Portal:Current events/2018 July 31

July 31, 2018 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Terrorism in Tajikistan, Terrorist incidents linked to ISIL
- ISIL claims responsibility for an attack in Tajikistan that occurred two days prior and left four cycling tourists dead. (CBS News)
Malian presidential election, 2018
- Gunmen attack a convoy carrying election materials in the Ségou Region. The attack and the ensuing shootout kill four soldiers and eight attackers. (SBS News)
Three people are killed and robbed in an ambush near Sibut, Central African Republic. The Mikhail Khodorkovsky-financed Investigations Management Center says that they were Russian journalists who worked with them on a documentary about Wagner Group mercenaries and Russian mining interests in the country. (TASS) (Reuters) (CBS News)
Moro conflict
- 2018 Lamitan bombing
  - A van loaded with an improvised explosive device explodes in an army checkpoint in Lamitan, Basilan, in the Philippines, killing 11. (Manila Bulletin)

Business and economy

Economy of the United States
- Worker pay rate in the United States hits its highest level since 2008 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Employment Cost Index, which tracks worker compensation, has been steadily increasing since just prior to Donald Trump taking office. (CNBC) (Bloomberg) (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Disasters and accidents

2018 California wildfires
- Fires across California kill at least eight people. One month into the fiscal year, the state's emergency fund is about one quarter spent. (UPI)
Aeroméxico Connect Flight 2431
- An Aeroméxico Embraer 190 crashes shortly after taking off from Durango International Airport in Durango, Mexico, injuring around 85 people, two critically. (BBC)
In Peru, two trains collide en route to Machu Picchu, injuring 15. (BBC)
Popocatépetl, a stratovolcano that is part of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, releases a large quantity of ash. (BBC)

International relations

Law and crime

Mueller special counsel investigation, Trials of Paul Manafort
- The former campaign chairman of U.S. President Donald Trump, Paul Manafort, appears in court for the opening day of his criminal trial on 18 bank and fraud charges brought by special counsel Robert Mueller. (The Hill)
A shooting at a billiard hall in El Tarra, Colombia, kills nine people. Local media blames a feud between two left-wing rebel groups, who both deny responsibility. (BBC)

Politics and elections

Facebook announces that it has suspended 32 accounts it believes intended to influence the 2018 mid-term elections in the United States. The company says while it is uncertain who operated these accounts, at least one is linked to the Russian-based Internet Research Agency. (BBC)

Sports

In baseball, the New York Mets suffer the worst loss in franchise history after being defeated by the Washington Nationals, 25–4. (USA Today)