August 1 — Africa: ZIMBABWE

Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe wins a presidential election and a seventh term in office. Also his Zanu-PF party wins three quarters of the seats in parliament. The opposition leader and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai says the elections were fraudulent, and announces that his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which was in a coalition with Mugabe, will no longer support the Zanu-PF party. Mugabe vows to continue his policy of indigenization, forcing companies to cede control of businesses to black Zimbabweans.

August 4 — North America/Middle East: UNITED STATES/MIDDLE EAST

The United States closes twenty one embassies and consulates mostly in the Middle East, but also in a few countries in North Africa and South Asia due to a threat of a terrorist attack by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. (August 8): The United States kills about 14 suspected al-Qaeda militants in several drone attacks in Yemen, which is a stronghold for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. (August 10): The United States reopens recently closed embassies, with an exception of the one in Yemen due to ongoing terror concerns.

August 6 — Europe: HUNGARY

Hungary sentences several men to life in prison for brutal racially-motivated attacks and killings of six Roma people. The Roma minority, which constitutes 7 percent of Hungary’s population, continues to live in extreme poverty and its members are often victims of discrimination.

August 7 — Africa: EGYPT

International mediators that included the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates fail to resolve the political crisis in Egypt after the removal of President Mohammed Morsi. (August 14): Egyptian security forces kill hundreds of pro-Morsi protesters after storming two protest camps in Cairo. The Muslim Brotherhood claims the death toll exceeded 2,000 people. The interim government declares a state of emergency and imposes a curfew. Vice President Mohammed ElBaradei resigns from the interim government due to the recent violence. (August 16): Churches, businesses, schools, and homes of Egypt’s Christian citizens, who constitute about 10 percent of the country’s population, are being targeted in anti-Christian attacks. The Coptic Christians are accused of supporting the removal of President Morsi. (August 20): Egyptian government arrests the most senior leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed Badie, along with hundreds of other members of the party.

August 11 — South Asia: SRI LANKA

Buddhist mobs attack a mosque in Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo, injuring several people in clashes. As a result the mosque is moved to another location. In recent months, Buddhists have intensified their attacks on Muslim and Christian churches and businesses. Buddhists constitute about two thirds of the Sri Lanka’s population.

August 13 — Africa: MALI

Mali’s former Prime Minister, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, wins the recent presidential election. He has promised to unify the country, open peace talks with the Tuareg separatists, and rebuild the country after a year and a half of chaos.

August 21 — Middle East: SYRIA

Syrian opposition and Western governments accuse the country’s president Bashir al-Assad and his government for using chemical weapons in an attack on eastern Damascus, where they were fighting the rebels. As a result, more than 300 people, including women and children, have died. Independent international organizations support the numbers and unverified recordings on the internet show people dying from after-effects of chemical weapons. The Syrian government admits that it has stocks of chemical weapons, but blames the rebels for the attack. The United Kingdom’s Prime Minister David Cameron, the United States President Barack Obama and France’s President Francois Hollande call on international community for a military response in Syria. (August 30): The UK’s parliament rejects the country’s possible military action against the Syrian government. The U.S. says it will still push for an international coalition. The United Nations Security Council is not expected to agree on any military response as Russia is Syrian President Assad’s closest ally.