2008 Israel–Hezbollah prisoner exchange, Exchange
Hezbollah released the remains of two captured Israeli soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev. In exchange, Israel returned Palestine Liberation Front militant Samir Kuntar, who was convicted of murder in Israel, Nasim Nisr, a Lebanese man of Jewish heritage who had immigrated to Israel and spied for Hezbollah, and Mahir Kourani, Mohammad Surour, Hussain Sulaiman and Khadr Zaidan, four Hezbollah militants taken prisoner by Israel in the 2006 Lebanon War. Israel also returned the remains of about 200 Lebanese and Palestinian militants killed whose bodies had been brought to Israel and buried there. Eight of these were Hezbollah fighters killed in the 2006 war.


2008 Israel–Hezbollah prisoner exchange, Exchange
It has long been the general policy of Israel not to return the remains of killed militants that had engaged in "hostile terrorist activity" to their families for burial. The exchange deal was carried out in accordance with the Red Cross and UN observers. On 1 June 2008, Israel released the Lebanese prisoner Nissim Nasser in exchange for the remains of Israeli soldiers killed during the 2006 war.


2008 Israel–Hezbollah prisoner exchange, Exchange
In October 2007, Israel and Hezbollah agreed to exchange a civilian Hezbollah member kidnapped in 2006 and the remains of two Hezbollah fighters killed and brought to Israel for the remains of Gabriel Dwait, an Israeli resident who drowned and washed ashore in Lebanon. The released prisoner was 50-year-old Hassan Naim Aqil, a former Hezbollah guerrilla who did not fight in the Second Lebanon War.


2008 Israel–Hezbollah prisoner exchange, Reactions
Although news of Kuntar's release was met with celebration at a Hezbollah rally in Beirut, Lebanon, Israeli experts believe that the majority of Lebanese people were not pleased with this exchange. The reason for this is because they see this as a victory for Hezbollah, whom they see as an enemy. In Gaza City, many Palestinians celebrated the news of the exchange by handing out sweets.


2008 Israel–Hezbollah prisoner exchange, Reactions
Israel's deputy foreign minister, Majalli Wehbi, called the Beirut celebrations "shameful", stating that "Kuntar's fans laud a man who prides himself on smashing a child's skull". The foreign ministry also released a public diplomacy video in Arabic claiming Israel's moral victory in the swap.


2008 Israel–Hezbollah prisoner exchange, Reactions
There was a mixed reaction worldwide, with many American news outlets criticizing the release of Kuntar and condemning the way he was praised in Lebanon.


2008 Issers bombing
The 2008 Issers bombing occurred on August 19, 2008 when a suicide bomber drove and detonated a vehicle laden with explosives into a crowd of para-military recruits waiting to take exams outside a police academy in Issers, Boumerdès Province, Algeria killing 43 and injuring 38. The Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb is suspected as being responsible.


2008 Istanbul bombings
The 2008 Istanbul bombings occurred on July 27, 2008 when two explosions hit a busy shopping street in the Güngören district of Istanbul, killing seventeen people, five of them children, and injuring 154. The attacks occurred at 9:45 p.m. local time, 18:45 UTC, on a pedestrian street closed to traffic. The bombings were the deadliest civilian attacks in Turkey since the 2003 Istanbul bombings, five years earlier.


2008 Istanbul bombings, Details
The first of the two bombs was a sonic bomb which was placed in a telephone cabin and second bomb was placed in a waste container 50 meters away, near a crowded street. The first bomb caused crowds to gather for help and curiosity, and around 10 minutes later, the second and more powerful bomb exploded, causing many of the casualties. The police believe that the bombs were activated remotely. Political analyst Damla Aras said that, "there is a possibility they might be A4, C-4 explosives, which were brought from northern Iraq by the PKK and have been used several times in Turkey."


2008 Istanbul bombings, Details
Early on, news sources thought the first explosion was caused by a gas leak.


2008 Istanbul bombings, Investigation
Nobody has claimed responsibility for the bombing as of yet, although Kurdish separatist militants are suspected. The Istanbul Police indicate that the incident bears the hallmarks of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), possibly in revenge for a series of major operations by the Turkish military on its bases days prior to the incident. However a senior member of the PKK, Zubeyir Aydar, denied the implication: "The Kurdish liberation movement is not involved in this attack."


2008 Istanbul bombings, Investigation
Based on a tip from residents, three teenagers were taken into custody in connection to the bombings.


2008 Istanbul bombings, Investigation
Nine people were indicted in December 2008 over the bombings.


2008 Italian Athletics Championships
The 2008 Italian Athletics Championships was the 98th edition of the Italian Athletics Championships and were held in Cagliari.


2008 Italian Athletics Indoor Championships
2008 Italian Athletics Indoor Championships was the 39th edition of the Italian Athletics Indoor Championships and were held in Genoa.


2008 Italian Figure Skating Championships
The 2008 Italian Figure Skating Championships (Italian: Campionati Italiani Assoluti 2008 Pattinaggio Di Figura Su Ghiaccio) was held in Milan from December 20 through 23, 2007. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, ice dancing, and synchronized skating on the levels of senior and junior, and novice synchronized. The results were used to choose the teams to the 2008 World Championships, the 2008 European Championships, and the 2008 World Junior Championships.


2008 Italian Formula Three Championship
The 2008 Italian Formula Three Championship was the 44th Italian Formula Three Championship season. It began on May 10 at Mugello and ended on October 19 at Vallelunga after 16 races.


2008 Italian Formula Three Championship
The season began with Edoardo Piscopo dominating the field with four successive wins, but another run of seven victories by Mirko Bortolotti, gave him the leadership in the championship. The championship title was delayed to the last round in Vallelunga, the victory in race one and his eighth of the season gave Bortolotti the championship crown.


2008 Italian Formula Three Championship
The three first classified drivers of the championship were rewarded with a Formula One test organized by the Scuderia Ferrari at the wheel of a Ferrari F2008 at Fiorano, with Bortolotti setting the new track record.


2008 Italian Grand Prix
The 2008 Italian Grand Prix (formally the Formula 1 Gran Premio Santander D'Italia 2008) was a Formula One motor race held on 14 September 2008 at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza, Italy. It was the 14th race of the 2008 Formula One World Championship. Sebastian Vettel for the Toro Rosso team won the 53-lap race from pole position. Heikki Kovalainen finished second in a McLaren, and Robert Kubica third in a BMW Sauber.


2008 Italian Grand Prix
Vettel began the race, started under the safety car, ahead of Kovalainen in second. Red Bull's Mark Webber started from third. Rain early in the race allowed Vettel to establish a solid lead over Kovalainen, which he extended as the track dried. Kubica and Fernando Alonso finished in the top four after starting from 11th and eighth, respectively. McLaren driver and Drivers' Championship leader Lewis Hamilton was able to move through the field after qualifying in 15th, finishing in seventh, one place behind rival Felipe Massa, of Ferrari.


2008 Italian Grand Prix
Vettel's victory made him the youngest driver to win a Formula One race, at 21 years 73 days in addition to giving Toro Rosso (which was formerly Minardi team) its maiden Formula One win despite using a 2007-spec engine. Vettel's record was broken by Max Verstappen aged 18 years and 228 days at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix. Massa scored one point more than Hamilton, narrowing the McLaren driver's lead in the Championship once more with four races remaining. However, Kovalainen's second-placed finish put McLaren closer to catching Ferrari in the Constructors' Championship.


2008 Italian Grand Prix, Background
Heading into the 14th race of the season, McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton led the Drivers' Championship with 76 points; Ferrari driver Felipe Massa was second on 74 points, two points behind Hamilton. Behind Hamilton and Massa in the Drivers' Championship, Robert Kubica was third on 58 points in a BMW Sauber, and Massa's Ferrari teammate Kimi Räikkönen fourth on 57 points. Kubica's teammate Nick Heidfeld was fifth on 49 points. In the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari were leading on 131 points and McLaren were second on 119 points, 12 points behind. BMW Sauber were third with 107 points. In the battle for fourth-place Toyota had 41 points, ahead of Renault with 36 points.


2008 Italian Grand Prix, Background
After the previous race, Hamilton was penalised for cutting a chicane and gaining an advantage over Räikkönen in the closing laps. This meant that Hamilton was demoted from first to third position, giving victory to Massa. While McLaren had lodged an appeal against the decision, the result would not be heard until September 23. Reflecting on the controversy, Norbert Haug, Vice President of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, said:


2008 Italian Grand Prix, Background
Our disappointment was big, when the stewards took away victory from him [Hamilton] and the team. However, we are fighters. If we would have needed a better motivation for the last five races of the season we have it now. When we went to the airport last Sunday evening, Lewis said to me - preferably we now want to win all remaining races, don't we? I have no objection.


2008 Italian Grand Prix, Background
Following the rain-soaked Belgian Grand Prix, Massa expressed his hope that the Italian Grand Prix would be held on a dry track, saying "it would be nice not to have the rain here and not have any opportunity to have a consistent race." The close nature of the Championship meant that Ferrari's home race had the potential to be a turning point in the season. Testing at the Monza circuit in early September had indicated that the performance gap between McLaren and Ferrari had narrowed. Despite this, Ferrari were hoping that their straight-line speed would be better suited to Monza's long straights. Ferrari confirmed on September 12 that Räikkönen would continue to drive for the team until at least 2010, ending media speculation that he could be about to retire.


2008 Italian Grand Prix, Practice
Three practice sessions were held before the race: the first was held on Friday morning and the second on Friday afternoon. Both sessions lasted 90 minutes. The third session was held on Saturday morning and lasted an hour. All three sessions were affected by rain, with only the second giving teams any chance to run dry-weather tyres. Adrian Sutil was quickest with a time of 1:32.842 in the first session, more than half a second quicker than the next fastest drivers Rubens Barrichello and Giancarlo Fisichella. Timo Glock was the next quickest, almost four seconds behind Sutil.


2008 Italian Grand Prix, Practice
Conditions were so poor that six drivers, including both McLarens, failed to set times. The session was stopped four minutes early, though by that time no cars had entered the track for at least ten minutes. The track dried out in the second session; Räikkönen adapted best to the changed conditions with a lap of 1:23.861, significantly quicker than his morning time. Kubica was the next fastest, with his BMW teammate Heidfeld in third. Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Massa rounded out the top six. Glock was fastest in the final session with a time of 1:35.464, followed by Sebastian Vettel, Rosberg, Jarno Trulli, Kazuki Nakajima and Heidfeld. Hamilton only completed eight laps, and finished last with a time almost 11 seconds behind Glock.


2008 Italian Grand Prix, Qualifying
The qualifying session on Saturday afternoon was split into three parts. The first part ran for 20 minutes and eliminated the cars from qualifying that finished the session 16th or lower. The second part of qualifying lasted 15 minutes and eliminated cars that finished in positions 11 to 15. The final part of qualifying determined the positions from first to tenth, and decided pole position. Cars which competed in the final session of qualifying were not allowed to refuel before the race, and as such carried more fuel than in the previous sessions.


2008 Italian Grand Prix, Qualifying
It was a joint decision to go out on wet-weather tyres at the start of [the second session] - partly mine and partly my engineers'. We thought it was the right way to go at the time because it was getting dryer but the grip-level was poor so I came in and switched to extremes ... It's the first time this has happened to me in Formula 1, so I can't really complain.


2008 Italian Grand Prix, Qualifying
Vettel became the youngest driver in the history of Formula One to take pole position, with a time of 1:37.555 in very wet conditions. He was joined on the front row of the grid by Kovalainen. Mark Webber qualified third after his final lap pushed Sébastien Bourdais into fourth position. Massa took sixth position behind Rosberg. Trulli, Fernando Alonso, Glock and Heidfeld rounded out the top ten. Kubica qualified 11th, blaming late rain in the second qualifying session for his position. Fisichella qualified 12th to give Force India its best grid position of the season.


2008 Italian Grand Prix, Qualifying
Both Räikkönen and Hamilton blamed a late entry into the second session for their poor qualifying times, which saw them eliminated in 14th and 15th positions, respectively. Hamilton originally ran on the standard wet-weather tyres, and by the time he had changed to extreme wet-weather tyres the rain had intensified. This was McLaren's only result outside the top ten in qualifying all season and the first time in Hamilton's career that he had failed to progress into the final qualifying session.


2008 Italian Grand Prix, Race
Heavy rain prior to the race made the track very slippery, with more rain expected throughout the day. The air temperature at the track was 14 °C (57 °F). Jenson Button and Kazuki Nakajima started the race from the pit-lane, their teams choosing to make adjustments from qualifying to the set-ups of their cars. All cars were using extreme wet-weather tyres. The race began at 14:00 local time (UTC+1) behind the safety car because of the rain, meaning that there would be a rolling start. Bourdais' car stalled on the grid, and was pushed back to the pits. By the time his team restarted the car, he was in last position and one lap down.


2008 Italian Grand Prix, Race
The safety car pulled into the pit-lane at the end of the second lap. Vettel retained his lead into the first corner, followed by Kovalainen, Webber, Rosberg and Massa. Kubica passed Heidfeld at the first chicane; Glock passed Alonso later in the lap. Vettel immediately opened a lead of two seconds over Kovalainen; the McLaren driver experienced visibility problems as a result of the spray off the back of the Toro Rosso. Alonso regained seventh from Glock when he passed him at the first chicane on lap four as the track began to dry.


2008 Italian Grand Prix, Race
Räikkönen and Hamilton passed Coulthard on the same lap to take 12th and 13th positions, respectively. The next lap, Hamilton attempted to pass Räikkönen at the third corner, but overshot, cutting the chicane. Emerging ahead of the Ferrari, he gave the place back, returning the advantage and avoiding a penalty. Glock spun on lap seven, losing one place to Kubica.


2008 Italian Grand Prix, Race
Vettel continued to open his lead on Kovalainen; by lap eight it stood at 6.3 seconds. Both Räikkönen and Hamilton passed Fisichella in separate manoeuvres over the next two laps. Hamilton took 11th position from Räikkönen on lap 11, outbraking the Ferrari at turn four. Fisichella collided with Coulthard two laps later. As a result of the contact, the Force India's front wing broke loose and lodged under the car. Consequently, Fisichella lost control at turn nine, spinning into the gravel trap and retiring. Massa overtook Rosberg for fourth on the same lap, beginning a close fight where both drivers repeatedly exchanged positions over the next three laps. Massa eventually consolidated fourth position on lap 15. Hamilton passed Heidfeld, Glock, Kubica and Alonso in separate manoeuvres, to sit in seventh by lap 19.


2008 Italian Grand Prix, Race
Vettel pitted from first position on lap 18. Kovalainen, Webber and Massa pitted four laps later. Light rain began to fall on lap 26, though only lasted five minutes. Glock, Trulli, Räikkönen and Hamilton completed their first pit stops over the following laps. Coulthard was the first driver to try intermediate wet-weather tyres when he pitted on lap 28. He lost grip in the wet and went straight through the first chicane. Alonso, Heidfeld, Kubica and Piquet took their only pit stops for the race soon after, all changing to intermediate tyres.


2008 Italian Grand Prix, Race
By lap 36 the majority of the field were running on intermediate tyres. Webber was passed at turn eight by Massa on lap 35. The Australian spun after the corner, though managed to retain seventh position. A lap later, however, Hamilton outbraked Webber at turn three and demoted the Red Bull driver to eighth.


2008 Italian Grand Prix, Race
Hamilton began lapping fastest, recording a 1:32.869 on lap 38, more than a second faster than first-placed Vettel. Lap 45 saw three drivers set consecutive new fastest laps; Kubica's 1:32.366 was beaten by Webber with a 1:32.014s. They were then superseded by Räikkönen, who set a 1:31.691. On lap 49 Webber attempted to pass Hamilton at the first chicane, but the two cars touched wheels. Webber was forced down the escape road, and when he emerged in front of Hamilton, he returned the position.


2008 Italian Grand Prix, Race
Räikkönen continued to move through the field; he passed Coulthard and Piquet in separate manoeuvres to take ninth position. Nakajima attempted to pass Coulthard into turn nine, but succeeded only in turning into the Red Bull RB4, sending it into the gravel trap. Coulthard pitted for a new front wing, which dropped him to 17th. Vettel crossed the finish line on lap 53 by 12.5 seconds over Kovalainen, becoming the youngest driver in Formula One history to win a Grand Prix. The one-stop strategies used by Kubica and Alonso paid off as they finished in third and fourth, respectively. Heidfeld, Massa, Hamilton and Webber rounded out the top eight. Räikkönen finished in ninth position, setting the fastest laptime of 1:28.047 on the final lap.


2008 Italian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
A fantastic race, a fantastic weekend with pole as well and a fantastic strategy this afternoon. As for the podium ceremony it was unbelievable and this is the best day of my life. I will never forget these feelings. It is so unbelievable. It is better than I had ever expected ... A perfect weekend.


2008 Italian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
The top three finishers appeared on the podium and in the subsequent press conference. Vettel acknowledged the support of his team, saying the set-up of the car perfectly suited the way the race developed. Other drivers congratulated Vettel; Hamilton said that "with all that pressure it is easier to make mistakes, and he obviously didn't, so congratulations to him. He did a good job." The Grand Prix also marked the first win by Toro Rosso, the first non-Ferrari Italian-based team to win since 1957. Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali paid tribute to the team, who use Ferrari engines, saying "They deserve it, they are close to us, and we are happy to work with them because we are giving them our engine."


2008 Italian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
Clearly not possible to win today. Sebastian and Toro Rosso have been strong all weekend. I had a little bit of a problem earlier on in the race, in the first couple of stints, especially with the extreme wet tyre and some problems also to warm up my brakes, so I was just struggling to find more time and trying to go faster. We kept pushing and towards the end it got a little bit better but I think it was the maximum we could do today. We picked up some good points and we can look forward to the next grand prix.


2008 Italian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
Hamilton was satisfied with his performance in the race, saying "today was all about damage control: I came away with some points and kept my lead in the world Drivers' Championship." Massa said that he had hoped to do better, but added "I've managed to make up a point on my nearest rival so this is absolutely not a negative result." Massa took three points from the race, compared to Hamilton's two, and narrowed the gap in the Drivers' Championship to one point with four races remaining. Kovalainen's second-placed finish closed the gap in the Constructors' Championship between Ferrari and McLaren from twelve to five points.


2008 Italian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
Third-placed Kubica said that his strategy allowed him to capitalise on the changing track conditions, as his only stop seemed the best time to change to intermediate tyres. The Polish driver said that racing in Italy was particularly special for him, having lived in the country for five years: "That is why we divided the helmet into two pieces. One was Italian colours, one was Polish colours." Alonso, who used a similar strategy, said "the result today is very good because Monza was supposed to be the race that we were looking forward to the least." Toyota's failure to score at the race meant that they were tied with Renault on 41 points.


2008 Italian Open (tennis)
The 2008 Italian Open (also known as 2008 Rome Masters and the Internazionali BNL d'Italia for sponsorship reasons) was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 65th edition of the Rome Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier I Series of the 2008 WTA Tour. Both the men's and the women's events took place at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy, with the men playing from 5 May through 11 May 2008, and the women from 12 May through 18 May 2008.


2008 Italian Open (tennis)
The men's field featured World No. 1 and Monte Carlo Masters runner-up Roger Federer, defending champion, Monte Carlo and Barcelona winner Rafael Nadal, and Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic. Others top seeds competing were Miami Masters champion Nikolay Davydenko, Valencia Open winner David Ferrer, Andy Roddick, David Nalbandian, and James Blake.


2008 Italian Open (tennis)
The women's draw was headlined by WTA No. 2 and Indian Wells champion Ana Ivanovic, Australian Open winner Maria Sharapova, and Indian Wells finalist Svetlana Kuznetsova. Other notable names in the field were defending champion Jelena Janković, Miami and Charleston winner Serena Williams, Anna Chakvetadze, Venus Williams, and Marion Bartoli.


2008 Italian Open (tennis), Review, Men
Third seed Novak Djokovic overcame a number of upsets to his fellow top seeds to win his fourth ATP Masters Series title. He beat the unseeded Stanislas Wawrinka in the final, who was aiming to become the second unseeded champion in Rome in the Open Era, and the first Swiss to win the title here.


2008 Italian Open (tennis), Review, Men
The tournament was notable for its semifinals, where both Radek Štěpánek and Andy Roddick retired before the completion of their matches. It was the first time this situation had happened at a Masters Series event in ATP history. The two matches combined lasted a mere forty-nine minutes, and fans in attendance were refunded with 50% off tickets for the following week's women's tournament.


2008 Italian Open (tennis), Review, Men
The big story at the beginning of the week was Rafael Nadal's shock second round loss to Juan Carlos Ferrero, his second defeat in one-hundred-and-five matches on clay. Nadal was trying to win his third tournament in three weeks. He had earlier complained about the ATP schedule, saying it was "impossible" for the players to maintain their best level at all four of the European clay tournaments back-to-back.


2008 Italian Open (tennis), Review, Men
Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan won the doubles title, beating Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić in the championships match.


2008 Italian Open (tennis), Review, Women
Jelena Janković successfully defended a title for the first time in her career with a straight set victory over qualifier Alizé Cornet in the final. Cornet was the first female qualifier to reach the final at this tournament in the Open Era. She defeated two Top Ten players, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Anna Chakvetadze to reach the biggest final of her career so far.


2008 Italian Open (tennis), Review, Women
Like the men's event, the later stages of the women's tournament were hit by two high-profile withdrawals. Serena Williams withdrew before her quarterfinal match with Cornet due to a back injury, and new World No. 1 Maria Sharapova withdrew before her semifinal match with Janković due to a left calf injury.


2008 Italian Open (tennis), Review, Women
Tsvetana Pironkova caused the biggest shock of the tournament in the second round, beating top seeded and WTA No. 3 Ana Ivanovic for her second career Top Ten victory. She eventually made her first ever Tier I quarterfinal, benefitting from Victoria Azarenka's retirement in the third round, before losing to Chakvetadze in three sets.


2008 Italian Open (tennis), Review, Women
The doubles title was won by Taiwanese pairing Yung-jan Chan and Chia-jung Chuang, after they beat Iveta Benešová and Janette Husárová in straight sets to win their first ever Tier I title as a team.


2008 Italian Open (tennis), Finals, Men's Doubles
Bob Bryan /  Mike Bryan defeated  Daniel Nestor /  Nenad Zimonjić 3–6, 6–4, [10–8]


2008 Italian Open (tennis), Finals, Women's Doubles
Yung-jan Chan /  Chia-jung Chuang defeated  Iveta Benešová /  Janette Husárová 7–6 (7–5), 6–3


2008 Italian Open – Men's Doubles
Fabrice Santoro and Nenad Zimonjić were the defending champions. They were both present but did not compete together. Santoro partnered with Richard Gasquet, but lost in the semifinals to Zimonjic and partner Daniel Nestor, who lost in the final.


2008 Italian Open – Men's Doubles
Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan won in the final 3–6, 6–4, [10–8], against Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić.


2008 Italian Open – Men's Singles
Novak Djokovic defeated Stanislas Wawrinka in the final, 4–6, 6–3, 6–3, to win the Men's Singles title at the 2008 Italian Open.


2008 Italian Open – Men's Singles
Rafael Nadal was the three-time defending champion, but lost in the second round to Juan Carlos Ferrero. Notably, this is the first (and to date only) instance that Nadal lost his opening match at a clay court tournament.


2008 Italian Open – Men's Singles, Seeds
The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round.


2008 Italian Open – Women's Doubles
Nathalie Dechy and Mara Santangelo were the defending champions, but Dechy chose not to participate, and only Santangelo competed that year. Santangelo partnered with Alicia Molik, but lost in the second round to Maria Kirilenko and Agnieszka Radwańska.


2008 Italian Open – Women's Doubles
Chan Yung-jan and Chuang Chia-jung won in the final 7–6(7–5), 6–2, against Iveta Benešová and Janette Husárová.


2008 Italian Open – Women's Doubles, Seeds
The top four seeds received a bye into the second round.


2008 Italian Open – Women's Singles
Jelena Janković successfully defended  her title, beating qualifier Alizé Cornet in the final, 6–2, 6–2.


2008 Italian Open – Women's Singles, Seeds
The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round.


2008 Italian Senate election in Lombardy
Lombardy renewed its delegation to the Italian Senate on April 13, 2008. This election was a part of national Italian general election of 2008 even if, according to the Italian Constitution, every senatorial challenge in each Region is a single and independent race.


2008 Italian Senate election in Lombardy
The election was won by the centre-right coalition between The People of Freedom and Lega Nord, as it happened at the national level. The People of Freedom was the largest party in the election with 34%, ahead of the Democratic Party (28%) and Lega Nord (21%). All provinces gave a majority or a plurality to the new Prime Minister of Italy.


2008 Italian Senate election in Lombardy, Electoral law
The new electoral law for the Senate was established in 2005 by the Calderoli Law, and it is a form of semi-proportional representation. A party presents its own closed list and it can join other parties in alliances. The coalition which receives a plurality automatically wins at least 26 seats. Respecting this condition, seats are divided between coalitions, and subsequently to party lists, using the largest remainder method with a Hare quota. To receive seats, a party must overcome the barrage of 8% of the vote if it contests a single race, or of 3% of the vote if it runs in alliance.


2008 Italian Senate election, North and Central American division
The 2008 Italian general election was the second in which Italian and dual citizens living outside the country could vote by postal ballot in international electoral districts. Twelve members of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and six members of the Italian Senate were elected in this way.


2008 Italian Senate election, North and Central American division
Italian and dual citizens in North America and Central America (including the Caribbean) elected one member of the Italian Senate. The winning candidate was Basilio Giordano from Silvio Berlusconi's party, known as the People of Freedom.


2008 Italian Senate election, North and Central American division, The process
All electors could vote for a political list and also cast a first preference vote for a specific candidate. The party with the highest number of list votes won the Senate seat, and the winning party's candidate with the highest number of first preference votes was declared elected.


2008 Italian Senate election, North and Central American division, The parties
Four electoral lists contested the North and Central American Senate division. The same lists also fielded candidates for the Chamber of Deputies and North and Central America.


2008 Italian Senate election, North and Central American division, The parties
The governing centre-left Democratic Party ran a united slate, as did Berlusconi's right-wing opposition list. The moderately conservative Union of the Centre (UDC), formerly aligned with Berlusconi, ran a separate list, as did a small coalition of right-wing and far-right parties called The Right–Tricolour Flame.


2008 Italian Senate election, North and Central American division, The results
Berlusconi's electoral coalition won a narrow plurality, defeating the Democratic Party by only 793 votes. Basilio Giordano received the most votes of the candidates on Berlusconi's list and was declared elected.


2008 Italian Senate election, North and Central American division, The results
Democratic Party incumbent Renato Turano actually received more first preference votes than Giordano, but, as his party list was defeated, he was not returned to office.


2008 Italian Senate election, North and Central American division, The results
Source: , Ministerio dell'Interno, Government of Italy, accessed 27 July 2011. Voters were not required to give a preference vote for any candidate.


2008 Italian Senate election, North and Central American division, Detailed results by country
More than 90 per cent of the total votes were cast in the United States of America and Canada. The Democratic Party won narrow victory in the United States, Mexico, and Nicaragua, but was defeated everywhere else. The People of Freedom won a narrow victory in Canada; this was a significant shift from the 2006 election, when the centre-left had won by a credible margin.


2008 Italian Senate election, North and Central American division, Detailed results by country, United States of America
Note: The country-by-country totals provided by the Italian Ministry of the Interior do not entirely correspond with the final totals provided by the same source. Adding up the country-by-country totals yields the following results: People of Freedom 37,774; Democratic Party 36,734; Union of the Centre 7,087; The Right–Tricolour Flame 2,126. These results are the same as the provisional totals provided by  with 120 out of 123 polling districts reporting. It is therefore assumed that the country-by-country totals represent the provisional and not the final totals.


2008 Italian general election
A snap general election was held in Italy on 13–14 April 2008. The election came after President Giorgio Napolitano dissolved Parliament on 6 February 2008, following the defeat of the government of Prime Minister Romano Prodi in a January 2008 Senate vote of confidence and the unsuccessful tentative appointment of Franco Marini with the aim to change the current electoral law. Under Italian law, elections must be held within 70 days of the dissolution. The voting determined the leader of Italy's 62nd government since the end of World War II. The coalition led by ex-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi from The People of Freedom party defeated that of former Mayor of Rome, Walter Veltroni of the Democratic Party.


2008 Italian general election, Background
On 24 January 2008 Prime Minister of Italy Romano Prodi lost a vote of confidence in the Senate by a vote of 161 to 156 votes, causing the downfall of his government. Prodi's resignation led President Giorgio Napolitano to request the president of the Senate, Franco Marini, to assess the possibility to form a caretaker government. The other possibility would have been to call for early elections immediately.


2008 Italian general election, Background
The decision of former Minister of Justice Mastella arrived a few days after the confirmation of the Constitutional Court which confirmed the referendum to modify the electoral system. As stated many times by Minister Mastella, if the referendum would have been confirmed this would have led directly to the fall of the governmentand it happened. The fall of the government would disrupt a pending election-law referendum that if passed would make it harder for small parties like Mastella's to gain seats in parliament.


2008 Italian general election, Background
UDEUR's defection forced the question of whether Prodi still had the parliamentarian support to govern. Presenting a motion of confidence to parliament, he won relatively easily in the lower house of the Parliament, the Chamber of Deputies, where the coalition's majority was substantial. Yet a win in the upper house – or Senate – seemed unlikely, and President Giorgio Napolitano was said to have warned against going through with the vote.


2008 Italian general election, Background
The vote, held between 3pm and 9pm (CET), was heated and dramatic. During its course the UDEUR party Senator Stefano Cusumano decided to confirm the confidence and to support the prime minister, even against the orders of his party's leader. He was subsequently subjected to the abuse of his colleagues, being called an "hysteric faggot", "traitor", and reportedly spat on by a member of the conservative UDEUR party. At this point Cusumano apparently fainted, and was carried out on a stretcher. Cusumano's defection had no effect, however: Prodi lost the vote with 161 to 156 votes (one member abstained from voting, while three were absent), and promptly handed in his resignation.


2008 Italian general election, Background
On 30 January, Napolitano appointed Franco Marini to try to form a caretaker government with the goal of changing the current electoral system, rather than call a quick election. The state of the electoral system had been under criticism not only within the outgoing government, but also among the opposition and in the general population, because of the impossibility to choose candidates directly and of the risks that a close-call election may not grant a stable majority in the Senate.


2008 Italian general election, Background
On 4 February 2008 Marini acknowledged that he had failed to find the necessary majority for an interim government, and resigned his mandate, after having met with all major political forces and having found opposition to forming an interim government mainly from center-right parties Forza Italia and National Alliance, favoured in a possible next election and strongly in favour of an early vote.,


2008 Italian general election, Background
President Napolitano summoned Bertinotti and Marini, the two speakers of the houses of the Italian parliament, acknowledging the end of the legislature, on 5 February 2008. He dissolved parliament on 6 February 2008.


2008 Italian general election, Campaign
Major competitors in the election were Silvio Berlusconi, as leader of the centre-right opposition coalition, and Walter Veltroni, leader of the Democratic Party. Berlusconi's right coalition was leading by a significant margin in opinion polls. The 71-year-old Berlusconi, who was twice prime minister—from May 1994 to January 1995 and again from May 2001 to May 2006—was not considered too old for the job though he had had heart surgery since leaving office.


2008 Italian general election, Campaign
Veltroni's campaign has been compared to Barack Obama's presidential run in the United States. The most apparent of the similarities is his slogan, "Si può fare" (literally, "it can be done").


2008 Italian general election, Campaign
Following the calling of the election, Veltroni stated his party will not make any alliance in either Chamber, choosing instead to run alone with its own platform, and challenged Berlusconi to do likewise with his Forza Italia party. The main four left-wing parties not part of the PD decided to contest the election together under the banner of The Left – The Rainbow. On 8 February, Berlusconi announced Forza Italia and Gianfranco Fini's National Alliance will run together under the common symbol of The People of Freedom, being regionally allied with the Northern League.


2008 Italian general election, Campaign
On 13 February, Veltroni announced to have reached an agreement with the Italy of Values, led by Antonio Di Pietro, which agreed for an electoral alliance with the Democratic Party, accepting also to join the Democratic Party parliamentary groups after the election. On 21 February the Italian Radicals announced an agreement with the Democratic Party, accepting to present themselves in list with the latter, under the agreement they will have nine MPs elected in the Parliament, and appointment of Emma Bonino as Minister in case of victory.


2008 Italian general election, Campaign
Though Berlusconi and Veltroni were in opposite parties, they allegedly represent such similar policies that they were dubbed "Veltrusconi". Both candidates supported big tax cuts and generous spending programs.


2008 Italian general election, Campaign
The Union of Christian and Centre Democrats was invited to support Berlusconi, but refused and decided to run on its own instead. The Rose for Italy originally planned to run alone with Bruno Tabacci as their PM candidate, but shortly before the filing deadline, they decided to form joint lists with the UDC.


2008 Italian general election, Electoral system
The electoral system had been last reformed by Law no. 270, 21 December 2005.


2008 Italian general election, Electoral system, Chamber of Deputies
For the election of the lower house, all seats in the Chamber of Deputies (excluding one deputy for the region of Aosta Valley and twelve deputies for Italians residing abroad) are allocated based on the national vote in a form of party-list proportional representation with a series of thresholds to encourage parties to form coalitions. Voters cast one vote for a closed list, meaning they cannot express a preference for individual candidates.


2008 Italian general election, Electoral system, Chamber of Deputies
Parties can choose to run in coalitions. Seats are first allocated based on coalition votes, then divided among parties belonging to the same coalition by the largest remainder method. To guarantee a working majority, the coalition or party that obtains a plurality of the vote, but fewer than 340 seats, is assigned additional seats to reach that number, which is roughly 54% of all seats.


2008 Italian general election, Electoral system, Chamber of Deputies
The autonomous region of Aosta Valley elects one deputy through a first-past-the-post system. Italians abroad are divided into four constituencies, which elect a total of twelve seats based on proportional representation.


2008 Italian general election, Electoral system, Senate
For the election of the upper house, a similar system is used. However, the results are based on regional, rather than national, vote. This means the coalition or party that wins a plurality of votes in each region is guaranteed a majority of the seats assigned to that region. As this mechanism is region-based, opposing parties or coalitions may benefit from the majority bonus in different regions. It therefore does not guarantee any party or coalition a majority in the Senate.


2008 Italian general election, Electoral system, Senate
Three regions have exceptions to the system detailed above. In the region of Molise, that is granted two seats in the Senate, seats are allocated proportionally, with no majority bonus. The region of Aosta Valley, which elects one senator, uses a first-past-the-post system. Finally, the region of Trentino-South Tyrol elects seven senators with a mixed-member proportional system: six senators are elected in six single-member constituencies, while the seventh is allocated to the most underrepresented list based on the regional votes.


2008 Italian general election, Electoral system, Senate
Six seats in the Senate are assigned to Italians living abroad and are allocated using the same system used for the Chamber of Deputies.


2008 Italian general election, Results for the Chamber of Deputies, Aosta Valley
The autonomous region of Aosta Valley, in northwestern Italy, elects one member to the Chamber of Deputies through a direct first-past-the-post election. Some parties that formed electoral coalitions in Italy, might have opted to run against one another (or form different coalitions) in this particular region.


2008 Italian general election, Results for the Chamber of Deputies, Italians abroad
Twelve members of the Chamber of Deputies are elected by Italians abroad. Two members are elected for North America and Central America (including most of the Caribbean), three members for South America (including Trinidad and Tobago), six members for Europe, and one member for the rest of the world (Africa, Asia, Oceania, and Antarctica). Voters in these regions select candidate lists and may also cast a preference vote for individual candidates. The seats are allocated by proportional representation.


2008 Italian general election, Results for the Chamber of Deputies, Italians abroad
The electoral law allows for parties to form different coalitions on the lists abroad, compared to the lists in Italy.


2008 Italian general election in Aosta Valley
The Italian general election of 2008 took place on 13–14 April 2008.


2008 Italian general election in Aosta Valley
In the Aosta Valley single-seat constituency Roberto Nicco, the incumbent deputy for the centre-left Autonomy Liberty Democracy, was narrowly re-elected, while incumbent senator Carlo Perrin (Valdostan Renewal, Autonomy Liberty Democracy) was defeated by Antonio Fosson (Valdostan Union, Aosta Valley coalition). The parliamentary delegation of Aosta Valley was thus split between the centre-left and the regionalist coalition led by Valdostan Union.


2008 Italian general election in Friuli-Venezia Giulia
The Italian general election of 2008 took place on 13–14 April 2008. The election was won in Friuli-Venezia Giulia by the centre-right coalition between The People of Freedom and Lega Nord, as it happened at the national level. The People of Freedom was the largest party in the election with 34.7%, ahead of the Democratic Party (31.4%) and Lega Nord (13.0%).


2008 Italian general election in Lombardy
The Italian general election of 2008 took place on 13–14 April 2008.


2008 Italian general election in Lombardy
The election was won in Lombardy by the centre-right coalition between The People of Freedom and Lega Nord, as it happened at the national level. The People of Freedom was the largest party in the election with 33.5%, ahead of the Democratic Party (28.1%) and Lega Nord (21.6%).


2008 Italian general election in Piedmont
The Italian general election of 2008 took place on 13 April 2008 – 14 April 2008. The election was won in Piedmont by the centre-right coalition between The People of Freedom and Lega Nord, as it happened at the national level. The People of Freedom was the largest party in the election with 34.3%, ahead of the Democratic Party (32.4%) and Lega Nord (12.6%).


2008 Italian general election in Sardinia
The Italian general election of 2008 took place on 13–14 April 2008.


2008 Italian general election in Sardinia
The People of Freedom was the largest party in Sardinia with 42.4%, while the Democratic Party came second with 36.2%.


2008 Italian general election in Sicily
The Italian general election of 2008 took place on 13–14 April 2008.


2008 Italian general election in Sicily
The People of Freedom was the largest party in Sicily with 46.6%, while the Democratic Party came second with 25.4%.


2008 Italian general election in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol
The Italian general election of 2008 took place on 13–14 April 2008.


2008 Italian general election in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol
In Trentino the centre-right came first thanks to the strong showing of Lega Nord, while in South Tyrol the South Tyrolean People's Party was confirmed as the largest party, but lost many votes to its right-wing competitors, Die Freiheitlichen and Union for South Tyrol.


2008 Italian general election in Veneto
The Italian general election of 2008 took place on 13–14 April 2008.


2008 Italian general election in Veneto
The election was won in Veneto by the centre-right coalition between The People of Freedom and Lega Nord, as it happened at the national level. The People of Freedom was the largest party in the election with 27.4%, slightly ahead of Lega Nord (27.1%) and the Democratic Party (26.5%).


2008 Italian motorcycle Grand Prix
The 2008 Italian motorcycle Grand Prix was the sixth round of the 2008 MotoGP championship. It took place on the weekend of 30 May-1 June 2008 at the Mugello Circuit. It marked Valentino Rossi's seventh consecutive victory at the Italian motorcycle Grand Prix, a run which was to be finally broken the following year by Casey Stoner.


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


2008 Italian political crisis
On 24 January 2008 Prime Minister of Italy Romano Prodi lost a vote of confidence in the Senate by a vote of 161 to 156 votes, causing the downfall of his government. Prodi's resignation led President Giorgio Napolitano to request the president of the Senate, Franco Marini, to assess the possibility to form a caretaker government. The other possibility would have been to call for early elections immediately. Marini acknowledged impossibility to form an interim government due to the unavailability of the centre-right parties, and early elections were scheduled for 13 April and 14 April 2008.


2008 Italian political crisis, Background
Prodi had at the time been in office for 20 months, after winning the April 2006 general election. In February 2007, the Prime Minister handed in his resignation, only to be asked to remain by the President, and winning a vote of confidence in the Parliament.


2008 Italian political crisis, Background
Prodi had built his government around a coalition called The Union, which consisted of a large number of smaller parties. This situation was in turn the result of an electoral system of proportional representation, due to legislation passed by Berlusconi three months before he lost power. It was when the leader of one of these lesser parties, Justice Minister Clemente Mastella of the Union of Democrats for Europe (UDEUR), came under investigation for corruption that the coalition started to break up. When the media reported an extensive corruption investigation involving Mastella and his wife – an UDEUR politician in Campania – Mastella resigned.


2008 Italian political crisis, Background
After first promising to support the government, he later retracted this support, and his party followed, in part also due to pressure from the Vatican, for which the government's proposed laws in regards to registered partnerships of same-sex couples, and other liberal reforms were objectionable.


2008 Italian political crisis, Background
The decision of former Minister of Justice Mastella arrived a few days after the confirmation of the Constitutional Court which confirmed the referendum to modify the electoral system. As stated many times by Minister Mastella, if the referendum would have been confirmed this would lead directly to the fall of the governmentand it happened. The fall of the government would disrupt a pending election-law referendum that if passed would make it harder for small parties like Mastella's to gain seats in parliament.


2008 Italian political crisis, Background
UDEUR's defection forced the question of whether Prodi still had the parliamentarian support to govern. Presenting a motion of confidence to parliament, he won relatively easily in the lower house of the Parliament, the Chamber of Deputies, where the coalition's majority was substantial. Yet a win in the upper house – or Senate – seemed unlikely, and President Giorgio Napolitano was said to have warned against going through with the vote.


2008 Italian political crisis, Background
The vote, held between 3pm and 9pm (CET), was heated and dramatic. During its course the UDEUR party Senator Stefano Cusumano decided to confirm the confidence and to support the prime minister, even against the orders of his party's leader. Cusumano was subsequently subjected to the abuse of his colleagues, being called an "hysterical faggot", "traitor", and reportedly spat on by a member of the conservative UDEUR party. At this point Cusumano apparently fainted, and was carried out on a stretcher.


2008 Italian political crisis, Background
Cusumano's defection had no effect, however: Prodi lost the vote with 161 to 156 votes (one member abstained from voting, while three were absent), and promptly handed in his resignation. On the announcement of the result certain members of the opposition, including National Alliance MP Nino Strano started celebrating with champagne and by eating Mortadella (a derogatory nickname for Romano Prodi, because of his origin from Bologna).


2008 Italian political crisis, Attempts at a resolution
On 30 January 2008, Napolitano appointed Franco Marini to try to form a caretaker government with the goal of changing the current electoral system, rather than call a quick election. The state of the electoral system had been under criticism not only within the outgoing government, but also among the opposition and in the general population, because of the impossibility to choose candidates directly and of the risks that a close-call election would not lead to a stable majority in the Senate.


2008 Italian political crisis, Attempts at a resolution
After Marini was given the mandate, two politicians (Bruno Tabacci and Mario Baccini) splintered from the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats (UDC) to form the White Rose, while two leading members of the Forza Italia faction Liberal Popular Union (Ferdinando Adornato and Angelo Sanza) switched allegiance to the UDC. On 4 February, the Liberal Populars (an UDC faction which favours merging with Forza Italia) seceded from UDC to join Berlusconi's People of Freedom later this year.


2008 Italian political crisis, Attempts at a resolution
On 4 February 2008 Marini acknowledged that he had failed to find the necessary majority for an interim government, and resigned his mandate, after having met with all major political forces and having found opposition to forming an interim government mainly from center-right parties Forza Italia and National Alliance, favoured in a possible next election and strongly in favour of an early vote.


2008 Italian political crisis, Attempts at a resolution
President Napolitano summoned Bertinotti and Marini, the two speakers of the houses of the Italian parliament, acknowledging the end of the legislature, on 5 February 2008. He dissolved parliament on 6 February 2008. Elections were held on 13 April and 14 April 2008, together with the administrative elections. The elections resulted in a decisive victory for Berlusconi's centre-right coalition.


2008 Italian regional elections
Regional elections were held in several regions of Italy during 2008. These included:


2008 Italy rugby union tour
The 2008 Italy rugby union tour of South Africa and Argentina was a series of matches played in June 2008 in South Africa and Argentina by Italy national rugby union team.


2008 Italy rugby union tour
The "Azzurri" lost heavily the first a match against "Springboks", and won afgainst the "Pumas”


2008 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament
The 2008 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament was an under-18 ice hockey tournament held in Břeclav, Czech Republic and Piešťany, Slovakia from August 12–16, 2008. The two venues were Alcaplast Arena in Břeclav and Zimný Štadión in Piešťany. Canada captured their thirteenth gold medal of the tournament, defeating Russia 6–3 in the gold medal game, while Sweden defeated Finland 3–2 to earn the bronze medal.


2008 Ivorian New Forces unrest
Three serious incidents of unrest in the New Forces, a former rebel group in Côte d'Ivoire, occurred in mid-2008. These incidents occurred in the midst of a disarmament process, according to which a portion of the New Forces fighters were to be integrated into the army, while the majority were to be given work on projects. The disarmament process was to be followed by a presidential election and a parliamentary election.


2008 Ivorian New Forces unrest, Disorder in Bouaké
By late May, with the disarmament process continuing, 2,568 New Forces soldiers had been grouped in camps. As part of the process, each of the former rebels were planned to each receive 90,000 CFA francs per month for three months; the first of these monthly payments occurred in May. The June payment was delayed by one week, and on June 16, angry New Forces soldiers protested in Bouaké, demanding payment, disrupting the city, and seizing vehicles. Prime Minister Guillaume Soro, who also leads the New Forces, sent a financial team on June 17 to make the payments.


2008 Ivorian New Forces unrest, Disorder in Bouaké
Although payments began to be made early on June 18, another violent protest took place on the same day; New Forces soldiers reportedly fired into the air, attacked civilians, seized vehicles, set up barricades, and looted shops. By evening on June 18, Bouaké was calm again, as security was increased through joint patrols of the New Forces and UN peacekeepers.


2008 Ivorian New Forces unrest, Unrest in Vavoua and Seguela
New Forces fighters loyal to Zacharia Koné, a New Forces commander who was dismissed from his command in May 2008 for indiscipline, reportedly mutinied in Vavoua and Seguela on June 28. The unrest was said to have begun in Vavoua and then spread to Seguela. Three civilians were reportedly killed, along with one of the fighters involved in the unrest; another of the fighters was reportedly wounded. The unrest reportedly ended on the same day; according to official sources, the soldiers surrendered on the condition that they would be protected by French peacekeeping forces.


2008 Ivorian New Forces unrest, Unrest in Vavoua and Seguela
New Forces officials differed on whether this unrest was caused by an issue with the disarmament payments or whether it was a result of Koné's dismissal; the soldiers involved in the unrest said that they wanted payment of the disarmament money, although Koné's dismissal also appeared to be a factor. An aide to Soro, Alain Lobognon, said on June 29 that Soro had forbidden the use of force in dealing with the unrest. Lobognon also disputed the widespread characterization of the unrest as a mutiny and said that the soldiers were under the protection of UN and French peacekeepers.


2008 Ivorian New Forces unrest, Unrest in Vavoua and Seguela
Koné's replacement as commander of the Seguela region, Issiaka Ouattara, said that he was trying to maintain calm and was not using force, in accordance with Soro's orders. On the same day, one of the rebellious soldiers in Vavoua told Agence France-Presse that they had not surrendered in either town, that their force was several hundred strong and was in control of Vavoua, and that they were holding their commanders hostage.


2008 Ivorian New Forces unrest, Unrest in Vavoua and Seguela
New Forces spokesman Sidiki Konate said that the problems that caused the unrest would be addressed and that the soldiers would be pardoned. Lobognon subsequently said on June 30 that the government did not have enough money to complete the disarmament and implementation of the peace agreement, complaining that the international community was not sending aid. According to Lobognon, "the peace process is in danger because the prime minister does not have the means to implement his policies", and he described the situation as a "crisis".


2008 Ivorian New Forces unrest, Unrest in Vavoua and Seguela
About 300 people in Seguela protested on July 2, calling for resolution of the situation and for the mutineers to be quickly disarmed. The New Forces Chief of Staff, General Soumaila Bakayoko, met with the restive fighters, who numbered about 320, at a camp near Seguela later on July 2. Although a spokesman for the soldiers acknowledged the authority of Soro and Bakayoko, some of them shouted demands for Koné to be restored to his command, expressing dissatisfaction with his replacement, Issiaka Ouattara. Bakayoko left the meeting as a result.


2008 Ivorian New Forces unrest, August 2008 Bouaké protest
About 300 members of the New Forces, seeking payment of five million CFA francs each, blocked entrances to Bouaké in August 2008. After two days of this, New Forces zone commander Cherif Ousmane began holding talks with them on August 22.


2008 Ivorian New Forces unrest, November 2008 attack in Seguela
A New Forces camp in Seguela was attacked on November 24, 2008; the attackers were said to have freed prisoners and attempted to take guns and ammunition. According to the New Forces, eight of the attackers were killed, along with one of their own men.


2008 Ivy League Baseball Championship Series
The 2008 Ivy League Baseball Championship Series took place at Red Rolfe Field at Biondi Park in Hanover, New Hampshire on May 6 and 7, 2008. The series matched the regular season champions of each of the league's two divisions. Columbia, the winner of the series, claimed the Ivy League's automatic berth in the 2008 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. It was Columbia's first Championship Series victory.


2008 Ivy League Baseball Championship Series
Dartmouth made their fourth appearance in the Championship Series, and first since 2004. They had yet to win the event.


2008 Iwate–Miyagi Nairiku earthquake
On June 14, the 2008 Iwate earthquake struck the Tōhoku region of northeastern Honshū in Japan. Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) officially named this earthquake the Iwate–Miyagi Nairiku earthquake in 2008 (平成20年（2008年）岩手・宮城内陸地震).


2008 Iwate–Miyagi Nairiku earthquake
This earthquake occurred in the south of the inland of Iwate Prefecture at 8:43 JST on June 14 (23:43 UTC on June 13). The JMA magnitude was estimated at Mj 7.2, and the moment magnitude by USGS was at Mw 6.9. The epicenter was located at , about 85 kilometres (55 mi) north of Sendai and about 385 kilometres (240 mi) north-northeast of Tokyo.


2008 Iwate–Miyagi Nairiku earthquake
The strongest shaking was measured in the cities of Ōshū (Iwate) and Kurihara (Miyagi), both of which were measured as "strong 6" on the Japan Meteorological Agency seismic intensity scale, shindo (震度, shindo). Peak ground acceleration readings were high, with a maximum vector sum (3 component) value of 4,278 cm/s2 (4.36g).


2008 Iwate–Miyagi Nairiku earthquake, Intensity
Seismic intensity (震度, Shindo) represents the strength of ground motion. JMA uses the scales of : 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, weak/strong 5, weak/strong 6, 7.


2008 Iwate–Miyagi Nairiku earthquake, Tectonics
The Mw 6.8 Honshu earthquake of June 13th 2008 occurred in a region of convergence between the Pacific Plate and the Okhotsk section of the North American Plate in northern Japan, where the Pacific plate is moving west-northwest with respect to North America at a rate of approximately 8.3 cm/yr. The hypocenter of the earthquake indicates shallow thrusting motion in the upper (Okhotsk) plate, above the subducting Pacific plate, which lies at approximately 80 km depth at this location.


2008 Iwate–Miyagi Nairiku earthquake, Tectonics
The earthquake occurred in a region of upper-plate contraction, probably within the complicated tectonics of the Ou Backbone Range, known to have hosted several large earthquakes in historic times. The largest of these events occurred in 1896, approximately 70km north of the June 13th event, and killed over 200 people in the local area.


2008 Iwate–Miyagi Nairiku earthquake, Aftershocks
Aftershocks of this earthquake were stronger than the Great Hanshin earthquake in 1995, but they happened much less frequently.


2008 Iwate–Miyagi Nairiku earthquake, Aftershocks
Over 200 aftershocks were observed in the first 24 hours, with about 400 in total over the first seven days. The largest ones (with Mj5.0 or greater) were


2008 Iwate–Miyagi Nairiku earthquake, Aftershocks
From June 21 to July 1, four to 12 aftershocks were observed each day, with maximum seismic intensities of 3.


2008 Iwate–Miyagi Nairiku earthquake, Effects, Landslides
Landslides triggered by this earthquake crushed structures, buried people, cut off access to certain roads, and isolated some rural communities. Mud from landslides dammed up rivers to form lakes called "quake lakes" (せき止め湖, sekitomeko).


2008 Iwate–Miyagi Nairiku earthquake, Effects, Landslides
By June 19, the Ministry of Land had identified fifteen quake lakes in Iwate and Miyagi prefectures, and work crews began draining three of them which were at high risk of overflow or breach from rain or aftershocks.


2008 Iwate–Miyagi Nairiku earthquake, Effects, Human casualties
By 17:50 JST, June 25, twelve people were confirmed dead and 358 injured, and ten still missing.


2008 Iwate–Miyagi Nairiku earthquake, Effects, Electric power supply
No nuclear power plants were shut down following this earthquake unlike the 2007 Chūetsu offshore earthquake quake. Some water was found to have splashed out of a reaction container in the Fukushima II Nuclear Power Plant possibly due to the tremor, but no radioactive material was released to the environment.


2008 Iwate–Miyagi Nairiku earthquake, Effects, Expressways and railways
Expressways in Tōhoku region were closed in several sections, but all reopened by nighttime, barring traffic restrictions in one section for repair work.


2008 Iwate–Miyagi Nairiku earthquake, Effects, Expressways and railways
Some train services by JR East were suspended on Shinkansen and local lines, and resumed on the following day from the first scheduled trains.


2008 Iwate–Miyagi Nairiku earthquake, Effects, Expressways and railways
On Tōhoku Shinkansen, all running trains, about 20, were stopped by an earthquake detection system. Most were soon moved to the nearest stations. However, about 2,000 passengers were temporarily trapped inside three trains before being evacuated up to nine and a half hours later,  because the trains were forced to stay in place while equipment inspections were carried out.


2008 Iwate–Miyagi Nairiku earthquake, Effects, Expressways and railways
Suspensions on Tōhoku, Akita, Yamagata Shinkansen and delays on Jōetsu, Nagano Shinkansen reportedly involved 117,000 passengers. No trains derailed.


2008 J.League Cup
The 2008 edition of the J. League Cup sponsored by Nabisco began on March 20. The top 4 teams of each qualifying group  automatically qualified for the quarter-finals along with the best two remaining runners-up. Both Gamba Osaka and Kashima Antlers received a bye to the quarter-final stage due to their participation in the group stage of the Asian Champions League.


2008 J.League Cup
Oita Trinita defeated Shimizu S-Pulse 2–0 in the final on November 1 at the Tokyo National Stadium. They qualified for the 2009 Pan-Pacific Championship and the 2009 Suruga Bank Championship.


2008 J.League Cup, Knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Second leg
Gamba Osaka advances to the semi finals on Away goals rule.


2008 J.League Cup Final
2008 J.League Cup Final was the 16th final of the J.League Cup competition. The final was played at National Stadium in Tokyo on November 1, 2008. Oita Trinita won the championship.


2008 J.League Division 1
The 2008 J.League Division 1 season is the 44th season of the top-flight club football in Japan and the 16th season since the establishment of J1 League. The season began on March 8 and ended on December 6.


2008 J.League Division 1
A total of eighteen clubs participated in double round-robin format. Starting this season, top three clubs received automatic qualification to the following years' AFC Champions League. The bottom two clubs were relegated to J2 League by default, while 16th-placed club had to defend their spot in the top-flight in the pro/rele series.


2008 J.League Division 1, Clubs
Following eighteen clubs played in J.League Division 1 during 2008 season. Of these clubs, Consadole Sapporo, Tokyo Verdy, and Kyoto Sanga FC are newly promoted clubs.


2008 J.League Division 1, Format
Eighteen clubs will play in double round-robin (home and away) format, a total of 34 games each. A club receives 3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, and 0 points for a loss. The clubs are ranked by points, and tie breakers are, in the following order:


2008 J.League Division 1, Format
A draw would be conducted, if necessary. However, if two clubs are tied at the first place, both clubs will be declared as the champions. The bottom two clubs will be relegated to J2, while the 16th placed club plays a two-legged Promotion/Relegation Series. The champions of this season qualifies to the AFC Champions League and one to three more clubs may also qualify.


2008 J.League Division 1, Attendance
Updated to games played on December 6, 2008Source: Notes:† Team played previous season in J2.


2008 J.League Division 2
The 2008 J. League Division 2 season is the 37th season of the second-tier club football in Japan and the 10th season since the establishment of J2 League. The season started on March 8 and ended on December 6.


2008 J.League Division 2
In this season, the number of participating clubs was increased by two, making the total number, fifteen. Unlike the first nine seasons, the clubs played in triple round-robin format, instead of quadruple round-robin format. At the end of the season, top two clubs were promoted and third-placed club advanced to the Pro/Rele Series. There were no relegation to third-tier Japan Football League.


2008 J.League Division 2, Clubs
Following fifteen clubs played in J. League Division 2 during 2008 season. Of these clubs, Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Ventforet Kofu, and Yokohama F.C. relegated from Division 1 last year. Also, Roasso Kumamoto and F.C. Gifu newly joined from Japan Football League.


2008 J.League Division 2, League format
Fifteen clubs will play in triple round-robin format, a total of 42 games each. A club receives 3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, and 0 points for a loss. The clubs are ranked by points, and tie breakers are, in the following order:


2008 J.League Division 2, League format
A draw would be conducted, if necessary. However, if two clubs are tied at the first place, both clubs will be declared as the champions. The top two clubs will be promoted to J1, while the 3rd placed club plays a two-legged Promotion/Relegation series.


2008 J.League Division 2, Attendance
Updated to games played on December 6, 2008Source: Notes:† Team played previous season in J1.‡ Team played previous season in JFL.


2008 JB Group Classic
The 2008 JB Group Classic is a women's exhibition (no points for the world ranking can be earned) tennis tournament organized at the beginning of each season.


2008 JEF United Chiba season
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2008 Jacksonville Jaguars season
The 2008 Jacksonville Jaguars season was the franchise's 14th season in the National Football League and the 6th under head coach Jack Del Rio. The Jaguars failed to improve upon their 11–5 record from 2007 and did not make the playoffs. The Jaguars struggled to a 5–11 finish, the franchise's worst record since 2003. The team's struggles were in part the result of a rash of injuries to the team's offensive line. The Jaguars lost starting guards Vince Manuwai and Maurice Williams for the season within the first quarter of the opening game.


2008 Jacksonville Jaguars season
Tackle Richard Collier's career ended in early September when he was brutally attacked and shot 14 times. Center Brad Meester missed the first two months of the season and guard Chris Naeole, signed to the roster mid-season in response to these injuries, was injured in pregame warmups before playing a single snap. Against teams with smaller defensive linemen, the 2008 Jaguars offense resembled the 2007 offense because the line was able to dominate.


2008 Jacksonville Jaguars season
An example is the 23–21 victory in Indianapolis against the Colts that saw David Garrard drive the Jaguars into field goal range in the final minute, culminating with Josh Scobee booting the game-winning 51-yard field goal. However, the Jaguars overall struggled, especially in the second half of the season, as evidenced by a 19–21 loss to the Bengals, who entered the game with an 0–8 record.


2008 Jacksonville Jaguars season
This season marked the end of an era as running back Fred Taylor left the team after 11 seasons.


2008 Jacksonville Jaguars season, Richard Collier shooting
On September 2, 2008, third-year offensive tackle Richard Collier was shot outside an apartment building in Jacksonville while waiting for his girlfriend with a friend of his, former teammate Kenny Pettway, in his Cadillac Escalade. He was shot 14 times, largely in his lower torso and upper legs. Five bullets lodged in his bladder, and two struck his spine, severing his spinal cord. He was critically wounded, and spent three weeks on a ventilator. He was left paraplegic, as well as having his left leg amputated below the knee due to embolisms.


2008 Jacksonville State Gamecocks football team
The 2008 Jacksonville State Gamecocks football team represented Jacksonville State University in the 2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The team was led by ninth-year head coach Jack Crowe. Jacksonville State played their home games at Paul Snow Stadium in Jacksonville, Alabama.


2008 Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Music Awards Presentation
The 2008 Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Music Awards Presentation (Chinese: 2008年度十大勁歌金曲頒獎典禮) was held on January 3, 2009, at the Kowloon Hong Kong International Trade and Exhibition Centre. It is part of the Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Music Awards Presentation series.


2008 Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Music Awards Presentation, Top 10 song awards
The top 10 songs (十大勁歌金曲) of 2008 are as follows.


2008 James Madison Dukes football team
The 2008 James Madison Dukes football team represented James Madison University in the 2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season. JMU finished the season 12–2 with an undefeated record of 8–0 in the Colonial Athletic Association.


2008 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election
Elections for the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir were held over seven days in November and December 2008. The previous government led by the Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party (PDP) in coalition with the Indian National Congress (INC) collapsed when the PDP withdrew. Following the election, the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (NC) agreed on a coalition with Congress and their leader, Omar Abdullah became the state's youngest-ever Chief Minister at 38.


2008 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election, Background
Elections for the Jammu and Kashmir state Assembly were due in 2008, following the end of the term of the Assembly elected in 2002. However, the PDP withdrew from the INC-led state government in protest at the Amarnath land transfer decision. The INC government resigned in July 2008 and the state was brought under the direct rule of the central government pending the elections.


2008 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election, Boycott
The main Kashmiri separatist group, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference called on Kashmiris to boycott the elections, saying the elections were a "futile exercise" that would never "fulfill the aspirations of the people".


2008 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election, Boycott
Despite these boycott calls, NC leaders claimed that activists from Jamaat-e-Islami had come out and voted for the PDP.


2008 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election, Boycott
There were scattered separatist protests throughout the elections, including hundreds who protested in Srinagar. Police prevented these protestors from marching to the center of the city which led to protestors throwing stones at the police who fired tear gas and used baton charges.


2008 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election, Security
Indian election officials voiced major concerns about the security of the elections given the calls for a boycott and protest from separatist leaders and the recent violence over the Amarnath land transfer controversy. Voting was staggered so that security forces could maintain control. Thousands of security forces were deployed during the voting. In Srinagar, security forces were posted at junctions, patrolled the streets, and guarded polling stations. An unofficial curfew was enforced,  gatherings of more than five people banned and neighborhoods were sealed off with steel barricades and razor wire.


2008 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election, Security
Police also arrested three men they accused of being Jaish-e-Mohammed members planning suicide attacks in Jammu. One of those arrested was a soldier in the Army of Pakistan, who Pakistan said had deserted in 2006. However following the polls the NC leader, Farooq Abdullah, thanked the Pakistan government for their "non-interference" with the polls.


2008 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election, Results
The seven stages of the elections were held as follows:


2008 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election, Results
Turnout rose by 17%, despite calls from Kashmiri separatists and Pakistan for Kashmiris to boycott the election. INC head Sonia Gandhi described the polls as "a triumph of Indian democracy".


2008 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election, Results
Separatist supporters were said to have backed the PDP. The BJP's increase in support was said to be due to polarisation arising from the Amarnath land transfer controversy, which led it to increase its seat tally from 1 to 11 seats.


2008 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election, Results
1,354 candidates stood for election including 517 independents and nominees from 43 political parties.


2008 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election, Government formation
Former National Conference Chief Minister, Farooq Abdullah, said he did not want to return as it "required the energy of a younger man", and nominated his son, Omar Abdullah, and the head of the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference instead.


2008 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election, Government formation
Congress debated forming a coalition with either Conference or the PDP. It was reported that the PDP had offered to support a Congress candidate for Chief Minister if they joined with them. However, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chairperson Sonia Gandhi were reported to favor the largest party to "honor the mandate" of the election.


2008 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election, Government formation
On 30 December Congress and the National Conference agreed to form a coalition government, with Omar Abdullah as Chief Minister.


2008 Japan Football League
The 2008 Japan Football League (Japanese: 第10回日本フットボールリーグ, Hepburn: Dai Jikkai Nihon Futtobōru Rīgu) was the tenth season of the Japan Football League, the third tier of the Japanese football league system.


2008 Japan Football League, Overview
It was contested by 18 teams. Honda FC won the championship.


2008 Japan Football League, Overview
ALO's Hokuriku and YKK AP, both based in Toyama merged before the season to become Kataller Toyama.


2008 Japan Football League, Overview
Fagiano Okayama, New Wave Kitakyushu and MIO Biwako Kusatsu were promoted from Regional leagues by the virtue of their placing in the Regional League promotion series.


2008 Japan Football League, Overview
New Wave Kitakyushu and Kataller Toyama were approved as J. League associate members at the annual meeting in January. Fagiano Okayama were approved back in 2007 when playing in Regional league. FC Ryukyu's application was declined.


2008 Japan Football League, Attendance
Source: , Notes:† Kataller Toyama attendance is compared to the combined figure of its predecessors, ALO's Hokuriku and YKK AP‡ Team played previous season in Regional Leagues.


2008 Japan Football League, Promotion and relegation
No relegation has occurred. Machida Zelvia, V-Varen Nagasaki and Honda Lock were promoted to JFL from Regional leagues at the end of the season.


2008 Japan Golf Tour
The 2008 Japan Golf Tour season was played from 17 April to 7 December. The season consisted of 24 official money events in Japan, one in China, as well as the four majors and the three World Golf Championships.


2008 Japan Golf Tour, Tournament results
The following table shows all the official money events in Japan and Asia for the 2008 season. The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of Japan Golf Tour events he had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for Japan Golf Tour members.


2008 Japan Series
The 2008 Japan Series was the 59th edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's championship series. The best-of-seven playoff between the respective champions of the Central League's and the Pacific League's Climax Series (postseason) began on Saturday, November 1, 2008, and went the full seven games. The deciding Game 7 took place on Sunday, November 9.


2008 Japan Series, Game summaries, Game 4
Takayuki Kishi tossed a 147-pitch, complete-game shutout, striking out 10 Giants in the process. His opponent, Seth Greisinger, gave up 5 runs in as many innings, continuing his season-long struggles against the Lions. Tempers flared in the 4th when Greisinger hit Seibu shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima on the elbow with a pitch. The two started shouting at each other, and the benches cleared. No punches were thrown, but the next batter, Takeya Nakamura, crushed his first home run of the day to extend Seibu's lead to 3-0. Nakamura would strike again in the 6th off Greisinger with another 2-run blast to end the scoring.


2008 Japan Series, Game summaries, Game 6
Kishi came through again with 5 2⁄3 innings of shutout ball in relief of Seibu starter Kazuyuki Hoashi after Hoashi got into trouble in the 4th. The unsung hero of the Series, Hiroshi Hirao, crushed a 3-run home run to give the Lions a 3-0 lead off veteran lefty starter Hisanori Takahashi in the first. Takahashi only lasted 2 innings, giving up 3 runs on 5 hits, walking 2 and striking out 2.


2008 Japan Series, Game summaries, Game 7
The critical inning was the 8th. Daisuke Ochi came in for the Giants to keep the Lions at bay, but Ochi got off to a bad start by hitting Kataoka. Kataoka then stole second, and he was sacrificed to 3rd. Hiroyuki Nakajima then hit a slow ground ball to 3rd, and Kataoka's speed allowed him to beat the throw home, tying the game up at 2. Ochi then proceeded to walk the next two batters, then Hiroshi Hirao, on a 3-1 pitch, lined a breaking ball back up the middle to score Takeya Nakamura and give Seibu the lead. Alex Graman closed out the Giants in the 9th to give the Lions their first Japan Series Championship since 2004.


2008 Japan Super Series
The 2008 Japan Super Series is the seventh tournament of the 2008 BWF Super Series in badminton. It was held in Tokyo, Japan, from September 16 to September 21, 2008.


2008 Japan national football team
This page records the details of the matches played by the Japan national football team during 2008. In 2008 the Japan national football team competed in the third and fourth round of the AFC 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifications, the 2008 East Asian Cup Final, and the 2008 Kirin Cup, amongst other friendly matches.


2008 Japan women's national football team
This page records the details of the Japan women's national football team in 2008.


2008 Japanese Formula 3 Championship
The 2008 Japanese Formula 3 Championship was the 30th edition of the Japanese Formula 3 Championship. Dutchman Carlo van Dam took the main title, with Hideki Yamauchi taking the National Class. TOM'S took their eighth constructors title in a row.


2008 Japanese Grand Prix
The 2008 Japanese Grand Prix (officially the 2008 Formula 1 Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 12 October 2008, at the Fuji Speedway, Oyama, Japan. It was the 16th race of the 2008 Formula One World Championship. Fernando Alonso for the Renault team won the 67-lap race from fourth position on the starting grid. Robert Kubica finished second for BMW Sauber, and Kimi Räikkönen third for Ferrari.


2008 Japanese Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton, the eventual Drivers' Champion, led the Championship going into the race, and started from pole position alongside Räikkönen. Hamilton's McLaren teammate Heikki Kovalainen began from third, next to Alonso. At the first corner Hamilton braked late, forcing Räikkönen wide. Hamilton was later given a penalty, and was criticised by the British racing press for overaggressive driving. Ferrari driver Felipe Massa, Hamilton's principal Championship rival, was penalised after an incident on lap two in which he touched Hamilton's car, causing it to spin.


2008 Japanese Grand Prix
The incident dropped Hamilton to the back of the field, from where he was unable to regain a points scoring position. Massa later collided with Sébastien Bourdais of Toro Rosso. Bourdais was penalised after the race, and demoted from sixth to tenth position. The penalty prompted widespread criticism from the racing media and ex-drivers.


2008 Japanese Grand Prix
The victory was Alonso's second consecutive win; he started from 15th on the grid to win the Singapore Grand Prix two weeks prior. Kubica held off a determined attack from Räikkönen in the closing laps to take second place. Massa's seventh place narrowed his gap to Hamilton in the Drivers' Championship to five points. Ferrari established a seven-point lead over the McLaren team in the Constructors' Championship, with two races of the season remaining.


2008 Japanese Grand Prix, Background
The 2008 Japanese Grand Prix was the 16th round in the 2008 Formula One World Championship and took place on 12 October 2008, at the 2.835 mi (4.562 km) Fuji Speedway, in Oyama, Japan. The Grand Prix was contested by 20 drivers, in ten teams of two. The teams, also known as "constructors", were Ferrari, McLaren-Mercedes, Renault, Honda, Force India, BMW Sauber, Toyota, Red Bull Racing, Williams and Toro Rosso.


2008 Japanese Grand Prix, Background
Prior to the race, McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton led the Drivers' Championship with 84 points, and Ferrari driver Felipe Massa was second with 77 points. Behind them in the Drivers' Championship, Robert Kubica was third with 64 points in a BMW Sauber, and Massa's Ferrari teammate Kimi Räikkönen was fourth with 57 points. Kubica's teammate Nick Heidfeld was fifth with 56 points. In the Constructors' Championship, McLaren–Mercedes were leading with 135 points, one point ahead of their rivals Ferrari, whom they had overtaken at the previous race. BMW Sauber were third with 120 points. In the battle for fourth place, Renault had 51 points, five points ahead of Toyota.


2008 Japanese Grand Prix, Background
A botched pit stop at the Singapore Grand Prix had demoted Massa from first position to the back of field. With three races remaining in the Championship and a seven-point deficit, Massa remained confident about his title chances: "If you look at what happened to me in Singapore where my gap went from one point to seven so suddenly, then you have to consider it could easily go the other way as well." Hamilton emphasised the value that a conservative racing strategy could hold for his title chances:


2008 Japanese Grand Prix, Background
I actually think Singapore was a good learning experience: there was less pressure to achieve a victory because of the unusual circumstances, which meant I was actually able to start thinking of the world championship. I hate driving for points, but I think we can all see the benefit of that approach at the moment.


2008 Japanese Grand Prix, Background
Fernando Alonso's victory at the Singapore Grand Prix was his first Formula One win since rejoining the Renault team, after driving for McLaren in 2007. After qualifying in 15th and making an early pit stop, Alonso had managed to jump to the front of the race when his teammate Nelson Piquet Jr. crashed. Left with no opportunity to pit, the frontrunners had to delay their stops until the damage was cleared, allowing the heavily fuelled Alonso to move to the front once they did so.


2008 Japanese Grand Prix, Background
Though Alonso questioned whether his Renault team could match the pace of Ferrari and McLaren at Fuji, he said "We must remain focussed and try to repeat our level of performance from Singapore to fight at the front." Renault's technical director Bob Bell said that the team's improvement from the start of the season was encouraging, but "we recognise that we're not going to overhaul McLaren and Ferrari this season". Bell said that the objective for the last races was to win more Grands Prix and, importantly, secure fourth position in the Constructors' Championship from Toyota.


2008 Japanese Grand Prix, Background
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the sport's governing body, launched the Formula One component of their Make Cars Green campaign at the Japanese Grand Prix. For the weekend, the grooves in the tyres were painted green to promote environmentally friendly driving. FIA president Max Mosley said "The FIA is determined to ensure that future investment in motor sport will also help drive the development of technologies that will benefit the public at large." As is normal for a Formula One race, Bridgestone brought two different tyre compounds to the race; the softer of the two marked by a single white stripe down one of the grooves.


2008 Japanese Grand Prix, Practice
Three practice sessions were held before the Sunday race—two on Friday, and a third on Saturday. The Friday morning and afternoon sessions each lasted 90 minutes. The third session was held on Saturday morning and lasted an hour. The Friday sessions were held in dry and sunny conditions. Hamilton was quickest in the first session, with a time of 1:18.910 that was less than two-tenths of a second faster than Massa. McLaren driver Heikki Kovalainen was just off Massa's pace; Räikkönen, Alonso and Piquet rounded out the top six, still within a second of Hamilton's time.


2008 Japanese Grand Prix, Practice
In the second practice session, Timo Glock, of Toyota, was fastest with a time of 1:18.383, ahead of Alonso, Hamilton, Massa, Räikkönen and Red Bull driver Mark Webber. The top seventeen drivers set times within a second of Glock's fastest lap, indicating a competitive field. The Saturday morning session was held on a damp track, where grip was poor and many drivers were forced to use the run-off areas after sliding off the track.


2008 Japanese Grand Prix, Practice
Kubica was quickest with his final lap of the session at 1:25.087; Glock, Piquet, Nick Heidfeld of BMW, Kazuki Nakajima of Williams, Red Bull driver David Coulthard, and Massa rounded out the top seven positions. Hamilton managed only eleventh, but was ahead of Kovalainen and Räikkönen, in 16th and 17th positions, respectively. Both Adrian Sutil and Giancarlo Fisichella of Force India spent most of the session in their garage, suffering numerous mechanical problems.


2008 Japanese Grand Prix, Qualifying
The qualifying session on Saturday afternoon was split into three parts. The first part ran for 20 minutes, and cars that finished the session 16th or lower were eliminated from qualifying. The second part of qualifying lasted 15 minutes and eliminated cars that finished in positions 11 to 15. The final part of qualifying determined the positions from first to tenth, and decided pole position. Cars which failed to make the final session could refuel before the race, so ran lighter in those sessions. Cars which competed in the final session of qualifying were not allowed to refuel before the race, and as such carried more fuel than in the previous sessions.


2008 Japanese Grand Prix, Qualifying
A shame. Today I was the quickest man on track but at the wrong moment. In [the third session], I never had the right amount of grip from both sets of tyres that I used. On my first run I was a bit cautious on my "out" lap and so suffered in the first sector, making a mistake at Turn 3. On the second run, I did the opposite and found myself without grip at the end of the lap. So, I've ended up fifth on the grid, which is definitely not an easy place to be.


2008 Japanese Grand Prix, Qualifying
Hamilton clinched his sixth pole position of the season with a lap time of 1:18.404. He was joined on the front row by Räikkönen, who was fastest for most of the final session. Provisionally sitting in third as the session drew to a close, Massa was pushed back to fifth as Kovalainen and Alonso put in last-minute laps to fill the second row of the grid. Kubica took sixth place, ahead of both Toyota cars of Jarno Trulli and Glock and the Toro Rossos of Sebastian Vettel and Sébastien Bourdais.


2008 Japanese Grand Prix, Qualifying
Coulthard bettered teammate Webber when he qualified 11th; Piquet split the Red Bull drivers in 12th. The only Japanese driver in the field, Nakajima, managed 14th ahead of his Williams teammate Nico Rosberg. Heidfeld could only achieve 16th place, ten places behind his BMW teammate Kubica. Heidfeld spent the majority of the first session struggling with the set-up of his car. The Honda cars of Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button filled the ninth row in front of the constructor's home crowd. The Force Indias qualified last; Sutil comfortably outqualified his teammate Fisichella by 0.8 seconds, to sit in 19th place.


2008 Japanese Grand Prix, Race
The conditions on the grid were dry before the race. The air temperature was 16 °C (61 °F) and the track temperature was 21 °C (70 °F); conditions were expected to remain consistent throughout the race. Most of the frontrunners began the race on the harder compound tyre; only Massa was using the softer option. The attendance on the day of the Grand Prix was 105,000 people.


2008 Japanese Grand Prix, Race
Räikkönen accelerated faster than Hamilton off the line, getting ahead of him down the first straight, but the McLaren driver pulled into the Ferrari's slipstream, before swerving to overtake Räikkönen in the inside of the corner. Going into the first corner, Hamilton badly locked-up his front wheels while braking and ran wide; although there was no contact, Räikkönen was also forced wide in avoidance. This was then followed by contact with Kovalainen, which  finally forced  Räikkönen off the track. All three drivers dropped back down the field as a result of the incident.


2008 Japanese Grand Prix, Race
Kubica took the lead ahead of Alonso and Kovalainen after the corner, avoiding collisions as other cars locked their tyres on the cold track. Fisichella drove into the back of Barrichello, scattering carbon fibre over the track. Coulthard collided with Bourdais and then Piquet, sustaining suspension damage and sliding into the barriers after turn two. Nakajima left the track trying to avoid Coulthard, although he managed to rejoin after losing his front wing. The Japanese driver made a pit stop at the end of the lap for a new wing.


2008 Japanese Grand Prix, Race
At the end of the first lap, Kubica led from Alonso, Kovalainen, Trulli, Massa, Hamilton and Räikkönen. On lap two, Massa braked late into the chicane at turn 10, briefly letting Hamilton past, before running over the kerbs on the exit from the corner and hitting the McLaren driver's car. Hamilton was spun round by the contact and made a pit stop at the end of the lap for new tyres and more fuel, which dropped him to 18th place. Massa continued in seventh place. On lap eight Räikkönen passed Trulli into turn 10 to take fourth position.


2008 Japanese Grand Prix, Race
In third place, more than a second ahead of the Ferrari driver, Kovalainen set a new fastest lap of 1:19.258 on lap 12 to which Räikkönen responded with a 1:19.193 four laps later. Two more drivers joined Coulthard in retirement before the first round of fuel stops: Glock made a pit stop on lap five and again on lap six, before retiring because of handling difficulties resulting from a broken seat fixing; Sutil retired on lap nine with a puncture caused by running over carbon fibre shards.


2008 Japanese Grand Prix, Race
On lap 17, Massa and Hamilton were given drive-through penalties, Massa for colliding with Hamilton and Hamilton for forcing Räikkönen off the track into turn one. Hamilton took his penalty immediately. Massa made a pit stop for fuel and tyres on the next lap, before coming into the pit lane again on lap 20 to serve his penalty, which dropped him to 14th place, one place ahead of Hamilton. Meanwhile, Kubica and Räikkönen made pit stops on lap 17 for tyres and fuel.


2008 Japanese Grand Prix, Race
On the same lap, Kovalainen pulled over to the side of the track with engine problems and retired from the race. Alonso made a pit stop on lap 18, emerging ahead of Kubica to take the provisional lead, with cars in front still to pit. Trulli, Vettel and Bourdais made pit stops over the following six laps. Fisichella retired from the race with gearbox problems on lap 21. Piquet took his first pit stop on lap 28, emerging ahead of Bourdais as Alonso opened the gap on Kubica to 7.8 seconds. Massa overtook Button to take 12th position one lap later.


2008 Japanese Grand Prix, Race
Alonso lapped consistently in the low 1:19 range, setting the new fastest lap of the race on lap 41, a 1:19.101, to extend his lead over Kubica to more than 12 seconds. Räikkönen was five seconds behind Kubica in third. Alonso made a pit stop for the second time on lap 43 and changed to the softer compound tyre. Kubica, complaining of understeer over the team radio, made his second stop on lap 46, two laps ahead of Räikkönen.


2008 Japanese Grand Prix, Race
Trulli, Bourdais, Vettel and Piquet made pit stops over the next five laps, their teams giving them sufficient fuel to finish the race. As Bourdais exited the pit-lane in seventh place on lap 51, Massa, who was eighth, but yet to make his final pit stop, attempted to pass him and the two cars collided at the first corner. Massa spun, but rejoined the race behind Bourdais. Three laps later, the stewards announced that they were investigating the incident, and would make their decision after the race.


2008 Japanese Grand Prix, Race
On lap 52, Räikkönen attempted to pass Kubica on the approach to turn one after drafting behind him up the straight, but Kubica drove right as a blocking manoeuvre, braked late, and defended his position. On the following lap Kubica attempted to replicate his block, but Räikkönen out-braked him into turn one, and the two drew alongside. Kubica held the inside line on the turn three left-hander, and drove the racing line as Räikkönen left the track at the run-off area. Räikkönen then rejoined behind the BMW driver. Kubica faced similar challenges from Räikkönen over the next two laps into turn one, but he successfully defended his position.


2008 Japanese Grand Prix, Race
Massa made a pit stop on lap 53, and rejoined behind Heidfeld in tenth. He subsequently set the fastest lap of the race on lap 55, a 1:18.426. Meanwhile, Piquet was able to close the gap on Räikkönen to under a second, before losing time by running wide at turn five on lap 60. Massa passed Heidfeld for ninth on the same lap, and began closing in on Webber. On lap 65, Massa drafted down the straight and attempted to pass Webber, who defended his position by driving to the right.


2008 Japanese Grand Prix, Race
Crossing the track boundary into the end of the pit-lane, Massa managed to pass Webber, and out-braked him into turn one, to take eighth place. Alonso crossed the finish line on lap 67 to take his second win of the season, five seconds ahead of Kubica. Räikkönen was third, ahead of Piquet, Trulli, Bourdais, Vettel and Massa. Webber took ninth on the line, ahead of Heidfeld, who struggled with a heavy car and failed to improve on a poor qualifying performance. Rosberg finished in front of Hamilton, in 11th. Barrichello and Button took the next two positions; both drivers blamed their Honda cars for their uncompetitive performance at the Fuji circuit. Nakajima finished last, in 15th, unable to recover after his forced pit-stop early in the race.


2008 Japanese Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
Well, again difficult to believe ... I cannot believe it right now but obviously back to back wins is a very nice feeling and the team did a great job to improve the car. We are now maybe just behind Ferrari and McLaren and this is completely amazing.