January
Crude oil futures hit $100 per barrel for the first time
-The national weekly gas price on average in January was $3.09 per gallon
-July had the highest national weekly gas price average at $4.11/gal
February
Iran opens its first space center and launches a rocket to space
Fidel Castro resigns from position as President of Cuba and his brother, Raul, is elected as his successor
March
Rising oil and food prices triggers riots in the Third World
-The rise in prices was presumed to be caused by the effect of speculators on the commodities market
Bhutan holds its first ever elections
-Bhutan is landlocked by India and the People’s Republic of China
-The tiny country transformed from an absolute monarchy to a constitutionaly monarchy in 2008 and has been rated by Business Week as the happiest country in Asia
David Paterson becomes the first legally blind governor in the United States and the first African American governor of New York
Presidential elections are held in Zimbabwe
April
The Taliban failed in an attempt to assasinate Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul, Afghanistan
India sets a world record by sending 10 satellites into orbit in a single launch
May
Over 200,000 people are killed in Burma and China by a cyclone and earthquake, respectively.
NASA’s Phoenix becomes the first spacecraft to land on the northern polar region of Mars. The spacecaft later confirmed that frozen water existed on Mars.
-This was NASA’s sixth successful landing on Mars and the mission ended in November due to a lack of contact
June
Robert Mugabe is re-elected as President of Zimbabwe in the second round of the controversial Presidential election
-A power sharing deal was later brokered between Mugabe’s administration and his opposition and complications between both parties still linger on
Bill Gates steps down as Chairman of Microsoft to concentrate on his philanthropic foundation
July
Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages are rescued from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia by Colombian security forces after six years in captivity
112 people are killed and over 620 people are injured in a series of bombings in Instanbul, India, and Iraq
August
Summer Olympics take place in Beijing, China
Georgia and Russia engage in a 10-day war in South Ossetia after Georgia invades the tiny territory
Musharraf resigns from position as President of Pakistan under impeachment pressure
September
Asif Ali Zardari is elected as President of Pakistan
The world’s largest and highest energy particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider, is activated underground in Geneva, Switzerland
China becomes the third country ever to conduct a spacewalk
Largest daily point loss of 777 points in the Dow Jones Industrial Average
October
As the global financial crisis worsens, the Bush Administration approves $700 billion for the Treasury to puchase failing bank assets
World’s largest commercial carrier is formed after the merger of Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines
Largest daily point gain of 938 points in the Dow Jones Industrial Average
-October had the two largest daily point gains in the history of the Dow Jones Industrial Average
November
Barack Obama becomes the first African-American and “self-recognized” bi-racial President-elect
-On January 20, 2009 he will be inaugurated into the Presidency
Series of terrorist attacks kills 164 people and injures over 250 people in Mumbai, India
December
Riots spread in Greece after a 15 year old student was shot and killed by a Greek policeman during a demonstration against government corruption and the global economic crisis
Bernard Madoff, former Chairman of NASDAQ , is indicted on charges of financial fraud that could cost investors up to $50 billion
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