Major events that left their mark on 2018 (2)

ANKARA (AA) - Here are the main developments of the year day by day, and month by month:

-FEBRUARY-

Feb. 1

- Cornered by Turkish and Free Syrian Army (FSA) forces, PYD/PKK, Daesh terrorists strike deal to fight together. PYD/PKK terror group continues to seek ways to fight Operation Olive Branch in Syria's Afrin region.

- Fidel Angel Castro Diaz Balart, 69, the eldest son of former Cuban President Fidel Castro, commits suicide.

- Court of Arbitration for Sport overturns International Olympic Committee suspensions for 28 Russian athletes over doping at the 2014 Winter Olympics, while partially upholding 11 other appeals.

- Darren Osborne, 48, found guilty of murder and attempted murder by a British court after driving his van into a crowd outside an Islamic center in north London. He was handed a life sentence with a minimum 43 years behind bars.

- Value of cryptocurrency Bitcoin dives 13 percent to below $9,000, well below half its record value of nearly $20,000 per Bitcoin at the end of 2017.

Feb. 2

- Nearly 1,000 mineworkers trapped underground at gold mine in South Africa brought to the surface, company running the mine says.

- An estimated 90 migrants drown after a boat capsized off coast of Libya in the Mediterranean Sea, the UN migration agency said.

Feb. 3

- Russian military aircraft Su-25 shot down in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province, says Defense Ministry.

Feb. 4

- Nicos Anastasiades re-named as Greek Cypriot leader in the second round of an election.

Feb. 5

- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan holds meeting with Pope Francis in Vatican. Two leaders later go for a closed-door meeting at Apostol Palace's Library Hall.

- Jewish billionaire George Soros denies accusations by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about funding protests against plans to expel African asylum-seekers.

- Conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa take 'a brutal toll' on children, with the fighting in Syria leaving 59 children dead in January alone, according to the UN.

- Esmond Bradley Martin, 75, an American conservationist famed for exposing international ivory trade found murdered in a suburb of Nairobi, capital of Kenya.

- The Netherlands formally withdraws its ambassador to Turkey over a 2017 row.

- U.S. President Donald Trump appointee, Jerome Powell, sworn in as chair of the Federal Reserve to take reins of the central bank on a day American financial markets suffered heavy losses.

- Ben Mustapha Ben Odeh, an icon of the Algerian resistance against forces of French colonialism, dies at age 93.

Feb. 6

- SpaceX successfully launches world’s most powerful rocket, Falcon Heavy. It carried the red Tesla Roadster car, belonging to SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, into orbit.

- A 6.4-magnitude earthquake rocks eastern Taiwan, killing two people and injuring more than 100 others.

Feb. 7

- German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative bloc and the Social Democrats agree to form 'grand coalition' government after 136 days of political stalemate.

- At least 31 people died across Nigeria since latest Lassa fever outbreak, health officials say.

Feb. 9

- Olympic Winter Games kick off in PyeongChang, South Korea with an opening ceremony themed around peace.

Feb. 10

- Bus accident kills at least 26 people and injures 17 others in central Indonesia.

Feb. 11

- Pakistan’s leading lawyer and human rights activist Asma Jahangir dies at age 66.

- Russian airplane with 71 people on board crashes in Moscow suburbs.

Feb. 12

- Pentagon requests $300 million to train and equip PYD/PKK terror group that goes by the name of the SDF, and wants nearly as much to build the terror group-led 'border security force' in Syria.

Feb. 13

- At least 46 people, including 19 women and 27 children, freed from Boko Haram captivity after troops destroy another hideout of the proscribed armed group in northeastern Borno state.

- Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD) leader Martin Schulz announces his resignation ahead of key vote of SPD’s 460,000 members on forming coalition government with Christian Democrats.

Feb. 14

- South African President Jacob Zuma announces resignation following calls from his ruling African National Congress (ANC) party to step down or face no-confidence vote in Parliament.

- 17 people killed when a lone gunman opens fire on Florida high school.

Feb. 15

- Erdogan and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson meet for over three hours in capital Ankara, discussing several issues including bilateral ties and regional developments, particularly Syria and Iraq.

Feb. 16

- Ankara and Washington 'reached an understanding' to normalize ties following a period of tensions, says Turkish FM Mevlut Cavusoglu.

- A U.S. federal grand jury indicts 13 Russian nationals and three entities for alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

- A major earthquake of magnitude 7.5 strikes south of Mexico City, shaking buildings and causing panic.

Feb. 17

- Turkish Red Crescent distributes humanitarian aid to families in areas of northwestern Syria cleared of PYD/PKK terrorists by Turkey’s ongoing Operation Olive Branch.

Feb. 18

- LeBron James carries his team to a 148-145 victory in the NBA's 67th All-Star Game in Los Angeles, California.

- Iranian passenger plane crashes in central Iran, killing all 66 on board.

Feb. 19

- At least 58 Syrian civilians killed and 45 injured in regime attacks in Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta.

Feb. 20

- Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev enacts new Latin version of the Kazakh alphabet.

- Erdogan says the Turkish army would lay siege to Syria’s Afrin city center in the coming days.

Feb. 22

- SpaceX successfully launches two satellites with the goal of beaming internet access across the globe.

Feb. 23

- UN's special envoy for Syria reiterates his call for an immediate cease-fire amid 'horrific' bombings in besieged Eastern Ghouta.

- A painting by French impressionist Edgar Degas, stolen in 2009, found on a bus near Paris.

- Belgian local court rules a headscarf ban at local schools is against freedom of religion.

Feb. 25

- More than 1,000 civilians, including women and children, have been killed since mid-November, 2017 in attacks by the Syrian regime and its allies including Russia in besieged Eastern Ghouta, according to a U.K-based human rights watchdog.

- A 7.5-magnitude earthquake strikes Pacific Island nation of Papua New Guinea.

Feb. 26

- Russia vetoes a draft UN Security Council resolution that would have censured Iran for failing to prevent its arms from reaching Yemen in violation of a UN-imposed arms embargo, drawing a stern rebuke from the U.S.

Feb. 27

- U.K. faces another week of travel disruptions as freezing weather, dubbed the 'beast from the east', is forecasted to spread further, with Scotland and eastern England expected to be hit the worst.

- A Czech court releases Salih Muslim, former co-leader of PYD/PKK terrorist group.

Feb. 28

- Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri arrives in Saudi Arabia for his first visit since his resignation months earlier.

- Russian hacking group infiltrates the German government's data network used by ministries and security agencies.

- Scientists detect signals from the earliest stars in the universe for the first time ever.