2008 Halifax municipal election
The 2008 municipal elections of the Halifax Regional Municipality took place on 18 October 2008 in conjunction with Municipal elections across the province. Elections have been held every four years since the amalgamation of the cities of Halifax and Dartmouth, the town of Bedford and Halifax County into the Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996. At the time, the regional council was made up of twenty-three councillors and one mayor, all positions were up for election.


2008 Halifax municipal election
There are no political parties at the municipal level in Nova Scotia, so all candidates run as independents. Voter turnout in the last 2004 mayoral election was 54.45%.


2008 Halifax municipal election, District 1: Eastern Shore - Musquodoboit Valley
2004 Election - Steve Streatch 2,366 (46.4%);  Laurie Taylor 1,367 (26.9%);  Martin Singh 740 (14.59%);  Randy Carter 600 (11.83%) - Voter turnout: 54.58%


2008 Halifax municipal election, District 2: Waverley - Fall River - Beaver Bank
2004 Election - Krista Snow 2,577 (34.86%);  Wayne MacRae 2,317 (31.34%);  David Merrigan 1,573 (21.28%);  Alexander Boyd 866 (11.71%);  John Woods 60 (0.81%) - Voter turnout: 58.57%


2008 Halifax municipal election, District 3: Preston - Lawrencetown - Chezzetcook
2004 Election - David Hendsbee 4,217 (71.58%);  Dexter Power 1,244 (21.12%);  David Hill 430 (7.30%) - Voter Turnout: 43.93%


2008 Halifax municipal election, District 4: Cole Harbour
2004 Election - Harry McInroy 3,566 (54.19%);  Ron Cooper 3,014 (45.81%) - Voter Turnout: 48.22%


2008 Halifax municipal election, District 5:  Dartmouth Centre
2004 Election - Gloria McCluskey 3,217 (54.13%);  John M. Cunningham 1,546 (26.01%);  Peter Majeau 1,180 (19.86%) - Voter turnout: 50.51%


2008 Halifax municipal election, District 6: Dartmouth East - The Lakes
2004 Election - Andrew Younger 3,263 (51.74%);  Brian Warshick 2,748 (43.58%);  Henry (Hank) J. White 295 (4.68%) - Voter Turnout: 52.19%


2008 Halifax municipal election, District 7: Portland - East Woodlawn
2004 Election - Bill Karsten 1,656 (25.89%);  Emmett Austin 1,533 (23.96%);  Monique Smith 1,505 (23.53%);  Norman Wiechert 1,243 (19.43%);  John L. MacDougall 460 (7.19%) - Voter Turnout: 54.05%


2008 Halifax municipal election, District 8: Woodside  - Eastern Passage
2007 By-election - Jackie Barkhouse 48.31;  Brian Birt 25.12;  David F Boyd 2;  Beverley Skaalrud-Woodfield 24.582004 Election - Becky Kent 1,977 (39.53%);  Bruce F. Hetherington 1,359 (27.17%);  Maurice Henneberry 1,049 (20.98%);  Steven Michael Barkhouse 616 (12.32%) - Voter Turnout: 42.95%


2008 Halifax municipal election, District 9: Albro Lake - Harbourview
2004 Election - Jim Smith 2,421 (66.73%);  Clint Schofield 1,207 (33.27%) - Voter turnout: 36.14%


2008 Halifax municipal election, District 10: Clayton Park West
2004 Election - Mary Wile 1097 (27.28%);  Jeff Campbell 987 (24.55%);  David Salah 789 (19.62%);  Christine Smith 594 (14.77%);  Daniel Roukema 554 (13.78%) - Voter turnout: 42.18%


2008 Halifax municipal election, District 11: Halifax North End
2004 Election - Patrick Murphy 1745 (35.15%);  Eva Moore 1457 (29.35%);  Debbie Kelly 603 (12.15%);  Jocelyn Yerxa 556 (11.20%);  Pat Pottie 381 (7.68%);  Michael White 112 (2.26%);  Michael Parsons 110 (2.22%) - Voter Turnout: 45.83%


2008 Halifax municipal election, District 12: Halifax Downtown
2004 Election - Dawn Marie Sloane 1586 (51.78%);  Irvine Carvery 717 (23.41%);  Caley MacLennan 439 (14.33%);  Mark Daye 321 (10.48%) - Voter Turnout: 35.83%


2008 Halifax municipal election, District 13: Northwest Arm - South End and Sable Island
2004 Election - Sue Uteck 3141 (62.45%);  Beverly Miller 1636 (32.52%);  John Davis 253 (5.03%) - Voter turnout: 47.03%


2008 Halifax municipal election, District 14: Connaught - Quinpool
2004 Election - Sheila Fougere 3894 (81.01%);  Stephen Parsons 777 (16.16%);  Alexander Sang Lam 136 (2.83%) - Voter Turnout: 46.50%


2008 Halifax municipal election, District 15: Fairview  - Clayton Park
2004 Election - Russell Walker 2953 (69.17%);  Nathaniel Smith 1316 (30.83%) - Voter Turnout: 43.52%


2008 Halifax municipal election, District 17: Purcell's Cove - Armdale
2004 Election - Linda Mosher 3545 (68.32%);  Graham Read 1087 (20.95%);  Bill Meagher 557 (10.73%) - Voter turnout: 53.08%


2008 Halifax municipal election, District 18: Spryfield  - Herring Cove
2004 Election - Steve Adams 3164 (62.47%);  Bruce Cooke 1005 (19.84%);  Jerry MacKinlay 612 (12.08%);  Charlie Reardon 284 (5.61%) - Voter Turnout: 46.13%


2008 Halifax municipal election, District 19: Sackville - Lucasville
2004 Election - Brad 'BJ' Johns 4028 (70.33);  Raymond Smardon 827 (14.44%);  Phil Syms 620 (10.83%);  John Ferguson 252 (4.40%) - Voter turnout: 49.05%


2008 Halifax municipal election, District 20: Lower Sackville
2004 Election - Bob Harvey 3089 (54.23%);  George A Hoskins 1613 (28.32%);  Steve Blackmore 994 (17.45%) - Voter turnout: 48.85


2008 Halifax municipal election, District 22: Timberlea - Prospect
2004 Election - Reg Rankin 2038 (28.5%); Barb Allen 1999 (27.96%);  Jack Mitchell 1426 (19.94%);  Gary Sampson 732 (10.24%);  Kathy Melanson 591 (8.27%);  Lisa Mullin 201 (2.81%);  Dennis Kirby 163 (2.28%) - Voter Turnout: 54.89%


2008 Halifax municipal election, District 23: Hammonds Plains - St. Margaret's
2004 Election - Gary Meade 2984 (47.68%);  Byron Kennedy 1177 (18.8%); Mike Marriott 650 (10.39%);  Bill Woodwort 629 (10.05%);  Kevin Hubley 535 (8.55%);  John Profit 284 (4.54%) - Voter Turnout: 54.73%


2008 Hall of Fame Tennis Championships
The 2008 Hall of Fame Tennis Championships (also known as the Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships for sponsorship reasons) was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 33rd edition of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, United States, from July 7 through July 13, 2008.


2008 Hall of Fame Tennis Championships
The singles field was led by Hamburg Masters doubles semifinalist and Indian Wells Masters singles finalist Mardy Fish, Sydney semifinalist and Newport defending champion Fabrice Santoro, and Marseille quarterfinalist Nicolas Mahut. Other seeded players were Pörtschach semifinalist Igor Kunitsyn, San Jose quarterfinalist John Isner, Donald Young, Frank Dancevic and Kevin Anderson.


2008 Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, Finals, Doubles
Mardy Fish /  'John Isner defeated  Rohan Bopanna /  Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi 6–4, 7–6(7–1)


2008 Hall of Fame Tennis Championships – Doubles
Jordan Kerr and Jim Thomas were the defending champions, but chose not to participate that year.


2008 Hall of Fame Tennis Championships – Doubles
Mardy Fish and John Isner won in the final 6–4, 7–6(7–1) against Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi


2008 Hall of Fame Tennis Championships – Singles
Fabrice Santoro was the defending champion, and won in the final 6–3, 7–5, against Prakash Amritraj.


2008 Hall of Fame Tennis Championships – Singles, Seeds
The top four seeds receive a bye into the second round.


2008 Halmstads BK season, Squad, First-team squad
As of 1 September 2008. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008 Halmstads BK season, Squad, Youth squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008 Halmstads BK season, Transfers, In
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008 Halmstads BK season, Transfers, Out
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008 Halmstads BK season, Transfers, Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008 Halmstads BK season, Appearances and goals
1= Player's number was given to another player after the player left the club.


2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election
The 2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election was a by-election held in the United Kingdom on 10 July 2008 to elect a new Member of Parliament (MP) for constituency of Haltemprice and Howden. The by-election was triggered by the surprise and controversial resignation from the House of Commons of the sitting MP David Davis on 12 June 2008. Davis's stated intention was to spark a wider public debate on the perceived erosion of civil liberties in the UK by recontesting his seat on this single issue platform, launched as the David Davis for Freedom campaign. The two other main political parties Labour and the Liberal Democrats declined to field candidates, Liberal Democrats as they supported Davis in this issue and Labour as they considered the election a "political stunt".


2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election
Davis was subsequently re-elected to his seat with 72% of the vote. Davis received 17,113 votes, with the closest challenge coming from the Green Party and English Democrats with 1,758 and 1,714 votes respectively. All other candidates lost their deposit due to polling less than 5% of the vote. Due to the unusual circumstances, the election broke several records, including the most candidates running in a UK parliamentary by-election – 26, the largest number of independents, the largest number of people losing their deposits and the best by-election, until then, for the Green Party and English Democrats.


2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election
While single issue by-elections such as this one were not unprecedented, they were rare in modern political times. Under election law, other candidates were free to stand on their chosen manifesto and not necessarily obliged to oppose or support Davis. Davis's use of a by-election in this way attracted both praise and criticism from politicians, the public and the media, with The Sun newspaper initially considering fielding a candidate to oppose Davis in support of anti-terrorism legislation. The Labour party's non-participation stance attracted specific criticism as appearing to be afraid to debate, following recent poor election results and a record low opinion poll result; while Davis attracted criticism as being vain, wasting public money, and for contesting the issue in his safe seat.


2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election, Background
Davis, the then Shadow Home Secretary, announced his intention to resign on 12 June 2008, a day after a House of Commons vote passed the Counter-Terrorism Bill, which would extend the legal detention of terror suspects without charge to a maximum of 42 days. Explaining his actions, Davis stated he intended to spark a wider public debate about the perceived erosion of civil liberties by the then Labour government, which in the following week was launched as the 'David Davis for Freedom campaign'. Culture Secretary Andy Burnham called on Davis to fund the cost of the by-election to the taxpayer, estimated at £80,000, from his own pocket.


2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election, Background
Davis had held the seat as a Conservative since its creation in 1997, having previously been MP since 1987 for the predecessor seat of Boothferry. The Conservative position at the time of Davis's resignation aligned with Davis in opposing the 42-day extension vote, although Davis's decision to resign was characterised as personal and not a shadow cabinet decision, by Conservative leader David Cameron.


2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election, Background
The by-election followed a heavy defeat for Labour in the Crewe and Nantwich by-election in May 2008, who were previously the third party in this seat behind the second placed Liberal Democrats. The by-election also followed a previously failed attempt by the Liberal Democrats to target Davis as a high-profile seat in a 'decapitation' strategy against the Conservatives in the previous general election of 2005.


2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election, Background, Analogous UK parliamentary elections
A small number of previous by-elections have been initiated when the sitting MP resigned on a point of principle and stood for immediate re-election. This has occurred three times since the Second World War, the Lincoln by-election in 1973 and the Mitcham and Morden by-election in 1982 when the sitting MPs changed parties, and in 1986 when fifteen Northern Irish MPs resigned in protest against the Anglo-Irish Agreement. In addition in 1955 Sir Richard Acland resigned with the intention to re-contest Gravesend as an independent in protest against the Labour Party's support for nuclear weapons, but the 1955 general election overtook events and he lost.


2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election, Background, Analogous UK parliamentary elections
At the 1997 general election, neither Labour nor the Liberal Democrats stood against the Conservatives in the seat of Tatton, urging their supporters to back the independent Martin Bell, over the Cash-for-questions affair. Bell defeated Neil Hamilton and won the seat. In both the 2001 and 2005 general elections, the Liberal Democrats did not field a candidate in Wyre Forest, instead supporting the Health Concern candidate Richard Taylor.


2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election, Candidates
The East Riding of Yorkshire Council announced the accepted candidates on 26 June 2008. At 26, the number of candidates broke the record for a UK parliamentary by-election, previously held by the 1993 Newbury by-election, which had 19 candidates. The greatest number of candidates to have contested a UK general election seat is 15, at Sedgefield in 2005.


2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election, Candidates
Due to the large number of candidates the ballot paper for this election was arranged in two columns. Also, the candidates stood in a line in front of a small platform with the returning officer on it, rather than on a temporary stage as is normally practised because it was feared that the stage would not take the weight of all the candidates.


2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election, Candidates, Christian Party
George Hargreaves stood for the Christian Party and is leader of that party. The party website said "he is asking the Haltemprice and Howden electorate to use their vote to demand a referendum on the European Union, which he believes is the greatest threat to our civil liberties".


2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election, Candidates, Church of the Militant Elvis Party
David Bishop was the candidate for the Church of the Militant Elvis Party. He previously stood for this party in Erewash in the 2005 United Kingdom general election and in Brentwood and Ongar in 2001.


2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election, Candidates, Conservative
David Davis, MP for the constituency and its predecessor from 1987 until his resignation brought about the by-election, stood as the official Conservative Party candidate. He fought the campaign on the theme David Davis for Freedom.


2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election, Candidates, English Democrats Party
The English Democrats Party selected Joanne Robinson as its candidate. She previously stood as the United Kingdom Independence Party candidate for the same constituency in the 2001 general election.


2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election, Candidates, Freedom 4 Choice
Blackpool based Hamish Howitt was one of two pub landlords who announced intentions to stand under the "Freedom to Choose" label, opposing the smoking ban in England.


2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election, Candidates, Green Party
Shan Oakes was the Green Party candidate. She is also the party's candidate in the 2009 European Parliament elections.


2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election, Candidates, Green Party
She stood on a civil rights platform, highlighting the measures supported by David Davis that she claimed threaten civil liberties, including his support for the death sentence. David Davis admitted that the Green Party were his most serious contenders in the by-election.


2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election, Candidates, Make Politicians History
Ronnie Carroll, standing for Make Politicians History, was the party's leader and also a twice-defeated Eurovision Song Contest entrant. He stood in Hampstead and Highgate in the 1997 general election for the "Rainbow Dream Ticket", a predecessor of "Make Politicians History", and in the 1997 Uxbridge by-election for the ProLife Alliance. He told the VoteWise website he stands for liberating "ourselves from the governing classes, those lords of misrule"


2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election, Candidates, Miss Great Britain Party
The Miss Great Britain Party candidate was Gemma Garrett, following her last place, as an Independent, at the earlier Crewe and Nantwich by-election. The party registered with the Electoral Commission after that election. Garrett expressed opposition to David Davis, declaring herself "happy to be locked up for 42 days if I am a suspect".


2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election, Candidates, National Front
Tess Culnane was the National Front candidate; she was a 2004 London Assembly election candidate for the British National Party. and a 2008 London Assembly election candidate for the NF.


2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election, Candidates, The New Party
David Pinder stood for The New Party. He said "Read my lips: what David Davis is saying is that Britain needs a new party".


2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election, Candidates, Official Monster Raving Loony Party
The Official Monster Raving Loony Party's candidate was Rosalyn Warner, known as Mad Cow-Girl. She stood on an indefinite-detention platform, combined with a quote based on Douglas Adams's "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy": "The answer is 42!!! Now we just need to figure out the real question!!!" On BBC Radio 4, they were reported as saying 'because the sensible parties are acting like lunatics in this election, we have decided to come up with sensible policies'. Later she remarked "I may be a loony but I'm not mad enough to want dangerous people to be walking the streets" She has previously stood in Sunderland South in the 2001 and 2005 general elections.


2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election, Candidates, Socialist Equality Party
The Socialist Equality Party stood Chris Talbot as its candidate on a programme of "genuine" socialism with a particular emphasis on a defence of "democratic rights". He is a lecturer at the University of Huddersfield and contested South Wales Central in the 2007 National Assembly for Wales election.


2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election, Candidates, Candidate with no ballot paper description
David Icke said he would stand for election under the slogan "Big Brother – the Big Picture", but that if elected he would refuse to take the oath of allegiance to the Queen in order to take up his seat. He opted to declare neither a party affiliation nor "Independent", so appeared on the ballot paper with no party label. Icke told the VoteWise website he had "no politics", and David Davis had a "lot he doesn't yet see".


2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election, Not standing, Liberal Democrats
Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, announced that his party would not field a candidate in the by-election as the issue of civil liberties transcended party politics and the Liberal Democrats supported Davis's position on the issue, but he said that the party intended to contest the seat as normal at the next general election. The Liberal Democrats came second in the 2005 and 2010 general elections in this seat and fourth in the 2015 general election.


2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election, Not standing, Labour Party
The Labour Party also declared that it would not contest the by-election. In the immediate aftermath of Davis's decision, Prime Minister Gordon Brown called the by-election a "farce", and Davis's opposite number, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said the Conservative Party was in "disarray". In a statement on the Labour Party's website, NEC Chair, Dianne Hayter, said: "This is a phoney by-election that is completely unnecessary and the Labour Party will not be taking part in what is a political stunt".


2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election, Not standing, UK Independence Party
The United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) did not contest the election. However, one UKIP MEP announced that he would campaign for David Davis if he also addressed issues related to the European Union during his campaign.


2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election, Not standing, British National Party
The British National Party published that it foresaw the "possible...splintering" of the Conservatives, it supported Davis on "traditional British civil liberties", and on those two grounds, would not run.


2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election, Not standing, News Corp
The editor of The Sun newspaper, Rebekah Wade and its proprietor Rupert Murdoch requested in the immediate days following Davis's decision that columnist Kelvin MacKenzie stand against Davis for election. MacKenzie stated "The Sun is very, very hostile to David Davis because of his 28-day stance and The Sun has always been very up for 42 days and perhaps even 420 days." In its editorial The Sun described Davis as deranged. MacKenzie said on 19 June 2008 that he would not be standing, primarily due to having no financial backing. He urged people to vote instead for Eamonn Fitzpatrick.


2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election, History, Constituency history
Davis held the seat, as a Conservative, since its creation in 1997, and held the predecessor seat of Boothferry from 1987. Its area has been covered by parts of (and partly at different times) by Boothferry, Howden, Haltemprice, Howdenshire and East Riding of Yorkshire, has been consistently represented by Conservative MPs since the 1837 general election.


2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election, History, Constituency history
Davis's majority fell to 4.3% in the 2001 general election; the seat became a Liberal Democrat target. Davis increased his majority to 10.7% in the 2005 general election.


2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election, History, By-election records
The nature of Davis's resignation resulted in a number of by-election records and unusual occurrences. Most notably, at 26, the election saw a record number of candidates and a record number of independent candidates standing for an election in the UK. 23 of them, including all independents, lost their deposit, also a record.


2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election, History, By-election records
The Labour Party's decision not to put forward a candidate meant this was the first Great British by-election since the Bristol South East in 1963 (in which the Conservative Party did not stand) in which the governing party has not stood a candidate and the first Great British by-election without a Labour candidate since the 1946 Combined English Universities by-election.


2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election, History, By-election records
Davis's result saw the biggest increase in share of the vote, up 24.1%, for a Conservative by-election candidate since 1945. The Green Party and the English Democrats Party both gained record high by-election vote percentages at 7.4% and 7.2%, and second and third place respectively. This is also the highest percentage vote for the English Democrats at any parliamentary election.


2008 Halton Borough Council election
The 2008 Halton Borough Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of Halton Unitary Council in Cheshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour party stayed in overall control of the council.


2008 Halton Borough Council election, Campaign
20 seats were contested in the election with Labour defending 12, the Liberal Democrats 6 and the Conservatives 2. Among these seats were those of the Labour leader of the council, Tony McDermott, and the Liberal Democrat group leader, Linda Redhead. There were 63 candidates including 20 from Labour, 19 each from the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, 4 from the Green party and 1 Citizens Party of Halton candidate. Labour were expected to remain in control of the council, but both Liberal Democrats and Conservatives were hoping to make gains, with the Liberal Democrats targeting Runcorn and the wards of Castlefields and Halton Brook.


2008 Halton Borough Council election, Campaign
A big issue in the election was a plan for an Ineos Chlor heat and power plant in the area with both the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives raising concerns from residents. Other issues included the Mersey Gateway project and the government Building Schools for the Future programme for building new schools. Labour were happy to defend their record in control of the council, but the Conservatives attacked council tax rises over the previous decade and the Liberal Democrats said that Runcorn had been neglected in favour of Widnes.


2008 Halton Borough Council election, Results
The results saw Labour remain in control of the council as they had been since it became a unitary authority in 1998. Labour held all 12 seats they had been defending, including the leader of the council, Tony McDermott, who was comfortably re-elected in Broadheath ward. He described the results as being a "real vote of confidence in the party".


2008 Halton Borough Council election, Results
However, in Halton Brook ward the Labour councillor Stef Nelson only held his seat after a tie which required the drawing of lots. Both Nelson and the Liberal Democrat candidate, Louise Whitley, won 551 votes after 7 recounts, requiring the Returning Officer to draw a lot to decide the result, with Nelson successful and thus being declared to have won the election by 1 vote.


2008 Halton Borough Council election, Results
The only seat to change hands was Daresbury, where the Conservative Marjorie Bradshaw gained from the Liberal Democrats, in a ward which her husband had won in the 2007 election. Elsewhere the Green party significantly reduced the Labour majority in Halton View ward. Overall turnout in the election was slightly down at 26.84%.


2008 Hamburg state election
The 2008 Hamburg state election was held on 24 February 2008 to elect the members of the 19th Hamburg Parliament. The incumbent Christian Democratic Union led by First Mayor Ole von Beust government lost its majority. The CDU subsequently formed a coalition government with the Green Alternative List. This was the first time the CDU had formed a state government with the Greens in Germany.


2008 Hamburg state election, Parties
The table below lists parties represented in the 18th Hamburg Parliament.


2008 Hamilton 400
The 2008 Hamilton 400 was the third round of the 2008 V8 Supercar season. It was held on the weekend of 18 to 20 April on the streets of Hamilton, in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand.


2008 Hamilton 400, Race 1
Race 1 was held on Saturday 19 April. Garth Tander took his fourth consecutive win after clean-sheeting at Albert Park. The race wasn't without incident though as Mark Winterbottom and Shane van Gisbergen collided with each other off the start line while Greg Murphy was spun around by Mark Skaife at the exit of turn 1.


2008 Hamilton 400, Race 1
The chaos continued into turn 2 when Van Gisbergen locked up while Russell Ingall went down the inside of a Steven Johnson car which caused a collision collecting Paul Morris, Shane Price, Michael Patrizi, Steven Johnson and Craig Lowndes. Johnson, Price and Ingall retired to the pits. Steven Richards had managed to run wide at turn 5 which gave the lead to Tander and gave Rick Kelly second place. The Safety Car was deployed until the end of lap 5.


2008 Hamilton 400, Race 1
The Safety Car was back on track at the end of that lap though thanks to an incident for Patrizi at turn 7. Most people pulled into the pits except for a few people like Mark Skaife. This decision, forced by HRT's decision to pit Tander first, would cost Skaife dearly later in the race. The Safety Car pulled in on lap 11 and racing resumed.


2008 Hamilton 400, Race 1
Jason Richards and Lowndes were both given drive through penalties for pitlane infringements after Murphy pulled into pitlane with a broken steering plate. Murphy returned to the track 2 laps later to the delight of the crowd and Paul Morris had also returned to the track.


2008 Hamilton 400, Race 1
Skaife pitted on lap 20 and fell well down the order while Caruso spun his GRM Holden Commodore. Craig Lowndes entered pitlane on lap 26 for a flat tyre when he clipped the tyre bundle at turn 4. Andrew Jones pulled into the garage to retire at lap 30. Van Gisbergen also pitted on lap 33 for some damage and was subsequently lapped. In the end Tander won from Rick Kelly and Steven Richards.


2008 Hamilton 400, Race 2
Race 2 was held on Sunday 20 April. A fifth consecutive victory for Garth Tander in Race 2.


2008 Hamilton 400, Race 3
Race 3 was held on Sunday 20 April. Six on the trot wrapped up the round victory for Garth Tander.


2008 Hamilton 400, Results, Qualifying
Steven Richards gave the big New Zealand crowd something to cheer about, securing pole position in the Ford Performance Racing Falcon after Garth Tander's last-ditch effort fell five hundredths short. Rick Kelly was third fastest ahead of Stone Brothers Racing driver James Courtney. Crowd favourite, Greg Murphy made a welcome return to the top ten in seventh. Michael Caruso, who has struggled since graduating since arriving in the V8 Supercar Championship Series, was a top performer, topping one of the practice sessions and backing it up with eighth grid position, three behind his Garry Rogers Motorsport teammate Lee Holdsworth.


2008 Hamilton 400, Results, Qualifying
A heavy practice crash limited Round 2 winner Will Davison's progress to 16th, while Jamie Whincup looked a good bet for pole position until he crashed heavily after contact with Todd Kelly. The car was not repairable and the series points leader was reduced to a spectator for the weekend. A miserable weekend for Triple Eight Race Engineering saw Craig Lowndes qualify back in 21st, caught out by the changeable weather in the first part of qualifying, failing to make the first qualifying cut.


2008 Hamilton Tiger-Cats season
The 2008 Hamilton Tiger-Cats season was the 51st season for the team in the Canadian Football League and their 59th overall. The Tiger-Cats attempted to win their 9th Grey Cup championship, but they failed to make the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, which is the longest playoff drought in franchise history.


2008 Hamilton Tiger-Cats season, Offseason, Jamacia Jackson
Ticats linebacker Jamacia Jackson died on April 16, 2008. Jackson was found unresponsive on Monday morning at a home in Sumter, South Carolina. He was later pronounced dead at a local area hospital. Jamacia was 26 years old. Jackson's stepmother, Cleo Jackson, advised The Associated Press that he was in good health and had lifted weights Saturday. Jackson had played 12 games with the Ticats last season after signing with the club as a free agent Jan. 11, 2007.


2008 Hamilton Tiger-Cats season, Offseason, Jamacia Jackson
Jackson spent his college career at the University of South Carolina and played in 43 games over four seasons, including 21 as a starting strong safety. His career stats include 159 career tackles for the Gamecocks along with two interceptions, returning one 98 yards for a touchdown. He also forced three fumbles and recovered two others. Jackson was named Most Valuable Defensive Player of the 1999 Shrine Bowl. Jackson was signed by the NFL's Tennessee Titans on April 29, 2005, and was waived by the Titans on July 27.


2008 Hamilton Tiger-Cats season, Offseason, Jamacia Jackson
After being cut by the Titans, he signed with the Montreal Alouettes and was assigned to their practice roster. Before coming to the CFL, he signed with the NFL's New York Giants in 2006 but was allocated to NFL Europe. He was selected in the 16th round by the Berlin Thunder. Despite attending Berlin's training camp, he was released March 5, 2006 and subsequently cut loose by the Giants two weeks later. Jackson is the second Ticats' player to die during a recent off-season.


2008 Hamilton Tiger-Cats season, Offseason, Jamacia Jackson
Offensive lineman Travis Claridge died on February 28, 2006, after being found unconscious in his Las Vegas home. Claridge was 27 at the time and his death was later ruled accidental. An autopsy revealed that Jackson died from an irregular heartbeat caused by an enlarged heart. Sumter County coroner Verna Moore stated on Tuesday April 16 that the autopsy revealed Jackson likely had an enlarged heart for years.


2008 Hamilton Tiger-Cats season, Offseason, CFL Draft
In the 2008 CFL Draft, 48 players were chosen from among 752 eligible players from Canadian universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA. The first two rounds were broadcast on TSN.ca with host Rod Black. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats, with the league-worst 3–15 record in the 2007 CFL season had several offers for their first-overall selection but kept their pick and chose Saskatchewan Huskies safety Dylan Barker. Barker, a native of  Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan is a two-time Canadian Interuniversity Sport first-team all-Canadian. He led the Huskies with 53 tackles, three interceptions, and four breakups last season. It is expected that he will be able to help the Tiger-Cats in the 2008 CFL season.


2008 Hamilton Tiger-Cats season, Regular season
The game on September 19 was the first game since the death of former Tiger Cats coach Ron Lancaster. The Ticats wore decals on their helmets for the game with a green number 23. It was Lancaster's number as a player. The stadium stood for a video tribute and a moment of silence before the game began, with his family standing near the sidelines. This was also the Canadian Football Hall of Fame game. This year's inductees included Doug Flutie, Mike (Pinball) Clemons, Mike Pringle, John Bonk and builder Tom Shepherd. The inductees received their jackets and unveiled their bronzed busts during the halftime.


2008 Hamilton Tiger-Cats season, Regular season, Ron Lancaster
On Thursday, September 18, Ron Lancaster, 69, died from an apparent heart attack, less than two months after being diagnosed with lung cancer. Lancaster resigned as the Eskimos' head coach after the 1997 season to become the Hamilton Tiger-Cats' head coach and director of football operations. The Tiger-Cats reached the Grey Cup in their first season under Lancaster and won the title the following year. The Tiger-Cats were coached by Lancaster from 1998 to 2003, and again in 2006. The two-time CFL coach-of-the-year won 142 regular-season games on the sideline, placing him fourth all-time.


2008 Hamilton Tiger-Cats season, Statistics, Offence, Rushing
Despite leading the team in rushing yards, Jesse Lumsden was plagued by several injuries. On July 12, in a game against Saskatchewan, stretched knee ligaments sidelined him. Against Montreal on July 31, a tackler fell on his right ankle and injured him. In a game against Edmonton, played on September 13, Lumsden injured his surgically repaired shoulder.


2008 Hansol Korea Open
The 2008 Hansol Korea Open was a women's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 5th edition of the event known that year as the Hansol Korea Open, and was part of the Tier IV Series of the 2008 WTA Tour. It took place at the Seoul Olympic Park Tennis Center in Seoul, South Korea, from September 22 through September 28, 2008.


2008 Hansol Korea Open, Finals, Doubles
Chuang Chia-jung /  Hsieh Su-wei defeated  Vera Dushevina /  Maria Kirilenko, 6–3, 6–0


2008 Hansol Korea Open – Doubles
Chuang Chia-jung and Hsieh Su-wei were the defending champions, and won in the final 6–3, 6–0, against Vera Dushevina and Maria Kirilenko.


2008 Hansol Korea Open – Singles
Venus Williams was the defending champion, but chose not to participate that year.


2008 Hansol Korea Open – Singles
Maria Kirilenko won in the final 2–6, 6–1, 6–4, against Samantha Stosur.


2008 Hargeisa–Bosaso bombings
The Hargeisa–Bosaso bombings occurred on October 29, 2008, when six suicide bombers attacked in coordinated car bombings targets in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, and the Puntland port of Bosaso in northeastern Somalia. The bombings killed at least 30 people.


2008 Hargeisa–Bosaso bombings, Attack details
These were suicide attacks. Two car bombs destroyed two centres of the anti-terrorism unit. There are casualties but we have to investigate and we cannot give more information at the moment.


2008 Hargeisa–Bosaso bombings, Attack details
Targets in Hargeisa include the presidential palace, the Ethiopian consulate, and UNDP offices, while in Bosaso the offices of the Puntland Intelligence Service were hit.


2008 Hargeisa–Bosaso bombings, Attack details
Twenty people were killed at Ethiopia's consulate in Hargeisa, while at least five were killed in the synchronized blasts at the local president's office and a UN building there. Two of the dead in the latter location were UN staff members, a driver and a security adviser. Six UN staff members were also injured in the blast that blew off the roofs of the UN compound. The UN humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, Mark Bowden, said: "While Somalia is one of the most dangerous places in the world for aid workers, Hargeisa has been relatively stable and consequently many United Nations staff were stationed there.""


2008 Hargeisa–Bosaso bombings, Attack details
Medical staff in Bosaso said October 30 that two more soldiers wounded in the intelligence headquarters blasts died overnight, bringing to at least five the victims of that strike."


2008 Hargeisa–Bosaso bombings, Investigation, Arrests
Authorities in the Puntland said they had arrested a prominent local sheik, Mohamud Ismail, for this attack and several others in a recent wave of attacks. A relative of the sheik, Abdishakur Mire, said: "Soldiers attacked our house and opened fire on us. They injured my uncle in the arm and then took him away." Authorities declined to give further details. However, the Interior Minister, Abdillahi Ismail, said the blasts were planned from Mogadishu.


2008 Hargeisa–Bosaso bombings, Investigation, Possible U.S. link
Authorities in Minneapolis, Minnesota, were investigating whether Shirwa Ahmed, a Somali immigrant and Minneapolis resident, was one of the suicide bombers in the attack.


2008 Hargeisa–Bosaso bombings, Reactions
The presidents of Somaliland and the Puntland state of Somalia condemned the bombings. Dahir Rayale Kahin, president of Somaliland, claimed that the attacks were an attack on Somaliland's "nationhood", and rare in the relatively peaceful breakaway state. He also stated that everything would be done to find out who was responsible for the attacks.


2008 Hargeisa–Bosaso bombings, Responsible faction
While no groups have taken responsibility for the attacks, an Islamist insurgency group, Al-Shabaab, is believed to be responsible. Suspicion fell, by at large, on Islamist insurgents in general who were fighting the Somali government and its Ethiopian military allies. Al-Shabaab posted a video of a suicide bomber on the Internet but did not explicitly link this to the attacks. The United States, however, blamed al-Qaeda, which it says works through Shabaab, for the attacks which overshadowed a summit in Kenya to discuss the 17-year-long conflict in Somalia.


2008 Harlequins Rugby League season
The 2008 Harlequins Rugby League season was the twenty-ninth in the club's history and their thirteenth season in the Super League. The club was coached by Brian McDermott, competing in Super League XIII, finishing in 9th place and reaching the Fifth round of the 2008 Challenge Cup.


2008 Harlow District Council election
The 2008 Harlow District Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of Harlow District Council in Essex, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative party gained overall control of the council from no overall control.


2008 Harlow District Council election
After the election, including the delayed election in Harlow Common, the composition of the council was


2008 Harlow District Council election, Background
After the last election in 2007 both the Conservative and Labour parties had 12 seats, the Liberal Democrats had 8 and there was 1 independent councillor. However, in October 2007 the Conservatives gained a seat from Labour in Toddbrook to move to 13 seats, while Labour dropped to 11.


2008 Harlow District Council election, Background
Before the election the council was run by a coalition between Labour and the Liberal Democrats, which had held power in Harlow since 2004. Among the councillors to stand down at the election were Liberal Democrat Su Lawton of Staple Tye ward and independent, former Conservative, John Paul Goddard of Sumners and Kingsmoor.


2008 Harlow District Council election, Background
The election in Harlow Common ward was delayed until 12 June 2008, after the death of Labour councillor Gregory Peck in April 2008.


2008 Harlow District Council election, Election result
The Conservatives gained a majority on the council after gaining 5 seats on the day of the May election, while Labour lost 4 seats. The Conservatives took seats from Labour in Little Parndon and Hare Street and Toddbrook, from the Liberal Democrats in Netteswell and Staple Tye and from an independent in Sumners and Kingsmoor. This meant the Conservatives took 8 of the 10 seats contested and finished the day with 18 councillors.


2008 Harlow District Council election, Election result
Labour failed to win any seats and dropped to 6 councillors after also losing 2 seats to the Liberal Democrats. The Liberal Democrat gains from Labour came in Bush Fair and Mark Hall wards and meant they stayed on 8 councillors. Overall turnout at the election was 33.80%, down from 34.75% at the 2007 election.


2008 Harlow District Council election, Election result
The delayed election in Harlow Common took place on 12 June 2008 and the Conservatives gained another seat from Labour with a majority of 331 votes. This increased the Conservative's majority on the council to 5 seats, with them having 19 of the 33 councillors.


2008 Harlow District Council election, Election result
The above totals include the delayed election in Harlow Common on 12 June 2008.


2008 Harlow District Council election, By-elections between 2008 and 2010
A by-election was held in Staple Tye on 30 April 2009 after councillor David Kirton was disqualified for not attending any meetings for 6 months. David Kirton had been elected as a Conservative, but was suspended from the party in October 2008 after being charged by police and was then an independent councillor.


2008 Harlow District Council election, By-elections between 2008 and 2010
The seat was gained for the Liberal Democrats by John Strachan with a majority of 60 votes over the Conservatives.


2008 Harrogate Borough Council election
The 2008 Harrogate Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of Harrogate Borough Council in North Yorkshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.


2008 Harrogate Borough Council election, Campaign
Before the election the Conservatives held 24 of the 54 seats, the Liberal Democrats 23 and independents 6. A further seat in Lower Nidderdale was vacant after the death of Conservative councillor Elwyn Hinchcliffe.


2008 Harrogate Borough Council election, Campaign
16 seats were contested in the election, all from the rural areas of the council, with the Conservatives the party defending in 13 seats and the Liberal Democrats in 3. 2 incumbent councillors stood down at the election, Nick Wilson from Newby ward and Chris Lewis from Ouseburn ward. The Conservatives contested all 16 seats, the Liberal Democrats 15, British National Party 6, Labour 5, United Kingdom Independence Party 3 and 1 independent.


2008 Harrogate Borough Council election, Campaign
Issues in the election included a possible recycling plant near Boroughbridge and the storage site for toxic chemicals in Melmerby, as well as the issues of transport, affordable housing and the council tax.


2008 Harrogate Borough Council election, Election result
The results saw the Conservatives gain 2 seats from the Liberal Democrats to hold 27 seats, exactly half of the council. The Conservatives gained Boroughbridge and Ouseburn wards, by 161 and 731 votes respectively, to reduce the Liberal Democrats to 21 seats. The only seat held by the Liberal Democrats was in Pateley Bridge by 77 votes, but they came 34 votes short of taking Lower Nidderdale and 37 votes from taking Claro. No other party won any seats in the election, while 6 independent councillors remained on the council, after none of them had been defending seats in the election. Overall turnout in the election was 48%, the highest in a decade apart from the all postal voting election in 2004.


2008 Hart District Council election
The 2008 Hart Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of Hart District Council in Hampshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control, with the Conservatives as the largest party.


2008 Hart District Council election, Campaign
12 seats were being contested in the election with the Conservatives defending 6 seats, the Liberal Democrats 5 and the Community Campaign (Hart) 1 seat. In total there were 30 candidates standing in the election with the Conservatives the only party to stand in all of the seats. Other candidates included 10 from the Liberal Democrats, 5 from Labour, 2 Community Campaign (Hart) and 1 from the British National Party. Before the election a coalition of the Liberal Democrats, Community Campaign (Hart) and the 2 Independents ran the council with the Conservatives forming the opposition.


2008 Hart District Council election, Campaign
Issues in the election included facilities for teenagers, cleaner streets, recycling and reducing crime. The Conservatives wanted to improve the value for money the council produced, develop the infrastructure for new housing and to keep roads in good condition. However the Liberal Democrats pledged to improve recycling, get more affordable housing and keep crime levels low.


2008 Hart District Council election, Campaign
During the campaign the national Conservative leader, David Cameron, visited the area to campaign for the party.


2008 Hart District Council election, Election result
The results saw the council remain with no party having a majority, but with the Conservatives gaining 2 seats to hold 17 of the 35 seats. Both Conservative gains came from the Liberal Democrats, taking Fleet Courtmoor by 391 votes and Fleet Pondtail by 493 votes. The Conservatives won 60% of the vote and claimed a mandate to take control of the council. However the 2 independents held the balance of power between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrat/Community Campaign (Hart) alliance. Overall turnout in the election was 36.9%.


2008 Hart District Council election, Election result
At the annual council meeting after the election the Conservatives took control of the council. Their leader Ken Crookes won 18 votes compared to 17 for Liberal Democrat leader David Neighbour, with 1 of the 2 independents, Susan Band, backing the Conservatives. The other independent, Denis Gotel, and the Community Campaign (Hart) backed the Liberal Democrat leader. As a result, the council cabinet was made up of all Conservatives, except for independent Susan Band who would continue to be responsible for housing and health.


2008 Harvard Crimson football team
The 2008 Harvard Crimson football team was an American football team that represented Harvard University in the 2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They had an Ivy League record of 6–1 and an overall record of 9–1. They tied with Brown for the Ivy League title.


2008 Hastings Borough Council election
The 2008 Hastings Borough Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of Hastings Borough Council in East Sussex, England. Half of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.


2008 Havant Borough Council election
The 2008 Havant Borough Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of Havant Borough Council in Hampshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.


2008 Havant Borough Council election, Background
Before the election the Conservatives ran the council with 31 of the 38 seats. 14 seats were contested at the election with a total of 55 candidates standing at the election. As well as full slates from the Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats, there were 9 candidates from the UK Independence Party and 2 each from the Green party and the English Democrats.


2008 Havant Borough Council election, Election result
The Conservatives increased their majority on the council after Mike Sceal took a seat in Warren Park ward from Labour. This took the Conservatives to 32 seats, while Labour dropped to 3 seats on the council. Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat Faith Ponsonby held a seat in Battins ward to keep the Liberal Democrats having 3 councillors. Overall turnout at the election was 32.2%.


2008 Havant Borough Council election, By-elections between 2008 and 2010
A by-election was held in Waterloo ward on 4 September 2008 after the death of councillor Wendy Brown. The seat was narrowly held for the Conservatives by Ray Bastin with a majority of 48 votes over the Liberal Democrats.


2008 Hawaii Bowl
The 2008 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl game was a post-season college football bowl game played on December 24, 2008, at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu between the Hawaiʻi Warriors of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) against the independent Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The game was part of the 2008–2009 bowl game schedule and was the concluding game of the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season for both teams. This seventh edition of the Hawaiʻi Bowl, sponsored by Sheraton Hotels and Resorts, was planned as a matchup between the WAC and Pac-10, however the Pac-10 was not able to supply a bowl-eligible team.


2008 Hawaii Bowl
Notre Dame's victory marked its first in the postseason since the Irish defeated Texas A&M in the 1994 Cotton Bowl Classic following the 1993 season, and ended an NCAA record nine-game bowl game losing streak. Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen broke school bowl game records after passing for 401 yards and five touchdowns, and his 84.6% completion rate was the second-best completion percentage for any player in any bowl game in NCAA history. Wide receiver Golden Tate also set Irish bowl records upon catching for 177 yards and three touchdowns.


2008 Hawaii Bowl
The game set the record for the Hawaiʻi Bowl's largest attendance, in both tickets sold and turnstile count, breaking the previous record set at the 2006 edition.


2008 Hawaii Bowl, Game summary
The Irish scored first on a Robert Hughes 2-yard touchdown run, capping a 9 play 87-yard drive. After the Irish defense forced a Hawaiʻi 3-and-out, Irish safety Sergio Brown blocked a Hawaiʻi punt. Notre Dame could not capitalize on the block, in part due to an excessive celebration penalty incurred by Notre Dame after the play that pushed them out of field goal range. After forcing another Hawaiʻi 3-and-out, Clausen connected with senior wide receiver David Grimes for a 14-yard touchdown. The Warriors answered right back, however, driving 56 yards in 6 plays and scoring on a 10-yard Aaron Bain touchdown from Hawaiʻi quarterback Greg Alexander.


2008 Hawaii Bowl, Game summary
With the score at 14–7, Notre Dame proceeded to score 28 unanswered points in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. In the 2nd quarter, Clausen connected with Golden Tate on 69-yard play action pass for a touchdown. After senior safety David Bruton intercepted Greg Alexander, Clausen again connected with Tate for an 18-yard touchdown in the corner of the endzone on a 3rd down and 18 play with :01 second left before the half.


2008 Hawaii Bowl, Game summary
In the third quarter, Notre Dame continued to score, on Clausen touchdowns to running back Armando Allen on an 18-yard screen play and to Golden Tate on a 40-yard deep out pass. With the score at 42–7, Hawaiʻi finally scored on another Alexander to Bain touchdown of 18 yards. On the ensuing kickoff, Armando Allen put any Hawaiʻi rally to rest, scoring on a 96-yard touchdown return. Hawaiʻi scored the final touchdown of the game with 2 minutes remaining against Notre Dame reserves.


2008 Hawaii Democratic presidential caucuses
The 2008 Hawaii Democratic presidential caucuses took place on February 19, 2008, with 20 pledged delegates at stake. The winner in each of Hawaii's two congressional districts was awarded all of that district's delegates, totaling 13. Another seven delegates were awarded to both candidates at the Hawaii Democratic Party State Convention on May 23–25, 2008. These 20 delegates represented Hawaii at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado. Nine other unpledged delegates, known as superdelegates, also attended the convention and cast their votes as well.


2008 Hawaii Democratic presidential caucuses, Rules
The Hawaii Democratic Caucus began with a presidential preference poll taken in the first half-hour of the caucus. The results were then tabulated and precinct officers and delegates to the state convention were then elected. Those delegates were bound by the results of the caucus, and there no realignment was permitted between non-viable groups, as in some other caucuses. The caucus was open to all registered Democrats, and voters not registered with the Democratic Party, as well as new voters who were permitted to register on site. Actual delegates to the national conventions were selected at the Hawaii Democratic Party State Convention, held May 25, 2008.


2008 Hawaii Democratic presidential caucuses, Analysis
Hawaii, the state where Barack Obama was born, delivered a massive three-to-one victory for the former U.S. Senator from Illinois. Obama carried all four counties and every island in the state with well over 75 percent of the vote. His worst performance was on Oahu, which contains Honolulu, where he received just under 75 percent.


2008 Hawaii Democratic presidential caucuses, Analysis
Although she did not perform well here, Hillary Rodham Clinton received two major endorsements from the state’s two U.S. Senators Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka.


2008 Hawaii Republican presidential caucuses
The 2008 Hawaii Republican presidential caucuses were held between January 25 and February 5, 2008. The caucuses chose delegates to Hawaii's Republican State Convention in May 2008, which overwhelmingly lent its support to presidential candidate John McCain.


2008 Hawaii Republican presidential caucuses, Process
The Hawaii Republican Party held its caucuses in all 51 Hawaii House of Representatives districts from January 25 to February 5. Caucus-goers selected 1,093 delegates to the Hawaii State Convention, held between May 16 and 18. These 1,093 delegates selected 19 delegates to the 2008 Republican National Convention.


2008 Hawaii Republican presidential caucuses, Process
Republican caucuses in Hawaii tend to be informal, taking place in parks, businesses, and homes over the course of several days. The Republican caucuses in Hawaii were closed to non-party members. None of the local delegates chosen at the caucus were committed to any candidate at the state convention. They were, however, bound to the preferences stated in the state convention in the first ballot. For this reason, Hawaiian Republican caucusgoers normally vote for convention delegates based on the delegates' personal records rather than their pledged support for a presidential candidate. However, most contenders provided slates of qualified delegates for caucusgoers to vote on.


2008 Hawaii Republican presidential caucuses, State convention
Unlike most Republican caucuses, no straw poll or presidential preference poll was taken of the attendees. Thus, no official record was provided of Hawaiian caucusgoers' preferences for President. Hawaii's delegation to the national convention, which selected the President, was chosen only at the state convention, held in Honolulu between May 16 and 18.


2008 Hawaii Republican presidential caucuses, State convention
The convention chose seventeen national convention delegates and seventeen alternates, all of them supporters of John McCain, already the presumptive Republican nominee for President for some weeks before the state convention. Over 450 delegates from all of Hawaii's electoral districts attended the convention. They elected state committee members and chose a party platform as well as delegates to the Republican National Convention. All in all, over 600 Republicans were at the state convention.


2008 Hawaii Warriors football team
The 2008 Hawaii Warriors football team represented the University of Hawaii at Manoa in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS college football season. The Warriors started the season with a new coaching staff headed by Greg McMackin, who had previously been the team's defensive coordinator.


2008 Hawaii Warriors football team, Game summaries, Fresno State game
The Warriors tied their series against the Bulldogs, 20–20–1. The game was also the Warriors first win over national ranked team on the road.


2008 Hawaii Warriors football team, Game summaries, Washington State
Warriors clinch bowl eligibility with seventh win of the season. Will finish no worse than one game above .500


2008 Hawthorn Football Club season
The 2008 season was the Hawthorn Football Club's 84th season in the Australian Football League and 107th overall.


2008 Hazfi Cup Final
The 2008 Hazfi Cup Final was a two-legged football tie in order to determine the 2007–08 Hazfi Cup champion of Iranian football clubs. Esteghlal Tehran faced Pegah Gilan in this final game. The first leg took place on Jun 09, 2008 at 17:30 local time (UTC+3:30) at Sardar Jangal Stadium in Rasht and the second leg took place on Jun 16, 2008 at 17:00 local time (UTC+3:30) at Azadi Stadium, Tehran.


2008 Hazfi Cup Final, Format
The rules for the final were exactly the same as the one in the previous knockout rounds. The tie was contested over two legs with away goals deciding the winner if the two teams were level on goals after the second leg. If the teams could still not be separated at that stage, then extra time would have been played with a penalty shootout (taking place if the teams were still level after extra time).


2008 Heartland Championship
The 2008 Heartland Championship was a provincial rugby union competition involving 12 teams from New Zealand split into two pools. Matches started on Saturday 23 August 2008 and ended with the final on 25 October.


2008 Heartland Championship
The 2008 season was to be the last in its current format. On 11 August 2008 the New Zealand Rugby Union announced that Tasman and Northland would be the two teams relegated from the Air New Zealand Cup after the completion of the 2008 season. Both teams failed to meet criteria which included financial stability, population, player training and development, playing history, and administration. This might have meant that the Tasman union would have been split into its constituent Nelson Bays and Marlborough unions, and that the Heartland Championship would have needed to accommodate three further teams. On 26 September 2008 the New Zealand Rugby Union rescinded this decision.


2008 Heartland Championship
Wanganui won the Meads Cup and Poverty Bay won the Lochore Cup. Each team has reached the respective cup final in all three years of the Heartland Championship. Poverty Bay has won each Lochore Cup, while 2008 was Wanganui's first Meads Cup championship.


2008 Heartland Championship, Standings
The 12 teams were split into two pools, with the top 3 from each pool after 5 rounds advancing to the Meads Cup round, whilst the bottom 3 from each pool played for the Lochore Cup.


2008 Heartland Championship, Fixtures and results, Round 3
This was the first time Buller had beaten Wairarapa Bush at Masterton in the history of the two unions' meetings.


2008 Heineken Cup Final
The 2008 Heineken Cup Final was the final match of the 2007–08 Heineken Cup, the 13th season of Europe's top club rugby union competition. The match was played on 24 May 2008 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. The match was contested by Munster of Ireland and Toulouse of France. Munster won their second Heineken Cup title with a 16–13 win.


2008 Heineken Cup Final
Munster did not play in their traditional red strip as they lost the toss - they wore blue - although they were in the same away dressing room as they were in 2006.


2008 Heineken Cup Final
Fans gathered in Place du Capitole in Toulouse, and on O'Connell Street in Limerick, where they watched the match on a large screen.


2008 Heineken Cup Final
Munster coach Declan Kidney, who guided the province to all their previous Heineken Cup final named an unchanged team for his final game in charge before he took over the Ireland national team. Toulouse the Heineken Cup winners in 1996, 2003 and 2005 had two changes from their semi-final victory over London Irish at Twickenham, with Maleli Kunavore partnering Yannick Jauzion in the centre and the French international flanker Thierry Dusautoir replaced Yannick Nyanga. Byron Kelleher was declared match fit just in time for the kickoff.


2008 Heineken Cup Final, Match, Summary
The final was hosted at the neutral Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, and refereed by Welsh referee Nigel Owens. Toulouse kicked off and managed to regain possession. Toulouse dominated the early parts of the game, and although they missed a penalty goal five minutes into the game, scrum-half Jean-Baptiste Élissalde successfully kicked a drop goal after eight minutes to give them a 3–0 lead. Toulouse continued to dominate territory but Munster winger Doug Howlett made a break in the 29th minute setting up a ruck close to the Toulouse try-line.


2008 Heineken Cup Final, Match, Summary
Munster number eight Denis Leamy then broke from a ruck and attempted to place the ball over the try-line, but lost it forward in the process. From the resulting scrum, Toulouse were pushed off their own ball and Munster gained possession from which Leamy scored. The try was converted by Ronan O'Gara to give Munster a 7–3 lead after 33 minutes. Three minutes later, Munster were awarded a penalty after Toulouse captain Fabien Pelous was caught not rolling away in the ruck. O'Gara kicked the penalty to extend Munster's lead to 10–3. On the 40-minute mark, Leamy was penalised for going into a ruck off his feet and Élissalde kicked the penalty to reduce Munster's lead to four points at half-time.


2008 Heineken Cup Final, Match, Summary
Ten minutes into the second half, Munster centre Rua Tipoki threw a pass that would have given a try to Howlett, but the pass was deemed forward. One minute later Toulouse's Pelous kicked Munster flanker Alan Quinlan after Quinlan had stood on Pelous' hand. After the intervention of touch judge Nigel Whitehouse, Pelous was shown a yellow card for his part in the incident and sent to the sin bin for 10 minutes. O'Gara kicked Munster's resulting penalty to give his team a 13–6 lead after 51 minutes.


2008 Heineken Cup Final, Match, Summary
Three minutes later, Toulouse fullback Cédric Heymans threw the ball into himself, then kicked ahead before collecting his own kick. He then chipped ahead which Toulouse's Yannick Jauzion kicked once more before wing Yves Donguy grounded the ball to give Toulouse a try. Elissalde converted the try to tie the scores at 13–13 after 54 minutes. Pelous returned from the sin-bin in the 61st minute, and four minutes later was penalised yet again for not rolling away in the ruck. O'Gara kicked the penalty which gave Munster a 16–13 lead.


2008 Heineken Cup Final, Match, Summary
For most of the remaining time, Munster employed the pick-and-go technique, where the forwards would drive the ball from ruck to ruck in an effort to retain possession and use up time. Munster were penalised in the 78th minute after 17 phases of play; the ball was kicked downfield by Toulouse who counter-attacked. Munster turned the ball over, however, and won a kickable penalty with ten seconds left on the clock.


2008 Heineken Cup Final, Match, Summary
Referee Nigel Owens stopped the clock until the penalty was taken; because of the risk of Toulouse recovering possession, the options of kicking for goal and kicking for touch were ruled out. Instead, Ronan O'Gara tapped the penalty and went into contact. With the ten seconds used up, the ball became unplayable in the collapsed maul, Owens blew the final whistle, and Munster had won 16–13.


2008 Heineken Cup Final, Match, Details
Touch judges:Nigel Whitehouse (Wales)Hugh Watkins (Wales)Television match official:Derek Bevan (Wales)Fourth official:Wayne Barnes (England)


2008 Heineken Cup Final, Post-match
Munster received their medals, and performed a lap of honour to the song "Stand' Up and Fight".


2008 Heineken Open
The 2008 Heineken Open was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 33rd edition of the event known that year as the Heineken Open, and was part of the ATP International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the ASB Tennis Centre in Auckland, New Zealand, from 5 January through 13 January 2008. Seventh-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber won the singles title.


2008 Heineken Open
The field was led by Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) No . 5, Tennis Masters Cup finalist and defending champion David Ferrer, US Open quarterfinalist Juan Ignacio Chela, and 2007 Stockholm quarterfinalist Juan Mónaco. Other top seeds competing were 2007 Vienna semifinalist Juan Carlos Ferrero, recent Adelaide runner-up Jarkko Nieminen, Nicolás Almagro, Philipp Kohlschreiber and Albert Montañés.


2008 Heineken Open, Finals, Doubles
Luis Horna /  Juan Mónaco defeated  Xavier Malisse /  Jürgen Melzer 6–4, 3–6, [10–7]


2008 Heineken Open – Doubles
Jeff Coetzee and Rogier Wassen were the defending champions. They were both present but did not compete together. Coetzee partnered with Jaroslav Levinský, but lost in the semifinals to Xavier Malisse and Jürgen Melzer. Wassen partnered with Christopher Kas, but lost in the first round to Jeff Coetzee and Jaroslav Levinský.


2008 Heineken Open – Doubles
Luis Horna and Juan Mónaco won in the final 6–4, 3–6, [10–7], against Xavier Malisse and Jürgen Melzer.


2008 Heineken Open – Singles
In the singles event at the 2008 Heineken Open tennis tournament in Auckland, New Zealand, David Ferrer was the defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals to Julien Benneteau.


2008 Heineken Open – Singles
Philipp Kohlschreiber won in the final 7–6(7–4), 7–5, against Juan Carlos Ferrero.


2008 Hel van het Mergelland
The 2008 Hel van het Mergelland was the 35th edition of the Volta Limburg Classic cycle race and was held on 5 April 2008. The race started and finished in Eijsden. The race was won by Tony Martin.


2008 Helsingborgs IF season
Helsingborgs IF had a resurgence season on the domestic scene, finishing in the top four once again. With Henrik Larsson having his best season following his return, the side was able to compensate for the loss of Razak Omotoyossi to Saudi Arabia. The 4th place finish meant Helsingborg qualified for Europe once more.


2008 Helsingborgs IF season
The year started with a defeat to PSV Eindhoven in the Last 32 of the UEFA Cup, the best performance from a Swedish club for some time. For results of the run see the 2007 article.


2008 Henley by-election
The 2008 Henley by-election to elect a member of the British House of Commons for the constituency of Henley in Oxfordshire was held on 26 June 2008. It followed the election of Boris Johnson as Mayor of London in May 2008. In order to resign from being an MP, Johnson accepted the post of Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead on 4 June 2008.


2008 Henley by-election
The election was won comfortably by the Conservative candidate John Howell with an increased percentage of the popular vote. The governing Labour Party's vote fell by 11% and they finished fifth, losing their deposit.


2008 Henley by-election, Background
Henley was considered a safe seat for the Conservative Party—having been held by the party continuously since 1910 up to this election. Johnson had gained a 12,793 majority from the Liberal Democrats at the previous election, though recent local elections have seen the Liberal Democrats' vote rise. Despite this, an easy win for the Conservative Party candidate was predicted, with the Labour Party being given little to no chance of victory. It had been expected that the by-election would be held after the parliamentary summer recess. However, following their victory in the Crewe and Nantwich by-election, the Conservatives took the opportunity to bring the by-election forward to 26 June, in order to capitalise on their strong support.


2008 Henley by-election, Candidates
For the 2010 general election, candidates had been chosen for the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties, but internal party rules may have required re-selection before any by-election was called.


2008 Henley by-election, Candidates
Boris Johnson's father Stanley Johnson was widely expected to seek the Conservative Party's nomination. However, John Howell, an Oxfordshire county councillor, was selected as the Conservative candidate, in preference to Ann Ducker, leader of South Oxfordshire district council, and John Cotton, a South Oxfordshire district councillor.


2008 Henley by-election, Candidates
The Liberal Democrats' candidate was Stephen Kearney, head of a development charity and previously owned and ran a small business. The Liberal Democrats had previously selected Oxfordshire councillor Susan Cooper for the general election, but under Liberal Democrat policies, such selections are not valid for by-elections. When it became apparent a by-election was to be held, a new selection process was run and she was replaced by Kearney.


2008 Henley by-election, Candidates
The Labour candidate was Richard McKenzie, who was previously a local councillor in Reading, having lost his seat in the local council elections of May 2008.


2008 Henley by-election, Candidates
The Green Party continued with its 2005 general election candidate Mark Stevenson.


2008 Henley by-election, Candidates
The British National Party candidate, Tim Rait, previously stood for European Parliament election in 2004, for Maidenhead in the 2005 general election and the Lothians Region in the 2007 Scottish election.


2008 Henley by-election, Candidates
The United Kingdom Independence Party selected Chris Adams, Buckinghamshire County Organiser for the UKIP and also PPC for Aylesbury. He previously stood in Aylesbury at the 2005 general election.


2008 Henley by-election, Candidates
Following the candidature of the then-Miss Great Britain, Gemma Garrett, at the Crewe and Nantwich by-election in 2008, the "Beauties for Britain" group stood two candidates - one blonde, the other brunette - in Henley: Amanda Harrington and Louise Cole, respectively. However, the party was not registered with the Electoral Commission so they were considered Independent candidates.


2008 Henley by-election, Candidates
The Monster Raving Loony Party fielded candidate Bananaman Owen, whose name was taken from a British television programme. The Harry Bear candidate is the fictional creation of Mail on Sunday columnist Richard Heller.


2008 Henley by-election, Election result
Polling day was Thursday 26 June. The results were declared shortly after 0130 BST on Friday 27 June by the returning officer for South Oxfordshire council.


2008 Henley by-election, Campaign
The nature of campaign was seen as quite aggressive from both sides. The Liberal Democrats attacked both the green-belt credentials of the Conservative candidate and his participation in the campaign to save the local hospital, as well as producing leaflets which were alleged to imply that the previous MP, Boris Johnson backed their candidate and incorrectly asserting a local school's budget was under threat. The Conservatives in return threatened to sue, claiming the allegations of non-involvement were untrue and played on the fact that the Liberal Democrat candidate was not local, but from Plymouth. The Lib Dems responded by saying that their candidate had moved into the constituency and would remain there, the same way the former Conservative MP Boris Johnson had done when he ran.


2008 Henley by-election, Campaign
Reaction from voters to the hard campaigning indicated that some constituents were turned off and some commentators raised questions on the effectiveness of the Liberal Democrat campaign after the results which saw an increased swing to the Conservatives.


2008 Hertsmere Borough Council election
The 2008 Hertsmere Borough Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of Hertsmere Borough Council in Hertfordshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.


2008 Hertsmere Borough Council election, Election result
The Conservatives won all 4 seats in Bushey, including defeating the Liberal Democrat group leader Robert Gamble in Bushey North by 182 votes. The Conservatives also took Borehamwood Brookmeadow from Labour, with the Labour group leader Ann Harrison holding Borehamwood Cowley Hill by 40 votes.


2008 Hertsmere Borough Council election, Election result
Following the election Lynne Hodgson became the new leader of the Liberal Democrat group.


2008 Hessian state election
The 2008 Hessian state election was held on 27 January 2008 to elect the members of the Landtag of Hesse. The incumbent Christian Democratic Union (CDU) government led by Minister-President Roland Koch lost its majority. The result of the election was extremely close but inconclusive, with the CDU winning just 3,500 votes (0.1%) more than the Social Democratic Party (SPD). Due to the entrance of The Left to the Landtag, neither the CDU–FDP or SPD–Green bloc garnered a majority. After a year of failed attempts to form government, a new election was held.


2008 Hessian state election, Background and issues
The CDU won a majority in the 2003 state election, but lost popularity in the following years. In the 2008 election campaign,  CDU Minister-President Roland Koch took a tough stance against immigrant youth violence as an electoral tactic. The political left criticised this as xenophobic. Other issues included minimum wage concerns, education, and controversy over the planned major expansion of the Rhine-Main airport.


2008 Hessian state election, Background and issues
The formation of The Left meant that a party to the left of the SPD and Greens stood a serious chance of entering the Landtag for the first time in decades. The party polled between 4 and 6 per cent in the lead-up to the election; it was unclear if the party would exceed the 5% threshold.


2008 Hessian state election, Background and issues
Polling data narrowed as the election approached; both the CDU and SPD and their junior partners the FDP and Greens were essentially tied. This meant that, if The Left entered the Landtag, it may hold the balance of power and make government formation difficult.


2008 Hessian state election, Parties
The table below lists parties represented in the previous Landtag of Hesse.


2008 Hessian state election, Outcome
The CDU's share of the vote fell to its lowest level since the 1966 election. The SPD, under its leader Andrea Ypsilanti, increased its share of the vote substantially, from 29% to 37%; the SPD claimed victory as a result. The other winner was The Left, who narrowly entered the Hesse Landtag with 5.1% of the vote. This was the second western state legislature which the party had entered, the first being Bremen in 2007. The party also won seats in neighbouring Lower Saxony in an election held the same day.


2008 Hessian state election, Outcome
The SPD and the CDU both won 42 seats; the FDP won 11 and the Greens 9. With 56 seats needed for a majority, neither was able to form a government with their traditional partners. There was a several-month-long lull after the election. The Left was thus kingmaker, exactly the result it had hoped for.


2008 Hessian state election, Outcome
SPD leader Ypsilanti had long refused to negotiate with The Left, but in October 2008 began talks to include them in a three-party "red-green-red" coalition with herself as Minister-President. This was a controversial move which sparked a revolt in the SPD, as many members bitterly refused to participate in power-sharing with The Left. One day before the election for Minister-President in the Landtag, four members of the SPD parliamentary group indicated they would not vote for her, and called a vote of no-confidence on her leadership. After this point, it became clear a red-red-green coalition was not viable. New elections were subsequently scheduled for January 2009.


2008 Hidalgo state election
Local elections were held in the Mexican state of  Hidalgo on February 17, 2008. Voters went to the polls to elect on the local level:


2008 Historic Grand Prix of Monaco
The 2008 Historic Grand Prix of Monaco was the sixth running of the Historic Grand Prix of Monaco, a motor racing event for heritage Grand Prix, Voiturettes, Formula One, Formula Two and Sports cars.


2008 Historic Grand Prix of Monaco, Report
Entered for Race B was the Maserati 250F with which Stirling Moss had won the 1956 Monaco Grand Prix. The car was driven by Peter Heuberger but did not start the race. A battle between Duncan Dayton and Joaquín Folch-Rusiñol ended prematurely for Folch-Rusiñol, leaving second place to be decided by a fierce battle between Barrie Baxter and Tony Smith.


2008 Historic Grand Prix of Monaco, Report
In Race C, Moss made his seventh and final competitive appearance at the event, at the wheel of a Frazer Nash. He wrote an entry in Motor Sport describing how the circuit had changed since his first visit, and expressed some disappointment at how lenient the track limits had become since then.


2008 Historic Grand Prix of Monaco, Report
In the race, fifth place was hotly contested between the powerful Ferrari 340 America of Michael Willms and the nimble Cooper T21 of Simon Diffey, the two cars being faster on different parts of the circuit but evenly matched on overall pace: their best laps were separated by just 0.028 s.


2008 Historic Grand Prix of Monaco, Report
2008 represented the fiftieth anniversary of Formula Junior, a series that had been introduced in 1958 to encourage a new generation of racing drivers and whose annual Monaco race, supporting the Grand Prix, was one of the most prestigious events for young drivers. Formula Junior would also become the subject of the first historic motorsport series in 1975. Anniversary celebrations were held across the globe throughout 2008, and the event at Monaco (Race D) commemorated the first Formula Junior race at Monaco, held in 1959 and won by Michael May.


2008 Historic Grand Prix of Monaco, Report
A notable entrant in Race D was Tony Goodwin, whose long racing career includes an appearance in the 1964 Monaco Formula Three Race, where he had finished twelfth. In this event, he qualified on pole position and finished second. Jean Guittard made his first Historic Grand Prix of Monaco appearance in this race; in subsequent events, he would race under the pseudonym "Mister John of B".


2008 Historic Grand Prix of Monaco, Report
Entered for Race F was a Ferrari 312 which had been raced by Chris Amon during the 1968 Formula One season. It was purchased and restored specifically for the event, which was thought to be its first competitive outing since 1969. Frank Sytner qualified fourth and stayed there most of the race, only to retire on the penultimate lap. Hamish Sommerville ran fifth but retired after seven laps.


2008 Historic Grand Prix of Monaco, Report
Making his debut at the event was Bobby Verdon-Roe, driving a McLaren M26 in Race G. He crashed in the tunnel during practice, bringing his weekend to an end along with that of David Clark, who could not avoid the debris. Verdon-Roe would make up for this accident by dominating the 2010 event from pole position. Mauro Pane took the lead into the first corner but polesitter Paul Edwards kept him under intense pressure, eventually forcing a mistake that let Edwards through. Pane hit the barrier hard, but was able to continue to second place.


2008 Hockenheimring GP2 Series round
2008 Hockenheimring GP2 Series round was a GP2 Series motor race held on July 19 and 20, 2008 at the Hockenheimring in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was the sixth round of the 2008 GP2 Series season. The race weekend supported the 2008 German Grand Prix.


2008 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The 2008 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was played between March 14 and March 22, 2008 at campus locations and at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. By winning the tournament, Boston College was awarded the Lamoriello Trophy and an automatic bid to the 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.


2008 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
The tournament featured three rounds of play. The teams that finish below eighth in the conference are not eligible for tournament play. In the first round, the first and eighth seeds, the second and seventh seeds, the third seed and sixth seeds, and the fourth seed and fifth seeds played a best-of-three with the winner advancing to the semifinals. In the semifinals, the highest and lowest seeds and second highest and second lowest seeds play a single-elimination game, with the winner advancing to the championship game. The tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.


2008 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Regular season standings
Note: GP = Games Played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; PTS = Points; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against


2008 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters season
The 2008 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters season was the 63rd season of the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters franchise. The Fighters played the majority of their home games at Sapporo Dome in the city of Sapporo, as well as at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo as members of Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League. The team was led by Masataka Nashida on his first season as team manager.


2008 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters season
Nippon-Ham finished the season in third place with a record of 73–69–2, qualifying them for the Climax Series. In the 2008 Pacific League Climax Series, the Fighters defeated the Orix Buffaloes in the First Stage, but were eliminated by the Saitama Seibu Lions in the Second Stage.


2008 Holiday Bowl
The 2008 Pacific Life Holiday Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 30, 2008, at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California between the Oklahoma State Cowboys and the Oregon Ducks, and was part of the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season and one of the games in the 2008-2009 bowl season to be nationally televised by ESPN. The Ducks won the contest, 42–31.


2008 Holland Ladies Tour
The 11th edition of the annual Holland Ladies Tour was held from September 2 to September 7, 2008. The women's stage race with an UCI rating of 2.2 started in Hellendoorn, and ended in Berg en Terblijt.


2008 Holland Series
The 2008 Holland Series involved the defending champions Corendon Kinheim being defeated by the Amsterdam Pirates in three straight games. The first two games were postponed due to heavy rainfall. It was the first championship for the Pirates since 1990, their second since the start of the Holland series, and their third title overall.


2008 Holy Cross Crusaders football team
The 2008 Holy Cross Crusaders football team was an American football team that represented the College of the Holy Cross during the 2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Holy Cross finished second in the Patriot League.


2008 Holy Cross Crusaders football team
In their fifth year under head coach Tom Gilmore, the Crusaders compiled a 7–4 record. Daryl Brown and Dominic Randolph were the team captains.


2008 Holy Cross Crusaders football team
The Crusaders outscored opponents 378 to 284. Their 5–1 conference record placed just half a game behind first place in the seven-team Patriot League standings.


2008 Holy Cross Crusaders football team
Holy Cross played its home games at Fitton Field on the college campus in Worcester, Massachusetts.


2008 Honda 200
The 2008 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio presented by Westfield Insurance was the twelfth round of the 2008 IndyCar Series season. It took place on 20 July 2008.


2008 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
The 2008 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was the second round of the 2008 IndyCar Series season and took place on April 6, 2008 at the 1.8-mile (2.9 km) temporary street and airport circuit on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. The race was a time-limited race due to rain, with the race falling some seventeen laps short of full race distance. The race was won by Graham Rahal on his IndyCar Series debut, having missed the first round at Homestead-Miami Speedway, due to a lack of spare parts for his #06 Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing machine.


2008 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
At 19 years, 93 days old, Rahal became the youngest driver ever to win an Indy-style race, as well as the youngest winner in IndyCar Series history breaking Marco Andretti's record of 19 years, 167 days from the 2006 IndyCar Series season. He also became the fourth driver to win an IndyCar Series race in his first start, joining Buzz Calkins, Juan Pablo Montoya and Scott Dixon.


2008 Hong Kong Sevens
This is the current revision of this page, as edited by Hugo999 (talk | contribs) at 09:52, 7 December 2019 (removed Category:March 2008 sports events; added Category:March 2008 sports events in Asia using HotCat). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this version.


2008 Hong Kong Sevens
The Hong Kong Sevens is contested annually as part of the IRB Sevens World Series for international rugby sevens (seven-a-side version of rugby union). The 2008 competition, which took place between March 28 and March 30 in Hong Kong, was the fifth Cup trophy in the 2007-08 IRB Sevens World Series and was won by New Zealand. The winners extended their all-time IRB Sevens record for consecutive match wins to 42 while claiming their fifth Cup win of the season and seventh in a row overall.


2008 Hong Kong Sevens, Sponsors
The tournament's co-title sponsors were Cathay Pacific and Credit Suisse.


2008 Hong Kong Super Series
The 2008 Hong Kong Super Series is the twelfth tournament of the 2008 BWF Super Series in badminton. It was held in Wan Chai, Hong Kong from 24 to 30 November 2008.


2008 Hong Kong legislative election
The 2008 Hong Kong Legislative Council election was held on 7 September 2008 for the 4th Legislative Council since the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. There were 60 seats in the 4th Legislative Council, with 30 members elected by geographical constituencies through direct elections, and 30 members by functional constituencies. Candidates for 14 functional constituency seats were unopposed.


2008 Hong Kong legislative election
The turnout rate was 45 percent with 1.51 million voters casting the ballots, about 10 percent lower than the previous election in 2004. The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB) remained the largest single party in the Legislative Council with 13 seats if including the two members of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) while the pro-business Liberal Party suffered a big defeat by losing the two heavyweights, chairman James Tien and vice-chairwoman Selina Chow lost their seats in the New Territories East and the New Territories West. The duo resigned from their party positions and Chow resigned from the Executive Council after the election, which was followed by a great split of the party.


2008 Hong Kong legislative election
In the backdrop of a deteriorating economy and rising inflation, the pro-grassroots parties scored victories as the new pro-democracy party League of Social Democrats (LSD) had their three candidates elected and the FTU also won in two seats in the geographical constituencies. The pro-democracy flagship party Democratic Party retook the second largest party status despite losing one seat to its ally, the new middle-class oriented Civic Party which took two seats in Hong Kong Island with party leader Audrey Eu stood as the second candidate behind party's new face Tanya Chan.


2008 Hong Kong legislative election
The share of the pan-democratic parties' vote among voters dropped from 60 percent in 2004 to 57 percent, which translated into a net loss of two seats compared to the last election. The pan-democrats were elected to a total of 23 seats, 19 seats in the directly elected geographical constituencies, and four seats from the functional constituencies. By virtue of having in excess of one-third of the seats in Legislative Council, their ability to veto constitutional changes remained intact. The pan-democrats' veto power was seen as crucial for the electoral arrangements for the 2012 Legislative Council election, which would take place during this session.


2008 Hong Kong legislative election, Pre-election issues
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress vote in December 2007 to allow universal suffrage by 2017, and full Legislative Council elections by 2020, tempered the debate on universal suffrage. Wary of political parties, the government sought to defer discussion on other highly sensitive issues until October 2008, in the hopes that the election will be void of focus. The election was therefore fought over issues regarding the minimum wage, health care reform, Old Age Allowance, and the future of RTHK. Also, the case surrounding former Housing Director Leung Chin-man served to highlight the issue of systematic checks and balances, and the lack of political scrutiny of government actions.


2008 Hong Kong legislative election, Pre-election issues
Commentators, such as Albert Cheng, noted that the fighting between pro-democracy parties was heating up, but forecast few changes in the overall party standings of the new Council. He cited proportional representation as a mechanism, which built in protection for a multi-party system.


2008 Hong Kong legislative election, Pre-election issues
There were some concerns that those seeking the right of abode in Hong Kong felt pressured by lobbyists supporting the DAB. Two advocacy groups echoed abode-seekers' in being bombarded with telephone calls and other pressures to vote for the DAB, or for Regina Ip.


2008 Hong Kong legislative election, Candidates
A total of 142 candidates on 53 lists entered the election via the geographical constituencies, making it the most contested election since the handover of Hong Kong. The candidates of both the pan-democracy and pro-Beijing coalitions stated that they would not allocate the votes within each camp, leading to infighting inside the caucuses. Martin Lee and Anson Chan announced that they would not stand, and would endorse other candidates. In addition, some incumbent legislators such as Audrey Eu of the Civic Party and Yeung Sum of the Democratic Party were placed second on their lists in an attempt to get less experienced members of their parties elected.


2008 Hong Kong legislative election, Candidates
Beijing's involvement in the elections was an open secret: its strategy was to elect a new batch of "independent" aspirants with profession backgrounds and without a strong pro-Beijing image, such as Scarlet Pong, and eventual winners Regina Ip and Priscilla Leung. It had hoped they would appeal to the middle class voters and steal votes from the pan-democratic parties.


2008 Hong Kong legislative election, Candidates
The functional constituencies were less competitive: 14 out of the 30 seats were uncontested. The Accounting and Architectural, Surveying and Planning functional constituencies were the most contested, with 5 candidates competing in each constituency. 45 candidates in total ran for the 16 contested seats.


2008 Hong Kong legislative election, Results
A record number of 3.37 million people registered to vote in the election. The turnout rate was low, at 45% with 1.51 million voters casting ballots.


2008 Hong Kong legislative election, Results
Commentator Chris Yeung believed that the Liaison Office operated behind the scenes to co-ordinate votes for the pro-Beijing camp. These independents managed to secure seats, but apparently not at the expense of support for the pan-democrats.


2008 Hong Kong legislative election, Results
The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong remained the largest single party in Council, with 13 seats. The share of the pan-democratic parties' vote among voters dropped from 60% in 2004 to 57%, which translated into a net loss of 2 seats. The pan-democrats were elected to a total of 23 seats, 19 seats in the directly elected geographical constituencies, and four seats from the functional constituencies. By virtue of having in excess of 1⁄3 of the seats in LegCo, their ability to veto constitutional changes remained intact. The pan-democrats' veto power were crucial for the electoral arrangements for the 2012 elections, which will take place during this Council.


2008 Hong Kong legislative election, Results
In the backdrop of a deteriorating economy and rising inflation, voters shifted their preferences towards more radical and grass-roots politicians; the electorate's suspicions of collusion between government and big business dealt a blow to the Liberal Party. The Liberal Party suffered double defeat when Selina Chow and chairman James Tien lost their seats in the New Territories West and New Territories East geographical constituencies respectively. Their bid to secure seats in other constituencies also failed.


2008 Hong Kong legislative election, Results
Tien resigned as the Liberal Party's chairman after his defeat, and Chow resigned both her vice-chairmanship and her seat on the Executive Council of Hong Kong. The election of three members of the League of Social Democrats and four trade-unionists to Legco is set to pose a challenge to the government on welfare and livelihood issues.


2008 Hong Kong legislative election, Results
Note: Candidates in 14 functional constituencies were elected uncontested to the Legislative Council. The number of seats for the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions in the geographical constituencies exclude Wong Kwok-hing, Wong Kwok-kin and Pan Pey Chyou, who are also DAB members; figures in parentheses in the pan-democracy and pro-Beijing total percentage exclude all votes of other individuals.


2008 Hong Kong legislative election, Candidates lists and results, Geographical Constituencies (30 seats)
Voting system: Party-list proportional representation with largest remainder method and Hare quota.


2008 Hong Kong legislative election, Candidates lists and results, Functional Constituencies (30 seats)
Voting systems: Different voting systems apply to different functional constituencies, namely for the Heung Yee Kuk, Agriculture and Fisheries, Insurance and Transport, the preferential elimination system of voting; and for the remaining 24 FCs used the first-past-the-post voting system.


2008 Hong Kong legislative election in Hong Kong Island
These are the Hong Kong Island results of the 2008 Hong Kong legislative election. The election was held on 7 September 2008 and all 6 seats in Hong Kong Island were contested. The pan-democracy camp retained four seats as compared to pro-Beijing camp's two seats, with Civic Party successfully get two candidates, newcomer Tanya Chan and Audrey Eu who stood as second candidate on their list. Pro -Beijing independent Regina Ip who lost the 2007 Hong Kong Island by-election less than a year ago, won a new seat.


2008 Hong Kong legislative election in Kowloon East
These are the Kowloon East results of the 2008 Hong Kong legislative election. The election was held on 7 September 2008 and all 4 seats in Kowloon East where consisted of Wong Tai Sin District and Kwun Tong District were contested, after one seat was abolished. The Democratic Party's Fred Li, Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong's Chan Kam-lam  and Civic Party's Alan Leong each secured their party's incumbent seat, and Federation of Trade Unions's Wong Kwok-kin replaced retiring Chan Yuen-han.


2008 Hong Kong legislative election in Kowloon West
These are the Kowloon West results of the 2008 Hong Kong legislative election. The election was held on 7 September 2008 and all 5 seats in Kowloon West where consisted of Yau Tsim Mong District, Sham Shui Po District and Kowloon City District were contested. Starry Lee replaced Jasper Tsang who contested the Hong Kong Island stood for the largest pro-Beijing party Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong. Wong Yuk-man of the newly established League of Social Democrats became the pan-democrat who received the most votes. Pro -Beijing independent, Priscilla Leung also won the last seat, beating Civic Party's Claudia Mo.


2008 Hong Kong legislative election in New Territories East
These are the New Territories East results of the 2008 Hong Kong legislative election. The election was held on 7 September 2008 and all 7 seats in New Territories East where consisted of North District, Tai Po District, Sai Kung District and Sha Tin District were contested. The pro-democracy camp succeeded in holding five seats out of seven seats, with James Tien lost his seat to Wong Sing-chi of the Democratic Party.


2008 Hong Kong legislative election in New Territories West
These are the New Territories West results of the 2008 Hong Kong legislative election. The election was held on 7 September 2008 and all 8 seats in New Territories West, which consists of Tsuen Wan District, Tuen Mun District, Yuen Long District, Kwai Tsing District and Islands District, were contested. All the incumbents were elected except for Selina Chow of the Liberal Party, which was succeeded by Wong Kwok-hing of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions who contested in the constituency for the first time.


2008 Hong Kong–Macau Interport
The 64th Hong Kong–Macau Interport was held in Macau on 15 June 2008. Hong Kong captured the champion by winning 1–0.


2008 Hong Kong–Shanghai Inter Club Championship
2008 Hong Kong–Shanghai Inter Club Championship is the 3rd staging of Hong Kong-Shanghai Inter Club Championship.