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September 2008 is the ninth month of the current leap year. It began on a Monday and ended after 30 days on a Tuesday.
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- The Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola wins the 2008 legislative election. (Reuters via The New York Times)
- Roger Federer defeats Andy Murray to win the U.S. Tennis Open for a record-breaking fifth consecutive time. (Fox Sports)
- Washington Mutual, the largest savings and loan in the United States, ousts Chief Executive Kerry Killinger as a result of losses incurred as a result of the subprime mortgage crisis. (The New York Times)
- A landslide triggered by heavy rain strikes a warehouse in Linfen in Shanxi province, China, killing at least 26 people and injuring others. (Canadian Press)
- Hurricane Ike makes landfall near Banes, Cuba, and weakens. (AP via Biloxi Sun Herald)
- The US military is to 'review an inquiry' into an air raid on a village in Herat province, Afghanistan, after a new video evidence emerged indicating 'scores of civilian deaths'. The US air raid in Afghanistan left up to 90 people dead, 'many of them women and children', the Afghan government and the UN said. However, US officials claimed earlier that 'no more than seven civilians died'. The bodies of 'at least 10 children and many more adults' appear in two videos made with cell phones in the Afghan village Azizabad after the raid. (BBC News) (AP)
- 2008 South Ossetia war:
- Three British Muslim men are found guilty of conspiracy to murder relating to the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot. (The Times)
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- UNITA accepts defeat in the Angolan legislative election, 2008, the first parliamentary elections in Angola in 16 years, in which the ruling Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola wins more than 80% of the votes. (BBC)
- Al Franken wins a primary election for the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party to challenge incumbent Senator Norm Coleman in the Minnesota Senate election. (AP via Google News)
- The military of Sri Lanka declares 12 of its soldiers and one policeman killed in a suicide attack by the Tamil Tigers in Mullaittivu. (BBC News)
- Prime Minister of Malaysia Abdullah Ahmad Badawi states that the governing United Malays National Organization (UMNO) will punish Ahmad Ismail, a party official, for a series of statements he made about Malaysia's ethnic Chinese population. (Wall Street Journal)
- The United Nations decides to withdraw aid workers from Tamil Tiger-held areas of Sri Lanka. (BBC News)
- Hurricane Ike makes its second landfall on Cuba, near San Cristóbal, north of the Isle of Youth, on its way into the Gulf of Mexico. (CNN)
- A Thai court rules that Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej must be removed from office for receiving payment for appearing on a television cooking show. (AP via Google News)
- US President George W. Bush pledges 4,500 troops to Afghanistan over the next few months and orders 8,000 troops currently stationed in Iraq to be home by February. (CBC News)
- Apple Inc. unveils the revamped iPod line-up including the redesigned, fourth-generation iPod Nano. (Reuters)
- Georgian opposition members demand President of Georgia Mikhail Saakashvili's resignation. Saakashvili believes he will "survive the crisis politically". (Washington Post)(Newstin)
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Current events of September 10, 2008 (2008-09-10) (Wednesday) |
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- United States presidential election, 2008: Former Republican candidate Ron Paul endorses third-party candidates Chuck Baldwin, Bob Barr, Cynthia McKinney and Ralph Nader, calling the two-party system a "charade."(Los Angeles Times)
- President of Bolivia Evo Morales expels the United States ambassador, Philip Goldberg, for allegedly encouraging anti-government protests. (CBS)
- OPEC announces it will cut oil production by 500,000 barrels a day; prices rise accordingly. (AP via Google News)
- U.S.-based financial services company Lehman Brothers announces a third-quarter loss of $4.9 billion and plans to sell assets. (CNN Money)
- The European Commission predicts the U.K., Germany, and Spain 'to fall into recession'; the outlook for rest of the Eurozone is gloomy. (BBC News)
- The Yonhap News Agency in South Korea reports North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has a serious health problem. (AFP via Google News)
- Western intelligence officials say Kim Jong-il might have suffered a stroke.(BBC News) (NPR), which North Korea denies. (Reuters)
- CERN successfully circulates a beam through the entire Large Hadron Collider for the first time. (Wired) (Wired)
- 2008 South Ossetia war:
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- Ayman al-Zawahiri, number two leader of al Qaeda, questions Abu Ayyub al-Masri's ability to lead al Qaeda in Iraq, and accuses that organization's umbrella group, the Islamic State of Iraq, of lying to the media about its activities. (CNN)
- Prices for oil fall (CNN Money), and wholesale prices for gasoline rise sharply. (CNN Money)
- 2008 unrest in Bolivia:
- Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, claims that a power sharing agreement has been reached with the President of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe. (BBC News)
- Officials order the evacuation of Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas before Hurricane Ike makes landfall later in the week. (USA Today)
- President George W. Bush is reported to have authorized United States special forces to conduct operations against insurgents inside Pakistan without seeking approval from the Government of Pakistan. (CNN)
- A new survey of residents of 17 countries by WorldPublicOpinion.org indicates that an average of 46 percent believe that Al-Qaeda was behind the 9/11 attacks of 2001. (Al Jazeera) (Voice of America News) (UPI) (Reuters)
- Two Russian Air Force Tu-160 bombers arrive in Venezuela to carry out training flights over a course of several days. (BBC News)
- A 6.6 magnitude earthquake hits near Ternate, Indonesia, followed by a 7.2 magnitude quake near Hokkaido, Japan. (BBC News)
- Forty people go missing in the northern Indian state of Bihar after a boat capsizes in the Harohar River. (AP via Google News)
- A fire occurs in the Channel Tunnel and the tunnel is closed until further notice. (BBC News)
- The Pentagon Memorial in Washington, DC, dedicated to the 184 people who died in the attack on the building on September 11, 2001, is opened to the public. (ABC News)
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- 2008 South Ossetia war:
- The Georgian foreign ministry has released an official statement stating that 'In the villages of the Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia, Georgia, the separatist regime continues carrying out persecution of local Georgian population based on their ethnic origin', adding that 'Once again it becomes evident that for the Russian government the ethnic cleansing remains as one of the main methods for achieving its political goals'. (Rustavi 2)
- Russian forces have pulled out of the Black Sea port of Poti and are preparing to withdraw from positions in western Georgia. Russian forces are to withdraw completely from Georgia proper to an October 10 deadline. EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said he was confident this deadline would be met. (Reuters) (The International Herald Tribune) (Sky News)
- Irakli Okruashvili, ex-defense minister of Georgia granted political asylum in France, claims President of Georgia Mikhail Saakashvili 'must be held accountable [for the war] and resign... If he doesn't it will lead to criminal charges against him'. Irakli Okruashvili claims he has been working with Saakashvili on plans to regain control on Abkhazia and South Ossetia since 2005 but was sure that Georgia could not succeed by military means. (Spiegel) (Civil.Ge)
- Subprime mortgage crisis
- Hurricane Ike
- Nigerian Oil Crisis: Nigeria's main rebel group declared an "oil war" in the west African nation in response to what it said were "unprovoked" attacks by Nigerian government forces a day earlier. (CNN)
- Shootout between police and unknown assailants leaves 20 police officers dead in Ashkhabad, Turkmenistan. (The Sydney Morning Herald)
- Sebastian Vettel of Toro Rosso wins the 2008 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, becoming the youngest driver in history to win a Formula One grand prix. (BBC News)
- Two people are killed and 10 injured when a tourist riverboat collides with a pillar of the Pont de l'Archevêché and sinks, on the River Seine in Paris. (The Telegraph)
- 2008 Thai political crisis: The Acting Prime Minister of Thailand Somchai Wongsawat lifts a state of emergency in place since September 2. (The New York Times)
- The National Party of Western Australia indicates that it will support the Liberal Party of Australia in forming a minority government in Western Australia. Liberal leader, Colin Barnett, becomes the Premier-elect and incumbent Premier Alan Carpenter of the Australian Labor Party concedes defeat. (The Australian)
- Boeing 737 Aeroflot Flight 821 crashes near the city of Perm in Russia, killing all 88 on board. The cause of the crash is attributed to engine failure. (BBC News) (AP via Chicago Tribune)
- 2008 unrest in Bolivia
- Brazil suffers severe natural gas shortages following the cut off of natural gas supplies from Bolivia, which provides half of Brazil's natural gas. (Financial Times)
- Government officials announce they plan to arrest Pando Governor Leopoldo Fernandez and that troops from Cobija airport will be sent to retake the city. (Reuters)
- Accusations of witchcraft cause football riots in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, resulting in 13 dead and 36 injured. (The Daily Telegraph)
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- Six men have been found guilty of terrorism-related offences in Melbourne, Australia. Abdul Nacer Benbrika was found guilty of intentionally directing the activities of a terrorist organization while five other men were found guilty of being members of the same organisation. Four other men were aquitted and the jury is still considering its verdict on two men. (ABC News Australia)
- Hurricane Ike (2008)
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- NASA scientists report that the Ozone hole over the Antarctic has reached its largest expanse, 27 million square kilometers vs 26 million square kilometers in 2006. (NASA)
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Current events of September 17, 2008 (2008-09-17) (Wednesday) |
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- 2008 South Ossetia war:
- Rozi Khan, the Governor of the Chora District in Afghanistan, is killed in a firefight involving Australian Army soldiers. (ABC News Australia)
- Sri Lankan Civil War: The Sri Lanka Navy sinks 10 Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) boats and kills 25 LTTE rebels in heavy fighting off the port of Nachikkudah in Sri Lanka, according to the navy. (Reuters via The International Herald Tribune)
- 2008 Russian financial crisis:
- Trading is suspended for the third day in succession on Russia's two main stock exchanges, the MICEX and the dollar-denominated RTS, amidst fear of financial collapse. News agencies are quoting Russia's Finance Minister, Alexei Kudrin, as saying trading on Russian exchanges won't resume until September 19. (MarketWatch)
- Officials at MICEX stock exchange describe conditions in the Russian markets as "extraordinary". (The Times)
- Russia is facing its worst stock market decline in a decade mainly because of a confidence crisis rather than liquidity problems, Deputy Finance Minister Pyotr Kazakevich says. (Hurriyet)
- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev orders ministers to inject another 500 billion rubles (£10.8 billion, US$20 billion) of funds from the state budget into the markets and pledges in remarks broadcast on national television that the financial system would receive "all necessary support". (The Times)
- Subprime mortgage crisis:
- A United States Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter crashes in southern Iraq killing seven United States soldiers. (AP via The New York Times)
- Pirates hijack a Greek bulk carrier with 25 crew aboard off the coast of Somalia. (AP via Google News) (Wikinews)
- Bruessel/EU:In european media journalists report, that some US-politicans and military personell supported with finance help the Anti-Europe Movement in Ireland against the Treaty of Lisbon Ftd:USA sollen EU-Vertrag sabotiert haben
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Current events of September 24, 2008 (2008-09-24) (Wednesday) |
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- Three bombs go off in western India, killing 8 people and injuring 30. (TOI)
- United States Attorney General Michael Mukasey announces the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the firings of nine U.S. attorneys in 2006. (BBC News)
- Subprime mortgage crisis:
- The United States House of Representatives rejects a proposed bailout of the U.S. financial system.(Associated Press) (New York Times) (MarketWatch)
- Head of the Swedish National Debt Office Bo Lundgren says that the $700 billion U.S. financial industry bailout is based on too-optimistic valuations, and may not be enough to restore confidence in the financial system. (Dagens industri)
- The German government and private banks inject 35 billion Euros into the struggling Hypo Real Estate, a bank that is heavily involved in the real estate business. The bank had been stuggling because its Irish subsidy Depfa Bank had suffered massive losses during the subprime mortgage crisis. The HRE is the first company from the DAX that had to be rescued by the government in recent memory. (Handelsblatt.com)
- Brazil's stock market had its worst one-day plunge in almost a decade, the São Paulo Stock Exchange sank 9.36% to 46,028.06 points, its steepest drop since 1999. (Reuters)
- Russian RTS falls 7,1%, MICEX 5,5%, as investors sell off assets on emerging markets on concerns that the U.S. government's bailout plan will not be enough to stem the financial crisis caused by the U.S. housing bubble. (MarketWatch)
- Citigroup acquires the banking operations of Wachovia, the troubled Charlotte, N.C.-based bank. Under the agreement, Citigroup will absorb up to $42 billion of losses on a $312 billion pool of loans, while the U.S. Government will take losses beyond that. (MarketWatch)
- The Government of Iceland takes control of the country's number three bank, the struggling Glitnir Bank (Reuters) (International Herald Tribune)
- The British Government confirm that the mortgage and loans components of Bradford & Bingley will be nationalised, whilst the company's savings operations will be sold to the Spanish banking group, Grupo Santander. (BBC News) The financial crisis around Europe deepened with the nationalization of Fortis and a cash infusion from the Benelux states amounting to €11.2 billion.
- Intervention is needed to support the US's Wachovia, Britian's Bradford & Bingley, Iceland's Glitnir, Germany's Hypo Real Estate and the Belgian-Dutch group Fortis, following on from the Subprime mortgage crisis. (Sources as already listed)
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average has the biggest intra-day decline in its history as it drops by 777 points. (NY1)
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- 2008 Chinese milk scandal
- Shares of major Irish banks rise sharply following the announcement of a State guarantee of all deposits in Allied Irish Banks, Bank of Ireland, Anglo Irish Bank, Irish Life & Permanent, Irish Nationwide Building Society and EBS, worth an estimated €400 billion. The guarantee includes Bank of Ireland branches in Northern Ireland while the coverage of AIB's subsidiary, First Trust is still under discussion. Deposits in foreign-owned banks remain guaranteed to €100,000. (RTÉ News) (BBC News)
- 147 people are dead after a human stampede at the Chamunda Hindu temple near Jodhpur in India. (Reuters), (CNN), (AFP via The Canberra Times)
- At least 35 people die when a bus collides with a milk tanker and catches fire in central Pakistan, police say. (News 24)
- 30 suspected mobsters arrested around Naples in "war against the Camorra". (BBC News)
- Piracy in Somalia:
- Pirates deny reports of three of their own killed in a shoot-out aboard the Ukrainian ship (MV Faina) off the African coast. (CBC News) (BBC News)
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average goes up almost 500 points, following its largest one day point drop in history yesterday.(Yahoo Finance)
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