Portal:Current events/2018 July 17
July 17, 2018 (Tuesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Gaza–Israel conflict, 2018 Gaza border protests
- The Israel Defense Forces are instructed to prepare for a large-scale military offensive in Gaza if demands for Hamas to halt the launches of flaming kites, incendiary devices and rocket attacks are not met by Friday. (The Times of Israel)
- War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
- An ISIL suicide bomber killed 20 people in northern Afghanistan on Tuesday, including a Taliban commander. In southern Kandahar province, the Taliban attacked a police checkpoint in Arghistan district late on Monday night, killing nine policemen and wounding seven. 25 Taliban fighters were killed and 15 were wounded in the ensuing battle. (AP)
Business and economy
- All flights from Iran to Najaf, Iraq, resume following recent disturbances at Al Najaf International Airport. (Anadolu Agency)
International relations
- United States withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
- Iran files a lawsuit against the United States in the International Court of Justice alleging its decision in May to impose sanctions after pulling out of a nuclear deal violates the 1955 Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations and Consular Rights between the two countries. (Reuters)
- Japan–European Union relations
- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker hold a summit in Tokyo and sign a deal creating an open trade zone between their states. (NPR)
- Russia–Tajikistan relations
- Russia and Tajikistan begin joint military exercises near the Afghan–Tajik border to deter potential Taliban attacks. (Yahoo!)
Politics and elections
Science and technology
- Moons of Jupiter
- Ten new moons are discovered around Jupiter, raising the count to 79 confirmed moons. One of these new moons, S/2016 J 2, nicknamed Valetudo, is notable for orbiting backwards compared to the other moons in its vicinity, and may collide with one of them in the future. (Science Magazine)
- Archeologists in Jordan find baked flatbread dating to 12,500 BC, making it the oldest surviving bread ever discovered, surpassing a Turkish loaf which was estimated to be 9,100 years old. The bread was found in a stone oven which was apparently built during the formative years of the Natufian culture. The bread is also notable for predating the Neolithic Revolution by 4,000 years. (Reuters)
- Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announces plans to open the Technological University Dublin, a new university in Dublin, Ireland, in January 2019. The new university will be an amalgamation of three existing institutes of technology – DIT, ITB, and IT Tallaght. (RTÉ)