ANKARA (AA) – Here are the main developments of the year day by day, and month by month:</p> <p> </p> <p>- AUGUST -</p> <p> </p> <p>Aug. 1</p> <p>- Denmark imposes a controversial ban on the wearing of face veils in public.</p> <p>- Turkey strongly protests against a decision by the U.S. Treasury Department to impose sanctions on two ministers for not releasing American Pastor Andrew Craig Brunson, who faces terrorism charges in Turkey.</p> <p>- Turkish archer Mete Gazoz breaks the European record at an international archery tournament in the Bulgarian capital Sofia.</p> <p> </p> <p>Aug. 2</p> <p>- The Greek parliament approves a legislation on the compulsory retirement of muftis appointed in the country’s Western Thrace cities of Komotini (Gumulcine) and Xanthi (Iskece).</p> <p>- Accompanied by the Russian military police, UN peacekeeping forces patrol the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights for the first time since 2014.</p> <p> </p> <p>Aug. 3</p> <p>- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan unveils first 100-day action plan of Turkey's new presidential Cabinet in the capital Ankara.</p> <p>- An exhibition is organized in Gaza Strip to showcase more than a thousand products forbidden to enter into the city by Israeli authorities.</p> <p>- More than 134,000 people have been evacuated to shelters as China’s largest city of Shanghai was hit by Typhoon Jongdari.</p> <p>- A Turkish court sentences nine convicts to 101 aggravated life terms in connection with 2015 twin bombings in Ankara.</p> <p><br></p> <p>Aug. 4</p> <p>- An attack carried out by explosive drones targets Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro during his speech.</p> <p> </p> <p>Aug. 5</p> <p>- A magnitude 7.0 earthquake shakes eastern Indonesia, kills at least 563 people, according to Indonesian authorities.</p> <p>- Saudi Arabia recalls its ambassador to Canada and gives the Canadian ambassador 24 hours to leave the country.</p> <p> </p> <p>Aug. 6</p> <p>- Anadolu Agency photo correspondent Sebnem Coskun wins the "Jury Honorable Mention" prize at the Andrei Stenin International Photo Contest.</p> <p> </p> <p>Aug. 7</p> <p>- Twin blazes in northern California have combined to form the largest inferno in the state's history.</p> <p> </p> <p>Aug. 8</p> <p>- Saudi Arabia orders all Canadian assets be sold “no matter the cost” in the latest retaliatory action to Canada’s criticism of the kingdom’s detention of human rights activists.</p> <p> </p> <p>Aug. 9</p> <p>- The world has many giant Qurans, but its only giant wooden Quran, measuring 1.77 by 1.40 meters (5.8 by 4.6 feet), can be found in Palembang, the capital of Indonesia’s South Sumatra province.</p> <p>- Turkish world champion sprinter Ramil Guliyev captures gold medal in the 200-meter men's race in the European Athletics Championships in Berlin.</p> <p>- Canada will not adopt retaliatory economic sanctions in its escalating diplomatic war with Saudi Arabia, Canada’s Finance Minister Bill Morneau says.</p> <p> </p> <p>Aug. 10</p> <p>- Turkey’s "new economic model" is unveiled on Friday by the country Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak.</p> <p> </p> <p>Aug. 11</p> <p>- Turkey says it would retaliate to the raising of steel and aluminum tariffs by the U.S. administration.</p> <p>- Betul Baslik, a Turkish-origin social services and pedagogy graduate, has been denied an internship by a Belgian retirement home due to her headscarf.</p> <p>- Thousands of Arab Israelis protest against the controversial "Jewish State" law at Rabin square in Israeli capital Tel Aviv.</p> <p> </p> <p>Aug. 12</p> <p>- The U.S space agency launches a probe that aims to travel closer to the sun than ever before.</p> <p> </p> <p>Aug. 13</p> <p>- Four Turkish companies — Aselsan, Tusas, Roketsan and STM — have been named in the most prestigious defense industry list, Defense News Top 100.</p> <p>- At least 774 have been killed during India's monsoon season due to heavy rain and floods, according to state officials.</p> <p>- Shares of Amazon hit an all-time high as the company nears a market value of $1 trillion.</p> <p><br>
Aug. 14
– Pakistan marks its 71st Independence Day with celebrations in major cities including capital Islamabad.
– An ancient human footprint that belongs to a civilization some 3,000 years ago has been uncovered at a castle in southeastern Turkey.
Aug. 15
– Turkey “neutralizes ” a most-wanted PKK/KCK terrorist in an operation in northern Iraq.
– Turkey has increased tariffs on several U.S.-origin products, including alcohol and tobacco products and cars, according to a new presidential decree.
– India will launch its first manned space mission by 2022, the country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi announces in his Independence Day speech to the nation.
– A criminal high court in the Aegean province of Izmir rejects American Pastor Andrew Craig Brunson's appeal to end his house arrest and lift a travel ban on him.
– Qatar will make $15 billion of direct investment in Turkey, Qatar’s leader says on a visit to Ankara.
Aug. 16
– Famed singer Aretha Franklin, also known as the Queen of Soul, dies at the age of 76 in her home in Detroit. The long-time singer and songwriter had a career spanning more than 60 years, in which she topped the music charts, being the most charted female artist in the U.S. for nearly four decades.
– The Hubble Space Telescope has captured one of the largest panoramic views of the universe ever, U.S. space agency NASA announces.
– Two mosques in the city of Birmingham in the Midlands are attacked with ball-bearing catapults, according to British police.
Aug. 17
– Imran Khan, former Pakistani cricket star, was elected prime minister by the country’s lower house, the National Assembly.
– The U.S. sanctions four Myanmar’s military and border guard commanders, as well as two military units, for “ethnic cleansing ” in Rakhine State and other rights abuses in Kachin and Shan states.
Aug. 18
– Two billion people are living in poverty, while 753 million others experience extreme poverty and are struggling to survive, according to the Global Humanitarian Assistance Report 2018.
– Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is re-elected as head of ruling Justice and Development Party after he secured the votes of 1,380 delegates at the party's 6th ordinary congress in the capital Ankara.
Aug. 20
– Nearly two million Muslims from around the world ascend the sacred Mount Arafat near Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Mecca as part of the annual Hajj pilgrimage.
– Four of Iraq’s main political coalitions have come together to form a majority bloc in parliament that will be responsible for forming the country’s next government.
– Greece emerges from its final three-year bailout program after eight years of rescue funds of more than €260 billion ($300 billion) lent by eurozone partners and the International Monetary Fund.
Aug. 21
– U.S. President Donald Trump's longtime personal lawyer Michael Cohen, 51, reportedly pleads guilty to make hush money payments to an adult film actress and a former Playboy model “at the direction ” of Trump with the intent to “influence the election “.
– Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort is found guilty of eight of the 18 federal charges brought by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
Aug. 22
– A Swedish politician of Turkish origin is expelled from his party weeks before the general and local elections in Sweden.
Aug. 24
– The U.S. cuts more than $200 million in aid to Palestine following a review initiated by President Donald Trump.
Aug. 25
– Rohingya people — the world’s most persecuted and displaced Muslim minority — demonstrate in Bangladeshi refugee camps, demanding justice for the “genocide ” carried out by the Myanmar government and military.
– Senator John McCain, who served in the Senate for more than three decades, dies of brain cancer after a year-long battle with the disease.
Aug. 26
– A 5.9-magnitude earthquake stikes western Iran's Kermanshah province, killing two and injuring hundreds.
– Emmerson Mnangagwa is sworn in as Zimbabwe’s president following a controversial election in which he won more than half the vote.
Aug. 27
– Arab members of Knesset (Israel’s parliament) are seeking UN censure of Israel over a recent law recognizing Israel as the “nation-state of the Jewish people”, The Jerusalem Post daily reported.
– Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny is jailed for 30 days over protest-related charges.
– The U.S. and Mexico reach a preliminary agreement to replace a free trade deal that also include Canada.
Aug. 28
– A giant Genghis Khan Statue stands 40-meters (130 ft) high on the bank of the Tuul River at Tsonjin Boldog east of the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar, where, according to legend, he found a golden whip.
– The death toll in Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria from September 2017 to February 2018 is now estimated to be 2,975, according to a new report.
– Turkish archers Mete Gazoz and Yasemin Ecem Anagoz break two records at an international archery tournament in the Polish city of Legnica.
– Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo's overhead kick in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals for Spain's Real Madrid against his current Italian club Juventus is voted UEFA.com goal of the season.
Aug. 29
– The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has charged the credit rating agency Moody’s for internal control failures and failing to clearly define and consistently apply credit rating symbols.
– U.S. assistance to the Saudi-led coalition’s war in Yemen has amounted to killing innocent Yemeni civilians, the New York Times argues.
Aug. 30
– Turkey celebrates the 96th anniversary of Victory Day, which commemorates the resounding defeat of the Greek forces at hands of the Turks in the Battle of Dumlupinar in 1922.
– An anti-Islam cartoon contest depicting Prophet Mohammad planned to be held by a Dutch lawmaker is canceled.
– Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife, Sara Netanyahu, is suspected of bribery and corruption, Israeli media report.
– Around a thousand far-right demonstrators rally in the eastern German city of Chemnitz after days of violent protests.
Aug. 31
– President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey will soon receive S-400 anti-missile system in line with an agreement inked with Russia.
– The autonomous region of Zanzibar in Tanzania bears elements of African, European, Arab and Indian civilizations with its spice gardens, unique lifestyle, safari tours, and breathtaking natural beauties. Its “Zanzibar doors” are particularly famous as pieces of Indian culture bearing verses from the Islamic holy book, giving life to the city around them.
– Democrats and Republicans gather at the U.S. Capitol to pay their respects to deceased Senator John McCain whose decades of service drew bipartisan accolades.
- Israeli soldiers fire live rounds at Palestinian protesters, injuring 52 on the 23rd Friday of anti-occupation rallies that began in March.
