Top 10 world news stories of August 2013

New Delhi: Some of the news this past month were positive, such as when American Jason Dufner has won the 2013 PGA Championship, his first major title. Others, not so much, such as when two more women, both veterans, publicly accused San Diego Mayor Bob Filner, 70, of sexual harassment. In any case, the most important news stories of August include, although are not limited to, the following ten events, but we have mentioned them as the top most world news on the basis of the attention they received from the people around the globe, here is the list: 1. Whitey Bulger Sentenced Two years ago, James "Whitey" Bulger -- the famed and much-feared head of the Boston mob -- was sitting pretty in Santa Monica, California.Today, he is in prison. The federal jury found the former mob boss guilty on 31 of 32 counts -- including extortion, money laundering, drug dealing and weapons possession. The jury held Bulger responsible for the murder of 11 people.The 83-year-old Bulger faces a maximum sentence of up to life, plus 30 years in prison. 2. New Species Announced The Smithsonian (that place where the exhibits come to life to torment Ben Stiller) announced a new species called olinguito and describe it as a cross between a house cat and a teddy bear. 3. US Embassy Panic due to Al Qaeda threatThe shuttering of 22 U.S. embassies in Middle East nations and consulates for the day amid fears of an al Qaeda attack was an unprecedented move. The State Department also issued a worldwide travel alert to U.S. citizens 4. Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro SuicideCastro, get sentenced for the kidnapping of three women and keeping them in his home for a decade, Later he found hanged in his prison cell.In late July, Ariel Castro pleaded guilty to 937 counts, including murder and kidnapping, in a deal that dropped a possible death penalty in exchange for life in prison plus 1,000 years. 5. Terrorism Indictments and Sentences Yet, the above described crimes of kidnapping and murder lack the international significance of terrorism that arguably has even more visible consequences than the “mob”. A number of terrorism suspects received indictments or even sentencing in August. First, the U.S. Justice Department filed sealed criminal charges against suspects in the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, the Wall Street Journal reported. Later, a grand jury indicted two students from Kazakhstan on obstruction of justice charges for helping suspect Dzhokar Tsarnaev hide evidence after Boston Marathon bombings. Moreover, U.S. Army Sgt. Robert Bales, who admitted gunning down 16 civilians in a 2012 rampage in Afghanistan, was sentenced to life in prison without parole, according to Lt. Col. Gary Dangerfield with Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Bales pleaded guilty in June to more than 30 criminal charges, including 16 premeditated murder counts. Finally, a military court found Maj. Nidal Hasan guilty on all 13 counts of murder and 32 counts of attempted murder in the 5 November 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas that killed 13 and injured more than 30. A military jury unanimously recommended the death penalty for Hasan. 6. Massive Mergers In economic news, two major mergers took place. First, The Washington Post reported that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos will buy the flagship newspaper and other print properties for $250 million. Yet even bigger news came when The U.S. Justice Department and attorneys general from six states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit challenging a planned $11 billion merger of American Airlines and US Airways. 7. The Ongoing Sagas of Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden NSA leaker Edward Snowden, continued to grab global headlines when his application for political asylum was approved and he has left a Moscow airport. Snowden has legal status in Russia for one year. As for WikiLeaks source Bradley Manning, this other news-making leaker apparently intends to begin hormone therapy for gender reassignment and live the rest of his life as a “woman”. Manning wants to be referred to as Chelsea — not Bradley — according to a statement. His announcement came a day after a military judge sentenced him to 35 years in prison for leaking hundreds of thousands of U.S. military and diplomatic documents. Manning, 25, was convicted in July of stealing 750,000 pages of classified documents and videos and disseminating them to WikiLeaks.8. Two Major Developments for LGBT People First, Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill making California the first state to allow transgender students to pick the restrooms they want to use and the sports teams they want to play on based on their gender identity. Second, the Treasury Department of the United States of America ruled that legally married same-sex couples will be treated as married for federal tax purposes. The ruling came two months after the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act. 9. A New Malaria Vaccine discovered There is news around about the development of a vaccine for Malaria. U.S. researchers said they successfully tested a vaccine for malaria on a small group of volunteers and hope to conduct large-scale tests soon. The vaccine involves multiple, intravenous injections of a weakened form of the disease, scientists from the National Institutes of Health, the Navy, Army and other organizations reported. 10. Middle Eastern Chaos: Egypt , Syria unrestClashes between Egyptian security forces and supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsy made Wednesday, 14 August 2013 the country's bloodiest single day since the 2011 revolution that ousted the previous president, longtime strongman Hosni Mubarak. At least 149 people were killed and more than 1,400 were wounded, state TV reported. Syrian opposition accused Assad's government of using chemical weapons in the Damascus suburbs that killed large numbers of civilians. As a revert to this inhuman action against its own, President Obama weighed a military strike against Syria that would be of limited scope and duration, designed to serve as punishment for it's use of chemical weapons and as a deterrent. Recently on 31st of August President Obama has called congress to vote on Syria.