Major events that left their mark on 2018 (6)

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

JUNE

June 1

- Human traffickers in Libya kill 12 migrants and wound dozens of other African migrants, says the UN.

- Two lions, two tigers and a jaguar escape from a zoo in southern Germany after massive floods.

- German prosecutors announce that they have filed a fresh request to extradite former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont to Spain.

- U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea leader Kim Jong-un will meet on June 12 in Singapore, Trump announces a week after axing the planned meeting.

- The U.S. vetoes a UN Security Council resolution that calls for a protection for Palestinians.

- Burkina Faso abolishes the death penalty in adopting a new penal code.

June 3

- Ali Koc, a well-known Turkish businessman, is elected as the new president of Turkey's football giant Fenerbahce, taking the crown from Aziz Yildirim, who has run the club since 1998.

June 4

- A roadmap, drawn up by Turkey and the U.S., will pave the way for people forcefully displaced by PYD/PKK terrorists in Manbij, Syria to return home, says Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

- At least 114 people are killed and hundreds of others injured when the Fuego Volcano, 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the capital Guatemala City, erupts.

- Sixty-five people in Cambodia are killed by lightning strikes in the first five months of this year.

June 5

- Mariano Rajoy, Spain’s former premier whose government was toppled last week in a no-confidence vote, announces that he is also quitting his party’s helm.

June 6

- U.S. boxer Floyd Mayweather is Forbes' highest-paid athlete in the world with $285 million in earnings.

- At least 23 miners have been rescued after an iron mine blast in northern China, which kills 11 people and injures nine others, according to the country’s official news agency.

- U.S.’ Trump hosts his first iftar (fast-breaking dinner) as president to mark the holy month of Ramadan amid tense relations with the American Muslim community.

June 7

- NASA announces it has discovered organic molecules on the surface of Mars that suggest the conditions for life exist on the planet.

- In a landmark development, the Afghan government announces a unilateral cease-fire with the Taliban from June 12 until the fifth day of Eid-ul-Fitr, the Muslim holy festival.

- Suicide rates across the U.S. increases 25 percent between 1999 and 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals in an alarming report.

June 8

- Austria will shut seven mosques and expel 40 imams, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz announces.

- A possible military assault on Yemen’s port city of Al Hudaydah by the Saudi-led coalition may impact up to 250,000 lives, says the UN.

June 9

- Warriors sweeps Cavs, claims third title in four years in the NBA. Kevin Durant is named the NBA Finals MVP, Most Valuable Player, for the second consecutive year.

June 10

- Rafael Nadal wins his 11th French Open title with a straight-set victory over Dominic Thiem.

- At least 17 civilians are killed in raids launched by Syrian fighter jets on a hospital and on populated areas in the northwestern Syrian city of Idlib.

June 11

- Turkey launches anti-terror operations in both Qandil and Sinjar regions in northern Iraq.

- Turkish economy expands by 7.4 percent in the first quarter of 2018 compared with the same period last year, Turkey’s statistical authority, TurkStat, reveals.

- At least 30 Ethiopians are released from Egyptian prisons in a presidential pardon.

- Starbucks announce closure of about 1,200 Canadian outlets for four hours of staff training on “race, bias and inclusion”.

June 12

- U.S. President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un warmly greet one another as they kick off their highly anticipated denuclearization talks in Singapore.

- The historic Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) project is officially launched in the central Turkish city of Eskisehir.

- A total of 33,300 people are killed in Africa between 2011 and 2016 due to violent extremism, according to a UN Development Programme-sponsored study.

- Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk tells employees the company will lay off nine percent of its workforce.

June 13

- The U.K. government blocks at least 1,200 football hooligans from going to Russia for the World Cup.

- Trump claims that North Korea is "no longer a Nuclear Threat" after agreeing to a broad-stroke accord with Kim in Singapore.

- Melting ice in Antarctica has raised sea levels by 7.6 millimeters or nearly one-third of an inch with about three trillion tons of ice disappearing since 1992.

June 14

- U.S.’ Trump releases a small portion of the more than $200 million in funding for Syria stabilization efforts he froze in March.

June 15

- Fast food chain McDonald’s announces that it will begin testing alternatives to its plastic drinking straws later this year in the U.S.

June 18

- Turkish Armed Forces in cooperation with U.S. troops begins patrolling the northern Syrian city of Manbij.

June 19

- The U.S. announces its withdrawal from the UN Human Rights Council, accusing the body of being hypocritical and biased against Israel.

June 20

- Turkey is declared the most charitable nation in 2017 with nearly $8.1 billion spent in humanitarian aid, according to the Development Initiative's (DI) Global Humanitarian Assistance report.

- The UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi says 68.5 million people have been uprooted worldwide, which shows the magnanimity of the humanitarian catastrophe.

- The Walt Disney Company announces it has reached an agreement to buy 21st Century Fox for $71.3 billion.

- Trump signs an executive order halting his administration's practice of separating undocumented parents, suspected of crossing the border illegally, from their children.

June 21

- Koko, the gorilla who could communicate with humans by learning sign language, dies in her sleep at the age of 46.

June 22

- A total of 960 migrants and refugees have lost their lives at the Mediterranean Sea so far, according to the UN migration agency.

June 23

- Tens of thousands of civilians flee Syria’s southwestern Daraa province toward Israel-occupied Golan Heights following attacks by regime forces and Iran-backed Shia militias.

June 24

- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wins presidential election to become the first president under the new executive presidential system.

June 26

- Lowest temperature ever is recorded on Earth. Using satellite data, researchers discover that a series of valleys on an ice sheet in eastern Antarctica have reached temperatures of -98 degrees Celsius (-144.4 Fahrenheit).

June 27

- The U.S. Justice Department conditionally approves The Walt Disney Company's proposed acquisition of 21st Century Fox.

June 28

- Over 500 women are arrested at the U.S. Capitol while protesting against President Trump's hardline immigration policy.

- The EU leaders agree to release the second €3 billion ($3.72 billion) tranche in assistance for Syrian refugees in Turkey.

June 30

- World-renowned Turkish historian Fuat Sezgin dies at the age of 95.