2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar.
2008 has been designated as:
In Chinese astrology, most of 2008, starting with February 7, will overlap with the Year of the Rat (dates before February 7 are Year of the Pig). The next Year of the Rat will be in 2020.
Events
January
- January 1 - Smoking banned in all public places (including bars and restaurants) in Portugal, France and the U.S. states of Illinois and Arizona.
- January 1 - Cyprus, Malta, and Akrotiri and Dhekelia adopt the euro.[8][9]
- January 1 - Slovenia takes over the presidency of European Union as the first of new member states.[10]
- January 1 - The Venezuelan bolívar, as a result of a government decree issued on March 7, 2007, is revalued at a ratio of 1 to 1000 and renamed the Bolívar fuerte (ISO 4217 code: VEF).
- January 2 - The price of petroleum hits US$100 per barrel for the first time.
- January 3 - A car bomb detonates, killing at least 4 and injuring 68, in Diyarbakır, Turkey. Police blame Kurdish rebels.
- January 3 - The first caucuses in the 2008 U.S. presidential primary season for both Democrats and Republicans were held in Iowa.
- January 4 - An unforecasted blizzard creates havoc across eastern Northern Ireland, with falls of 8 inches in one hour.
- January 4 - The 30th Dakar Rally is cancelled due to international political tension and the murder of four French tourists on December 24, 2007.
- January 8 - An attempted assassination of Maldivian president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom is thwarted after a Boy Scout grabbed the attacker's knife. The Boy Scout was injured, but after a scuffle ensued police arrested the attacker.
- January 12 - The Kuomintang (KMT)-led Pan-Blue Coalition wins the legislative elections in Taiwan with over 70% of the votes.
- January 12 - A Macedonian Army Mil Mi-17 helicopter crashes in thick fog southeast of Skopje, killing all 11 military personnel on board.[11]
- January 13 - Two Australians arrive in New Plymouth, New Zealand by kayak and become the first people in history to paddle from Australia to New Zealand.
- January 13 - Katsuaki Watanabe, President and CEO of Toyota, announces that they will deliver a significant fleet of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), powered by lithium-ion batteries, by 2010.
- January 14 - At 19:04:39 UTC, the MESSENGER space probe is at its closest approach during its first flyby of the planet Mercury.[12]
- January 15 - Federal Court of Australia orders a Japanese whaling company to stop research whaling within their Exclusive Economic Zone.
- January 16 - The South Korean Presidential Transition Team announces a plan to merge the Unification Ministry, which works toward unification with North Korea, with the Foreign Ministry, but does not follow through on the idea.[13]
- January 17 - British Airways Flight 38 Boeing 777 lands short of runway at London Heathrow Airport, injuring 19 among the 152 people on board.[14]
- January 20 - Presidential election in Serbia.
- January 20 - Legislative elections in Cuba.
- January 21 - Stock markets around the world plunge amid growing fears of a U.S. recession, fueled by the 2007 subprime mortgage financial crisis.
- January 21 - The first National Fetish Day is held in the United Kingdom, promoting the rights of the BDSM community.
- January 22 - Russia stages the largest naval exercise since the fall of the Soviet Union in the Bay of Biscay, amid deteriorating relations with the West. The Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, along with 11 support vessels and 47 long-range bomber aircraft, practised strike tactics off the coast of France and Spain, and test-launched nuclear-capable missiles on foreign waters.
- January 23 - Polish Air Force CASA C-295 crashes during approach to the 12th Air Base near Mirosławiec. All 20 personnel on board die.
- January 23 - Thousands of Palestinians cross into Egypt, as the border wall with Gaza in Rafah is blown up by militants.
- January 24 - A peace deal ends the Kivu conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- January 24 - Peter Hain resigns as British Wales Secretary and British Work and Pensions Secretary after the Electoral Commission refers the failure to report donations to the Metropolitan Police. Prime Minister Gordon Brown called a quick cabinet reshuffle.
February
- February 5 - Super Tuesday, massive multi-state primary in U.S. presidential election, with primaries and caucuses in 24 states, is held.
- February 5 - U.S. stock market indices plunge more than 3% after a report showed signs of economic recession in the service-sector. The S&P 500 fell 3.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 370 points.
- February 5-February 6 - A tornado outbreak, the deadliest in 23 years, kills 58 in the Southern United States.
- February 7 - Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on mission STS-122 to deliver the European-built Columbus science laboratory to the International Space Station.
- February 7 - General election called for Belize's 31 House seats; a referendum to be held simultaneously to determine whether the upper house should be elected.
- February 9 - Camden Market area in London, United Kingdom is devastated by fire, causing evacuations in nearby houses and flats.
- February 10 - The wooden part of Namdaemun, a 600-year-old historic gate in Seoul, South Korea, is arsoned.[27]
- February 10 - An oil platform in the North Sea is evacuated by helicopter and plane after an apparent security threat.[28]
- February 10 - Worldwide protests are held against alleged corruption in the Church of Scientology by the internet group 'Anonymous' as part of 'Project Chanology'.
- February 11 - President of East Timor José Ramos-Horta is seriously wounded in an attack on his home by rebel soldiers. Rebel leader Alfredo Reinado is killed by Ramos-Horta's security guards during the attack.[29]
- February 12 - PDVSA, a state oil company in Venezuela, has suspended sales of crude oil to Exxon Mobil, in response to a legal challenge by them.[30]
- February 12 - Steven Spielberg announces that he will no longer act as artistic director for opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing because the Chinese government hasn't done enough to help end ethnic conflict in Darfur.[31]
- February 12 - Bridgestone, under investigation for an alleged price-fixing cartel, uncovers improper payments of at least 150 million yen to foreign governments and withdrew from the marine hose business.[32]
- February 13 - Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of Australia delivers a formal apology to the Stolen Generations.[33]
- February 13 - Prime Minister of Malaysia Abdullah Ahmad Badawi dissolves the Malaysian parliament.[34]
- February 14 - Steven Kazmierczak shoots dead five students and injures another 18 at Northern Illinois University.
- February 16 - Václav Klaus is re-elected as the President of the Czech Republic.
- February 17 - Complete Smoking ban including nightclubs, pubs, and bars, takes in effect in Thailand.[35]
- February 17 - A suicide bombing by a Taliban member kills up to 80 in Kandahar, Afghanistan[36]
- February 17 - Kosovo formally declares independence from Serbia, despite opposition from Serbia, Russia, China, Spain, Romania, and other nations. However Albania, Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, U.K., and U.S. express support after an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council.[37]
- February 17 - Presidential election in Cyprus.
- February 18 - Athens, Greece is paralysed by its worst snowstorms in more than 50 years.
- February 18 - The British government introduces emergency legislation temporarily to nationalize Northern Rock, the fifth largest mortgage bank in the UK, due to NR's financial crisis.[38]
- February 18 - General election is held in Pakistan, delayed from January 8 due to riots in the wake of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. Opposition parties, including Bhutto's, take more than half of the seats, while President Pervez Musharraf's party suffers a huge defeat.[39]
- February 19 - Fidel Castro announces his resignation as President of Cuba, to be effective on February 24.
- February 19 - Crude oil closes above $100 USD per barrel for the first time ever, settling at $100.01.
- February 19 - Presidential election in Armenia.
- February 20 - United States Navy destroys a spy satellite containing toxic fuel by shooting it down with a missile launched from USS Lake Erie in the Pacific ocean.[40]
- February 20 - Total lunar eclipse - North and South America, Europe, Africa, and Western Asia.
- February 21 - Hundreds of thousands of Serbs take to the streets in Belgrade to protest against Kosovo's declaration of independence and the partial international recognition of it.
March
- March 8 - General election in Malta.
- March 9 - Medical and higher education fees referendum in Hungary.
- March 9 - General election in Spain: The governing PSOE led by Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is re-elected with the most seats in the Congress of Deputies.
- March 9 - First European Space Agency Automated Transfer Vehicle, a cargo spacecraft for the International Space Station, launches from Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana.
- March 14 - Demonstrations by Tibetan separatists turn violent as rioters target government and Han Chinese-owned buildings.
- March 14 - Queen Elizabeth II opens the new Heathrow Terminal 5 building at London Heathrow Airport. It will be available for public use from March 27.
- March 14 - Legislative election in Iran.
- March 15 - In Albania a huge explosion of a gun factory in Gerdec kills more than 30 people. On the next week, Albania, Kosovo and some surrounding countries supply and support Gerdec's population with food, blood etc.
- March 15 - Second set of international protests against the Church of Scientology as part of Project Chanology.
- March 17 - In Adelaide, South Australia, a 15-day heatwave, a once-in-3,000-years occurrence, comes to an end.[53]
- March 19 - An exploding star halfway across the visible universe becomes the farthest known object ever visible to the naked eye.[54]
- March 20 - A permanent coalition government agreement is reached in Belgium, ending a nine-month stalemate, as Yves Leterme is sworn in as Prime Minister.
- March 20 - The United States enacts economic sanctions against Iran.[citation needed]
- March 22 - Republic of China presidential election is held in Taiwan. The Kuomintang (KMT) nominee Ma Ying-jeou won
- March 24 - Bhutan holds its first-ever general elections.[55]
April
- April 10 - Assembly elections in Nepal: Maoists win a plurality of seats in the Assembly in the first election in Nepal in nine years.
- April 13 - Elections in Italy: The Silvio Berlusconi-led coalition, which consists of the People of Freedom, Lega Nord, and Movement for Autonomy parties, wins a majority of seats in both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.
- April 13 - Trevor Immelman wins the 2008 Masters Tournament.
- April 15 - A Hewa Bora Airways DC-9 commercial airplane crashes into a residential area of Goma, DR Congo.
- April 15–April 20 - Pope Benedict XVI visits the United States. Among his destinations are the White House, The Catholic University of America, the United Nations General Assembly, and the site of the fallen World Trade Center. Benedict XVI also celebrated Mass at Nationals Park and Yankee Stadium.
- April 18 - A magnitude 5.2 earthquake occurs outside of West Salem, Illinois. It is one of the strongest earthquakes in the midwestern states in 40 years.
- April 20 - Fernando Lugo is elected President of Paraguay. This is the first time in 61 years that the Colorado Party has lost a presidential election.
- April 22 - Surgeons at London's Moorfields Eye Hospital perform the first operations using bionic eyes, implanting them into two blind patients.
- April 23 - In the Canadian province of Ontario, a bill banning pesticides is passed, making it the only place in North America to pass pesticide restriction laws of this degree. Pesticide use is permitted only on golf courses and selected other places.
- April 24 - Teachers in England and Wales stage the first national strike in more than 20 years over issues of pay.
- April 27 - The Taliban attempts to assassinate Afghan President Hamid Karzai in a military parade in Kabul.[69]
- April 28 - India sets a world record by sending 10 satellites into orbit in a single launch.[70]
- April 28 - 71 die in a train crash in Shandong, China.[71]
- April 28 - The Fritzl incest case is widely publicized after a 42-year-old Austrian woman tells local authorities that she has been imprisoned and abused by her father, Josef Fritzl, since 1984.
May
- May 1 - Local elections, for 137 English councils and all Welsh councils, take place in the United Kingdom.
- May 1 - Elections for the London Mayor and London Assembly take place with Boris Johnson becoming the second Mayor of London.
- May 1 - Entry into force of the London Agreement, aimed at reducing the translation costs associated with European patents.
- May 2 - A volcanic eruption forces the evacuation of more than 4,000 people from the Chilean town of Chaitén.
- May 2 - May 3 - The Presidents of Central European States meet in Ohrid, Republic of Macedonia.
- May 3 - Over 133,000 people in Myanmar are killed by Cyclone Nargis, the deadliest natural disaster since the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004.
- May 7 - Violence breaks out in Beirut, Lebanon and spreads to nearby areas over the next few days.
- May 7 - Brian Cowen is elected the 11th Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland, succeeding Bertie Ahern, after a vote in the Dáil Éireann.
- May 7 - Dmitry Medvedev is sworn in as the President of Russia.
- May 8 - Vladimir Putin is confirmed as the 10th Prime Minister of Russia after a vote in the State Duma.
- May 8 - Silvio Berlusconi is sworn in as the 81st Prime Minister of Italy.
- May 10 - Myanmar holds a constitutional referendum.
- May 11 - Local and parliamentary elections in Serbia.
- May 12 - Over 69,000 are killed in central China by an earthquake measuring 7.9Mw. The epicenter is 90 kilometers (55 miles) west-northwest of Chengdu.
- May 13 - A series of bomb blasts kills at least 63 and injures 216 in Jaipur, India.
- May 14 - Russian side Zenit St. Petersburg defeat Rangers of Scotland in the 2008 UEFA Cup Final.
- May 14 - Six Iranian Baha'i Faith leaders are arrested in Iran.[72]
- May 15 - An oil pipeline explodes in Ijegun, Nigeria, killing 100.
- May 15 - California becomes the second U.S. state after Massachusetts in 2004 to legalize same-sex marriage after the state's Supreme Court rules a previous ban unconstitutional.[73]
- May 16 - Presidential election in the Dominican Republic.
- May 16 - The fifth Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union Summit is held in Lima, Peru.
- May 17 - Parliamentary elections are held in Kuwait.
- May 18 - Russia wins the Men's Ice Hockey World Championship 2008 in Canada. Canada wins silver, and Finland wins bronze.[74]
- May 21 - Manchester United defeat Chelsea on penalties to win the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.
- May 21 - Legislative elections are held in
