As the 8th year of the 21st century is closing its chapters, we list 10 unforgettable moments that have made the headlines and 6 o’clock news the year 2008.
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Moments that will be stored in the in the back rooms of history as world-changing, never seen before, life-altering memories. Or just an awkward reminder of what really happened in 2008?
10. The Beginning of the End
September 13, 2008
American Investment Banking pillar Lehman Brothers files for bankruptcy and all of a sudden affordable mortgage loans have caused a financial meltdown – causing the greatest economic recession since the Depression in the 1930s.
9. Left for you the reader to decide (comment post with tips)
8. New York, London, Madrid – and Mumbai
November 26-29, 2008
Terrorism has gone global. In North America, Europe and now Asia. As India suffered one of the worst terrorism attacks, hitting the financial metropolis Mumbai during three horrific days, 26-29 November, the world was once more reminded that terrorism still is a major threat to national as international security. What was described by official sources to be a band of 10 armed men, targeted the city’s finest hotels, as if to take a blow at the growing tourism industry in India, together with a large number of killed civilians.
Shortly after the attack Indian Prime Minister went out to suggest the direct involvement of neighboring country Pakistan.
7. Pirates of the Indian Ocean
November 18, 2008
Outside the coast of Somalia, piracy has for long been a common occurrence. Being a popular shipping route, bands of pirates have made it a custom to regularly hijack large shippings on African waters. Then came the biggest hijacking of Saudi-owned supertank SiriusStar, with a booty worth over $100 million in crude oil. Pirates were no longer something in the movies. For the first time, the world turned their eyes to discover that piracy had been terrorizing East Africa for years.
6. War in micro-nation South Ossetia
August 7, 2008
Former Soviet republican of Georgia, South Ossetia, got the world’s attention August 7 when war was declared against neighbor state Georgia and Russia said to be sparked by national and racist tensions. It all started when Georgia ordered a number of attacks of South Ossetia. An action that was followed by intense fighting between the two countries. Not long after, Russian forces entered the conflict, sending a clear no tolerance message to both an expansive NATO South Ossetia and Georgia’s nationalist president Mikheil Saakashvili. Neither USA or Europe intervened, openly avoiding any unnecessary confrontations with Russia.
5. The “Made in China” Scandal
September 15, 2008
The nation of China has gained more and more attention by the western world during 2008. By investors indeed but also by world press as the “Made in China” scandal made front page news conveniently around the Olympic Games in Beijing. By adding a protein called Melamine to certain diary products, Chinese food manufacture companies caused the hospitalization of more than 300,000 infant Chinese children. And even though one company went out with an official apology, Melamine was already an open secret in the industry and went on to become the main cause of kidney failure amongst Chinese citizens under 5 years old.
4. The Fall of the Last Remaining Communist
For decades he has ruled the Caribbean island in true communism decadence. Claimed to be the last true leader of the political old times, Fidel Castro in 2008 suddenly retreated his position as Cuban President to younger brother Raul Castro.
3. Ingrid Betancourt Free
February 20, 2008
After 3 years held hostage deep in the Colombian jungle, ex-political candidate half-French Ingrid Betancourt was freed from the FARC guerilla along with other kidnapped foreigners by the military. The Betancourt kidnapping was a heavy blow for the fight against Colombia’s “kidnapping industry” since long a major financier of the country’s guerilla. The freeing mission was cleverly planned by the military who convinced leaders of the guerilla that they in fact were an independent aid organization simply offering their helicopters to assists in transferring Betancourt and other prisoners from on hide-out to the next. When Betancourt were lifted into the helicopter, men from the military dressed as the guerilla delivered the good news – “You are free!”
2. Olympic Games Exhibits China
July 16, 2008
When China got the green light on hosting the summer Olympic games 2008, few were surprised. The sleeping bear of the East had finally awoken and it was time for Asia, for China to show what exactly it was “Made” of. Successful according to some. A flop according to others. What become utterly apparent however was the social and political state of the biggest and mightiest growing countries in the world. Either way, the Olympic Games in Beijing was something to see, as the appointed committee had spared no expenses on impressing invited countries.
1. One Man – One Nation Full of Hope
November 4, 2008
After an intense race for president candidacy, Hawaii born, Chicago native and African-American senator Barack Obama, with his family, spoke to the nation in Chicago central park as the new President of United States of America. The journey had been long, the whole world watching, and for the first time in a long time the American people could exhale in relief, looking to a future filled with hope and, as promised, change. Yes he could, yes he did and yes he will.
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