Portal:Current events/2018 September 17

September 17, 2018 (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War, Syria missile strikes (September 2018)
- Russia and Turkey announce a demilitarized zone in Syria's Idlib Governorate and rule out any military operations. (The Independent)
- Several missiles are launched from the sea at the coastal city of Latakia, some of which are destroyed by air defence systems. It is not immediately clear who was behind the attack. (Reuters)
- A Russian Air Force Ilyushin Il-20 reconnaissance plane with 14 servicemen on board disappears from radar over the Mediterranean Sea during the missile attack on Syria's Latakia Governorate. A U.S. official claims the Syrian Army inadvertently shot it down while attempting to intercept missiles, while Russia detected a missile launch from a French FREMM multipurpose frigate. (CNN) (Reuters) (BBC)
War in Afghanistan
- The Taliban launches multiple attacks on security checkpoints in Afghanistan, killing at least 27 members of the security forces. Twenty-two Taliban members are also killed and 16 others are injured. (news.com.au)
Ethnic violence in Ethiopia over the weekend results in 23 deaths. Thousands protest against the killings in the capital Addis Ababa. (Reuters) (The Punch)

Arts and culture

Business and economy

2018 China–United States trade war
- The United States announces a 10% tariff on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to start on September 24, increasing to 25% by the end of the year, and threatens tariffs on an additional $267 billion worth of imports if China retaliates. (Reuters)
Phase-out of lightweight plastic bags
- The Jamaican Cabinet announces a total ban on the importation, manufacture, distribution and use of single-use plastic bags, effective January 1, 2019. (Jamaica Observer)

Disasters and accidents

Hurricane Florence
- The death toll rises to at least 32, as flooding continues to inundate North Carolina. (BBC)
2018 Pacific typhoon season, Typhoon Mangkhut
- In the Philippines, Typhoon Mangkhut triggers a landslide in Itogon, Benguet, with more than 40 bodies found. (NBC News) (The New York Times)
- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte repeats his call to shut all mines in the country following deadly landslides, hours after Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Roy Cimatu orders all mining to be stopped in the Cordillera region. (Reuters)
Over 100 people are killed in floods after Nigeria's two major rivers burst their banks. (BBC)
At least 11 people were killed and several others injured in a road crash involving a bus travelling from Zambia to South Africa. (Daily Nation)
Seven people are killed and many others are in critical condition after suspected drug overdoses at a music festival in Hanoi, Vietnam. (VnExpress International)
Five people are killed in a stampede at a football match in Luanda, Angola. (Bleacher Report)

Law and crime

Disappearance of Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño
- Former Philippine Army general and politician Jovito Palparan is convicted for the kidnapping and disappearance of students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño. He and two other associates are sentenced to life imprisonment. (Rappler)

Politics and elections

Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales, along with Interior Minister Enrique Degenhart, Foreign Minister Sandra Jovel, and State Attorney Luis Donado say that they will not abide by the Constitutional Court's resolution in which ordered President Morales and his cabinet to allow Iván Velásquez Gómez, the head of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala, to enter Guatemala. (The New York Times)

Science and technology

Exploration of Jupiter
- JunoCam captures an image of Jupiter's "brown barge", a cyclone-like shape that has weather patterns in Jupiter's atmosphere. (UPI)
SpaceX lunar tourism mission
- SpaceX announces that Japanese billionaire and art collector Yusaku Maezawa will be the first commercial passenger to orbit the Moon on their BFR rocket in 2023. (Sky News)
The world's first commercial hydrogen-powered passenger train enters service in Lower Saxony, Germany. The Alstom developed train uses a hydrogen fuel cell which emits no carbon dioxide. (NHK)