2008 Proximus Diamond Games – Singles
Justine Henin won the title, defeating Karin Knapp in the final 6–3, 6–3.


2008 Pub Charity Sevens
The 2008 Pub Charity Sevens tournament was held in Queenstown, New Zealand between 13 and 14 January 2008. It was the fifth New Zealand National Rugby Sevens Tournament to be held in Queenstown. Auckland were the defending champions, having previously won the tournament three consecutive times.


2008 Puerto Rican general election
The 2008 Puerto Rican general elections were held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008 to elect the officials of the Government of Puerto Rico that would serve for the next four years, most notably the Governor of Puerto Rico.


2008 Puerto Rican general election
The election was won by incumbent Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico Luis Fortuño (from the New Progressive Party), who defeated the incumbent Governor, Aníbal Acevedo Vilá (from the Popular Democratic Party). Fortuño received  1,025,965 votes, and Acevedo Vilá 801,071. Also, most of the other positions were won by the candidates of the PNP, who ended up with a majority of seats in the Senate and the House of Representatives.


2008 Puerto Rican general election
The elections occurred after one term of what was called "shared government", as a result of the 2004 elections. Because of this, the island had a Governor from one party (Acevedo Vilá), while the opposing party held a majority in the Senate and the House of Representatives. The struggles faced by the opposing parties attempts at cooperation, mixed with the global economic crisis, paved the campaign for this elections. Also, Acevedo Vilá was facing criminal accusations at the time.


2008 Puerto Rican general election
Fortuño was sworn in as Governor of Puerto Rico on January 2, 2009.


2008 Puerto Rican general election, Nominations
Before the election year, the Constitution of Puerto Rico provides for any qualified person to present their candidacy for a specific position. If two or more candidates from the same party present their candidacy for the same position, and they can't reach an agreement within the party, a primary election is held. This election is held within the inscribed members of each party, to select which of the candidates will represent the party in the general election.


2008 Puerto Rican general election, Nominations
Both of the main parties: New Progressive Party (PNP) and Popular Democratic Party (PPD), held primaries for several positions on March 9, 2008. The PNP primary was more notable for having two candidates for the position of Governor of Puerto Rico.


2008 Puerto Rican general election, Nominations, New Progressive Party (PNP)
The primaries were held on March 9, 2008. In it, Fortuño comfortably defeated Rosselló to win the spot for Governor at the 2008 elections. Also, Pedro Pierluisi defeated Charlie Rodríguez and Miriam Ramírez de Ferrer with 60% of the votes to win the spot for Resident Commissioner.


2008 Puerto Rican general election, Nominations, Popular Democratic Party (PPD)
The primaries were held on March 9, 2008 to determine several candidates for the Senate, House of Representatives, and others. Among the most notable outcomes, former Secretary of Consumer Affairs Alejandro García Padilla received the most votes for the Senate, despite being his first time in an election.


2008 Puerto Rican general election, Nominations, Popular Democratic Party (PPD)
Also, in the primaries for Mayor of Ponce, incumbent Francisco Zayas Seijo narrowly beat Carlos Jirau Vélez, for less than 50 votes.


2008 Puerto Rican general election, Final candidates, Governor
After the primaries, the official candidates for Governor of Puerto Rico were set. The incumbent governor, Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, Popular Democratic Party (PPD) faced the following candidates for the Governorship:


2008 Puerto Rican general election, Final candidates, Resident Commissioner
The United States House of Representatives elections in Puerto Rico, 2008 was won by Pedro Pierluisi, New Progressive Party (PNP). He ran against:


2008 Puerto Rico Democratic presidential primary
The 2008 Puerto Rico Democratic presidential primary took place on June 1, 2008. It was an open primary. Puerto Rico initially planned to hold caucuses, as was done in 2000 and 2004, on June 7, 2008. In December 2007, an error in the plan was discovered; the caucus date should have read June 1, 2008. Puerto Rico also decided to conduct a primary, rather than caucuses. Puerto Rico sent 55 pledged delegates to the 2008 Democratic National Convention. These delegates were allotted on a proportional basis. The territory's delegation also included eight unpledged "superdelegates".


2008 Puerto Rico Democratic presidential primary
Puerto Rico also selected one unpledged add-on delegate. Selection of the unpledged add-on delegate occurred at the Assembly of the Democratic Party of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico on June 21, 2008 in San Juan. Polls were open from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm, prevailing local time, Atlantic Standard Time (AST) (UTC-4, same as Eastern Daylight Time). Hillary Clinton won the primary.


2008 Puerto Rico Democratic presidential primary
The primary was the subject of a book published in 2010


2008 Puerto Rico Democratic presidential primary, Polls
In a poll conducted from March 31–April 5, 2008, Clinton led Obama by 13%, holding 50% to his 37%, with 13% undecided and a margin of error of ± 4.4%.


2008 Puerto Rico Democratic presidential primary, Polls
In a poll conducted from May 8–May 20, 2008, Clinton led Obama by 13%, holding 51% to his 38%, with 11% undecided and a margin of error of ± 3.4%.


2008 Puerto Rico Democratic presidential primary, Superdelegate endorsements
Puerto Rico's superdelegates endorsed candidates before the election. Four superdelegates, Democratic State Chair Roberto Prats, Vice Chair Luisette Cabañas, Puerto Rico Democratic National Committeeman Kenneth McClintock and Young Democrats of America (YDA) National Committeeman Francisco Domenech, a majority, had announced support for Sen. Hillary Clinton and the remaining 2, Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá and National Committeewoman Celita Roque, had announced support for Sen. Barack Obama.


2008 Puerto Rico Democratic presidential primary, Campaigning on the Island
Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama visited the island, campaigning to get as many votes as possible.


2008 Puerto Rico Democratic presidential primary, Campaigning on the Island
Both campaigns also sent surrogates. In the Obama campaign, his spouse, Michelle, travelled once to Puerto Rico. In the Clinton campaign, the candidate's daughter, Chelsea, and her spouse President Bill Clinton, both travelled twice to Puerto Rico and during one extensive campaign day, May 26, the three attended several events together in Ponce and San Juan, according to a book by Democratic State Chair Roberto Prats and former Secretary of State Kenneth McClintock.


2008 Puerto Rico Islanders season
The 20098 season is the Puerto Rico Islanders 5th season in the USL First Division. This article shows player statistics and all matches (official and friendly) that the club had during the 2008 season. It also includes matched played in 2008 for the CONCACAF Champions League 2008–09.


2008 Puerto Rico Republican presidential caucuses
The 2008 Puerto Rico Republican presidential caucuses were held on February 24, 2008. John McCain won all 20 pledged (and the support of three unpledged delegates) at the Commonwealth's convention.


2008 Puerto Rico Soccer League season
The 2008 Puerto Rico Soccer League Playoffs is the first year the tournament has been held. It is the championship of the Puerto Rico Soccer League. The format is set up for the  top 4 teams from the league playing in the Tournament. These teams play in the Semi-Finals with the winner of each match going on to the Championship game.


2008 Puerto Rico Soccer League season, Champions
Sevilla FC won the Championship as they defeated River Plate Ponce 2-1 in the Final.


2008 Puerto Rico gubernatorial election
The 2008 Puerto Rico gubernatorial election, took place on November 4, 2008 as part of the Puerto Rican general elections. It coincided with the 2008 United States general elections. Then-incumbent governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, Democratic, PPD was eligible for reelection, and ran for a second four-year term. His opponent, Luis Fortuño, Republican and PNP Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico, defeated him. As of 2021, this is the last time a governor was elected in Puerto Rico by a majority instead of a plurality.


2008 Puerto Rico gubernatorial election, Candidates, Popular Democratic Party
Incumbent Aníbal Acevedo Vilá (PPD/D) decided to run for a second four-year term. He faced a tough reelection campaign due to an indictment in March 2008 for alleged conspiracy to illegally raise money to pay off his campaign debts in 2000 and the fallout from the 2006 Puerto Rico budget crisis.


2008 Puerto Rico gubernatorial election, Candidates, New Progressive Party
On February 19, 2007, Incumbent Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico Luis Fortuño announced his candidacy for Governor of Puerto Rico for the 2008 general election and said he will not run for Congress. On May 18, 2007, Fortuño announced that former Attorney General Pedro Pierluisi would be his running mate and run for Fortuño's current office of Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico. Pierluisi Urrutia was a classmate at Colegio Marista, a fellow member of the Puerto Rico Statehood Students Association and also a fellow cabinet member of Fortuño's during former Governor Pedro Rosselló's first term from 1993 to 1996.


2008 Puerto Rico gubernatorial election, Candidates, New Progressive Party
On March 7, 2007, Former Governor Pedro Rosselló stated that he was no longer interested in the Senate Presidency and is now focusing his attention in preventing Resident Commissioner Luis Fortuño from winning the March 2008 gubernatorial primary, and has allowed his name to be placed in nomination for the party's gubernatorial primary. Senate President Kenneth McClintock and four other senators won in San Juan Superior Court a suit to nullify the sanctions and expulsions that the party leadership has levied against them. The Puerto Rico Supreme Court confirmed the lower court decision by a 5-to-1 vote.


2008 Puerto Rico gubernatorial election, Candidates, New Progressive Party
As a result, McClintock and his supporters are recognized as NPP members and free to run under the party banner. On March 9, 2008, Pedro Rosselló conceded the victory to Luis Fortuño after a large margin of votes in favor of his opponent in the NPP party primaries for the presidency of the party and gubernatorial nomination. Rosselló admitted defeat even before the votes were completely tallied claiming Fortuño as the next candidate of the PNP party.


2008 Puerto Rico gubernatorial election, Candidates, New Progressive Party
In Rosselló's conceding speech he said "Luis Fortuño has been selected by the people to be the new president of this party and the candidate for governor. I always say the people speak and I obey, Fortuño here is your party and here is your office (signaling the party's official headquarters). Now its up to you, the loyal members of this party, to make sure that this new leadership works for the statehood for Puerto Rico".


2008 Puerto Rico gubernatorial election, Candidates, New Progressive Party
After this conceding speech it was rumored and even announced at Fortuño's headquarters that the former Governor would arrive there along with his loyal supporter and mayor of the capital city of San Juan, Jorge Santini, but after Fortuño's followers waited for hours to see their leaders united neither Rosselló or Santini arrived. After the primary was over it was heavily rumored by many that Rosselló would not be campaigning for Fortuño and that he'd resign as senator to go back to his home in Virginia. On March 10, 2008, Rosselló sent the media a written statement regarding his future in which he confirmed he will be retiring from active politics and will not be campaigning for any candidate, however he will finish his term as Senator for the Arecibo District.


2008 Puerto Rico gubernatorial election, Candidates, Puerto Ricans For Puerto Rico Party
This Party was a newcomer to the political scene and put forward Rogelio Figueroa as it candidate for governor. It campaigned as a no status party, similar to the PPD at its start.


2008 Puerto Rico gubernatorial election, Candidates, Puerto Rico Independence Party
The party had failed to register in the former 2004 elections. A new face was selected to run, as Edwin Irrizary Mora was the gubernatorial candidate. It campaigned as the "radical" option for voters.


2008 Pulitzer Prize
The 2008 Pulitzer Prizes were announced on April 7, 2008, the 92nd annual awards.


2008 Pulitzer Prize
The Washington Post won six awards, second only to the seven won by The New York Times in 2002. Three organizations were awarded prizes for the first time: Reuters, Investor's Business Daily and the Concord Monitor. No prize was given for editorial writing.


2008 Punjab provincial election
Provincial elections were held in The Punjab on 18 February 2008 alongside with Nationwide General elections, after being postponed from 8 January 2008. The original date was intended to elect Provincial Assembly.


2008 Punjab provincial election, Aftermath
In the 2008 elections, the PML (N) and the PPP formed a coalition government, with PML (N) as the senior party and Shehbaz Sharif as Chief Minister of Punjab. However, in 2011, the PPP was expelled from this coalition due to corruption in the Federal Government, (which was led by the PPP at the time).


2008 Purbeck District Council election
Elections to Purbeck District Council were held on 1 May 2008. Nine of the twenty-four seats on the council were up for election and the council stayed under no overall control. Overall turnout was 44.86%.


2008 Purbeck District Council election
A big issue in the election was housing with much criticism of plans to build over five thousand homes in the district by 2026. The nominations for the election saw an unusual event when Liberal Democrat candidate Alexandra Brenton signed the nomination papers for her friend and Labour Party candidate Selby Bennett. Two seats were contested in Lytchett Matravers after Liberal Democrat councillor Michael Peacock stood down in February.


2008 Purbeck District Council election
The results saw the Liberal Democrat party gained Wareham and Wool wards from the Conservative Party to pull level on the Council. The Conservative party took Swanage South from Liberal Democrat Colin Bright who had defected from the Conservatives the previous month.


2008 Purdue Boilermakers football team
The 2008 Purdue Boilermakers football team represented Purdue University in the Big Ten Conference during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Joe Tiller, in his 12th and final season at Purdue, was the team's head coach. The Boilermakers' home games were played at Ross–Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana. They posted a 4–8 record, finishing in a ninth place tie in the Big Ten.


2008 Purdue Boilermakers football team, Game summaries, Oregon
Kory Sheets rushed for an 80-yard touchdown for the Boilermakers and Matt Evensen kicked a 23-yard field goal for the Ducks. Chris Summers then kicked a 29-yard and a 38-yard field goals in the first quarter. Kory Sheets rush for 2 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter.


2008 Purdue Boilermakers football team, Game summaries, Oregon
In the third quarter, Summers' punt was returned by Jairus Byrd for an 87-yard touchdown. Then LeGarrette Blount rushed for 5 yards for a touchdown to tie the score. Summers kicked a 27-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, but missed a field goal try to tie the game in regulation.


2008 Purdue Boilermakers football team, Game summaries, Oregon
Both teams kicked a field goal in overtime, but the Boilermakers failed to score in the second overtime period. The Ducks scored a touchdown to win the game.


2008 Purdue Boilermakers football team, Game summaries, Notre Dame
Irish quarterback Jimmy Clausen threw for a career-high 275 yards and three touchdowns and Notre Dame running backs ran for 201 yards in the 38–21 defeat over the Boilermakers. Purdue took a 7–0 lead on a Kory Sheets run, but Notre Dame countered with a 47-yard interception return for a touchdown by cornerback Robert J. Blanton. Purdue answered back when Aaron Valentin scored on a 3-yard pass from Curtis Painter to make the score 14–7. Clausen threw a touchdown pass to Golden Tate to tie it 14–14 heading into half-time.


2008 Purdue Boilermakers football team, Game summaries, Notre Dame
The Irish scored on their first two possessions of the second half to open a 28–14 lead. The Boilermakers cut the lead to 28–21 four plays later when Painter threw a pass that Desmond Tardy caught at the Notre Dame 30 and raced up the left sideline for a touchdown. The Irish answered immediately, however, when Clausen threw a 30-yard TD pass to David Grimes on a fourth-and-7. The Boilermakers fell to 1–15 at Notre Dame Stadium since 1976. The loss also left Joe Tiller with a 5–7 record against the Irish. (Purdue had lost 11 straight to Notre Dame before Tiller arrived.)


2008 Purdue Boilermakers football team, Game summaries, Penn State
The Nittany Lions defeated the Boilermakers 20–6, outgaining Purdue 422 to 241 in total offense.


2008 Purdue Boilermakers football team, Game summaries, Penn State
Penn State quarterback Daryll Clark completed 18 of 26 passes for 226 yards and a ran for a touchdown on a quarterback sneak on 4th-and-goal in the second quarter for the first points of the game. Running back Evan Royster ran for 141 yards and a touchdown and also caught four balls for 53 yards.


2008 Purdue Boilermakers football team, Game summaries, Penn State
Curtis Painter finished 13-for-22 for 112 yards but was replaced in the fourth quarter by backup Joey Elliott after throwing an interception to Nittany Lion safety Drew Astorino. Placekicker Chris Summers missed all three of his kick attempts—two field goal attempts and an extra point attempt. Kory Sheets' fourth-quarter touchdown run was Purdue's first offensive touchdown against Penn State since 2005.


2008 Purdue Boilermakers football team, Game summaries, Ohio State
Purdue managed to keep Ohio State's offense out of the end zone with OSU's only touchdown coming from a blocked punt. While the Purdue defense shut down Ohio State's Terelle Pryor and Beanie Wells, Ohio State's defense shut down Purdue's high powered offense. Purdue did manage to cut the lead to 13–3 in the third, but an Ohio State field goal restored the lead to 13. Ohio State stopped a late Purdue chance to make things interesting to hold on for the win.


2008 Purdue Boilermakers football team, Game summaries, Michigan
In his first collegiate start, third-string quarterback Justin Siller completed 21-of-34 passes for 266 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 77 yards and another score. Kory Sheets rushed for 118 yards and tied a career-high with four touchdowns.


2008 Purdue Boilermakers football team, Game summaries, Indiana
To finish a mostly dismal season for Purdue, the Boilermakers blew out arch-rival Indiana to reclaim the Old Oaken Bucket in Joe Tiller's final game. The win produced the largest ever margin of victory in the Bucket series.


2008 Puskás Cup
The 2008 Puskás Cup was the first edition of the Puskás Cup and took place 2 April to 5 April. Real Madrid C.F. won their first title by defeating Puskás Akadémia FC 5-1 in the final.


2008 Pétion-Ville school collapse
The Pétion-Ville school collapse occurred on November 7, 2008, in Pétion-Ville, a suburb of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, when the church-operated  Collège La Promesse Évangélique ("The Evangelical Promise School") collapsed at around 10:00 a.m. local time (15:00 GMT). About 700 students from kindergarten through high school attended the school; however, it is unclear how many were in the three-story building when it collapsed. At least 93 people, mostly children, were confirmed killed, and over 150 injured. At least 35 students, 13 girls and 22 boys, were rescued from the rubble alive on November 8.


2008 Pétion-Ville school collapse, Collapse
During the collapse, the first floor of the school buckled under, and the second and third floors of the building came down upon it. The collapse also destroyed several nearby homes. However, only the first and second floors were filled with students, and some students were in the playground area. The cause of the collapse remains officially unstated, but residents of the town have said they suspect poor-quality construction as a cause.


2008 Pétion-Ville school collapse, Collapse
The school had previously experienced a partial collapse in 2000, but it was rebuilt. After the first collapse, neighbors living downhill from the school abandoned their property out of fear that the building would fall onto their homes. The owner of the church-run school attempted to buy these vacated properties. In addition, the third floor of the building was under construction at the time of the 2008 collapse.


2008 Pétion-Ville school collapse, Collapse
After the collapse, at least 200 people were seen at hospitals in and around Port-au-Prince. However, because of strikes at General Hospital and Hospital de la Paix, two hospitals in the town, Trinité Hospital and University of Haiti Hospital saw most of the injured.


2008 Pétion-Ville school collapse, Collapse, Arrest
College La Promesse school owner, Rev. Fortin Augustin, Protestant minister and preacher, was arrested on November 8, 2008. He was charged with involuntary manslaughter and brought to a Haitian police station, after he allegedly told Haitian president René Préval that "the church school had been built with hardly any structural steel or cement to hold its concrete blocks together; he constructed the building all by himself, saying he didn't need an engineer as he had good knowledge of construction." He claimed to have the knowledge of construction and the word of God with him.


2008 Pétion-Ville school collapse, Collapse, Arrest
Everywhere he went he had always tried to spread it, teaching people that the way that they are supposed to get through life is with the word of God in their hearts because that's really the only thing that can save when you are in a situation you can't get out of.


2008 Pétion-Ville school collapse, Reaction and rescue operations
Haiti's neighbor, the Dominican Republic, sent two helicopters to assist in evacuating the injured. United Nations peacekeepers, stationed in the country since the 2004 coup d'état, assisted in the rescue efforts, as did members of the aid group Doctors Without Borders and the International Red Cross. The U.S. Agency for International Development sent a disaster response team to the school, and provided more logistical and rescue equipment.


2008 Pétion-Ville school collapse, Reaction and rescue operations
This consists of some 38 Virginia search-and-rescue officials and four rescue dogs, (led by Capt. Michael Istvan, operations chief for the Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue team, flown by Alexandre Deprez, acting director for the U.S. Agency for International Development in Haiti). Also, a team of 15 Martinique firefighters and doctors, led by Daniel Vigee, and groups from Médecins sans Frontières and Haiti arrived to rescue the remaining trapped children.


2008 Pétion-Ville school collapse, Reaction and rescue operations
Hilario Davide, Jr. reported that “Filipino Blue Berets were the first to arrive at the scene on November 7 and immediately went to action, using their bare hands to roll over concrete slabs and dig through the rubble in their bid to pull out both the living and the dead. 157 officers and enlisted personnel from the Philippine Army, Navy, and Air Force, as well as 13 other officers from the Philippine National Police, are serving with the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). The Filipinos were instrumental in the recovery of 9 victims who survived the tragedy.” The Filipino peace-keepers worked with blue helmets from Brazil, Chile, and Ecuador and Haitian police.


2008 Pétion-Ville school collapse, Related incidents
Only five days after the Pétion-Ville school disaster, portions of Grace Divine School in Port-au-Prince also collapsed.


2008 Pétion-Ville school collapse, Further reading
The school collapse is recounted in the prologue of Jonathan M. Katz's . New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. ISBN 978-0230341876


2008 Qantas Film and Television Awards
The 2008 Qantas Film and Television Awards were held on Saturday 13 September 2008 at the Civic Theatre in Auckland. For the first time, the craft awards were presented separately to the rest of the awards, at an earlier luncheon ceremony at the Civic Wintergarden, Auckland, on Friday 12 September 2008.


2008 Qatar Ladies Open
The 2008 Qatar Ladies Open, known as the 2008 Qatar Total Open, for sponsorship reasons, was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 8th edition of the Qatar Total Open, and was part of the Tier I Series of the 2008 WTA Tour. It took place at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha, Qatar, from February 18 through February 24, 2008.


2008 Qatar Ladies Open
The field was led by WTA No. 2 and Australian Open finalist Ana Ivanovic, US Open and Sydney runner-up and defending finalist Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Australian Open semifinalist Jelena Janković. Other top seeds were Australian Open champion and 2005 Doha titlist Maria Sharapova, Paris winner Anna Chakvetadze, Venus Williams, Daniela Hantuchová and Marion Bartoli.


2008 Qatar Ladies Open
The granting of a visa to Shahar Pe'er to play in the tournament was considered a diplomatic success.


2008 Qatar Ladies Open, Champions, Doubles
Květa Peschke /  Rennae Stubbs def. Cara Black /  Liezel Huber, 6–1, 5–7, 10–7


2008 Qatar Ladies Open – Doubles
Martina Hingis and Maria Kirilenko were the defending champions, but Hingis retired on November 1, 2007, and Kirilenko teamed up with Ágnes Szávay.


2008 Qatar Ladies Open – Doubles
Květa Peschke and Rennae Stubbs won in the final 6–1, 5–7, [10–7], against Cara Black and Liezel Huber.


2008 Qatar Ladies Open – Doubles, Seeds
The top four seeds receive a bye into the second round.


2008 Qatar Ladies Open – Singles
The 2008 Qatar Ladies Open – Singles was the singles event of the 2008 Qatar Ladies Open, a WTA Tier I tennis tournament held in February. Justine Henin was the defending champion, but she chose not to participate that year.


2008 Qatar Ladies Open – Singles
Maria Sharapova won in the final 6–1, 2–6, 6–0, against Vera Zvonareva.


2008 Qatar Ladies Open – Singles, Seeds
The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round.


2008 Qatar Open
The 2008 Qatar Open, known as the 2008 Qatar ExxonMobil Open, for sponsorship reasons, was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 16th edition of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Khalifa International Tennis Complex in Doha, Qatar, from 31 December 2007 through 5 January 2008.


2008 Qatar Open
The men's singles field was led by ATP No. 4, US Open semifinalist and Moscow champion Nikolay Davydenko, Metz titlist Tommy Robredo, and St. Petersburg winner and 2007 Doha runner-up Andy Murray. Among other top seeds competing were Doha defending champion Ivan Ljubičić, Stockholm winner Ivo Karlović, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Igor Andreev and Dmitry Tursunov. Third-seeded Andy Murray won the singles title.


2008 Qatar Open, Finals, Doubles
Philipp Kohlschreiber /  David Škoch defeated  Jeff Coetzee /  Wesley Moodie, 6–4, 4–6, [11–9]


2008 Qatar Open – Doubles
Following are the results of the 2008 Qatar Open - Doubles tennis competition.


2008 Qatar Open – Doubles
Mikhail Youzhny and Nenad Zimonjić were the defending champions, but Youzhny chose not to participate and only Zimonjic competed that year. Zimonjic partnered with Daniel Nestor, but lost in the quarterfinals to Simon Aspelin and Thomas Johansson.


2008 Qatar Open – Doubles
Philipp Kohlschreiber and David Škoch won in the final 6–4, 4–6, [11–9], against Jeff Coetzee and Wesley Moodie.


2008 Qatar Open – Singles
Ivan Ljubičić was the defending champion, but lost in the semifinals to Stanislas Wawrinka.


2008 Qatar Open – Singles
Third-seeded Andy Murray won in the final 6–4, 4–6, 6–2, against unseeded Stanislas Wawrinka.


2008 Qatar Telecom German Open
The 2008 Qatar Telecom German Open was a women's tennis event that was played from 5 May to 11 May 2008. It was one of two Tier I events that took place on red clay in the build-up to the second Grand Slam of the year, the French Open. It was played at the Rot-Weiss Tennis Club in the German capital of Berlin. The tournaments offered a total prize fund of US$1,300,000 across all rounds.


2008 Qatar Telecom German Open
World number one Justine Henin, the three-time French Open defending champion, was the tournament's top seed. She was hoping to win this event for the fourth time after collecting titles here in 2002, 2003 and 2005. Defending champion Ana Ivanovic was Henin's biggest threat for the title as the number two seed, with Jelena Janković and Svetlana Kuznetsova rounding out the top four seeds. Fifth seed Serena Williams was also a big threat for the title; she had won her last three tournaments and is a former French Open champion. Russian pair Anna Chakvetadze and Elena Dementieva brought the field up to seven of the world's top ten players. Maria Sharapova and Daniela Hantuchová were also due to play the event but it was announced that both had pulled out on April 30.


2008 Qatar Telecom German Open, Review
The tournament was won by Dinara Safina, who started the tournament as the thirteenth seed. She enjoyed the best week of her career to win her first ever Tier I title. In the third round, she beat  top seed Justine Henin in a match that turned out to be the last before she retired, her second victory over a world number one, and followed it up by stopping Serena Williams's 17-match winning streak. She defeated Elena Dementieva (who had defeated defending champion Ivanovic in the semi-finals) in the final, in the 14th all-Russian final on the WTA Tour, and the third of five in the 2008 season (Dementieva would go on to beat Safina in the final of the Olympics).


2008 Qatar Telecom German Open, Review
Ana Ivanovic was the only top six seed to reach the semifinals in a tournament littered with upsets. Henin and Williams lost the aforementioned matches to Safina, third seed Svetlana Kuznetsova lost to Alyona Bondarenko, Jelena Janković lost to Elena Dementieva and Anna Chakvetadze went down in her first match to Victoria Azarenka, who eventually made her first ever Tier I semifinal. Ivanovic, for her part, was defeated in the semi-finals by Elena Dementieva; the defeat dropped her to World No. 3 behind Henin and Maria Sharapova at the conclusion of the tournament.


2008 Qatar Telecom German Open, Review
World number ones Cara Black and Liezel Huber won the doubles title, beating the unseeded Spanish pairing Nuria Llagostera Vives and María José Martínez Sánchez, who had upset number two seeds Květa Peschke and Rennae Stubbs in a thrilling match tiebreak in the semifinals, which ended at 16–14.


2008 Qatar Telecom German Open, Finals, Doubles
Cara Black /  Liezel Huber defeated  Nuria Llagostera Vives /  María José Martínez Sánchez, 3–6, 6–2, [10–2]


2008 Qatar Telecom German Open – Doubles
The reigning champions Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur did not defend their title.


2008 Qatar Telecom German Open – Doubles
Cara Black and Liezel Huber won the tournament, by defeating Nuria Llagostera Vives and María José Martínez Sánchez in the final.


2008 Qatar Telecom German Open – Doubles, Seeds
The top 4 seeds received a bye into the second round.


2008 Qatar Telecom German Open – Singles
Seven of the top ten women on the WTA Tour will be playing the Qatar Telecom German Open from May 5 to May 11 of 2008, including world number one Justine Henin. World number 3, Maria Sharapova, along with Venus Williams and Daniela Hantuchová, ranked 8th and 10th respectively, are the only top 10 players not participating.


2008 Qatar Telecom German Open – Singles
This was the last tournament in which Justine Henin participated in before announcing her sudden retirement a week after this tournament. She was defeated in the third round by the eventual champion Dinara Safina.


2008 Qatar Telecom German Open – Singles
Ana Ivanovic was the defending champion, but she was defeated in the semi-finals by Elena Dementieva.


2008 Qatar Telecom German Open – Singles, Seeds
The top 8 seeds received a bye into the second round.


2008 Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix
The 2008 Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix was the opening round of the 2008 MotoGP championship. It took place on the weekend of 7–9 March 2008 at the Losail International Circuit located in Doha, Qatar. The race was historic in that it was the first one to be run at night, with the MotoGP race getting underway at 23:00 local time. Rookies Lorenzo and Toseland started their season strong with Lorenzo getting pole position and Toseland in 2nd during qualifying.


2008 Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix, Championship standings after the race (MotoGP)
Below are the standings for the top five riders and constructors after round one has concluded.


2008 Qeshm earthquake
The 2008 Qeshm earthquake occurred on 10 September in the Hormozgān Province of southern Iran, 850 kilometres (528 mi) south of Tehran. Its epicenter was near the port city of Bandar Abbas, where an earthquake two years prior had caused damage. The earthquake measured 5.9 on the moment magnitude scale and 6 on the surface wave scale, killing seven people and injuring up to 45. Causing both catastrophic and minor damage, the earthquake devastated up to 200 villages throughout southern Iran, but left the port city of Bandar Abbas almost unscathed. Citizens reportedly panicked when the earthquake hit, emptying into the parks of the city and other open areas.


2008 Qeshm earthquake, Geological setting
Iran lies within the complex zone of collision between the Arabian Plate and the Eurasian Plate; near Qeshm the rate of convergence is about 25 millimeters annually. Part of this convergence is accommodated by shortening within the Zagros fold and thrust belt, with the remainder occurring to the north of the Iranian Plateau. The most active part of the Zagros is the 'Simply Folded Belt', which is characterised by large folds formed above a layer of late Neoproterozoic to Early Cambrian Hormuz salt, which locally reaches the surface in the crests of some anticlines as salt diapirs.


2008 Qeshm earthquake, Geological setting
The sedimentary rocks above the salt layer comprise a basal Cambrian conglomerate and a thick sequence of limestones of Palaeozoic to Upper Cretaceous age, known together as the 'Competent Group' due to their relatively high competence, followed by a sequence of mechanically weaker marls and interbedded limestones of latest Cretaceous to Lower Miocene age topped by Neogene sandstones and conglomerates. There is evidence of intermediate level detachment at some of the weaker layers, leading to folds at different stratigraphic levels have different locations, orientations or wavelengths. Earthquake focal mechanisms and hypocentral depths show that shortening is accommodated by a mixture of high-angle and low-angle reverse faulting, within either the lowest part of the sedimentary cover or in the basement beneath the Hormuz salt.


2008 Qeshm earthquake, Geological setting
The island of Qeshm is elongated WSW–ENE, parallel to the coastline and the regional trend of the main fold axes. It is formed of Neogene sediments apart from a diapir of Hormuz salt that pierces through to the surface at the western end of the island. The sediments are affected by a series of large, mainly anticlinal folds that show a variety of trends in the central part of the island. The axis of the Laft anticline runs mainly NW–SE, while the Salakh anticline trends roughly W–E and the Suza anticline and Ramkan syncline trend SW–NE. The island shows clear evidence of recent uplift in the form of marine terraces, with the highest terrace identified at 220 meters (720 ft) above sea level. An uplift rate of 0.2 millimeters annually has been estimated from Uranium series dating of aragonite from corals on the terraces.


2008 Qeshm earthquake, Earthquake
The earthquake had a magnitude of 5.9 on the moment magnitude scale, making it the largest in the region since 2005. The hypocentral depth is estimated as 8 km from body wave modelling. The calculated focal mechanism indicates reverse faulting with a small component of strike-slip, on two possible fault planes, either dipping 43° to the north or 52° to the southeast.


2008 Qeshm earthquake, Earthquake
Uplift associated with the earthquake has been measured using SAR interferometry. The results are consistent with a fault that did not reach the surface. A simple fault plane model with a width of 12.8 km dipping to the southeast makes a reasonable match with the observed uplift pattern. However, the best fit to both the results from body wave modelling and SAR interferometry comes from a model with two contiguous fault segments, one to the northeast with a strike of 025°, and the other to the southwest with a strike of 065°, both with an overall southeasterly dip. It has been suggested that this earthquake and the 2005 Qeshm event may have ruptured adjacent parts of the same fault.


2008 Qeshm earthquake, Damage and casualties
The earthquake occurred at 3:00 pm local time and was followed by up to seventeen aftershocks. The main shock lasted at least 30 seconds. According to the BBC, fatalities from the tremor were limited to Qeshm Island; 30 people were injured. Qeshm Island reported 15 injured; its homes were constructed from earthquake-resistant material. The earthquake was felt throughout southern Iran, causing slight to moderate damage. Mercalli ratings of IV (Light) were assigned to Ajman and Ra's al Khaymah, and intensity III (Weak) occurred in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah. Doha in Qatar also reported the earthquake.


2008 Qeshm earthquake, Damage and casualties
Though major locations held up well against the earthquake, most villages did not. From Qeshm Island came reports of power outage and minor damage; 100 houses in all of Qeshm were damaged between 30 and 50 percent. Two-hundred villages were devastated by the earthquake's velocity. Walls in the village of Zeynabi were leveled; all were reduced by the earthquake to debris. Relief workers were sent to rescue any residents from their homes if they had been caught under debris.


2008 Qeshm earthquake, Damage and casualties
The earthquake posed a threat to all of Bandar Abbas' oil companies, as well as at least one highly productive and expensive refinery at the time of the earthquake. Because of past earthquakes, including one in 2006, many of the city's homes had been rebuilt and outfitted with seismically engineered designs. The major oil refinery did not sustain damage, according to Hojjatollah Ghanimifard, the vice-president of investment affairs for National Iranian Oil Company.


2008 Qeshm earthquake, Damage and casualties
The effects were concentrated on Qeshm, where several buildings were destroyed, although minor damage was reported around Bandar Abbas. All of the seven reported deaths occurred on Qeshm, with the injured being transferred to Bandar Abbas by boat. There were no reports of damage to oil industry facilities in the area. High-rise buildings in Dubai swayed during the earthquake, causing some of them to be evacuated, but there were no reports of damage.


2008 Qeshm earthquake, Future threats
As the world's worst in a 2004 report on countries with poor earthquake engineering, Iran is especially prone to earthquakes. In addition, poor construction practice has exacerbated death tolls; 1 in 3,000 Iranians has died in an earthquake-related incident. Roger Bilham, a professor at the University of Colorado declared that "Most of Iran needs rebuilding. If the population of Iran had a choice between spending oil revenues on munitions or houses that won't kill them, I suspect they would choose a safe home. It's all a matter of earthquake education."


2008 Qeshm earthquake, Future threats
The United Nations developed a Common Country Assessment for Iran, stating, "While adequate building regulations exist for large cities, it is generally believed that they are not rigorously adhered to... most of those who have suffered in recent major earthquakes have lived in small towns and villages. Earthquake-proof construction is very rare in those areas and adequate building regulations are not yet in place".


2008 Quadrangular Twenty20 Series in Canada
The 2008 Quadrangular Twenty20 Series in Canada was a tournament of Twenty20 international cricket matches that was held in Canada from 10 to 13 October 2008. The four participating teams are Canada, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. The matches were played at the North-West ground of Maple Leaf Cricket Club in King City, Ontario. Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan by five wickets in the final.


2008 Quadrangular Twenty20 Series in Canada, Squads
Sunil Dhaniram (c)Abdool Samad (vc)Harvir BaidwanBalaji RaoUmar BhattiManoj DavidAbzal DeanKarun JethiSandeep JyotiEion KatchayMohammad IqbalAshif Mulla (WK)Henry OsindeRizwan Cheema


2008 Quadrangular Twenty20 Series in Canada, Squads
Shoaib Malik (c)Misbah-ul-Haq (VC)Abdur RaufAnwar AliFawad AlamKamran Akmal (WK)Khalid LatifSalman ButtShahid AfridiShoaib AkhtarShoaib KhanSohail KhanSohail TanvirUmar GulYounis Khan


2008 Quadrangular Twenty20 Series in Canada, Squads
Mahela Jayawardene (Captain)Dilhara LokuhettigeTillakaratne Dilshan (WK)Dilhara FernandoSanath JayasuriyaThilina KandambyChamara KapugederaNuwan KulasekaraJeevantha KulatungaFarveez MaharoofAjantha MendisJehan MubarakThilan ThusharaMahela UdawatteKaushalya Weeraratne


2008 Quadrangular Twenty20 Series in Canada, Squads
Prosper Utseya (Captain)Regis Chakabva (WK)Chamu ChibhabhaElton ChigumburaGraeme CremerKeith DabengwaTimycen MarumaHamilton MasakadzaStuart MatsikenyeriChris MpofuTawanda MupariwaTaurai MuzarabaniRay PriceTatenda Taibu (WK)Cephas Zhuwao


2008 Quebec general election
The 2008 Quebec general election was held in the Canadian province of Quebec on December 8, 2008. The Quebec Liberal Party, under incumbent Premier Jean Charest, was re-elected with a majority government, marking the first time since the 1950s (when the Union Nationale of Maurice Duplessis won four consecutive elections) that a party or leader was elected to a third consecutive mandate, and the first time for the Liberals since the 1930s, when Louis-Alexandre Taschereau was Premier.


2008 Quebec general election
The 2008 election also marked the first time that Québec solidaire won a seat.


2008 Quebec general election, Issues
Charest called the election on November 5, saying he needed a "clear mandate" and a majority to handle the economic storm. He was criticized, however, by the Parti Québécois and the Action démocratique du Québec for calling a snap election to get a majority when they were willing to work with him to fix the economy.


2008 Quebec general election, Issues
Most notably, the election was marked by a significant collapse in support for the ADQ. Formerly a relatively minor party, the ADQ had attracted significant protest support in the 2007 election, beating the Parti Québécois to Official Opposition status. In 2008, however, the party's support dropped back to approximately 15 per cent of the popular vote, roughly the same range of support the party attracted before 2007. As a result of this loss of support, Mario Dumont announced in his concession speech that he would step down as party leader.


2008 Quebec general election, Issues
In the final days of the election campaign, the concurrent parliamentary confidence dispute became an issue, with Prime Minister Stephen Harper attacking the credibility of a potential Liberal-New Democratic Party coalition government because the Bloc Québécois had pledged to support the coalition on motions of confidence. Both Marois and Dumont called upon Charest, a former leader of the federal Progressive Conservatives, to clarify where he stood on the coalition and on Harper's use of anti-sovereigntist rhetoric in the dispute. Charest emphasized that the Bloc MPs had been legitimately elected by Quebecers, and stated that "I live in a society in which people can be sovereigntists or federalists, but they respect each other. The same thing should prevail in the federal parliament."


2008 Quebec general election, Issues
Media analysts noted that while Charest's Liberals won a majority, the final result was much narrower in both the popular vote and the seat total than polls even just a few days before the election had predicted, because the Liberals only won an eight-seat majority, a result which was widely credited to a late voter swing toward the PQ as a result of Harper's comments.


2008 Quebec provincial by-elections
Provincial by-elections were held in Quebec on 12 May 2008 to fill three vacancies in the National Assembly. The by-elections were called on 9 April 2008.


2008 Quebec provincial by-elections, Bourget
The district of Bourget was vacated by Parti Québécois MNA Diane Lemieux on 17 October 2007. Federal Bloc Québécois MP Maka Kotto resigned from the House of Commons of Canada to contest the by-election, which in turn resulted in the federal Saint-Lambert by-election of September 8, 2008.


2008 Quebec provincial by-elections, Hull
The riding of Hull was vacated by Liberal MNA Roch Cholette on 9 April 2008.


2008 Quebec provincial by-elections, Pointe-aux-Trembles
Pointe-aux-Trembles was vacated by PQ MNA André Boisclair on 15 November 2007. The by-election was won by Nicole Léger, Boisclair's predecessor as MNA for the riding.


2008 Queen's Birthday Honours (Australia)
The Queen's Birthday Honours 2008 were appointments Australian honours system to recognise and reward good works by citizens of Australia and other nations that contribute to Australia. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of the Queen's Official Birthday celebrations and were announced on 8 June 2008 in Australia.


2008 Queen's Birthday Honours (Australia)
The recipients of honours are displayed as they were styled before their new honour and arranged by honour with grades and then divisions i.e. Civil, Diplomatic and Military as appropriate.


2008 Queensland Cup
The 2008 Queensland Cup season was the 13th season of Queensland's top-level statewide rugby league competition run by the Queensland Rugby League. The competition, known as the Queensland Wizard Cup due to sponsorship from Wizard Home Loans featured 11 teams playing a 26-week long season (including finals) from March to September.


2008 Queensland Cup
The Souths Logan Magpies won their first premiership after defeating the Ipswich Jets 24–18 at North Ipswich Reserve. Central Comets' five-eighth Nat Bowman was named the competition's Player of the Year, winning the Courier Mail Medal.


2008 Queensland Cup, Teams
Two new teams entered the Queensland Cup in 2008, as the competition expanded north with the Mackay Cutters and the Northern Pride. Mackay hadn't hosted a team since the 1996 season, while the Pride, based in Cairns, were represented by the Cairns Cyclones from 1996 to 2000. The two new clubs replaced the Aspley Broncos and North Queensland Young Guns, who withdrew from the competition.


2008 Queensland Cup, Teams
With the loss of Aspley and the Young Guns, the Brisbane Broncos and North Queensland Cowboys formed new feeder club partnerships. The Broncos sent players to six different clubs and the Cowboys sent players to the Cutters and Pride, while the Canberra Raiders formed a partnership with the Souths Logan Magpies. 2008 marked the first season since 1997 that the Melbourne Storm were not affiliated with the Norths Devils, instead forming the Central Coast Storm who played in the NSW Cup.


2008 Queensland Cup, Regular season
The 2008 Queensland Cup regular season featured 22 rounds, with one team receiving a bye in each round. Each team played 20 games and received two byes.


2008 Queensland Cup, Grand Final
Ipswich had their best regular season to date, finishing with their first minor premiership. They then defeated the Northern Pride in the major semi final to earn their second Grand Final appearance. Souths Logan, who finished second and qualified for the finals for just the second time, were upset by the Pride in Week 1 of the finals. In Week 2, they hosted and defeated Redcliffe before getting revenge on the Pride and defeating them 16–12 in the preliminary final to qualify for their first Grand Final.


2008 Queensland Cup, Grand Final, First half
Souths Logan got off to a brilliant start when they forced an error off the kickoff and scored in the second minute through prop Cy Lasscock. It took them just five minutes to extend their lead when hooker McKanah Gibson dived over from dummy half in almost the exact spot of their first try. After denying two Ipswich try scoring opportunities, the Magpies crossed for their third try of the game when Matt Templeman intercepted an Ian Lacey pass and sprinted away to score. With two minutes left in the half, Souths Logan converted a penalty goal from in front to lead 18-0.


2008 Queensland Cup, Grand Final, Second half
Down 18, Ipswich began their fightback with a try from hooker Michael Ryan just four minutes into the second half. In the 55th minute, the Jets cut the lead to six when centre Donald Malone pulled down a Lacey kick to score. Just a minute later, Ipswich completed the comeback when prop Aaron Sweeney scored under the posts to level the scores. A tense final 20 minutes followed, with Souths Logan being denied a try in the 65th minute and Ipswich missing a field goal from in front in the 78th minute.


2008 Queensland Cup, Grand Final, Second half
With 40 seconds left to play, Magpies' halfback Albert Talipeau put his centre Kyle Lodge through a gap close to the line. Lodge was cut down short by Jets' fullback Troy O'Sullivan but got up and scored after O'Sullivan couldn't complete the tackle. Referee Justin Eastwood checked with the video referee, who awarded the try. Josh White converted the try to seal the win and give Souths Logan their first Queensland Cup premiership.


2008 Queensland Cup season results
The 2008 Queensland Cup season was the 13th season of Queensland's premier rugby league competition.


2008 Queensland Cup season results, Regular season
All times are in AEST (UTC+10:00) on the relevant dates.


2008 Queensland Reds season
This article covers the 2008 Super 14 season results and statistics of Super Rugby side, the Reds.


2008 Queensland storms
The 2008 Queensland storms were a series of three thunderstorms that struck South East Queensland, Australia. The first storm hit on 16 November 2008 and was followed by two further storms on 19 and 20 November. The storms resulted in 2 fatalities.


2008 Queensland storms, Background, First incident
Winds reached 130 kilometres (81 mi)/h, equivalent to a Category 3 cyclone. Electricity was cut to about 230,000 homes and about 4,000 homes were left in need of serious repair, and at least 30 houses were beyond repair. Some of the worst hit areas included The Gap, Kenmore, Arana Hills and Albany Creek. Forecasters at the Bureau of Meteorology rated the storm the worst to hit south-east Queensland since 2004 & The Biggest to The South east Queensland region since 1985.


2008 Queensland storms, Background, Second incident
Torrential rain affected areas of Brisbane, Ipswich and Toowoomba, with rainfall reaching more than 250 mm in some locations. The Ipswich and Marburg areas were the worst affected, whilst four homes in inner-city Paddington were unroofed. The Inner City Bypass was flooded and forced to close, as was the Moggill Ferry.


2008 Queensland storms, Background, Third incident
Blackwater, near Emerald in Central Queensland, was hit hard by the third storm, with 20 houses sustaining roof damage and up to 100 more were damaged in some way. Gregory MP Vaughan Johnson said the storm was terrifying. He said he was driving to an appointment when the storm slammed into Blackwater, forcing him to turn back to Emerald. Hail was described as the size of golf balls and witnesses saw a lot of damage.


2008 Queensland storms, Relief effort
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd inspected The Gap, a badly hit suburb in north-western Brisbane, with Premier of Queensland Anna Bligh and the Lord Mayor of Brisbane Campbell Newman on 18 November, likening it to a "war zone". He announced that Centrelink would make payments of $1000 per adult and $400 per dependent child in cases where they were seriously injured or their houses were destroyed. Bligh launched a Disaster Relief Appeal with $500,000 to supplement other government support packages.


2008 Quezon del Sur creation plebiscite
The Quezon del Sur creation plebiscite was a plebiscite on the creation of the province of Quezon del Sur from Quezon; the original Quezon province would have been renamed to "Quezon del Norte" had the plebiscite been approved by the residents of Quezon. The plebiscite was held on December 13, 2008, and the result was a slight majority rejecting the creation of the province.


2008 Quezon del Sur creation plebiscite
Gumaca would have been the capital of Quezon del Sur, while Lucena would have been retained as Quezon del Norte's capital. Both provinces would have remained part of Calabarzon under their original acronym "zon".


2008 Quezon del Sur creation plebiscite, Referendum question
The Quezon del Sur creation plebiscite was supervised and officiated by the COMELEC pursuant to .


2008 Quezon del Sur creation plebiscite, Referendum question
DO YOU APPROVE OF THE CREATION OF THE PROVINCE OF QUEZON DEL SUR, WHICH SHALL BE COMPOSED OF THE MUNICIPALITIES OF AGDANGAN, BUENAVISTA, CATANAUAN, GENERAL LUNA, MACALELON, MULANAY, PADRE BURGOS, PITOGO, SAN ANDRES, SAN FRANCISCO, SAN NARCISO, UNISAN, ALABAT, ATIMONAN, CALAUAG, GUINAYANGAN, GUMACA, LOPEZ, PEREZ, PLARIDEL, QUEZON AND TAGKAWAYAN, AND THE RENAMING OF THE MOTHER PROVINCE OF QUEZON INTO QUEZON DEL NORTE, WHICH SHALL BE COMPOSED OF THE MUNICIPALITIES OF BURDEOS, GENERAL NAKAR, INFANTA, JOMALIG, LUCBAN, MAUBAN, PAGBILAO, PANUKULAN, PATNANUNGAN, POLILLO, REAL, SAMPALOC, TAYABAS CITY, CANDELARIA, DOLORES, SAN ANTONIO, SARIAYA, TIAONG AND LUCENA CITY, PURSUANT TO REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9495 DATED SEPTEMBER 7, 2007?


2008 Quezon del Sur creation plebiscite, Background
In 1992, Republic Act No. 9495  was proposed to further divide Quezon into Quezon del Norte and Quezon del Sur. Quezon del Norte was to be composed of the first and second congressional districts of the province (Burdeos, General Nakar, Infanta, Jomalig, Lucban, Mauban, Pagbilao, Panukulan, Patnanungan, Polillo, Real, Sampaloc, Tayabas, Candelaria, Dolores, San Antonio, Sariaya, Tiaong and Lucena City), with Lucena City as its capital.


2008 Quezon del Sur creation plebiscite, Background
Quezon del Sur, with its capital at Gumaca, would have been composed of the third and fourth congressional districts (Agdangan, Buenavista, Catanauan, General Luna, Macalelon, Mulanay, Padre Burgos, Pitogo, San Andres, San Francisco, San Narciso, Unisan, Alabat, Atimonan, Calauag, Guinayangan, Gumaca, Lopez, Perez, Plaridel, Quezon and Tagkawayan). The act lapsed into law without the signature of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on September 7, 2007.


2008 Quezon del Sur creation plebiscite, Background
As required by law, the COMELEC held a plebiscite on December 13, 2008, 60 days after Republic Act No. 9495 took effect. Gov. Rafael Nantes, one of the original authors of the law, and Vice Gov. Carlos Portes, opposed the division of the province. Board member Sonny Pulgar and businessman Hobart Dator Jr. launched the "Save Quezon Province Movement." The Comelec allotted P 50 million for the plebiscite. Academician Prof. Joseph Jadway "JJ" Marasigan provided what he called the "strong theoretical framework" that deemed the said split as a step backward.


2008 Quezon del Sur creation plebiscite, Background
He instead called for the professionalization of service institutions and the differentiation of functions as the answer to the province's increasingly becoming complex environment. He organized students and fellow academicians to oppose such move. His participation resulted in a grave misunderstanding with Lucena Catholic Bishop Emilio Marquez who strongly supported the idea of splitting the province. Marasigan maintained that bishops have no business in dealing with entirely political matters and should refrain from using their influence over their flock. Gov. Rafael Nantes later softened his stand against the proposed creation of Quezon del Sur. Accordingly, upon request of Comelec Chair Jose Melo, a P38 million "Special Allotment Release Order" was issued by the Department of Budget and Management to the Commission on Elections (Philippines) to fund the holding of the plebiscite.


2008 Quezon del Sur creation plebiscite, Background
On November 17, 2008, Save Quezon Province Movement (SQPM) asked the Supreme Court of the Philippines to declare Republic Act 9495 as unconstitutional, and to restrain the implementation of a November 12 COMELEC Resolutions Nos. 8533, 8534, 8535, 8537, 8538 and 8539, setting the plebiscite. Yet the plebiscite proceeded with the majority of votes rejecting the division, therefore the split did not push through.


2008 R League
The 2008 edition of R League (the Korea Professional Football Reserve League for the reserve teams of the top football clubs in South Korea) was held during K League season. Since 2008 season, Daegu FC and Daejeon Citizen participated for the first time.


2008 R League
Incheon United won the competition by defeating Pohang Steelers in final on penalties on 23 October 2008.


2008 RCSL season
The 2008 Rugby Canada Super League season is the eleventh season for the RCSL.


2008 RCSL season, Standings
Note: 4 points for a win, 2 points for a draw, 1 bonus point for a loss by 7 points or less, 1 bonus point for scoring 4 tries or more.


2008 RCSL season, Championship Final
The championship game took place on August 9, 2008 between the Calgary Mavericks and the Newfoundland Rock in St. John's, at Swilers Rugby Park. The game was won by the Newfoundland Rock by a score of 30-6.


2008 RLIF Awards
The 2008 RLIF Awards were presented on Monday 17 November 2008 at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Australia recognising achievements in the sport of rugby league from October 2007 to October 2008 (including the NRL and Super League Grand Finals).


2008 RLIF Awards
The 2008 RLIF Awards were marked by inaugural awards ceremony and featured new awards, notably the Rugby League International Federation Player of the Year Award. Other new awards included the Rookie of Year, for players who made their Test debut and were under 21 years of age in the awards year, the Nations' International Players of the Year, selected by each nation's governing body from the 19 teams that competed to qualify for the 2008 RLWC and the Spirit of Rugby League, for those who have made significant contributions to the sport in their lifetime.


2008 RLIF Awards, Awards
For awards presented with nominees, winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.


2008 RTHK Top 10 Gold Songs Awards
The 31st RTHK Top 10 Gold Songs Awards (Chinese: 第三十一屆十大中文金曲得獎) was held on January 18, 2009 for the 2008 music season.


2008 RTHK Top 10 Gold Songs Awards, Top 10 song awards
The top 10 songs (十大中文金曲) of 2008 are as follows.


2008 Race of Champions
The 2008 Race of Champions was the 21st running of the event, and took place on December 14, 2008 at Wembley Stadium, London. Two special races were due to take place during the event, the first of which, with Olympic gold medallist Chris Hoy cycling against the reigning Formula One World Champion Lewis Hamilton, who was due to be driving a Mercedes road car. However, due to the slippery track at Wembley, Hoy could not take part on the bicycle.


2008 Race of Champions
Hamilton did demonstrate his championship-winning Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula One car at the event, his first major British public appearance since winning the F1 title. There was also a celebrity race, with eight celebrities taking part in Fiat 500 Abarth Assetto Corses. These celebrities were Hoy, boxers Frank Bruno, David Haye, Amir Khan and Enzo Maccarinelli, chef James Martin, footballer Bacary Sagna and singer Shayne Ward.


2008 Racquetball World Championships
The 14th Racquetball World Championships were held in Kingscourt (Ireland) from August 2 to 9, 2008, with 22 men's national teams and 15 women's national teams; and several players in the Singles and Doubles competition.


2008 Rafael Nadal tennis season
The 2008 Rafael Nadal tennis season officially began on January 1 with the start of the 2008 ATP Tour. Nadal's 2008 tennis season is considered to be one of his best seasons on tour. Nadal won 8 titles in 2008, including two Grand Slams and the Olympic gold medal. In addition, Nadal also won three Masters titles - Monte Carlo, Hamburg, and Toronto. Nadal's winning streak of 32 in 2008 is the longest across three surfaces in tennis history.


2008 Rafael Nadal tennis season
He won the French Open for the loss of no sets and just 41 games, in one of the most comprehensive Grand Slam performances of all time. Nadal also won Wimbledon that year, defeating Roger Federer in what is widely recognized as the greatest tennis match in history. He won the Olympic gold medal at Beijing, becoming the first-ever top-5 player to win the gold medal in the Open Era. Nadal also claimed the No. 1 ranking that year after the Olympics. He finally ascended to the top spot after 160 consecutive weeks as No. 2 . Nadal would hold the No. 1 ranking for the rest of the season and finish the year ranked No. 1 for the first time in his career.


2008 Rafael Nadal tennis season, Year summary
Nadal kickstarted his season with a runner-up showing at the Indian city of Chennai. He then played the first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open. Nadal raced through the tournament before a shock straight-sets loss at the hands of Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the semifinals. Nadal then had a form slump, winning just three of his next five, and six of his next nine matches. Nadal had his second runner-up result that year at Miami, losing to long-term rival Nikolay Davydenko. Nadal then won his fourth consecutive Monte-Carlo Masters title, losing just 29 games in 5 matches.


2008 Rafael Nadal tennis season, Year summary
He followed that up with his second tournament win of the year at the Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell. Nadal's winning streak of 10 matches was snapped when compatriot Juan Carlos Ferrero stunned him in the second round of the Rome Masters, where Nadal was a three-time defending champion. Nadal then regrouped and began a 32-match winning streak across clay, grass, and hard courts, which is the longest streak on three surfaces in the history of the sport.


2008 Rafael Nadal tennis season, Year summary
He won his first Hamburg Masters title in May, and followed it up with a brilliant performance to win his fourth consecutive French Open title, losing just 4 games in the final. Nadal's streak continued with his first grass-court title at Queen's Club in London, and then his first-ever Wimbledon, where he outlasted Federer in what is considered the greatest match in tennis history. Nadal then won his third Masters title and first hard-court title of the year at Toronto. His streak was finally ended in the semifinals of the Cincinnati Masters by Novak Djokovic.


2008 Rafael Nadal tennis season, Year summary
Nadal then entered the Summer Olympics at Beijing, and became the first top-5 ranked player to win the Olympic Gold in the history of the sport. This win also catapulted Nadal to the top of the rankings for the first time in his career. Nadal then made his second hard-court Grand Slam semifinal at the US Open, before losing to Andy Murray in four tight sets. He then helped guide Spain into the Davis Cup Final, notching up wins over Sam Querrey and Andy Roddick. Nadal ended the year as World #1.


2008 Rafael Nadal tennis season, Year summary, Spring hard-court season, Chennai Open
Nadal began the year by participating in the Chennai Open in Chennai, India. Nadal defeated Carlos Moyá in the semi-finals in (at the time) the longest three-set match in history, 6–7(3), 7–6(8), 7–6(1), lasting three hours and fifty-four minutes. An exhausted Nadal went on to lose in the finals to Mikhail Youzhny 6–0, 6–1.


2008 Rafael Nadal tennis season, Year summary, Spring hard-court season, Australian Open
Nadal played his second tournament of the year at the Australian Open. Nadal stormed through the tournament, dropping no sets until he was shocked by the then world number 38 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the semi-finals. He beat Viktor Troicki in the first round 7–6(3), 7–5, 6–1. He then demolished Frenchman Florent Serra, 6–0, 6–2, 6–2. In the third round, he defeated another Frenchman, Gilles Simon, 7–5, 6–2, 6–3. In the round of 16, he beat his third Frenchman of the tournament, Paul-Henri Mathieu, after Mathieu retired when he was down 4–6, 0–3. In the quarter-finals, he beat Jarkko Nieminen, 7–5, 6–3, 6–1. Nadal's impressive run came to a halt when Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga comprehensively beat him in the semi-finals 6–2, 6–3, 6–2.


2008 Rafael Nadal tennis season, Year summary, Spring hard-court season, ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament
Nadal then participated in his first indoor tournament of the year at the Rotterdam Open, Netherlands. Nadal beat Dmitry Tursunov 6–4, 6–4 in the first round before squandering a one-set lead to lose 6–3, 3–6, 4–6 to Italian Andreas Seppi.


2008 Rafael Nadal tennis season, Year summary, Spring hard-court season, Dubai Tennis Championships
Nadal then returned to the Dubai Open, where he was a former champion. Nadal had won the title by beating Roger Federer in the 2006 Dubai Open, 2–6, 6–4, 6–4. This time around, however, his performance was less than impressive as he lost in the quarter-finals to American World No. 6 Andy Roddick. Nadal looked uncomfortable in his first-round match against Philipp Kohlschreiber, recovering from a one-set deficit to win 3–6, 6–1, 6–4. He then proceeded to push aside World No. 171 Mikhail Ledovskikh 6–4, 6–0, before losing to Roddick in the quarters, 6–7(5), 2–6.


2008 Rafael Nadal tennis season, Year summary, Spring hard-court season, Pacific Life Open
In the first Masters Series event of the year, Nadal put in a consistent performance to reach the semi-finals. He beat Colombian Santiago Giraldo in the second round 6–3, 6–3, before defeating American Donald Young 6–1, 6–3 in the third round. Nadal then defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in a rematch of their Australian Open semi-final match-up. Nadal stuttered for a while but regrouped to exact revenge on his opponent, 6–7(4), 7–6(3), 7–5. Nadal then defeated World No. 9 James Blake in the quarter-finals in three sets - 7–5, 3–6, 6–3. In the semi-finals, he fell to World No. 3 and the man he beat in the previous year's final, Novak Djokovic, 3–6, 2–6.


2008 Rafael Nadal tennis season, Year summary, Spring hard-court season, Sony Ericsson Open
Nadal reached the final of Miami Masters for the second time in his career. He defeated German Benjamin Becker 7–5, 6–2 in the second round, followed by the demolition of another German, Nicolas Kiefer in the third round 6–2, 6–4. Nadal defeated James Blake for the second time in two weeks in the quarter-finals, and then beat big-hitting Czech Tomáš Berdych in the semi-finals, 7–6(6), 6–2. Nadal finally fell to long-time rival and the only man with a positive head-to-head against him (minimum 5 matches), Nikolay Davydenko, 4–6, 2–6.


2008 Rafael Nadal tennis season, Year summary, Spring hard-court season, Sony Ericsson Open
Nadal then defeated Kiefer again at the Davis Cup World Group quarterfinals, 7–6(5), 6–0, 6–3.


2008 Rafael Nadal tennis season, Year summary, European clay-court season, Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters
Nadal was back on the surface of his choice, red clay. A magnificent run on the red clay would set him up for the great year he had. Nadal won his fourth consecutive Monte Carlo Masters title. He lost just 29 games in 5 matches he played. Nadal received a bye into the second round, where he routed Croatian Mario Ančić 6–0, 6–3. Nadal then defeated fellow Spaniard and former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero in the second round, 6–4, 6–1. In the quarterfinals, Nadal beat World No. 5 David Ferrer 6–1, 7–5. Nadal then squandered just 5 games in a comprehensive defeat of Russian Nikolay Davydenko, before defeating long-time rival Roger Federer 7–5, 7–5 in the final to win his tenth Masters title.


2008 Rafael Nadal tennis season, Year summary, European clay-court season, Open Sabadell Atlántico Barcelona
Nadal entered the Barcelona Open as the top seed for the first time in a tournament that year. Nadal stormed through the tournament losing just one set, and extended his winning streak to 10. He defeated a succession of top-50 players up to the semifinals, including Potito Starace, compatriot Feliciano López and Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela. He then thrashed World No. 85 Denis Gremelmayr, 6–1, 6–0, before winning the trophy by defeating David Ferrer for the second time in two weeks, 6–1, 4–6, 6–1.


2008 Rafael Nadal tennis season, Year summary, European clay-court season, Internazionali BNL d'Italia
Nadal entered the Italian capital as a three-time defending champion. However, he fell in the second round to Juan Carlos Ferrero, 5–7, 1–6. This loss snapped his winning streak of 16 in the Italian capital.


2008 Rafael Nadal tennis season, Year summary, European clay-court season, Hamburg Masters
Nadal won for the first time at the German city of Hamburg, flagging off his 32-match winning streak which would continue on till the Cincinnati Masters in August. Nadal beat Potito Starace in the second round for the second time that month. He then won a lopsided third-round match against future Grand Slam champion Andy Murray before defeating Carlos Moyá for the second time that season, 6–1, 6–3. Nadal then had two tough matches back-to-back, but came out on top on both occasions. He beat World No. 3 Novak Djokovic 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 in the semifinals. In the finals, he avenged his loss the previous year's championship match by beating Roger Federer, 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-3.


2008 Rafael Nadal tennis season, Year summary, European clay-court season, Roland Garros
Nadal then entered the French Open as a three-time defending champion. Nadal's 2008 French Open is considered one of the greatest Grand Slam performances of all time. Nadal won every single set he played in the tournament, and dropped just 41 games en route to his fourth consecutive French Open title. Nadal defeated Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci in the first round for the loss of 9 games. He then walked past Frenchman Nicolas Devilder in the second round, and then Finn Jarkko Nieminen in the third round, for the total loss of just 10 games.


2008 Rafael Nadal tennis season, Year summary, European clay-court season, Roland Garros
Nadal then thrashed two fellow Spaniards, Fernando Verdasco and Nicolás Almagro back-to-back for the loss of just 6 games. In the semifinals, Nadal played the toughest match of his tournament, defeating Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(3) to book his spot in the final. Nadal then proceeded to win one of the most lopsided finals in tennis history, routing World No. 1 Roger Federer for the third consecutive year, 6-1, 6-3, 6-0.


2008 Rafael Nadal tennis season, Year summary, Grass court season, Queen's Club Championships
Nadal entered the Queen's Club tournament as a warm-up to Wimbledon. At the time, Nadal was riding a 12-match winning streak and by the end of the tournament, he would have lengthened the streak to 17. Nadal defeated Swede Jonas Björkman in the second round, before stumbling through his next two matches, beating Kei Nishikori in three sets in the third round and then 6'10 Ivo Karlović in three tie-break sets in the quarterfinals. Nadal then defeated another big server, Andy Roddick 7–5, 6–4 in the semifinals; finally winning his first ever grasscourt title by sidling past Novak Djokovic for the third time that year.


2008 Rafael Nadal tennis season, Year summary, Grass court season, The Championships, Wimbledon
Nadal entered the 2008 Wimbledon Championships as the two-time runner-up. He was riding a winning streak of 17 matches. Nadal had lost the previous two finals to Roger Federer, including the 2007 Wimbledon final, which was considered to be one of the great matches in recent times. Nadal defeated German Andreas Beck in the first round. He then lost his first set of the tournament in a tight second-round match against Latvian Ernests Gulbis.


2008 Rafael Nadal tennis season, Year summary, Grass court season, The Championships, Wimbledon
Nadal stormed through the rest of the tournament, thrashing Nicolas Kiefer, 7-6(3), 6-2, 6-3, Russian Mikhail Youzhny, 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 and future Wimbledon Champion Andy Murray, 6–3, 6-2, 6-4. Nadal then defeated surprise semifinalist Rainer Schüttler 6-1, 7-6(3), 6-4 to set up a third consecutive Wimbledon final with 5-time defending champion Roger Federer. Nadal then played what is considered the greatest match in tennis history, defeating Federer in a 4-hour, 48-minute match, 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-7(8), 9-7 in the longest Wimbledon final in history.


2008 Rafael Nadal tennis season, Year summary, Grass court season, The Championships, Wimbledon
The win gave Nadal his first Grand Slam outside the French Open, and his fifth Grand Slam overall. The match is notable for its long, well-crafted rallies and the clutch shots produced on crucial points. Federer saved two match points in the fourth-set tie-break, but eventually caved on Nadal's fourth match-point. The two greatest passing shots of the tournament were hit back-to-back late into the fourth-set tiebreak. Nadal hit a clutch forehand pass to set up match-point on his own serve. Federer responded with a backhand pass to save the match-point. Federer eventually closed out the set, but lost the match. Many experts agree this match set Nadal up to the great success that would ensue in the following months.


2008 Rafael Nadal tennis season, Year summary, Summer hard-court season, Rogers Cup
Nadal rode his streak through the Toronto Masters event in Toronto, Canada. He received a bye into the second round where he routed home hope Jesse Levine, 6–4, 6–2. In the third round, Nadal thrashed Russian Igor Andreev 6–2, 7–6(1). Nadal then faced childhood rival Richard Gasquet in the quarterfinals. He lost the first set in an excruciatingly long tie-break, 6–7(12–14). However, he recovered immediately and pushed Gasquet aside by winning the next two sets 6–2, 6–1. In the semifinals, Nadal was matched up against up-and-comer Andy Murray. Nadal won 7–6, 6–3, reaching his third hard-court final of the year. The final was a contest between him and German Nicolas Kiefer. Nadal destroyed Kiefer 6–3, 6–2 to win his first hard-court title of the year and extend his streak to 29 match wins.


2008 Rafael Nadal tennis season, Year summary, Summer hard-court season, Western & Southern Financial Open
Nadal next played at the only Masters tournament he has never reached the final at, the Cincinnati Masters. He strode through the draw, demolishing Frenchman Florent Serra for the loss of just one game and then taking down former World No. 2 Tommy Haas, 6–2, 7–6(1). In the quarterfinals, Nadal beat Ecuadorian Nicolás Lapentti in the last win of his streak. It finally ended when World No. 3 Novak Djokovic defeated Nadal in the semifinals, 6–1, 7–5.


2008 Rajasthan Legislative Assembly election
Rajasthan state assembly elections, 2008 were held in Indian state of Rajasthan on 4 December 2008. Results were announced on 8 December. The incumbent ruling party BJP lost to Congress.


2008 Rally Argentina
The 2008 Rally Argentina, officially 28º Rally Argentina, is the fourth round of 2008 World Rally Championship season; it is a second gravel round of the championship and also the second round of the Production World Rally Championship. The event began with a ceremonial start on Thursday, March 27 in Córdoba and ended after a Super Special Stage and ten minutes service "E" in Villa Carlos Paz.


2008 Rally Argentina
Some stages of the rally, especially the ones from final day, similarly to those seen on the Mexican event, are held in the mountainous area of the country, thus drivers climb up to 2100 meters above sea levels. The event, however, is more varied and some competitive kilometers lead through vast Argentinian plains.


2008 Rally Argentina, Summary
The rally began in rainy and muddy conditions. Mikko Hirvonen was the first on the road as the championship leader and managed to open up a 48-second gap to Jari-Matti Latvala and a 50-second gap to Sébastien Loeb. However, the BP Ford drivers soon dropped out of contention. On the second stage, Latvala spun off and lost about nine minutes, and on the fifth stage, Hirvonen and Stobart VK M-Sport Ford's Henning Solberg damaged their cars while hitting rocks and retired from the rally. Loeb managed to open up a comfortable gap to Subaru's Chris Atkinson and Petter Solberg. Other drivers in the points after day one were Gigi Galli, Dani Sordo, Federico Villagra, Matthew Wilson and Latvala.


2008 Rally Argentina, Summary
Loeb continued to lead throughout day two, and Solberg passed his teammate Atkinson for second place. Galli retired from fourth place to preserve his vehicle when smoke started to pour from his Ford Focus after SS13. Latvala also had problems with his Focus and retired. After day two, due to the high level of attrition, Sordo was now in fourth place, Conrad Rautenbach had climbed to fifth, Hirvonen, who re-joined the event under SupeRally rules, to sixth and Andreas Aigner to seventh. Villagra was in eighth place.


2008 Rally Argentina, Summary
French World Rally Champion held his lead until the very end of the event and won the event with over two and a half minute advantage over the Subaru driver, Atkinson. The young Australian's steady pace paid off and he was able to claim second place after electric in Petter Solberg's car malfunctioned and he had to retire. Petter's brother, Henning, didn't manage to finish either - shock absorber in older Solberg's Focus was blown through the hood again, same way as on Friday, and he ended his rally at the very same spot as his younger sibling.


2008 Rally Argentina, Summary
The last man on the podium was second Citroën driver, Dani Sordo, followed by Conrad Rautenbach in another C4 WRC, who was therefore first Zimbabwean to ever score points in an WRC event. Fifth was Ford's Mikko Hirvonen who managed to score four points in drivers' and five in manufacturers' championship despite massive penalties for using SupeRally. Last three pointing drivers were Munchi's Federico Villagra, Stobart's Gigi Galli, who also restarted under SupeRally format and Andreas Aigner driving a group N Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX. He was also first in PWRC classification, followed by Argentinian Sebastián Beltrán and Finn Jari Ketomaa.


2008 Rally Catalunya
The 2008 Rally Catalunya, officially 44è Rally RACC Catalunya - Costa Daurada, was the 44th Rally Catalunya and the 12th round of the 2008 World Rally Championship season. The rally took place during October 2–5, 2008 and consisted of 18 special stages.


2008 Rally Catalunya
The rally was won by Citroën Total World Rally Team's Sébastien Loeb ahead of his teammate Dani Sordo. This was Citroën's third double win in a row, after previous one-two finishes in Germany and New Zealand. BP Ford World Rally Team's Mikko Hirvonen and François Duval took comfortable third and fourth positions, although only battled with each other and never managed to challenge the Citroëns. Duval eased off in one stage to let Hirvonen, who continued his fight for the drivers' title with Loeb, to take the third place and one extra point.


2008 Rally Catalunya
Subaru World Rally Team's Petter Solberg fought for fifth place with Urmo Aava until the penultimate stage, when Aava retired after making a mistake and breaking his Citroën C4 WRC's suspension. The battle for sixth place went down to the wire, with Stobart M-Sport Ford's Jari-Matti Latvala edging out Subaru's Chris Atkinson by 1.1 seconds. Andreas Mikkelsen drove his privateer Ford Focus RS WRC 07 to eighth place, taking the second points finish of his career.


2008 Rally Finland
The 58th Rally Finland, the ninth rally of the 2008 World Rally Championship season took place between July 31 and August 3, 2008. The event was the first rally held after a six-week mid season break. The rally was based in the city of Jyväskylä in the centre of Finland with the special stages held on fast gravel roads in the lake district area of the country. The winner was the reigning world champion Sébastien Loeb, who became only the fourth non Scandinavian driver to win the event in fifty-eight runnings. It was his sixth win of the season and reduced the gap in the championship standings between himself and Finland's Mikko Hirvonen to just one point. Hirvonen finished in second, with Chris Atkinson taking the third podium spot for the Subaru World Rally Team.


2008 Rally Finland, Event, Day one
The event started with a short superspecial stage on Thursday evening - which was won by Sébastien Loeb - before the first full day of action on Friday. The first stage on Friday demonstrated the competitive nature of the rally, with Loeb and Hirvonen setting identical times, and Jari-Matti Latvala only finishing three seconds behind them. However, Latvala was the first big casualty, hitting a rock on SS3 and damaging the suspension - an accident that put him out for the day and angered his Ford team boss Malcolm Wilson (rally).


2008 Rally Finland, Event, Day one
Meanwhile, Loeb was eking out a narrow advantage by winning every special stage until SS8. Hirvonen was also driving flat out and matched Loeb's time on SS6 and took his first outright stage win on the 7.86 mile test at Urria. At the end of day one, Loeb had built up a useful lead of 14.4 seconds, although Hirvonen had not given up hope. Behind the two leaders saw a three way battle between the two Stobart Ford drivers, Henning Solberg and Gigi Galli, and Loeb's teammate Dani Sordo. These three were covered by only twelve seconds.


2008 Rally Finland, Event, Day one
The two Subaru World Rally Team drivers, Petter Solberg and Chris Atkinson were having their own private battle, just over ninety seconds behind the leader. Suzuki's Per-Gunnar Andersson was in the final points paying position despite suffering a huge spin on SS2. Impressive performances were made by privateers Urmo Aava and Andreas Mikkelsen, with both featuring in the points earlier on day one - Aava was third after SS4 with Mikkelsen in fifth. However they both crashed out near the end of day one - Aava in SS9 and Mikkelsen in SS10.


2008 Rally Finland, Event, Day two
The battle between Loeb and Hirvonen continued throughout day two with the pair regularly setting fastest times. They were opening up a big lead to the drivers behind them, with Hirvonen describing the pace as "crazy...how much longer can this go on for, I don't know." By the end of the day Loeb had pulled out another four seconds to take his lead to eighteen seconds. Most of this time was gained when Hirvonen stalled at the start of SS20.


2008 Rally Finland, Event, Day two
Behind the leaders, Gigi Galli had been drawing away in the battle for third before an accident in the Kakaristo stage (which was a truncated and reversed version of Ouninpohja) put him out of the rally. After Galli, PG Andersson also rolled at the same corner. The main mover of the day was Subaru driver Chris Atkinson who leapt from seventh to third on the leaderboard by the end of day two. Dani Sordo was only a second behind in fourth but was having to be cautious in order to score manufacturer points. Henning Solberg was slipping back in fifth place while his brother Petter was one place behind in sixth. Privateer driver Matti Rantanen had moved up to seventh due to the retirements of others and Toni Gardemeister was keeping his Suzuki in the points despite having problems with his gearbox.


2008 Rally Japan
The 2008 Rally Japan was the fourteenth and penultimate round of the 2008 World Rally Championship season. The event saw Sébastien Loeb clinch his fifth consecutive world drivers title with his drive to a third-place finish. The event was won by Mikko Hirvonen in a Ford Focus, who led the event from start to finish to claim his third win of the season. Second place went to Hirvonen's teammate Jari-Matti Latvala, his fifth podium of the year and his first since the Rally of Turkey back in June.


2008 Rally Japan
Stobart M-Sport Ford's François Duval crashed out from second place during the sixth stage. Duval was not injured in the crash, but his co-driver Patrick Pivato sustained a fractured pelvis and tibia. He was rushed to the hospital, and internal bleeding was discovered during surgery. On day two of the rally, after a second operation, his condition was described as critical but stable.


2008 Rally Japan
On the 19th stage, Toni Gardemeister took the Suzuki World Rally Team's first-ever stage win. Suzuki also had their most successful rally to date with Gardemeister finishing sixth and teammate Per-Gunnar Andersson recording his best ever finish of fifth position.


2008 Rally Japan
The event was originally planned to run on October 24−26, but as to make full use of venues, including the Sapporo Dome, with its tenant the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters possibly needing it for the Japan Series, the event was approved by FIA to be delayed for a week. The dome was not needed for baseball, as the Ham Fighters didn't make it to the Japan Series.


2008 Rally Japan
The Sapporo Dome Super Special Stage was the second to be held in indoor venues in WRC history.


2008 Rally México
The 2008 Rally México, officially 22º Corona Rally México, was the third round of the 2008 World Rally Championship season. The rally was held on February 29 — March 2 and began with a ceremonial start on Thursday, February 28. It was the first gravel event of the season and also the opening round of the Junior World Rally Championship this season.


2008 Rally México, The event
The rally consisted of 20 special stages, one of which was cancelled due to safety reasons, as there were too many spectators gathered around the road. Also five of the stages were Super Special Stages. Some of the sections were placed as high as 2700 meters over sea level, causing significant engine power loss due to lower air pressure.


2008 Rally México, The event
The event was won by the previous edition's winner, Sébastien Loeb. Before the rally there was some controversy with Citroën Team changing the engine in his car after a major malfunction during the shakedown, but the team reverted to the original unit and avoided a five minutes penalty. The first rally leader was Jari-Matti Latvala, but after having to be the opening driver on the second day's stages and suffering from the broken intercooler pipe, causing the turbo to overheat and break, he dropped to third.


2008 Rally México, The event
Subaru's Chris Atkinson finished second after constant pace placing him in the top eight on every stage, achieving the best result in his career so far. Fourth overall was Mikko Hirvonen who lost large amounts of time after a few punctures and having to change a wheel in his Ford Focus RS WRC 07. Henning Solberg lost his battle for fourth with Hirvonen and had to settle for fifth after damaging his damper. The rest of pointing drivers were Matthew Wilson, Federico Villagra, both in Focuses 2007 spec and privateer Ricardo Triviño driving a Peugeot 206 WRC.


2008 Rally México, The event
Petter Solberg managed to score the last point in Manufacturers' Championship, even though having to restart under SupeRally format after having mechanical problems with the front left driveshaft in his Subaru Impreza WRC2007 on SS10. Citroën's number two, Daniel Sordo, came back into the fight after breaking the suspension in his C4 WRC and retiring too, but even though he won 3 stages overall, he wasn't able to regain the penalty he was given.


2008 Rally México, The event
Suzuki drivers suffered from mechanical problems during the first day and both Toni Gardemeister and Per-Gunnar Andersson had to retire from the rally for good. Also Stobart's Gigi Galli wasn't able to finish the event - the Italian had to retire from top-eight position after breaking the suspension in his Ford Focus.


2008 Rally México, The event
The top eight was followed by the JWRC podium - Frenchman Sebastien Ogier in Citroën C2 S1600, Estonian Jaan Mölder and Pole Michał Kościuszko, both in Suzuki Swifts S1600.


2008 Rally México, The event, Result change
Mexican Ricardo Triviño was disqualified during the second day of the event for using non-homologated driving gloves; he was able to complete the rally after deciding to appeal his case to higher jurisdiction. His request was later rejected and Triviño was excluded from the event, which resulted in Sebastien Ogier, WRC debutant, to score one point in drivers' championship. It was the first time in World Rally history that JWRC driver driving Super 1600 front-wheel drive rally car scored points in overall classification.


2008 Rally New Zealand
The 2008 Rally New Zealand was the eleventh round of the 2008 World Rally Championship season. The event was based on the northern island of the country near the city of Hamilton. The stages were run on gravel roads characterised by their pronounced camber, which gives them a fast flowing nature. They are also known for their picturesque qualities. The rally ran between 28 and 31 August. Sébastien Loeb won his forty-fourth WRC rally, and his eighth of the season, in a dramatic event, where Mikko Hirvonen came third after being passed in the latter stages of the rally. Daniel Sordo, like Loeb, also driving for Citroën, claimed 2nd place. After the event Loeb had an eight-point lead over Hirvonen in the drivers championship with four events remaining.


2008 Rally New Zealand, Event
Heavy rain in the buildup before the event forced a change to the itinerary, with the 43 km Waitomo stage having to be split into two due to a landslip. Despite the poor weather before the event Matthew Wilson still believed the first car would be at a disadvantage, thus making team tactics - as seen at Turkey - more likely. After Gigi Galli's accident in Germany, François Duval was called up by Stobart Ford to replace him as an approach to two time world champion Marcus Grönholm failed to lure him out of retirement.


2008 Rally New Zealand, Event, Day one
Despite sweeping the roads for the other competitors, and a big moment when he nearly rolled his car during the very first stage, Loeb was just 0.7 seconds behind Hirvonen going into the penultimate stage of the day. With road positions for day two being decided at the end of this stage, rather than at the short Super special stage at Mystery Creek, Hirvonen was expected to intentionally drop behind Loeb to ensure a better starting position. Loeb then suffered a starter motor problem which meant he couldn't start at his allotted time.


2008 Rally New Zealand, Event, Day one
With Hirvonen now effectively running first on the road, he was unable to play the tactical game and therefore ended day one in front, and as road sweeper for day two. When questioned after the stage, Loeb denied any suggestion of tactics - citing the thirty-second time penalty he picked up for starting the stage late - "Do you really think I'd give away that much time?" Hirvonen agreed that Loeb seemed to have a genuine problem.


2008 Rally New Zealand, Event, Day one
Jari-Matti Latvala also tried to improve his starting position but although falling behind Loeb, he managed to stay ahead of Dani Sordo by 0.1 second - despite backing off before the end of the stage. Behind the two factory Ford and Citroën drivers was Duval, who was just under ninety seconds off the lead. Urmo Aava was in sixth, Petter Solberg in seventh with Suzuki driver PG Andersson enjoying a trouble free run in eighth place.


2008 Rally New Zealand, Event, Day one
Drivers who weren't so lucky included Henning Solberg - who lost seven and a half minutes with power steering problems, Matthew Wilson - who suffered gearbox problems and had to retire for the day after SS4, the same stage as Subaru driver Chris Atkinson - who rolled his car halfway through the stage


2008 Rally New Zealand, Event, Day two
Loeb used his starting position to close on Hirvonen throughout the day. After taking seven seconds out of his lead on the first stage of the day, Loeb took over the lead on stage twelve. With only one stage left to run on the day Loeb was 4.2 seconds clear - below his target time of a twenty-second lead. With this in mind he slowed down at the end of Te Akau North to let Hirvonen back into the lead.


2008 Rally New Zealand, Event, Day two
Latvala was able to help Hirvonen by finishing ahead of him on time and to start the final day in front. With Sordo keeping close to the pace of the other leaders, there was only a sixteen-second gap between the first four drivers. Behind the leading pack, the points positions remained the same as on day one. The most noteworthy performance came from Henning Solberg, who used his advantageous road position to claim four stage wins on his climb back up the leaderboard.


2008 Rally d'Italia Sardegna
The 2008 Rally d'Italia Sardegna is the sixth round of 2008 World Rally Championship season. The event began on May 16 in Olbia, Italy, and finished on May 18.


2008 Rally of Turkey
The 9th Rally of Turkey, the 8th round of the 2008 World Rally Championship season took place between June 12–15, 2008. The event returned after a year sabbatical and was held in the south west of Turkey, with the rally headquarters and service park based in the seaside resort of Kemer. The special stages are held on gravel mountain roads to the south west of Antalya. The rally was won by Finland's Mikko Hirvonen, with Jari-Matti Latvala finishing second and Sébastien Loeb third. With this result Hirvonen took a three-point lead over Loeb in the drivers world championship going into the six-week summer break.


2008 Rally of Turkey, Event, Day one
The event kicked off with a short superspecial stage on Thursday evening, which was won by Sébastien Loeb. On Friday - the first full day of the rally - he was due to run first and 'clean' the roads. This had a big impact on his performance (his stage times were up to 29 seconds quicker on the second pass through the stages) and meant that he would only win one stage on the day.


2008 Rally of Turkey, Event, Day one
Despite this he would still be leading the end of day one as the Ford drivers all took a tactical approach to the final stage of the day in order to secure a more advantageous road position for day two  - a tactic criticised by the Citroën Total team boss Olivier Quesnel. Behind Loeb were the drivers for the BP-Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team and the Stobart VK M-Sport team, with the last of the Ford quartet, fifth place man Mikko Hirvonen, a mere 6.2 seconds behind Loeb at the end of day one.


2008 Rally of Turkey, Event, Day one
Ahead of Hirvonen was Gigi Galli in fourth place. Galli won three stages, with his teammate Henning Solberg winning one stage and finishing the day in second place. The remaining Ford driver was Jari-Matti Latvala who ended the day in third place after an astonishing performance that saw him take  two stage wins (one by a margin of 15 seconds) and pick up two punctures.


2008 Rally of Turkey, Event, Day one
Behind the leaders was Subaru driver Petter Solberg. The new Subaru was more disappointing than on its debut in Greece with Petter Solberg nearly 50 seconds off the pace. Matthew Wilson was in seventh spot, just over a minute behind despite suffering with a cold. In the final points paying position was Dani Sordo. Sordo was running in fifth until suspension damage on stage 7 put him back into 8th place.


2008 Rally of Turkey, Event, Day two
The Citroën teams fears about road sweeping were confirmed throughout the day as Loeb lost time to both factory Ford drivers. By the end of the day Loeb was 34 seconds adrift of new rally leader Mikko Hirvonen, yet Loeb still believed that "anything was possible". Hirvonen had earlier said that he needed a lead of 50 seconds  to hang on to his lead throughout Sunday. With a lead of only 16 seconds over his teammate Latvala - there was still everything to play for going into Sunday.


2008 Rally of Turkey, Event, Day two
Behind the three leaders, the two Stobart drivers both had a less successful day. After starting brightly, Gigi Galli suffered turbo problems throughout stages 12 and 13  which dropped him to 8th place by the end of the day. Galli had to retire from the rally at this stage as he was suffering from dehydration and exhaustion. Henning Solberg had a quiet day and gradually dropped time, finishing up just over two minutes off the pace in 4th place with Dani Sordo looming large, only 7 seconds behind. Petter Solberg and Matthew Wilson continued their steady runs in 6th and 7th place respectively.


2008 Rally of Turkey, Event, Day three
With over sixty five kilometres of special stages still to go, the rally was still wide open. The tension was increased further after the first special stage of the day as Hirvonen stalled at the start line and lost nine seconds of his advantage to Latvala. Everything had looked settled after special stage 18, with Latvala making a small mistake and losing the advantage he had gained at the previous stage, but the final thirty kilometre stage saw drama right to the end. Both the challengers to Hirvonen's lead were making significant inroads at the mid way split.


2008 Rally of Turkey, Event, Day three
Latvala was 4.3 seconds faster than Hirvonen, with Loeb 11.3 seconds faster and putting both Ford drivers under enormous pressure - pressure that was increased when Hirvonen suffered a puncture near the end of the stage. However, Latvala and Loeb's tyres were also very worn and they could not maintain their final stage attack. At the end Hirvonen hung on to win by 7.9 seconds from Latvala, with Loeb 25 seconds back in third.