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  1 January: Post-election violence and chaos erupts in Kenya, sparked by the disputed re-election of President Mwai Kibaki in the December 27 elections. During January an estimated 1 000 people are killed. Many more would be injured. (Walter Astrada, AFP)
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  2 January: SA's national electricity supplier announces the country faces a power crisis. During the coming months, scheduled power cuts, or "load shedding", would become a normal part of SA life. Eskom would be harshly criticised for failing to make allowances for growing electricity demands. (Rodger Bosch, AFP)
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  9 January: Peter de Villiers makes history by being appointed South Africa's first black Springbok rugby coach. (Gianluigi Guercia, AFP)
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  11 January: South African all-rounder Shaun Pollock announces his retirement from international cricket. Pollock would bid an emotional farewell to fans at his last match on February 3, 2008. Polly is sent off in style as SA thrash the West Indies by eight wickets in the final ODI at the Wanderers, after a long summer tour. (Alexander Joe, AFP)
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  11 January: Mountaineer and explorer, Sir Edmund Hillary, dies of a heart attack at the age of 88. As a member of Hunt's Everest expedition, he was the first man to reach the summit of Mt Everest on May 29, 1953. Both Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay were knighted as a result. (AFP)
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  14 January: SA is left reeling as Swartruggens teenager, Johann Nel, kills four black people at Skierlik informal settlement in what is believed to be a racially-motivated attack. Six people are wounded. He would be sentenced to 169 years in jail on November 21, 2008. (Sapa)
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  22 January: Australian-born Hollywood actor Heath Ledger is found dead in his New York apartment at the age of 28. Ledger would receive a posthumous Golden Globes nomination on December 11, 2008, for his acclaimed performance in the Batman blockbuster The Dark Knight. (Alberto Pizzoli & Jeff Haynes, AFP)
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  23 January: Thousands of Palestinians cross into Egypt, as the border wall with Gaza in Rafah is blown up by militants.
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  1 February: SA national police commissioner Jackie Selebi is charged on three counts of corruption and one of defeating the ends of justice. After numerous postponements and court appearances, trial dates have been set in the Johannesburg High Court for April 14 - June 19 2009. (Uwe Meinhold, AFP)
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  5 February:US stock market indices plunge more than 3% after a report showed signs of economic recession in the service-sector. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 370 points. Former Building Society Northern Rock is the first bank in Europe to be taken into state control due to the US subprime mortgage financial crisis. Northern Rock is formally passed into state ownership on February 22 2008 after an emergency bill on its nationalisation is approved. The financial crisis would continu
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  9 February: Popular South African actress and Isidingo star Ashley Callie is critically injured in a car accident. She would die of severe head injuries in hospital days later, on February 15. (Dawid Roux, Beeld)
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  19 February: Fidel Castro announces his intention to step down as President of Cuba. On February 24 2008, Raul Castro would be unanimously elected by the National Assembly as his successor. (AFP)
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  21 February: Santa Barbara Airlines Flight 518 crashes just northeast of Merida, Venezuela. All 46 passengers and crew on board the commercial plane are killed. Several other major plane crashes have occurred in 2008; see the list below. (AP & AFP)
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  26 February: A degrading "initiation" video made by students from Reitz men's residence at the University of the Free State surfaces. The video shows black university employees on their knees eating meat that had been urinated on by the students. The video sparks a national and international outcry. Reitz residence would close its doors in July 2008. The university's rector and vice chancellor would also step down following harsh criticism of the institution's perceived lack o
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  March: Rising food and fuel prices trigger riots and unrest around the world. The protests would escalate in months to come. (Khaled Desouki & Jewel Samad & Richard A Brooks & Seyllou, AFP)
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  10 March: Police raid popular student nightclubs in the picturesque university town of Stellenbosch. Outraged students would later protest against the police's unnecessary use of force. (CCTV screengrab)
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  14 March: SA become the top-ranked ODI side in the world, thrashing Bangladesh by seven wickets on their home turf. The victory comes on the back of a Test world record opening partnership of 415 runs between Graeme Smith and Neil McKenzie in an earlier victory. (Duif du Toit, Gallo Images)
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  25 March: A 414 square kilometre chunk of Antarctica's Wilkins Ice Shelf disintegrates, leaving the entire shelf at risk. (Jim Elliott, AFP)
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  29 March: Presidential and parliamentary elections are held in Zimbabwe, with many hoping that the opposition MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai would end Robert Mugabe's 28 years of increasingly autocratic rule. However, the elections would only bring increasing violence and chaos, as the ruling Zanu-PF delay releasing election results, conduct a shambolic run-off election, and declare Mugabe the winner. The Zimbabwe crisis continues to escalate. (AP, AFP, Sapa)
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  10 April: Controversial columnist David Bullard is fired by the Sunday Times for writing an "extremely racist" column entitled Uncolonised Africa wouldn't know what it was missing. He would later apologise, saying the column wasn't meant to offend. (photo supplied)
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  13 April: Trevor Immelman becomes the first South African to win the US Masters in 30 years - he would survive a double-bogey at the 16th hole on his way to victory. (Timothy A. Clary, AFP)
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  21 April: Bafana Bafana coach Carlos Alberto Parreira resigns, citing personal reasons. Brazilian Joel Santana is announced as Parreira's successor on April 23 2008, and would take over as the national soccer team's coach later in the year. (Gianluigi Guercia, AFP)
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  28 April: India sets a world record by sending 10 satellites into orbit in a single launch, marking a milestone for the country's 45-year-old space programme. (ISRO, AFP)
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  29 April: Albert Hofmann, controversial scientist and father of the mind-altering drug LSD, dies at the age of 102. (AFP)
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  3 May: Cyclone Nargis devastates Myanmar, killing over 133 000. Nargis would become the deadliest natural disaster since the catastrophic Asian Tsunami in 2004. Hundreds of thousands would be left homeless, ill and injured. The humanitarian crisis is deepened by Myanmar's isolationist government, which initially blocks the United Nations and other aid agencies from getting relief to survivors.(International Federation of Red Cross, AFP)
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  10 May: A statement is released confirming the kidnap, assault and rape of a Springbok rugby player's sister. On May 15, 2008, a statement would be released identifying the victim as Rene Burger, sister of flank Schalk Burger. Police pursue the case but would close it in November due to a lack of evidence. (Martin Bureau, AFP & Edrea Cloete, Die Burger)
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  11 May: Xenophobic violence breaks out in Alexandra township, Johannesburg. The initial attacks would result in months of chaos as acts of violence and vandalism would leave many foreigners dead and injured - thousands more would be displaced. The violence would also see an unprecedented show of sympathy and generosity from ordinary South Africans horrified by events. (Sapa, AP, AFP)
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  11 May: Manchester United retains the Premier League title as the FA Premier League season draws to a close. The win is United's 10th Premier League title and 17th championship in all. (Paul Ellis, AFP)
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  12 May: Central China is devastated by an earthquake measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale. More than 69 000 people would lose their lives in one of the worst quakes to hit the region. (AFP)
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  13 May: A series of bomb blasts tear through crowded markets in the Indian city of Jaipur, killing at least 80 people and wounding 150 in what police said was a terror attack. During the coming months there would be several more deadly bomb attacks in India, culminating in a major siege on India's economic and tourist hub of Mumbai. Popular tourist sites and hotels are attacked, leaving nearly 200 people dead. (Gurinder Osan, AP & Manpreet Romana & Biju Boro, AFP)
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  25 May: NASA's Phoenix spacecraft becomes the first spacecraft to land on the northern polar-region of Mars. (Robyn Beck, AFP)
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  1 June: Iconic fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent dies. (Eric Feferberg & Jean-Pierre Muller, AFP)
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  3 June: Barack Obama clinches the Democratic presidential nomination, becoming the first black candidate to lead a major party into a campaign for the White House. His victory follows a tight battle with Senator Hillary Clinton. (Andy Cross, AP)
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  22 June: After three decades as the Chairman of Microsoft Corporation, Bill Gates announces he is stepping down from daily duties to concentrate on philanthropy. (Chris Hondros, AFP)
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  29 June: Spain end their 44-year wait for a major international title with a 1-0 victory over Germany at the Euro 2008 final. (Thomas Lohnes, AFP)
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  6 July: Spain's Rafael Nadal takes his first Wimbledon men's singles title, ending defending champion Roger Federer's five-year reign. Venus Williams clinches the women's title, beating sister, Serena, in two straight sets. (Adrian Dennis & Carl de Souza, AFP)
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  18 July: Father of the nation, Nelson Mandela, turns 90 years old. South Africa and the world partake in a series of birthday celebrations to mark his special day. (Themba Hadebe, AP)
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  20 July: Jon Qwelane's column Call me names but gay is NOT okay is published in the Sunday Sun, sparking outrage in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender/ transsexual (LGBT) community. Following numerous protests, the South African Human Rights Commission would later announce its decision to take Qwelane before the Equality Court. (News24)
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  21 July: Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic is arrested in Belgrade, Serbia on allegations of war crimes committed during the 1992-95 Bosnian war. His arrest comes after a 13-year long manhunt. (Valerie Kuypers, AFP)
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  27 July: Spain's Carlos Sastre wins the Tour de France.
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  31 July: Nasa scientists announce that the Phoenix Mars Lander spacecraft has confirmed there is water on the planet, after analysing a soil sample from the Red planet's surface. (Nasa, AFP)
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  2 August: Exclusive pictures of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's newborn twins fetch R101m, giving People magazine and a British tabloid joint rights to publish the most expensive celebutot pictures taken to-date. (Valery Hache, AFP)
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  3 August: A stampede at a Hindu temple at Naina Devi in Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh, India kills 162 and injures 400. Another major stampede at a Jodhpur temple in western India on September 30, 2008, kills over 224 people. (AFP)
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  7 August: The 2008 South Ossetia war begins as Georgia and Russia launch a major offensive inside the separatist region of South Ossetia after days of border skirmishes between the two sides. (Kazbek Basayev, AFP)
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  8 August-24 August: The 2008 Summer Olympics take place in Beijing, China. See some of the highlights below. (Fabrice Coffrini & Timothy Clary & Adrian Dennis & Liu Jin, AFP)
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  10 August: Oscar-winning soul singer Isaac Hayes dies at his home in Memphis. (Mike Brown, AFP)
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  16 August: Springbok fullback Percy Montgomery becomes the first South African to make 100 Test appearances as South Africa takes on the All Blacks during the Tri-Nations at Newlands in Cape Town. He would announce his retirement from international rugby two weeks later. (Gianluigi Guercia, AFP)
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  18 August: Morne Harmse, a student at Nic Diederichs technical high school in Krugersdorp, Johannesburg, goes on a bloody rampage on school grounds, killing Jacques Pretorius, 16, with a samurai sword. A second student and two employees at the school are injured in the attack. (Sapa)
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  22 August: US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama picks Joe Biden as his VP running mate. Republican presidential candidate John McCain announces Sarah Palin as his VP running mate on August 29, 2008. (Emmanuel Dunand, AFP & Ron Edmonds, AP)
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  28 August: General Laurent Nkunda's rebel National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) clashes with Congolese government militia, sparking a crisis that would escalate over the coming months, leaving tens of thousands displaced in the Democratic Republic of Congo. (Jerome Delay & Karel Prinsloo, AP & Walter Astrada, AFP)
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  2 September: Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej of Thailand declares a state of emergency in Bangkok following months of unrest. The national political crisis continues to escalate over the next three months as opposition party supporters call for Sundaravej's resignation, accusing his government of corruption and violating the constitution. The leader of the opposition Democrat Party Abhisit Vejjajiva is elected as the country's new prime minister on December 15, 2008, following the
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  6 September: Rumours surface that Springbok rugby coach Peter De Villiers has been blackmailed over the selection of players on the national squad. The blackmail attempt allegedly involved a Saru official and a player threatening to release video footage of a sexual nature to the media if the said player is dropped from the Springbok squad. The South African Rugby Union "categorically denies" the allegations and Springbok media officer Chris Hewitt would face disciplinary proceedings over
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  6 September - September 17: The Summer Paralympic Games take place in Beijing, China. See some of the highlights for South Africa below. (Duif du Toit, Gallo Images & Alexander Joe & Mark Ralston, AFP)
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  7 September: In one of the largest banking interventions in United States history, mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are placed into conservatorship by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. In the coming months the global financial crisis would continue to escalate, with the Lehman Brothers' filing for bankruptcy protection on September 15, 2008 - the biggest in US history. Stock markets around the world are crippled by severe losses, governments are called upon to intervene. T
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  10 September: The proton beam is circulated for the first time in the Large Hadron Collider, the world's largest and the highest-energy particle accelerator, near Geneva, under the Franco-Swiss border. (Fabrice Coffrini, AFP)
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  12 September: ANC President Jacob Zuma wins his court bid to have the decision to prosecute him on corruption charges declared unlawful. The National Prosecuting Authority would appeal the verdict and go to court in November. The Supreme Court of Appeal is expected to announce its judgment on January 12. Zuma's court win in September sets the wheels in motion for major changes to SA's political landscape. (AP)
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  15 September: Following negotiations, President Robert Mugabe and opposition leaders Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara sign a power-sharing deal, making Tsvangirai the new Prime Minister of Zimbabwe. The shaky agreement brings no real change, as Mugabe maintains his tight hold on the country. Zimbabwe's people continue to suffer under the economic crisis and an outbreak of cholera deepens the humanitarian disaster. (Alexander Joe, AFP)
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  21 September: South African President Thabo Mbeki resigns after being recalled by the African National Congress. Four days later the National Assembly would elect ANC Secretary General Kgalema Motlanthe as president of South Africa. (Sapa & Jerome Delay, AP)
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  23 September: Chaos hits SA markets and panic spreads as it's announced that Finance Minister Trevor Manuel is among 13 cabinet members to quit following Mbeki's resignation. The SA Rand plummets and the JSE goes into freefall. However, Manuel soon announces that he would be available to serve in the new administration. (Rodger Bosch, AFP)
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  25 September: President Kgalema Motlanthe announces his cabinet. The most significant change is in the health portfolio. Barbara Hogan is chosen to replace the controversial Manto (Dr Beetroot) Tshabalala-Msimang. (Gianluigi Guercia, AFP & SA government)
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  27 September: Academy Award winner and actor Paul Newman dies. (Jon Vidar & Douglas Healey, AP & AP file)
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  4 October: Surfing legend Kelly Slater of Quicksilver wins his 9th Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) title at the Billabong Pro Mundaka in Spain. No other surfer in the 32-year history of ASP has won more than four world titles. (Kirstin Scholtz, AFP)
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  12 October: Springbok flanker Luke Watson allegedly tells a meeting at the University of Cape Town that the problem with South African rugby is that it is "controlled by Dutchmen". He goes on to say that he would like to "puke on the Springbok rugby jersey", sparking national outrage and debate. (Gallo Images)
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  15 October: Pop icon Madonna and film director Guy Richie confirm they are getting divorced after eight years of marriage. (Max Nash, AFP)
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  21 October: South African Finance Portfolio Committee Chairperson Nhlanhla Nene's chair collapses during a live interview on SABC2. The video soon goes viral on the internet and is featured on national and international websites. (YouTube)
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  22 October: The Indian Space Research Organisation successfully launches Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft on their first ever lunar exploration mission. (ISRO, AFP)
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  25 October: The Sharks beat the Blue Bulls 14-9 in the 2008 Absa Currie Cup Final in Durban, South Africa. (Anesh Dibiky, Gallo Images)
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  2 November: McLaren's Lewis Hamilton becomes Formula One's youngest ever season champion after finishing fifth in the Brazilian Grand Prix - the last F1 race of 2008. Ferrari won the constructors' crown. (Antonio Scorza ,AFP)
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  4 November: Democrat Barack Obama makes history by becoming the first black US president. (Morry Gash, AP)
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  10 November: Legendary South African singer Miriam Makeba dies after performing in Italy. (Alexander Joe, AFP)
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  18 November: Somali pirates seize control of Saudi-owned oil super tanker, the Sirius Star, off the east coast of Africa. The tanker was carrying over $100m worth of crude oil. This is the boldest pirate hijacking to date, with over 100 ships having been hijacked off the Somali coast this year, largely in and around the popular transport route through the Gulf of Aden. These ships are usually held for ransom and this year has seen pirates fetch over $150m in ransom money. (William
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  21 November: Albert Einstein's celebrated formula e=mc2 is finally corroborated a century later, after a huge computational effort by French, German and Hungarian physicists. (AFP)
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  24 November: South Africa's Springbok rugby team arrives home, having completed their first undefeated European tour since 1997. (Gallo Images)
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  26 November: A series of terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, kills 188, and injures at least 294. Refer to May 13, 2008 for more on bombs in India. (Gautam Singh, AP)
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  1 December: A triangular conjunction formed by a new Moon, Venus and Jupiter is a prominent object in the evening sky. (Flip Englebrecht, News24 User)
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  2 December: In one of the most sensational court cases of the year, Najwa Petersen and two of her co-accused are found guilty of the murder of musician and playwright Taliep Petersen. (Sapa)
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  6 December: Riots spread across Greece after a 15-year-old boy dies of a gunshot wound inflicted by a special guard of the Greek Police. The protests would continue throughout the month. (Angelos Tzortzinis, AFP)
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  8 December: South African President Kgalema Motlanthe fires National Director of Public Prosecutions Vusi Pikoli following the release of the Ginwala Inquiry report. Former president Thabo Mbeki had suspended Pikoli on September 23 last year, citing a breakdown in relations between Pikoli and former justice minister Brigitte Mabandla. (Werner Beukes, Sapa)
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  10 December: South African President Kgalema Motlanthe rejects renewed calls for the presidency to establish a commission of inquiry on the arms deal. The arms deal has cast a dark shadow over the governing party for the past ten years. Businessman Schabir Shaik was found guilty of fraud and corruption in his arms deal operations with Jacob Zuma. This would later lead to the dismissal of Zuma in June 2005 as deputy president of South Africa by then president Thabo Mbeki. Zuma would become
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  14 December: An Iraqi journalist becomes an overnight hero after hurling his shoes and an insult at US President George W Bush, during his surprise visit to Iraq. As Bush shook hands with the Iraqi premier, Iraqi television journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi shouted: "It is the farewell kiss, you dog," and threw his shoes one after the other at Bush. While the shoe failed to find its mark, al-Zaida could face up to seven years in jail for the incident. (AFP)
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  18 December: The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda convicts Theoneste Bagosora and two other senior Rwandan army officers of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes and sentences them to life imprisonment. (Tony Karumba, AFP)

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