October 18, 2017 (Wednesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Syrian Civil War
- Syrian Republican Guard major general Issam Zahreddine, known for leading battles against the rebels in Homs and Aleppo, is killed by a landmine in Deir ez-Zor, according to Syrian media. (Al Arabiya)
Arts and culture
- Man Booker Prize
- A 2017 experimental novel, Lincoln in the Bardo by American writer George Saunders, wins the 2017 Man Booker Prize. (BBC)
Law and crime
- Crime in Maryland
- A workplace shooting in Edgewood, United States, kills three and critically injures two. The suspect, Radee Labeeb Prince, flees to neighboring Delaware, where he allegedly shoots a man in Wilmington hours later, before his capture in Newark. (CNN)
- Law in Quebec
- The Quebec National Assembly passes legislation banning individuals who cover their faces to receive or give public services, including riding public buses. (Al Jazeera)
Politics and elections
- 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China
- China's leader and Party General Secretary Xi Jinping addresses more than 2,000 delegates in Beijing. The congress is expected to finish next week. (BBC)
- Ukrainian crisis