2008

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File:2008 Events Collage.png

Clockwise from top-left: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis kills upwards of 138,373 in Myanmar and became the 7th-deadliest cyclone of all time; the 2008 Summer Olympics are held in Beijing, China whilst a series of unrest in Tibet was occurring against the games; an earthquake in Sichuan kills over 87,000 and became the 18th-deadliest earthquake of all time; a destroyed Georgian T-72 tank during the Russo-Georgian War; the Trident Hotel in Mumbai was the site of the 2008 Mumbai attacks; the Phoenix spacecraft is the first probe to prove that ice water still exists on Mars; poster in Pristina celebrating the Independence of Kosovo from Serbia.

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2008 was designated as:

International Year of Languages<ref name="Ow0tF" />
International Year of Planet Earth<ref name="UN_ARES60192">Template:UN document</ref>
International Year of the Potato<ref name="UN_ARES60191_page1">Template:UN document</ref>
International Year of Sanitation<ref name="UN_ARES61192_page2">Template:UN document</ref>

The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued through the entirety of 2008. Template:TOC limit

Events

January

January 1 – Cyprus and Malta adopt the euro currency.<ref name="vgEan" /><ref name="qxkbC" />
January 14 – At 19:04:39 UTC, the uncrewed MESSENGER space probe is at its closest approach during its first flyby of the planet Mercury.<ref name="45JNK" />
January 21
- Stock markets around the world plunge amid growing fears of a U.S. Great Recession, fueled by the 2007 subprime mortgage crisis.<ref name="UdyTv" />
- Online activist group Anonymous initiates Project Chanology, after a leaked interview of Tom Cruise by the Church of Scientology is published on YouTube, and the Church of Scientology issued a "copyright infringement" claim. In response, Anonymous sympathizers took to the streets to protest outside the church (after February 10), while the church's websites and centres were getting DoS attacks, phone line nukes, and black faxes.<ref name="sx8F7" /><ref name="vOwe0" /><ref name="phLJJ" /><ref name="waVoL" /><ref name="muTyR" /><ref name="LwGGz" /><ref name="LqoSy" /><ref name="yECdo" />Template:Excessive citations inline
January 24 – A peace deal is signed in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, ending the Kivu conflict.<ref name="cAfgG" />

February

February 4 – Civic mobilizations in Colombia against FARC, under the name One million voices against FARC.<ref name=tiempo>Template:Cite web</ref>
February 14 – A Belavia CRJ-100 crash lands at Zvartnots International Airport in Yerevan, Armenia. 7 people are injured.
February 17 – Kosovo formally declares independence from Serbia, to a mixed response from the international community.<ref name="4ZgIr" /><ref name="bKUR8" />
February 18 – WikiLeaks releases allegations of illegal activities carried out by the Cayman Islands branch of Swiss banking corporation Julius Baer; a subsequent lawsuit against WikiLeaks prompts a temporary suspension of the website, but uproar about violations of freedom of speech causes WikiLeaks to be brought back online.<ref name="UHHp2" /><ref name="L7ZF1" />

March

March 2 – Venezuela and Ecuador move troops to the Colombian border, following a Colombian raid against FARC guerrillas inside Ecuadorian territory, in which senior commander Raúl Reyes is killed.<ref name="2V4dj" /><ref name="WUuhE" />
March 8 – Barisan Nasional loses two-thirds majority, for the first time since 1969, to opposition during the 2008 Malaysian general election but still retains control of government. The coalition also loses majority control of five states to the opposition.<ref name="setback">Template:Cite news</ref>
March 9 – The first European Space Agency Automated Transfer Vehicle, a cargo spacecraft for the International Space Station, launches from Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana.<ref name="zmjBL" />
March 19 – An Energy release of a Gamma-ray burst called the GRB 080319B is the brightest event ever recorded in the Universe.<ref name="09YRh" />
March 24 – Bhutan holds its first-ever general elections following the adoption of a new Constitution which changed the country from an absolute monarchy to a multiparty democracy.<ref name="a339d" />
March 25 – African Union and Comoros forces invade the rebel-held island of Anjouan, returning the island to Comorian control.<ref name="zp1Ze" />

April

April 29 – Grand Theft Auto IV is released worldwide, selling over 3.6 million units and earning $310 million during the first day, becoming not only the highest grossing video game release of all-time, but also the highest grossing entertainment product release ever.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

May

May 2 – Iron Man is released in theaters, starting the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
May 3 – Cyclone Nargis passes through Myanmar, killing more than 138,000 people.<ref name="n1gHV" />
May 12 – An earthquake measuring 7.9 on the moment magnitude scale strikes Sichuan, China, killing an estimated 87,000 people.<ref name="qTiUB" />
May 20–24 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2008 takes place in Belgrade, Serbia, and is won by Russian entrant Dima Bilan with the song "Believe".
May 21
- Manchester United wins their third European Cup and second Champions League after they beat Chelsea in the first all-English final in the history of the competition. Manchester United won the match 6–5 on penalties, following a 1–1 draw after extra time.
- The Union of South American Nations, an intergovernmental organization between states in South America, is founded.<ref name="ammdU" />
- The International Court of Justice awards Middle Rocks to Malaysia and Pedra Branca to Singapore, ending a 29-year territorial dispute between the two countries.<ref name="xu7ho" />
May 25 – NASA's uncrewed Phoenix spacecraft becomes the first to land on the northern polar region of Mars.<ref name="Gltzt" />
May 28 – The Legislature Parliament of Nepal votes overwhelmingly in favor of abolishing the country's 240-year-old monarchy, turning the country into a republic.<ref name="VCANV" />
May 30 – International Convention on Cluster Munitions is adopted in Dublin.<ref name="cluster" />

June

June 7–29 – Austria and Switzerland jointly host the UEFA Euro 2008 football tournament, which is won by Spain.
June 11
- The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is launched.<ref name="PDVLU" />
- Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper formally apologizes, on behalf of the Canadian government, to the country's First Nations for the Canadian Indian residential school system.<ref name="oFlGQ" />
June 14 – Expo 2008 opens in Zaragoza, Spain, lasting to September 14, with the topic "Water and sustainable development".<ref name="jPCeD" />
June 14 – A 6.9 magnitude earthquake in Iwate Prefecture, Japan, kills 12 and injures more than 400.<ref name="USGS">Template:Cite news</ref>

July

July 1 – Riots erupt in Mongolia in response to allegations of fraud surrounding the 2008 legislative elections.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
July 2 – Íngrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages are rescued from FARC rebels by Colombian security forces.<ref name="rQFjN" />
July 10 – Apple Inc. launches the App Store with 500 apps available at launch.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
July 11 – South Korea suspends all trips to North Korea's Mount Kumgang after a 53-year-old South Korean tourist is shot and killed by a North Korean sentry.<ref name="bbc march 2010" />
July 21 – Radovan Karadžić, the first president of the Republika Srpska, is arrested in Belgrade, Serbia, on allegations of war crimes, following a 12-year-long manhunt.<ref name="7KMHp" />

August

August 1
- India and United States sign the historic Civil Nuclear deal.
- Eleven mountaineers from international expeditions die on K2, the second-highest mountain on Earth, in the worst single accident in the history of K2 mountaineering.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
August 6 – President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi of Mauritania is deposed in a military coup d'état.<ref name="nuVDF" />
August 7 – Georgia intervenes against Russian-backed separatists in its South-Ossetia and Abkhazia regions, causing Russia to invade Georgia and spark the Russo-Georgian war, the first major European land war of the 21st century.
August 8–24 – The 2008 Summer Olympics take place in Beijing, China.<ref name="zc8qK" />
August 20 – Spanair Flight 5022 crashes at Madrid–Barajas Airport, killing 154 people on board.

September

September 5 – Quentin Bryce becomes the first female Governor-General of Australia.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
September 10 – The proton beam is circulated for the first time in the Large Hadron Collider, the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator, located at CERN, near Geneva, under the Franco-Swiss border.<ref name="JdQh8" /><ref name="1tfei" />
September 13 – Hurricane Ike makes landfall as a category 2 hurricane in Texas, killing 113 and causing over $30 billion in damages.
September 15 – Stocks fall sharply Monday on a triptych of Wall Street woe: Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy filing, Merrill Lynch's acquisition by Bank of America, and AIG's unprecedented request for short-term financing from the Federal Reserve.<ref name="VxePx" />
September 20 – A suicide truck bomb explosion destroys the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan, killing at least 54 and injuring 266.<ref name="mk4OZ" /><ref name="XWUWx" /><ref name="3fIg2" />
September 23 – HTC Dream, the first smartphone powered by Android, was launched.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
September 28 – SpaceX Falcon 1 becomes the world's first privately developed space launch vehicle to successfully make orbit.<ref name="bUbIg" /><ref name="mJgTp" />

October

October 3 – 2008 financial crisis: U.S. President George W. Bush signs the revised Emergency Economic Stabilization Act into law, creating a 700 billion dollar Treasury fund to purchase failing bank assets.<ref name="Associated Press-Raum-2008-10-03" />
October 6 – A controversial Peruvian tape regarding a Norwegian oil company causes the 2008 Peru oil scandal, sparking protests which cause Jorge de Castillo to resign from office.<ref name="s5fxV" /><ref name="4KSLa" /><ref name="1X31j" /><ref name="1xnhk" />
October 21 – The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is officially inaugurated at Geneva.<ref name="lgOCn" /><ref name="exux6" /><ref name="j2gWy" /><ref name="tnapI" />
October 22 – The Indian Space Research Organisation successfully launches the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft on a lunar exploration mission.<ref name="1wmbS" /><ref name="hLQzh" />
October 30 – Floods affected in Northern Vietnam and Central Vietnam and lasted 5 days causing flooding in many provinces and cities.
October
- The Easyswap on-line local exchange trading system (LETS) website is officially launched in Switzerland.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

November

November 1 – Satoshi Nakamoto publishes "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System".<ref name="uHmQu" />
November 2 – In a race won by Brazilian driver Felipe Massa, British driver Lewis Hamilton ends in 5th place in 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix and becomes the first black driver to win the Formula One World Championship, and the second youngest driver to achieve the feat at the age of 23.
November 4 – 2008 United States presidential election: Democratic U.S. Senator Barack Obama defeats Republican candidate John McCain and is elected the 44th President of the United States, making him the first African-American to be elected to the office.<ref name="4bO8c" /><ref name="ES3XU" /><ref name="os5oq" />
November 19 – Claudia Castillo of Spain becomes the first person to have a successful trachea transplant using a tissue-engineered organ.<ref name="aVL5l" />
November 20 – The Buzzard Coulee meteorite falls in Saskatchewan. Reported to be 5 times brighter than the full moon and is seen in Alberta, Manitoba, and even North Dakota.
November 26–29 – Ten terrorists of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan based terror group, carry out four days of coordinated bombing and shooting attacks across Mumbai, killing 166 people. One terrorist, Ajmal Kasab, was captured alive and executed in 2012.<ref name="Mumbai" />
November 27 – XL Airways Germany Flight 888T. An Airbus A320 due to be redelivered to Air New Zealand stalls and crashes over Mediterranean Sea resulting the deaths of 7

December

December 10 – The Channel Island of Sark, a British Crown dependency, holds its first fully democratic elections under a new constitutional arrangement, becoming the last European territory to abolish feudalism.<ref name="jGiwP" />
December 11 – Bernard Madoff is arrested for securities fraud after he was turned in by his sons for operating the largest Ponzi scheme in history, later known as the Madoff investment scandal.
December 18 – The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda finds Théoneste Bagosora and two other senior Rwandan army officers guilty of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes and sentences them to life imprisonment for their role in the Rwandan genocide.<ref name="o0EEh" />
December 22 – An ash dike ruptured at a solid waste containment area for a Tennessee Valley Authority coal-fired power plant in Roane County, Tennessee, releasing Template:Convert of coal fly ash slurry in the largest industrial spill in U.S. history.<ref name=natgeo19>Template:Cite news</ref>
December 23 – A military coup d'état deposes the government of Guinea shortly after the death of longtime President Lansana Conté.<ref name="S5uh2" />
December 27 – Israel invades the Gaza Strip, in response to rockets being fired into Israeli territory by Hamas, and due to weapons being smuggled into the area.<ref name="47sj5" /><ref name="xKVxz" /><ref name="guardian.co.uk" />
December 31 – An extra leap second (23:59:60) is added to end of the year. The last time this occurred was in 2005.