alliance) president Nelson Chamisa filed an official challenge of the results of the election. On August 3, Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa was declared winner of the elections with 50.8 per cent of the total votes cast to Mr Chamisa's 44.3 per cent. Nelson Chamisa disputed the results.


2018 Zimbabwean Presidential Election Petition, Chamisa's election petition
Political experts said that the appeal faces difficulties because of Zimbabwe's political scene and Judicial idiosyncrasies citing that the Judges' own values, perspectives, and secret personal and monetary interests plays a considerably more decisive role with regards to managing the argumentative issues Some political examiners anticipated that the lawful test had minimal shot of achievement.


2018 Zimbabwean Presidential Election Petition, Respondents
President Mnangagwa alongside the other 21 losing presidential hopefuls and ZEC were altogether referred to as respondents in the prominent request by the MDC Alliance Leader. In his reaction recorded, Mnangagwa contended that there was no substantial election appeal.


2018 Zimbabwean Presidential Election Petition, Judges
MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa's election petition was adjudicated by the 9 judges of the Constitutional Court. Led by Chief Justice Luke Malaba, the case was presided over by the following judges.


2018 Zimbabwean Presidential Election Petition, Pre-Case Hearing
The trial observation mission evaluated the procedures of the petition as far as consistence with regional and global human rights law and principles. Prior to the petition hearing ruling party asserted the issue ought to be rejected in light of the fact that the MDC Alliance vacillated at law by not serving papers to  Mnangagwa on time or to his correct address. The ruling party Zanu-PF said it had picked a team of 12 attorneys for the case documented by Mr Chamisa while Chamisa's leading Lawyer, Adv Thabani Mpofu said his team had adequate proof to turn around the result of the polls.


2018 Zimbabwean Presidential Election Petition, Case Hearing
Both Legal advisors for Mnangagwa and the ZEC dismissed the allegations and said Chamisa had failed to provide tangible evidence.


2018 Zimbabwean Presidential Election Petition, Ruling
During the case ruling CJ stated that the complaint consisted of general allegations. No allegations of an individual direct control of the procedure was advanced against the first Respondent. All claims were made without identity and particularity. He expressed that no verification or proof was offered, stressing that the court decides matters dependent on facts and proof set before it. Summarizing the unanimous ruling, Chief Justice Luke Malaba said that "the applicant has failed to place before court clear, direct, sufficient and credible evidence" of irregularities and fraud during the presidential vote. Therefore, in terms of section 93(4)(a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa was declared the winner of the election.


2018 Zimbabwean Presidential Election Petition, Aftermath
Mnangagwa's swearing in ceremony was held on 26 August 2018. After Mnangagwa was officially sworn in as the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, some people called for coalition government.


2018 Zimbabwean general election
General elections were held in Zimbabwe on 30 July 2018 to elect the President and members of both houses of Parliament. Held eight months after the 2017 coup d'état, the election was the first since independence in which former President Robert Mugabe was not a candidate.


2018 Zimbabwean general election
ZANU–PF, the country's ruling party, went into the election with majorities in both the National Assembly and the Senate. The main opposition, the Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai, contested the election as part of the MDC Alliance, a coalition that included the MDC–T and six smaller parties. The election gave ZANU–PF control of both houses in the 9th Parliament of Zimbabwe, though with reduced majorities in each. The MDC Alliance gained seats in both houses, closely corresponding to ZANU–PF's losses.


2018 Zimbabwean general election
In the presidential election, Emmerson Mnangagwa, who became President as a result of the 2017 coup, ran for election as the ZANU–PF candidate. Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC–T leader expected to run against him, died in February 2018, and Nelson Chamisa, the new party leader, replaced him as the MDC Alliance candidate. In results that were disputed by the MDC Alliance, Mnangagwa won with 50.8% of the vote to Chamisa's 44.3%, giving him the majority needed to avoid a runoff. Mnangagwa won six of the country's ten provinces, while Chamisa won four, including the two metropolitan provinces, Harare and Bulawayo. It was the closest since 2008 that an opposition party had come to breaking ZANU–PF's 38-year hold on power.


2018 Zimbabwean general election, Background
The likelihood of the elections taking place was called into doubt following the 2017 coup. On 22 November 2017, a ZANU–PF spokesman said that Emmerson Mnangagwa would serve out the remainder of Robert Mugabe's term before the elections due to be held; during or before September 2018. On 20 March 2018, Mnangagwa said he was looking forward to holding elections in July 2018. In May, 30 July was set as the date of the election.


2018 Zimbabwean general election, Electoral system
The President of Zimbabwe is elected using the two-round system.


2018 Zimbabwean general election, Electoral system
The 270 members of the National Assembly consist of 210 members elected in single-member constituencies and 60 women elected by proportional representation in ten six-seat constituencies based on the country's provinces. Voters cast a single vote, which is counted for both forms of election. The 80 members of the Senate include 60 members elected from ten six-member constituencies (also based on the provinces) by proportional representation using party lists; the lists must have a woman at the top and alternate between men and women. The other 20 seats include two reserved for people with disabilities and 18 for traditional chiefs.


2018 Zimbabwean general election, Electoral system
According to the Constitution of Zimbabwe, the elections are required to be held before the official expiry date of the current parliamentary term, which is due to end on 21 August 2018.


2018 Zimbabwean general election, Presidential candidates
In 2015, long-term President Robert Mugabe announced that he would run for another term in 2018, and was adopted as the ZANU–PF candidate despite the fact that he would have been 94 at the time of the elections. Following the events of a military coup d'état in November 2017 and his deposition as leader of ZANU–PF, Mugabe resigned amidst parliamentary impeachment hearings on 21 November 2017. His successor Mnangagwa was chosen as the ZANU–PF candidate shortly after taking office. On 29 July 2018 Mugabe announced he would not support Emmerson Mnangagwa or the ZANU–PF party.


2018 Zimbabwean general election, Presidential candidates
It was unknown whether Morgan Tsvangirai, the long-time Zimbabwe opposition leader, would have run in the elections following an announcement on 6 February 2018 which stated that Tsvangirai was critically ill and an MDC party source said "we should brace for the worst". Tsvangirai subsequently died on 14 February. Nelson Chamisa replaced Tsvangirai as the MDC candidate.


2018 Zimbabwean general election, Presidential candidates
On 20 October 2017, the Coalition of Democrats or CODE, a group formed by nine political parties, nominated the leader of the Renewal Democrats of Zimbabwe, Elton Mangoma, to be their presidential candidate in the election.


2018 Zimbabwean general election, Presidential candidates
Joice Mujuru, previously the Vice President of ZANU–PF before being ousted from the party in 2014, also registered her candidacy. Former Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani Khuphe, who leads a breakaway faction of the MDC after falling out with Nelson Chamisa, was also a candidate.


2018 Zimbabwean general election, Conduct
On 18 January 2018 Mnangagwa spoke to the Financial Times in an interview, in which he invited the EU, UN and the Commonwealth to send missions to Zimbabwe in order to monitor the elections. On 29 July 2018, former President Mugabe gave a surprise press conference during which he stated he would not vote for Mnangagwa and ZANU–PF, the party he founded and led for decades. Instead, he expressed the wish to vote for his long-time rival party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) led by Nelson Chamisa.


2018 Zimbabwean general election, Conduct
The credibility of the elections was questioned by both Zimbabwean citizens and the international community. The opposition party claimed that people aged 141 are registered to vote, and in one instance a single address had over 100 registered voters. Academic Tony Reeler argued people should boycott the poll, otherwise they would legitimise the 2017 coup. Opposition leader Nelson Chamisa indicated that his party would participate in the election, but requested the intervention of the Southern African Development Community and African Union.


2018 Zimbabwean general election, Conduct
The Zimbabwe Republic Police were accused of requiring officers to cast postal ballots in front of their supervisors, which is contrary to electoral law, which requires them to be a secret ballot. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) removed ghost voters and duplicate voters. In 2015, the ZEC stated that Diaspora voting would be allowed in the 2018 election, but Mnangagwa ruled this out. Elmar Brok claimed that ZANU–PF transported people to vote in an area in which they did not live.


2018 Zimbabwean general election, Conduct
On 1 August, the opposition accused the government of rigging the vote. Just after the elections, supporters of ZANU–PF attacked houses of some MDC members. In subsequent riots by MDC supporters, the army opened fire and killed three people, while three others died of their injuries the following day.


2018 Zimbabwean general election, Conduct
Although the election process was peaceful, the main opposition party MDC Alliance claimed that Zanu PF and ZEC rigged the presidential election results to announce Emmerson Mnangagwa the winner. The party claimed that there was manipulation of figures which did not tally with what was recorded on V11 forms issued at each polling station.


2018 Zimbabwean general election, Results
On 1 August, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission released preliminary results which show that the ruling party ZANU–PF had won the majority of seats in parliament. On 3 August, the Commission declared incumbent President Emmerson Mnangagwa the winner with just over 50% of the vote.


2018 Zimbabwean general election, Results
This was the closest that an opposition party had come to ending ZANU–PF's hold on power since 2008, when Tsvangirai led the field in the first round and forced Mugabe into a runoff (from which he subsequently withdrew due to intimidation and violence by pro-Mugabe supporters), while the MDC-T won a plurality of seats in the House of Assembly.


2018 Zimbabwean general election, Aftermath
Within days after the election, there were protests by the Movement for Democratic Change opposition. The army opened fire on demonstrators and bystanders and killed six people. In the following days, many opposition supporters were arrested, according to opposition leaders and human rights groups.


2018 Zimbabwean general election, Aftermath
On 10 August, it was announced that Mnangagwa's inauguration, which had been scheduled for 12 August, would be delayed after Chamisa petitioned to challenge the election results in court, with a ruling due by the end of the month. On 24 August 2018, the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe dismissed Chamisa's challenge and officially declared Mnangagwa the winner in a unanimous ruling. The Chief Justice Luke Malaba noted that Chamisa refused both a recount and access to the ballot boxes. Mnangagwa's inauguration and official swearing-in was then held on 26 August.


2018 Zimbabwean general election, Aftermath
Two Washington-based entities, American International Republican Institute (IRI) and National Democratic Institute (NDI), which were involved in the Zimbabwe International Election Observation Mission (ZIEOM) expressed doubts that the poll had a standard accepting value. Manisha Singh, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs, told a congressional hearing that until the new government of President Emmerson Mnangagwa shows signs of "changing its ways," the U.S. government will not lift sanctions against Zimbabwe.


2018 Zlín by-election
A by-election for the Zlín Senate seat in the Czech Republic was held on 18 and 19 May 2018 as a result of František Čuba's resignation. The second round was heldr 25 and 26 May 2018. Michaela Blahová and Tomáš Goláň advanced to second round. The election was surprisingly won by Tomáš Goláň. Voter turnout was very low.


2018 Zlín by-election, Background
František Čuba was elected Senator in 2014 as a candidate of the Party of Civic Rights. He was absent in the Seate since 2016 due to his health. He announced on 15 February 2018 that he will resign on his seat. He resigned on 28 February 2018.


2018 Zlín by-election, Background
Parties started to look for its candidates soon after Čuba announced his intention to resign. ANO 2011 had its candidate chosen at the time of Čuba's resignation but refused to announce his name. Civic Democratic Party was considering possible candidates at the time. Mayors and Independents offered nomination to Mayor of Zlín Miroslav Adámek. Michaela Blahová was speculated as a candidate of the Christian and Democratic Union – Czechoslovak People's Party. Czech Social Democratic Party expressed  intention to have its candidate. Czech Pirate Party decided to find a candidate by publishing an advertisement in local media. Tomáš Goláň announced his candidacy as a candidate of Senátor 21 on 22 March 2018. He stated he wants to prove that Senate is an important part of Czech Constitutional system.


2018 Zlín by-election, Background
Nine candidates decided to run for the position. Miroslav Adámek was nominated by Mayors and Independents and supported by the Civic Democratic Party and TOP 09. Other candidates included Michaela Blahová nominated by KDU-ČSL, Michal Filip nominated by ANO 2011, Tomáš Goláň nominated by Senátor 21 or Radim Jünger nominated by ČSSD.


2018 Zlín by-election, Campaign, First Round
Miroslav Adámek was considered front-runner of the election. Michal Filip and Michaela Blahová were considered his main rivals. Tomáš Goláň was also viewed as a strong candidate.


2018 Zlín by-election, Campaign, First Round
Adámek's campaign cost 300,000 CZK. He published a video spot that received mixed responses and had 15 billboards set up. He refused to have meetings with voters.


2018 Zlín by-election, Campaign, First Round
Goláň had the most expensive campaign. He had installed 17 billboards and three megaboards. His posters were also on 20 Trolleybuses and three Ticket Autommats. He held summer cinema at Čepkovo. Goláň himself was very active at social media.


2018 Zlín by-election, Campaign, First Round
Blahová focused on personal campaigning and social media. She also had posters at three bigboards, 50 yachts and 12 billboards.


2018 Zlín by-election, Campaign, First Round
The first round was held on 18 and 19 May 2018. Michaela Blahová and Tomáš Goláň advanced to second round. Goláň's success was unexpected. Miroslav Adámek admitted that he feels disappointment with his result but accepts it. Michaela Blahová stated that her success might be caused by the fact that she was the only female candidate in the election. She noted she will continue personal campaign. Goláň stated that his advancement to the second round was caused by jis campaign. He noted he will lead more intensive campaign for the second round. Communist Party candidate Rafaja admitted he is disappointed with the result as he expected that he could advance to the second round. Aleš Fuksa thanked Pirate Party for its support.


2018 Zlín by-election, Campaign, Second round
Blahová visited bigger towns within the district. It includes Valašské Klobouky, Fryšták or Slušovice. Her campaign was supported by Pavel Fischer. Goláň also led personal campaign in bigger towns. He visited Fryšták, Vizovice, Slušovice, Valašské Klobouky or Zlín. He focused on voters of Miroslav Adámek and Aleš Fuksa. Goláň received endorsement from the Pirate Party. He launched second phase of his campaign on 24 May when he campaigned in Zlín. He concluded his campaign on 25 May when he met citizens at Baťa's institute.


2018 Zlín by-election, Campaign, Second round
Second round was held on 25 and 26 May 2018. First preliminary results showed candidates tied but Goláň started leading when more votes were counted. Goláň's supporters started celebrating when 70% of votes were counted and Goláň was leading. He eventually received 5,991 votes while Blahová only 5,148.


2018 Zlín by-election, Aftermath
Goláň thanked Blahová for a correct campaign and stated he plans to focus on taxes and opposition to privatisation of some vital resources, including water. Blahová stated she respects the result. She considered her result as a success because no candidate of KDU-ČSL advanced to the second round in previous elections.


2018 Zlín by-election, Aftermath
Goláň received appointment decree on 19 June 2018. His term ended in 2020. Goláň's victory led to establishment of a new Senate Caucus called Caucus for Liberal Democracy. It consists of independent Senators. He was reelected in 2020 Senate election defeating Pavel Stodůlka with 59% of votes. He then joined the Civic Democratic Party.


2018 Zürich ePrix
The 2018 Zürich ePrix (formally the 2018 Julius Baer Zürich E-Prix) was a Formula E electric car race held before a crowd of about 150,000 spectators at the Zürich Street Circuit in Zürich, Switzerland on 10 June 2018. It was the tenth round of the 2017–18 Formula E season, the inaugural running of the event, and the first Swiss circuit race since the 1954 Swiss Grand Prix. The 39-lap race was won by Audi driver Lucas di Grassi after starting from fifth. Sam Bird finished second for Virgin and Dragon driver Jérôme d'Ambrosio was third.


2018 Zürich ePrix
Jaguar driver Mitch Evans won the first pole position of his career by recording the fastest lap in qualifying and he led the opening 17 laps despite reporting rising battery temperatures limiting his ability to harvest electrical energy under braking. Di Grassi gained positions by passing other drivers and he overtook Evans driving into the first corner at the start of lap 18 to take the lead. He maintained the lead for the remainder of the race to claim his first victory of the season and the seventh of his career by 71⁄2 seconds over Bird.


2018 Zürich ePrix
The consequence of the final positions meant Jean-Éric Vergne still led the Drivers' Championship despite a drive-through penalty for accelerating before a full course yellow was lifted to clear debris on the track. Bird narrowed Vergne's lead to 23 points and di Grassi's win moved him from sixth to third. Sébastien Buemi moved to fourth by finishing fifth and Felix Rosenqvist fell to fifth after scoring no points. Audi lowered Techeetah's advantage in the Teams' Championship to 33 points while Virgin maintained third with two races left in the season.


2018 Zürich ePrix, Background, Preview
Coming into the race from Berlin four weeks earlier, Techeetah driver Jean-Éric Vergne led the Drivers' Championship with 162 points. Virgin's Sam Bird was second with 122 points and Felix Rosenqvist of Mahindra was third with 86 points. Audi's Daniel Abt was close behind in fourth with 85 points and Sébastien Buemi of e.Dams-Renault was close behind in fifth with 82 points. Techeetah led the Teams' Championship with 205 points; Audi were second with 161 points and Virgin were third with 139 points. Mahindra were in fourth with 108 points and Jaguar were fifth with 96 points.


2018 Zürich ePrix, Background, Preview
87 points were available for the season's final three races which meant Vergne could clinch the Championship in Zürich. Vergne needed to win the race with Bird failing to score any points to win his first Drivers' Championship. Vergne finishing second would mean that Bird would have to win both New York City races with the former not scoring points to become the champion on count-back.


2018 Zürich ePrix, Background, Preparations
Preparations for a Formula E race in Switzerland commenced in March 2015 when the Council of States backed a motion put forward by the National Councillor Fathi Derder to exempt electric car racing from a long-standing ban on motor racing in the country. The motion was adopted by the Federal Council in December, allowing electric vehicles to race in Switzerland from 1 April 2016 pending authorisation from local authorities with regards to maximum speeds. Organisers then began putting forward their candidacies for cities to hold the race.


2018 Zürich ePrix, Background, Preparations
They plead for the ePrix to be held in Lugano on 7 May 2016 to replace the Berlin ePrix but this was withdrawn because the required funding of €10 million was not raised and they later supported holding it in Switzerland's largest city Zürich. On 21 September 2017, Zürich was included on the 2017–18 season's final calendar in a FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting in Paris. It was the tenth of twelve scheduled single seater electric car rounds of the 2017–18 season and took place at the Zürich Street Circuit on 10 June 2018. Prior to the ePrix, Switzerland's last motor race was the 1954 Swiss Grand Prix at Circuit Bremgarten in Bern: Switzerland banned most motor racing in 1955 after the 1955 Le Mans disaster. Organisers of the race expected around 25,000 to 150,000 people to attend.


2018 Zürich ePrix, Background, Preparations
Although it was reported in the local press that Zürich City Council had granted permission for the race to be run, a spokesperson denied these reports two hours later. However, the city council did give their approval for the race to be held the following month. Preparation for the ePrix commenced, and a three-year contract was signed with the option for an extension to 2024, which was subsequently increased by another three years to 2027. Permits were granted by the office of the mayor of Zürich's Corine Mauch to project leader Pascal Derron who led negotiations with local politicians.


2018 Zürich ePrix, Background, Preparations
Derron ensured those who provided the city's infrastructure services were satisfied the ePrix could be held. In December, a board member of Zürich's pedestrian association filed a complaint with Zürich City Council concerning the event. He sought for a referendum as the city was paying CHF 2 million towards the race and argued there was a risk of deteriorating the quality of life and disrupting local transport routes. No action was taken by Zürich City Council.


2018 Zürich ePrix, Background, Preparations
The layout of the 11-turn 2.46 km (1.53 mi) circuit was not designed by a professional planner like other tracks but by the CEO of e-Mobil Züri Roger Tognella and his son Andrin by using Google Earth on their home computer. It was officially unveiled to the public on 5 January 2018. Drivers began a lap of the circuit on Enge Harbour at Mythenquai and the layout led back to the harbour via the Stockerstrasse and Alfred-Escher-Strasse streets. The track had different surfaces such as circuit asphalt and new concrete.


2018 Zürich ePrix, Background, Preparations
Some tramlines at turns seven and nine were filled for the weekend and others were untouched. Because of cobblestones in the pit lane, teams adapted to a new software mode as the speed limit was lowered to 30 km/h (19 mph). Construction of the circuit began in late May and local officials ensured the public lost no access to the city's roadside infrastructure. It was dismantled on 12 June, two days after the ePrix. Buemi stated his belief that a low-downforce set-up would provide drivers with opportunities to reach their top speeds on the two long straights.


2018 Zürich ePrix, Practice
Two practice sessions—both on Sunday morning—were held before the early evening race. The first session ran for 45 minutes and the second lasted half an hour. A half an hour untimed shakedown session was held on Saturday afternoon to enable teams to check the reliability of their cars and their electronic systems at low speed. In the first practice session, held in warm weather, di Grassi used 200 kW (270 hp) of power to set the fastest lap of 1 minute, 11.995 seconds.


2018 Zürich ePrix, Practice
Jaguar's Mitch Evans, Abt, Nelson Piquet Jr. of Jaguar, Oliver Turvey for NIO, Bird, Vergne, Rosenqvist, Buemi and José María López of Dragon placed second through tenth. During practice, which saw several drivers venture deep onto the run-off areas, Bird was close by the electrical energy conservative López and was impeded by him at the final corner. López caught Bird out by braking early and trying to let him through on the main straight and Bird lost control of his car's rear on the bumpy track by locking his front brakes.


2018 Zürich ePrix, Practice
Bird crashed into the barrier, damaging his right-rear suspension and steering but returned to the pit lane to switch into a second car. Turvey damaged his suspension by glancing a barrier and Stéphane Sarrazin of Andretti and Luca Filippi for NIO stopped at turns one and two towards the session's conclusion.


2018 Zürich ePrix, Practice
After first practice, an annoyed Bird went to López's garage, confronted him about the crash, and the latter attempted to explain his perspective to Bird. López then spoke to his team who reviewed television footage of the incident and apologised to Bird through the media. In second practice, Rosenqvist was fastest with a maximum power lap of 1 minute, 12.007 seconds that he set ten minutes before practice concluded. Evans was 0.054 seconds slower in second and the Dragon pair of Jérôme d'Ambrosio and López were third and fourth.


2018 Zürich ePrix, Practice
The rest of the top ten heading into qualifying were Virgin's Alex Lynn, Bird, Vergne, André Lotterer of Techeetah, Buemi and Piquet. Traffic forestalling competitor's running and several drivers locked their brakes. Some again went onto the track's run-off areas. Buemi spun entering turn four but sustained light damage to his vehicle's rear from contact with the outside barrier. López locked his rear tyres under braking for turn one and slid sideways into the left-hand side TecPro barrier but he returned to the pit lane with minor bodywork damage. In the session's closing seconds, Lotterer misjudged his braking point and hit the rear of Nico Prost's e.Dams-Renault car at the turn ten hairpin, dislodging Prost's left-rear sidepod.


2018 Zürich ePrix, Qualifying
Sunday's afternoon qualifying session ran for an hour and was divided into four groups of five cars. Each group was determined by a lottery system and was permitted six minutes of on-track activity. All drivers were limited to two timed laps with one at maximum power. The fastest five overall competitors in the four groups participated in a "Super Pole" session with one driver on the track at any time going out in reverse order from fifth to first.


2018 Zürich ePrix, Qualifying
Each of the five drivers was limited to one timed lap and the starting order was determined by the competitor's fastest times. (Super Pole from first to fifth, and group qualifying from sixth to twentieth). The driver and team who recorded the fastest time were awarded three points towards their respective championships.


2018 Zürich ePrix, Qualifying
In the first group of five runners, all competitors bar Vergne waited for four minutes to begin their lap times on the bumpy track. Bird paced the session with a benchmark time, ahead of Buemi, Rosenqvist and Abt. Pole position favourite Vergne could not feel the grip in his car and was the first group's slowest driver. Vergne was summoned to the stewards and reprimanded for violating series regulations because his team misread the line indicating the end of the second sector.


2018 Zürich ePrix, Qualifying
This meant he intermittently activated the 200 kW (270 hp) power mode approximately 100 m (330 ft) before then. Evans set the fastest overall lap time in group qualifying in group two of 1 minute, 12.594 seconds. Lotterer took second in the closing seconds of the group, and di Grassi and Piquet were third and fourth. Turvey glanced the turn two barrier with his right-rear wheel, bending a track-rod and he was slowest overall in group qualifying.


2018 Zürich ePrix, Qualifying
Track conditions improved as each group passed and attention switched to the third group and whether they could demote the championship contenders further down the grid. However, nobody in group three recorded a lap that put them in the top five as Lynn was fastest, followed by Heidfeld, Edoardo Mortara of Venturi and Andretti driver António Félix da Costa. Venturi's Maro Engel made an error and was the third group's slowest driver.


2018 Zürich ePrix, Qualifying
In group four, the Dragon pair of d'Ambrosio and López were first and second and prevented di Grassi from entering super pole. Prost lost confidence after locking his tyres on his warm-up lap but came within 0.023 seconds of teammate Buemi for seventh overall. Sarrazin and Filippi were group four's two slowest drivers. At the end of group qualifying, Evans, d'Ambrosio, López, Lotterer and Bird qualified for super pole. Evans was the last driver to set a super pole lap and took a wide line over the bumps at turn one.


2018 Zürich ePrix, Qualifying
He took his and Jaguar's first pole position in single seater racing with an error-free lap of 1 minute, 12.811 seconds. He was joined on the grid's front row by Lotterer—his best qualifying performance of the season—who had pole position until Evans' lap. Bird, who was first on-track, clipped the barrier for third and it prevented him from reducing Vergne's lead in the Drivers' Championship. D'Ambrosio appeared to go faster than Lotterer but he lost a tenth of a second at the final turn and took fourth.


2018 Zürich ePrix, Qualifying
Fifth-placed López drifted sideways and lost a second as he narrowly avoided hitting a wall leaving the turn one right-hander. After qualifying, López received a three-place grid penalty for not slowing under yellow flag conditions in first practice. Lynn lost the same amount of positions due to an inter-team miscommunication that caused him to drive into the fast lane of the pit lane before it opened for group three.


2018 Zürich ePrix, Race
The weather at the start of the race was dry and sunny with the air temperature between 27.175 and 28 °C (80.915 and 82.400 °F) and the track temperatures ranged from 30.55 to 31.1 °C (86.99 to 87.98 °F). The hot weather caused teams to prioritise battery temperature maintenance. A special feature of Formula E is the "FanBoost" feature, an additional 100 kW (130 hp) of power to use in the driver's second car. The three drivers who were allowed to use the boost were determined by a fan vote.


2018 Zürich ePrix, Race
For the Zürich race, Buemi, di Grassi and Rosenqvist were handed the extra power. Around 150,000 people attended the event. The ePrix began at 18:04 Central European Summer Time (UTC+02:00) rather than the usual 16:04 because Formula E did not wish to clash with the men's singles finals of the French Open and race organisers held it on a Sunday for better localised traffic management. Evans made a good start and defended his lead from Lotterer on the approach to turn one.


2018 Zürich ePrix, Race
Lotterer then blocked Bird from taking second. Di Grassi tried to pass d'Ambrosio on the outside for fourth but no space was left for an overtake. The rest of the field passed through the next sequence of corners with minor contact and it appeared all had escaped without issue. However, as everybody closed up at the Tramstop chicane, Piquet mounted the rear of Abt's car, removing Abt's rear wing and a section of Piquet's front wing. The accident scattered debris on the track.


2018 Zürich ePrix, Race
At the end of the first lap, Evans led Lotterer by two seconds and Bird, d'Ambrosio and di Grassi were close by. Vergne overtook Engel to move into sixteenth place while di Grassi passed d'Ambrosio entering the Tramstop chicane around the inside for the fourth position on the next lap. D'Ambrosio lost fifth to Buemi entering turn one at the start of the third lap. By the next lap, Piquet and Abt were shown the black flag with an orange disc, which required them to enter the pit lane for repairs to their cars.


2018 Zürich ePrix, Race
Both entered the pit lane on the following lap. In the meantime, Evans reported rising battery temperatures, lessening his ability to harvest electrical energy under braking. On lap eight, one of Mortara's tie-rods on his right-rear suspension sheared on a kerb heading to the Tramstop chicane and forcing him to retire. By the ninth lap, Vergne moved into the top ten with successive overtakes on Lynn, Mortara and Heidfeld entering the first corner as he conserved electrical energy. Similarly, Di Grassi had an electrical energy advantage over the top three due to the better efficiency of his Audi's powertrain.


2018 Zürich ePrix, Race
He used this to close up enough to Bird and overtake him for third place by turning left on the entry to turn ten on lap 13. Di Grassi had enough momentum to provide him with an opportunity to pass Lotterer on the outside into turn ten on the next lap but Lotterer turned right to block him. He tried again on the start/finish straight but Lotterer again blocked di Grassi. At his third try at the beginning of lap 16, di Grassi aggressively overtook Lotterer for second into the first turn.


2018 Zürich ePrix, Race
Further back in the field on the 17th lap, Vergne steered right entering turn one as he to pass the eighth-placed Rosenqvist on his left. Rosenqvist resisted Vergne's attack and the two made contact. He slid wide into a TecPro barrier at the first corner while Vergne continued without damage to his car. Rosenqvist extricated himself from the barrier; debris from his car littered the track and his front wing detached leaving turn two. At the end of the same lap, Evans held off di Grassi driving into the turn ten hairpin, but di Grassi had more usable electrical energy and overtook Evans into the first corner at the start of the lap 18.


2018 Zürich ePrix, Race
Di Grassi began to pull away from Evans as Buemi overtook Bird into turn one for fourth on the 19th lap. Soon after, Vergne was about to get ahead of d'Ambrosio for seventh when he hit Rosenqvist's detached front wing because the latter was to his left but Vergne avoided picking up a front-right puncture. In response, race director Scot Elkins activated the full course yellow procedure to allow marshals to remove debris from the track.


2018 Zürich ePrix, Race
During the full course yellow, the field chose to make their mandatory pit stops to change into a second vehicle at the conclusion of lap 19. Di Grassi kept the lead from Evans and Lotterer while Vergne lost 12 seconds because he had trouble starting his car when he tried to exit his garage, falling to ninth. Piquet retired with a broken driveshaft on lap 21. Eight laps later, it was announced Evans, Lotterer, Buemi, López and Vergne were under investigation by the stewards for exceeding the 50 km/h (31 mph) speed limit during the full course yellow procedure. The first four were issued drive-through penalties on the next lap. Evans and Lotterer took their penalties at the start of lap 31 while Buemi and López served theirs at the end of that lap. Vergne received a drive-through penalty on lap 32.


2018 Zürich ePrix, Race
Prost's brakes failed into the turn ten hairpin and he ran straight into the barrier to the outside of the track on lap 33. Vergne took his penalty at the conclusion of the 34th lap. He emerged in 12th place behind Engel, whom he overtook into the turn ten hairpin. Buemi activated his FanBoost to pass Evans into turn one at the beginning of the 36th lap. On the same lap, Lotterer earned one championship point for setting the race's fastest lap of 1 minute, 14.730 seconds.


2018 Zürich ePrix, Race
Unhindered in the final 20 laps, di Grassi opened his lead to more than seven seconds and finished first after 39 laps to claim his first victory of the season and the seventh of his career. Bird followed 7.542 later in second and the drive-through penalties helped d'Ambrosio take his first podium finish since the second 2016 London ePrix race. Off the podium, Lotterer finished fourth, Buemi fifth and Heidfeld sixth. Evans came seventh and Félix da Costa had a clean race in eighth. Turvey held off Vergne for ninth by six-tenths of a second. The final finishers were Engel, López, Abt, Sarrazin, Rosenqvist and Lynn. There were two lead changes among two drivers during the event. Di Grassi led once for a race-high 22 laps.


2018 Zürich ePrix, Race, Post-race
The top three drivers appeared on the podium to collect their trophies and spoke to the media in a later press conference. Di Grassi spoke of his happiness over winning and dedicated it to his unborn son Leonardo, adding that "The weekend was amazing and the event here was fantastic. You could hear the huge number of people cheering all over the track. I tried to save a bit more energy in the first half of the first stint, and then managed to overtake the next three cars."


2018 Zürich ePrix, Race, Post-race
Bird said he was disappointed after qualifying third but was confident he could challenge di Grassi in the New York City ePrix double header, "We settled into a rhythm in the race and it’s become apparent that I have to lift more than the people around me. That’s just the way it is – but we’ve got ourselves in this fantastic position in the title fight, and scored second place today – with a little bit of luck I have to say."


2018 Zürich ePrix, Race, Post-race
Third-placed D'Ambrosio said he adapted his strategy to conserve electrical energy, "It was emotional, but a steady race, I did the best I could to bring it home and that was important. We still have some work to do in the race, especially on my side. In qualifying I’ve done a really good job in the last three races, and we’ve done a tremendous job since Berlin, but we need to better ourselves for New York."


2018 Zürich ePrix, Race, Post-race
Allan McNish, the team principal of Audi, commented on his surprise di Grassi won despite starting fifth, "When he got up in fourth and then the speed with which he caught Sam [Bird] then I thought, ‘crikey, this is on’. To be leading coming in to the pit stop was mighty but at the stop there was a worry about an unsafe release but Lucas was flawless in the race. It was a very accomplished win and so deserving for him after the start to the season."


2018 Zürich ePrix, Race, Post-race
Rosenqvist spoke to Vergne after the media left the paddock and accepted an apology from Vergne for his lap 17 crash. Rosenqvist said it was a misunderstanding with a serious consequence for him, "Just as I turned in he dived at the last moment and I had to do something not to hit him. But genuinely, I tried to let him through but it didn’t work out like that as I was the one who lost out and he went free, which is a bit harsh." Evans admitted to feeling conflicted after taking his maiden pole position and finishing seventh, "Our first Formula E pole position was a huge motivation boost for the troupe and showed how far we have come in the meantime, unfortunately the race did not go that way as we had hoped."


2018 Zürich ePrix, Race, Post-race
Evans, Lotterer and López were later discovered to have not slowed sufficiently by the time the full course yellow was activated on lap 19 while Buemi and Vergne were penalised for accelerating just before the system was lifted on the next lap. Lotterer argued the stewards should improve the leniency in their decision making when no driver gained an advantage and felt the penalty he received prevented him from getting onto the podium, "It’s the rules, there’s no point complaining about it but it’s super frustrating.


2018 Zürich ePrix, Race, Post-race
You wish that something they would let a few things slide as it didn’t change anyone’s position." Buemi said he felt his early reaction to the lifting of the full course yellow was caused by him not being able to hear the race director over his radio momentarily and it prompted him to brake sharply out of uncertainty. Vergne accused Formula E of creating a new regulation during the event to allow for increased suspense in the championship at the season-ending New York City ePrix, "It's weird, it's five of us getting penalised. We're not daft, we've been racing these cars all year with Full Course Yellows, we never got penalties. Now, suddenly, there are five drivers [getting one]: four ahead of Bird, and me. It's a bit weird."


2018 Zürich ePrix, Race, Post-race
The consequence of the race meant Vergne still led the Drivers' Championship with 163 points but his lead over Bird narrowed to 23 points because of Bird's second-place finish. With 101 points, di Grassi's victory moved him from sixth to third. Buemi's fifth-place finish moved him to fourth with 92 points and Rosenqvist fell to fifth after scoring no points. Techeetah retained first in the Teams' Championship with 219 points. Audi moved to within 33 points of Techeetah and Virgin dropped further back in third. Mahindra and Jaguar maintained fourth and fifth with two races left in the season. The 2019 race was relocated to Bern after Zürich city officials expressed concerns about the ability of its infrastructure to handle a series of large-scale events in quick succession.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids
The bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups was the process by which the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) selected locations for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups. The process began officially in March 2009; eleven bids from thirteen countries were received, including one which was withdrawn and one that was rejected before FIFA's executive committee voted in November 2010. Two of the remaining nine bids applied only to the 2022 World Cup, while the rest were initially applications for both.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids
Over the course of the bidding, all non-European bids for the 2018 event were withdrawn, resulting in the exclusion of all European bids from consideration for the 2022 edition. By the time of the decision, bids for the 2018 World Cup included England, Russia, a joint bid from Belgium and Netherlands, and a joint bid from Portugal and Spain. Bids for the 2022 World Cup came from Australia, Japan, Qatar, South Korea, and the United States. Indonesia's bid was disqualified due to lack of governmental support, and Mexico withdrew its bid for financial reasons.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids
On 2 December 2010, Russia and Qatar were selected as the locations for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups respectively. The selection process involved several controversies. Two members of the FIFA Executive Committee had their voting rights suspended following allegations that they would accept money in exchange for votes. More allegations of vote buying arose after Qatar's win was announced. Eleven of the 22 committee members who voted on the 2018 and 2022 tournaments have been fined, suspended, banned for life or prosecuted for corruption.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, Background
In October 2007, FIFA ended its continental rotation policy. Instead countries that are members of the same confederation as either of the last two tournament hosts are ineligible, leaving Africa ineligible for 2018 and South America ineligible for both 2018 and 2022. Other factors in the selection process include the number of suitable stadiums, and their location across candidate nations. Voting is done using a multiple round exhaustive ballot system whereby the candidate receiving the fewest votes in each round is eliminated until a single candidate is chosen by the majority.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, Background, Rotation policy
Following the selection of the 2006 World Cup hosts, FIFA had decided on a policy for determining the hosts of future editions. The six world confederations — roughly corresponding to continents – would rotate in their turn of providing bids, for a specific edition, from within their member national associations. This system was used only for the selection of the 2010 (South Africa) and 2014 World Cup (Brazil) hosts, open only to CAF and CONMEBOL members, respectively.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, Background, Rotation policy
In September 2007, the rotation system came under review, and a new system was proposed which renders ineligible for bidding only the last two World Cup host confederations. This proposal was adopted on 29 October 2007, in Zurich, Switzerland by FIFA's Executive Committee. Under this policy, a 2018 bid could have come from CONCACAF, AFC, UEFA, or OFC, as Africa and South America were ineligible. Likewise, no CONMEBOL member could make a 2022 bid, and candidates from the same confederation as the successful 2018 applicant would be disregarded in the 2022 selection procedure.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, Background, Rotation policy
The United States, the last non-European candidate in the 2018 bidding cycle, withdrew its bid for that year; hence the 2018 tournament would have to be held in Europe. This in turn meant that CONMEBOL and UEFA were ineligible for 2022.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, Voting procedure
For both the 2018 and 2022 editions of the World Cup, the FIFA Executive Committee voted to decide which candidate should host the tournament. The multiple round exhaustive ballot system was used to determine the tournament host. All eligible members of the FIFA Executive Committee had one vote. The candidate country that received the fewest votes in each round was eliminated until a single candidate was chosen by the majority. In the event of a tied vote, FIFA President Sepp Blatter would have had the deciding vote. There are twenty-four members on the Committee, but two of those were suspended due to accusations of selling votes.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, 2018 bids
Eleven bids were submitted in March 2009 covering thirteen nations, with two joint bids: Belgium-Netherlands and Portugal-Spain. Mexico also submitted a bid, but withdrew theirs on 28 September 2009, while Indonesia had their bid rejected for lack of government support on 19 March 2010. Five of the remaining nine bids, South Korea, Qatar, Japan, Australia and United States were only for the 2022 World Cup, while all the others bid for both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, 2018 bids
However, since all of the bids for the 2018 World Cup were from European nations, and FIFA's rules dictate that countries belonging to confederations that hosted either of the two preceding tournaments are not eligible to host, all UEFA bids were forced to be for 2018 only. Four bids came from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), four from Europe's UEFA, and one from CONCACAF. It had also been reported on the FIFA website that Egypt was entering a bid, but the president of the Egyptian Football Association denied that any more than an inquiry in principle had been made.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, 2018 bids, Belgium and the Netherlands
Alain Courtois, a Belgian Member of Parliament, announced in October 2006 that a formal bid would be made on behalf of the three Benelux countries: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. In June 2007 the three countries launched their campaign not as a joint bid in the manner of the Korea-Japan World Cup in 2002, but emphasising it as a common political organisation. Luxembourg would not host any matches or automatically qualify for the finals in a successful Benelux bid, but would host a FIFA congress.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, 2018 bids, Belgium and the Netherlands
Belgium and the Netherlands registered their intention to bid jointly in March 2009. A delegation led by the presidents of the Belgian and Dutch national football associations met FIFA president Sepp Blatter on 14 November 2007, officially announcing their interest in submitting a joint bid. On 19 March 2008 the delegation also met with UEFA President Michel Platini to convince him that it was a serious offer under one management. Afterwards they claimed to have impressed Platini, who supports the idea of getting the World Cup to Europe. Former French football international Christian Karembeu was presented as official counselor for the joint bid on 23 June 2009.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, 2018 bids, Belgium and the Netherlands
A factor that was against the Benelux bid was the lack of an 80,000 capacity stadium to host the final. However, the city council of Rotterdam gave permission in March 2009 for development of a new stadium with a capacity of around 80,000 seats to be completed in time for the possible World Cup in 2018. In November 2009, the venues were presented. In Belgium, matches would have been played in 7 venues: Antwerp, Bruges, Brussels, Charleroi, Genk, Ghent and Liège. In the Netherlands, only five cities would host matches: Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Enschede, Heerenveen and Rotterdam, but both Amsterdam and Rotterdam would provide two stadiums. Eindhoven would function as the 'capital city' of the World Cup. Euro 2000 was also jointly hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, 2018 bids, England
On 31 October 2007, The Football Association officially announced its bid to host the event. On 24 April 2008 England finalised a 63-page bid to host the 2018 World Cup, focusing on the development of football worldwide. On 27 January 2009, England officially submitted their bid to FIFA. Richard Caborn led England's bid to stage the event after stepping down as Sports Minister. On 24 October 2008 the Football Association named the Executive Board to prepare the bid, with David Triesman as the bid chairman. Triesman resigned on 16 May 2010 after comments were published where he suggested that Spain would drop their bid if Russia helped bribe referees in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and was then replaced by Geoff Thompson.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, 2018 bids, England
The British government backed the England 2018 bid. In November 2005, Chancellor Gordon Brown and Sport Minister Tessa Jowell first announced that they were to investigate the possibility of bidding. That month, Adrian Bevington, the Football Association's Director of Communications, announced the support of the Government and the Treasury in the bid, but put off definite proposals. Brown reiterated his support for a bid in March 2006, before England's 2006 World Cup campaign, and again in May 2006.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, 2018 bids, England
The UK government launched its official report on 12 February 2007, in which it was made clear that its support was for an England-only bid and that all games would be played at English grounds. The venues selected on 16 December 2009 to form the bid were: London (three stadiums), Manchester (two stadiums), Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Milton Keynes, Newcastle, Nottingham, Plymouth, Sheffield and Sunderland.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, 2018 bids, England
FIFA officials also expressed interest in an English bid. David Will, a vice-president of FIFA, noted England's World Cup proposal as early as May 2004. Franz Beckenbauer, leader of Germany's successful bid for the 2006 World Cup and a member of FIFA's Executive Committee, twice publicly backed an English bid to host the World Cup, in January and July 2007. FIFA President Sepp Blatter said he would welcome a 2018 bid from "the homeland of football." Blatter met David Cameron on two occasions to discuss the bid while paying visits to England. The British Prime Minister showed much support for the bid and was hopeful that the "home of football" would host the tournament.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, 2018 bids, England
In an interview the leader of Russia's bid, Alexei Sorokin, criticised England's bid citing London's high crime rate, alcohol consumption among young people and English fans "inciting ethnic hatred." England filed a complaint, though the complaint was withdrawn following Russia's apology.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, 2018 bids, Portugal and Spain
The President of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF), Gilberto Madail, first proposed a joint bid with Spain in November 2007. The bid intent was confirmed by FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, on 18 February 2008. However, the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Angel Villar, announced in July 2008 that it was Spain's intention to submit an individual World Cup bid, and that positive contacts had already taken place with the government, through the secretary of sports, Jaime Lissavetzky. No specifications were made then regarding a joint bid with Portugal.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, 2018 bids, Portugal and Spain
On 23 November 2008, after his re-election for the RFEF presidency, Villar pledged that one of the fundamental objectives of his term was to bring a World Cup to Spain. While he did not mention whether Spain would present a joint bid with Portugal, he did not rule it out when asked about it.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, 2018 bids, Portugal and Spain
On 23 December 2008, Angel Villar restated "We need to present a strong, consistent and winning bid for the 2018 World Cup." He further confessed "Personally, I think it should be with Portugal." Subsequently, in the aftermath of a RFEF meeting board, Spain and Portugal announced their intention to bid together. Spanish sports newspaper Marca advanced some details about the potential bid: Spain would lead a twelve-stadium project with eight of the venues, and the opening and final games would be held in Lisbon and Madrid, respectively. Spain has previously hosted the 1982 World Cup, while Portugal organised the Euro 2004.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, 2018 bids, Russia
Russia announced its intent to bid in early 2009, and submitted its request to FIFA in time. Russia's President Vladimir Putin took a keen interest in the bid and ordered Vitaly Mutko, the Minister of Sports, to "prepare a bid for Russia to hold the 2018 World Cup". According to a report earlier submitted by Vitaly Mutko, who also served that time as President of the Russian Football Union (RFU), the country was ready to spend some $10.1 billion on the tournament. The bid committee also included RFU CEO Alexey Sorokin and Alexander Djordjadze as the Director of Bid Planning and Operations.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, 2018 bids, Russia
Fourteen cities were included in the proposal, which divided them into five different clusters: one in the north, centered on Saint Petersburg, a central cluster, centered on Moscow, a southern cluster, centered on Sochi, and the Volga River cluster. Only one city beyond the Ural Mountains was cited, Yekaterinburg. The other cities were: Kaliningrad in the north cluster, Rostov-on-Don and Krasnodar in the south cluster and Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Saransk, Samara and Volgograd in the Volga River cluster.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, 2018 bids, Russia
At the time of bidding, Russia did not have a stadium with 80,000 capacity, but the bid called for the expansion of Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, already a UEFA Elite stadium, from a capacity of slightly over 78,000 to over 89,000. Russia hoped to have five stadiums fit to host World Cup matches ready by 2013 – two in Moscow and one stadium each in Saint Petersburg, Kazan and Sochi, which at the time was due to host the 2014 Winter Olympics.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, 2022 bids, Australia
In September 2007, the Football Federation Australia confirmed that Australia would bid for the 2018 World Cup finals. Previously, in late May 2006, the Victorian sports minister, Justin Madden, said that he wanted his state to drive a bid to stage the 2018 World Cup. Frank Lowy, the FFA chairman, stated that they aimed to use 16 stadiums for the bid.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, 2022 bids, Australia
Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced the Federal Government's support for the bid,and in December 2008, Federal minister for sport Kate Ellis announced that the federal government would give the FFA $45.6 million to fund its World Cup bid preparation. Rudd met with Sepp Blatter to discuss the Commonwealth Government's support of the bid in Zurich in July 2009.


2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, 2022 bids, Australia
At the 2008 FIFA Congress, held in Sydney, FIFA president Sepp Blatter suggested that Australia concentrate on hosting the 2022 tournament, but Lowy responded by recommitting Australia to its 2018 bid. However, Australia ultimately withdrew from the bidding for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in favour of the 2022 FIFA World Cup on 10 June 2010, following comments from the chief of the Asian Football Confederation that the 2018 tournament should be held in Europe.