2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, Russian railway troops in Abkhazia
On 7 June 2008, the Russian defense minister Anatoliy Serdyukov said the railroad troops would leave within two months after they would have finished work on the railroad. Moscow claimed to have found an anti-tank mine on 13 June on the section of the Abkhaz railway, which was being repaired by the Russian Railway Forces. Russia claimed this was an attempt at carrying out a "subversive-terrorist act" against the Russian Federation's Railway Forces.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, Russian railway troops in Abkhazia
On 18 June 2008, a military official announced the security of the Russian railway troops had been increased, following two blasts on the railway near Sukhumi. Abkhaz police suspected the bombings were targeted at Russian railway forces. Malkhaz Akishbaya, chairman of the Georgian-backed Abkhaz government in exile, claimed the blast was a next provocation aimed at discrediting Georgia. He also said it was directed at legalizing the presence of Russian railway troops.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, Russian railway troops in Abkhazia
On 23 June 2008 Sergei Bagapsh said the railways repaired by the Russian railway troops would be used to transport construction material for a sports complex to be used in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, Russian railway troops in Abkhazia
On 24 July 2008 the Russian Defense Ministry said Russian railroad troops had almost finished repair work on the railway in Abkhazia and would withdraw in early August. A spokesman for the Defense Ministry said there would be a ceremony for resuming the operation of the fixed section at the end of July, and the troops would return to their bases in Russia after taking part in the ceremony. Russian railroad troops began pulling out of Abkhazia on 30 July 2008. After the war broke out, a part of the 9,000 Russian troops who went into Georgia from Abkhazia travelled with their hardware via the repaired railway.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, New peace efforts
On 5 March 2008, Georgia withdrew from Joint Control Commission for Georgian–Ossetian Conflict Resolution. Georgia proposed a format which also envisaged active roles for the EU, OSCE and the Sanakoyev administration. Russian special envoy Yuri Popov said that it was too early to include Sanakoyev in the JCC negotiations.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, New peace efforts
On 28 March 2008, the President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, speaking at an international conference "The Role of Non-Governmental Organisations in the Processes of Reintegration in Georgia" organised by the Office of the Georgian State Minister for Reintegration, unveiled a series of new proposals designed to resolve the Abkhaz conflict. These initiatives included a joint free economic zone, Abkhaz representation in the central government with an Abkhaz vice-president, the right to veto all Abkhaz-related decisions, unlimited autonomy and various security guarantees. However, when United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia delivered the proposals to Abkhaz separatists, they refused.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, New peace efforts
On 15 May 2008, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution in which it recognized the right of return of all refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) to Abkhazia. The resolution stressed the importance of retaining the property rights of the refugees and IDPs and underlined the need for a timetable to ensure the voluntary return of all refugees and IDPs. Russia voted against the Georgian-sponsored resolution. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that Georgia's submission of the draft was "a counterproductive step".


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, New peace efforts
On 5 June 2008, the European Parliament adopted a resolution expressing its concern at the escalation of the situation in Abkhazia. The resolution deplored deployment of Russian forces to Abkhazia to restore the rail and road infrastructure and supported Georgia's territorial integrity. The resolution called on the Russian Federation to withdraw its additional troops from Abkhazia immediately. The EP declared that the Russian peacekeepers had lost their neutrality and the present peacekeeping format must be revised, with a deeper European involvement in the conflicts.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, New peace efforts
On 7 June 2008, fifteen EU ambassadors headed by EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Javier Solana completed a two-day visit to Abkhazia. After meeting with Solana, Abkhaz president Sergei Bagapsh said: "There is no alternative to the Russian peacekeepers in the region. Their replacement with any other troops will not be discussed with anyone... If Georgia wants them out of its territory, we will do everything for them to remain in Abkhazia." Solana said that the conflict could not be resolved without Russia and Russia was a key player in the peace process.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, New peace efforts
Giorgi Baramidze, the Georgian deputy prime minister and minister on European and Euro-Atlantic integration said: "Georgia is ready to sign a ceasefire agreement with Abkhazia if it is guaranteed by the European Union." Baramidze said that earlier agreements without an effective guarantor had resulted in the loss of Gagra, Sukhumi and the main part of Abkhazia for Georgia. He added, "We are ready for constructive dialogue both with the Russians and the separatists. We want to carry out our peace plan, which primarily entails the introduction of neutral and genuinely peace-oriented European and international peacekeepers, and decent, safe and unconditional return of refugees."


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, New peace efforts
On 28 June 2008, the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE supported the preservation of Georgia's territorial integrity. "We want to find a compromise and a peaceful resolution of this issue," OSCE PA President Göran Lennmarker said.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, New peace efforts
In late June-early July 2008, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier presented his three-stage peace plan to a United Nations group of experts on Abkhazia in the Foreign Ministry in Berlin. Phase one of the plan envisaged a year of trust-building measures and the return of around 250,000 refugees to Abkhazia. The second phase would see the beginning of reconstruction work. The third phase would involve finding a political solution to the conflict. Steinmeier's plan was met with the approval of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, as well as Georgian president Saakashvili.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, New peace efforts
On 8 July 2008, the United States Department of State called on the central Georgian government and the Abkhaz de facto authorities to resume direct talks. The Department of State also called for International Police Force presence in Georgian-Abkhazian conflict zone. The State Department spokesman also spoke about visit of Condoleezza Rice to Georgia, who would encourage a peaceful resolution of the Abkhaz and South Ossetian conflicts. However, Abkhaz leader Sergei Bagapsh ruled out the possibility of replacing the Russian peacekeepers with an international police force.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, New peace efforts
On 14 July 2008, the Abkhaz leader Sergei Bagapsh met with Hans-Dieter Lukas, special envoy of the German Foreign Ministry for Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus, who briefed the Abkhaz side about the peace plan. On the same day EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus Peter Semneby met with Abkhaz leader Sergei Bagapsh in Sukhumi. Bagapsh said that he studied a draft plan on the settlement of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict that was worked out by the U.N. Secretary-General's Group of Friends. However he added, "We can’t discuss it in the form that it has been presented today."


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, New peace efforts
Bagapsh stressed that the main condition for resuming the dialogue with Georgia was "the withdrawal of all armed units from the Kodori gorge and the signing of an agreement on non-use of force". He also said, "However, we are not going to discuss Abkhazia’s status with anyone. We are building an independent, democratic state." Peter Semneby also met with Prime minister Alexander Ankvab and foreign minister Sergei Shamba. Sergei Shamba said that the plan needed "more preparation."


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, New peace efforts
On 14 July, the U.S. Department of State said in a statement it was "deeply troubled" by Russia's acknowledgement that Russian military aircraft flew over South Ossetia. "Such actions raise questions about Russia's role as peacekeeper and facilitator of the negotiations and threaten stability throughout the entire region," said the statement. That day, the OSCE Permanent Council held a special meeting underscoring the urgency of the resumption of dialogue between Georgian and South Ossetian authorities to de-escalate tensions.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, New peace efforts
On 15 July 2008, NATO said it was troubled by Russian military overflights of Georgian territory and called into question Moscow's role as a peacekeeper and facilitator of talks between Georgia and separatists. "These actions raise questions about Russia's role as peacekeeper and facilitator of negotiations," spokesman James Appathurai said on behalf of Jaap De Hoop Scheffer.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, New peace efforts
On 16 July 2008, Georgian National Security Council Secretary Aleksandre Lomaia said that the new plan had "positive elements," but still required "polishing." Lomaia also said that the repatriation process of IDPs could not start until the Russian peacekeeping force was withdrawn. David Bakradze, Georgian parliament's speaker, said that if a German plan for resolving the conflict did not get wide support, Georgia would be forced to "unilaterally bring an influence to bear on the deployment of armed forces in Abkhazia."


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, New peace efforts
On 17 July 2008, German Foreign Minister Steinmeier met with his Georgian counterpart Eka Tkeshelashvili in Tbilisi. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the return of refugees to Abkhazia was "entirely unrealistic at this stage." He said "the situation first needs to be improved and trust restored." On the evening of the same day, Steinmeier met with Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili in Batumi. Saakashvili said at a briefing that Tbilisi had no intention of using force to retake Abkhazia. Steinmeier said that Germany supported the territorial integrity of Georgia and considered Abkhazia to be Georgia's inalienable part.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, New peace efforts
On 18 July, Steinmeier met with Abkhaz leader Sergei Bagapsh in Gali. After his meeting with Steinmeier, Bagapsh said that Abkhazia still would not discuss German peace proposal. Bagapsh also said he planned to submit his own counterproposal. On the same day, Frank-Walter Steinmeier met with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov. Lavrov called for an internationally developed "road map" to resolve the tensions over Abkhazia. However, Lavrov said the German plan was flawed because it called for the return of Georgian refugees as part of the first phase instead of at the end of the process. Steinmeier also met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, New peace efforts
On 23 July 2008, Daniel Fried, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, said that it was time to stop violence in the conflict zones and to continue negotiations. He said that refugees must return to Abkhazia. He approved the German plan.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, New peace efforts
On 25 July 2008, the South Ossetian separatists rejected proposal by the OSCE chairman-in-office Alexander Stubb to hold Georgia-South Ossetia meeting in Helsinki. The separatists had previously refused to participate in talks in Brussels arranged by EU on 22 July.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, New peace efforts
On 25 July, the Abkhaz separatists met with Matthew Bryza, the U.S. deputy assistance secretary of state. Bryza attempted to convince the Abkhaz side to participate in talks in Berlin the following week without any preconditions. However, Abkhaz officials rejected the talks. Later on that day, Abkhaz leader Sergey Bagapsh did not rule out Sukhumi's possible participation in a meeting of the Group of Friends in Berlin. Abkhaz foreign minister Sergey Shamba also said that Sukhumi was not "in principle" against the Berlin meeting, but that did not mean the resumption of direct talks with Tbilisi.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, New peace efforts
Russian ambassador to UN Vitaly Churkin said that Russia was against immediately summoning a meeting of the UN Secretary General's Group of Friends on Georgia to discuss the Abkhaz conflict. The availability of a peace plan from an unbiased Western actor would steer the process away from the Russian-controlled formats, so Russia had encouraged Sukhumi to thwart the German-proposed consultations.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, New peace efforts
On 30 July 2008, a German Foreign Ministry spokesman said that Germany was closely involved in attempts to arrange high-level talks between the Georgian and Abkhaz sides. A previous proposal to hold a meeting in Berlin on 30–31 July failed to materialise as the Abkhaz separatists refused to attend.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, New peace efforts
On 31 July 2008, Abkhaz president Sergei Bagapsh said the talks in Berlin would be between Georgia and the Group of UN Secretary General's Friends on Georgia (the U.K., Germany, Russia, U.S. and France) and between Abkhazia and the Group. Bagapsh also said, "The meeting was initially planned for July 28–29. However, this didn't suit us. We have settled on August 15–20 for the meeting."


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, New peace efforts
On 3 August, president Sergei Bagapsh declared that the Abkhaz representatives would not meet with the U.N. Secretary-General's Group of Friends. Bagapsh cited the events in the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict zone as reason for this, claiming Georgia was pursuing "a policy of genocide". That day, a phone conversation was held between Georgian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Vashadze and Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Karasin. The Georgian side stressed that the complicated situation in the South Ossetian conflict zone was caused by ineffective format of negotiations and peacekeeping operation. Vashadze said that the Georgian side was ready for direct negotiations.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, July 2008 events
The overall situation in South Ossetia seriously deteriorated in early July 2008. A South Ossetian police official was killed in a bomb attack on 3 July 2008 and that was followed by an intense exchange of gun fire. Later, a convoy carrying Dmitry Sanakoyev, the head of the Tbilisi-backed South Ossetian provisional administration was attacked and three of his security guards were injured. On 4 July 2008 two people were killed as a result of shelling and shooting in Tskhinvali and some villages in South Ossetia.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, July 2008 events
The South Ossetian Press and Information Committee reported that a South Ossetian militiaman had been killed and another injured in an attack on a police post in the village of Ubiat and this was followed by the shelling of Tskhinvali, which resulted in the death of one man. According to South Ossetia, the shelling involved the use of mortars and grenade launchers. Georgia said it had opened fire in response to the shelling by South Ossetian militiamen of Georgian-controlled villages. South Ossetia called up military reservists and put its security forces on alert in response to the clashes. The head of Russia's peacekeeping troops in the region was quoted as saying extra soldiers could be deployed if the stand-off worsened.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, July 2008 events
On 6 July 2008 a bomb in Gali, Abkhazia killed four people and injured six. Abkhaz authorities claimed that the chain of bombings was done by Georgian spies. Abkhazia called on G8 countries, the UN and the OSCE to stop a "terror threat from Georgia." Abkhazia also cut off all contact with Georgia in response to the bombing. Georgia condemned the bombings and blamed them on Russia, claiming the attacks were being done in the interest of a prolonged presence of Russian armed forces in Georgia.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, July 2008 events
The Georgian Ministry of Defense said on 7 July that a group of up to ten militiamen were apparently prevented from placing mines on a Georgian-controlled by-pass road linking the Georgian villages in the north of Tskhinvali with the rest of Georgia. The Georgian side opened fire and the group was forced to retreat towards the nearby South Ossetian-controlled village. On 8 July 2008 South Ossetia reported that it had detained four "officers from the artillery brigade of the Georgian Ministry of Defense" close to the village of Okona in the Znauri district at the administrative border the night before. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili told police to prepare an operation to free the four soldiers.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, July 2008 events
Russian military jets flew over South Ossetia on 8 July 2008. On 9 July, the deputy commander of Georgia's air force, Colonel Zurab Pochkua said: "For almost 40 minutes, four Russian planes were circling over the territory north of Tskhinvali." In turn Russia accused Georgia of "a serious breach" of the flight ban, with a spokesman for Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia saying two Georgian Su-25 fighter jets flew over the region. On 10 July, the Russian authorities confirmed the flight and said, in an official statement, the fighters were sent to "let hot heads in Tbilisi cool down."


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, July 2008 events
This was Russia's first admission in a decade that its air force had flown over Georgian territory without permission. Moscow had always denied earlier overflights. The Russian overflight was ordered less than 24 hours before the U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, was due to arrive in Georgia. In response, Georgia recalled its ambassador to Moscow "for consultations", stating that it was "outraged by Russia's aggressive policies."


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, July 2008 events
On 8 July 2008, the U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice before her arrival in Tbilisi said that granting NATO Membership Action Plan to Georgia would help resolve the Abkhaz and South Ossetian problems. The statement caused a negative outcry in Moscow: the Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov responded, during his meeting with the de facto Abkhaz president Sergei Bagapsh, that Georgia's NATO integration process "may undermine the conflict resolution" process. Rice arrived in Georgia on 9 July.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, July 2008 events
"Frankly, some of the things that Russia did over the last couple of months added to tensions in the region," she said in Tbilisi. "Georgia is an independent state. It has to be treated like one. We have said that both Georgia and Russia need to avoid provocative behavior." On 11 July 2008 Deputy Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze called for an urgent UN Security Council meeting on the conflict zones. The U.N. Security Council discussed the overflights at a closed meeting on 21 July, however no decision was reached. Russian envoy Vitaliy Churkin denounced the "pro-Georgian bias" of some Security Council members.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, July 2008 events
On 10 July 2008, Colonel General Sergey Makarov, the commander of the North Caucasus Military District (SKVO), said "The major tasks for SKVO in the event of an escalation or the launch of combat action between the conflicting sides are: the provision of assistance to the peacekeeping troops so as to separate the forces of the conflicting sides; the provision of humanitarian assistance to the population residing in the conflict zones."


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, July 2008 events
A South Ossetian envoy on 11 July 2008 declared that South Ossetia was capable of repelling any attack by Georgia without help from Russia and also said the mainly Russian peacekeeping contingent in the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict zone should be increased. That day the Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement that measures had been taken "to increase the combat readiness" of the Russian peacekeeping forces stationed in Abkhazia.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, July 2008 events
It also said that security had been tightened at the Russian peacekeepers' base camps, observation posts and checkpoints, and "additional training" of the peacekeeping personnel had been conducted "to explain regulations governing the use of firearms while on duty." Nika Rurua, Deputy Head of the Parliament's Security and Defense Committee, warned Georgia would shoot down Russia's military aircraft should they appear in its airspace again. The initiative was considered to this effect. But Georgian lawmakers decided instead to appeal to the world community on the matter.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, July 2008 events
Media reports published information about Russia's alleged plans to seize the Kodori Gorge specifying that the details of the operation were worked out by Russian high-ranking military officials, with Abkhazia's President Sergei Bagapsh. In response to Georgia's summoning of a special UNSC session, the sources of Kommersant with the Russian Foreign Office claimed that Russia would reveal the details of a planned military invasion of South Ossetia by Georgia to release the detained Georgian officers.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, July 2008 events
On 14 July 2008 Georgia's deputy defense minister Batu Kutelia said Georgia planned to expand its military more than 15 percent to 37,000 soldiers to counter Russian aggression. The additional manpower would be used to defend Georgia's airspace and the Black Sea coast.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, July 2008 events
Also on 15 July, Abkhazia and South Ossetia were said to be planning to join the Union of Russia and Belarus. A spokesman for the Union said both regions had talked about joining the Union, but that they would need to be recognized as independent and become observers before they could join the Union as members.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, July 2008 events
According to media reports, on 19 July 2008 a Georgian police post was attacked by Abkhaz militias using grenades; one Abkhaz militiaman died from a grenade exploding accidentally. Abkhaz officials denied attack on the Georgian police post. Georgian media also reported on 19 July that a battalion of Russian troops had moved into the lower Kodori Gorge. Georgia's Defense Ministry claimed Russian troops encroached on strategic passes of the Main Caucasus Ridge and were in the combat alert. Commenting on alleged Russian deployment to the Kodori Gorge, Abkhazia's Foreign Minister said no new troops were brought in to Abkhazia over the quota.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, July 2008 events
On 20 July 2008, South Ossetian official media concluded its news report by saying that "But the fact that events in the Georgian-Ossetian conflict zone continue to be one of the most interesting topics for discussion even at the international level, is a good sign that allows us to hope for a positive solution of the issue of freedom and independence of the Republic of South Ossetia in the near future."


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, July 2008 events
A U.N. report issued on 23 July 2008 covering the period between April and July 2008 noted discrepancies with the Georgian account of a shooting in Khurcha on the day of Georgian elections. In particular the report noted the way the incident was filmed suggested the attack was anticipated. The report said reconnaissance flights by Georgia were a violation of the ceasefire, but said the shooting down of those fights also constituted a breach of the ceasefire. Concerning a military buildup by Georgia the UN report said it found no evidence of a buildup but noted observers were denied access to certain areas of Abkhazia controlled by Georgia, including the Kvabchara Valley.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, July 2008 events
On 25 July 2008, one person was killed from a bomb blast in Tskhinvali.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, July 2008 events
On 28 July 2008, the Russian command of the Joint Peacekeeping Forces said South Ossetian forces had blocked peacekeepers and OSCE observers from the village of Cholibauri which was close to where Georgia said South Ossetia was building fortifications. South Ossetian armed militias fired at the peacekeepers and OSCE observers. Georgian media reported that Georgian posts on the Sarabuki heights were attacked by South Ossetian forces overnight and early on 29 July, with no injuries reported. The Georgian village of Sveri was shelled with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades by the South Ossetians on the morning of 29 July.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, July 2008 events
The peacekeepers and OSCE observers visited the area to investigate an exchange of fire, however they were fired upon at 10 AM. On the late evening of the same day, South Ossetia said two South Ossetian villages had been fired on by Georgian forces in response to South Ossetia reinforcing its positions on the perimeter of the conflict zone. According to the South Ossetian Press and Information Committee, one person was injured.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, July 2008 events
At the end of July South Ossetia confirmed it had been setting up military fortifications in the conflict zone and acknowledged this violated previous agreements, but claimed it was in response to similar actions by the Georgian side. According to Colonel Wolfgang Richter, a military adviser to the German Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) mission, Georgia concentrated troops along the South Ossetian border in July.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, Military exercises
According to anonymous European diplomat, Russia's defense chief talked to a group of his NATO counterparts in April 2008 and warned them of an invasion of Georgia later in 2008.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, Military exercises
In early July 2008, OSInform Information Agency published several articles where the participation of the Russian army in the future "peace enforcement" operation in Georgia was discussed. One of the articles said that the planned Russian exercises were not accidental and this suggested a military operation on the foreign soil.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, Military exercises
On 5 July 2008, the Russians began military exercises, dubbed Caucasus Frontier 2008, in the North Caucasus.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, Military exercises
On 15 July 2008 the U.S. and Russia both began exercises in the Caucasus though Russia denied the timing was intentional. The Russian exercises, dubbed Caucasus 2008 involved units of the North Caucasus Military District, mainly the 58th Army, the 4th Air Force Army, Interior Ministry troops, and border guards. The exercises included training to support peacekeepers in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. A Russian army spokesman Igor Konashenkov said that around 700 pieces of military hardware would be used during the exercises. Georgia said the exercises were a manifestation of Russian aggression against it.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, Military exercises
The Georgian Foreign Ministry said in a statement: "Not a single document on conflict resolution authorises Russian armed forces to carry out any kind of activity on the territory of Georgia." During exercises a leaflet entitled "Soldier! Know your probable enemy!" (that described the Georgian Armed Forces) was circulated among the Russian participants. The Russian exercises ended on 2 August. Russian troops remained near the Georgian border after the end of their exercise, instead of returning to their bases.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, Military exercises
The US exercises were called "Immediate Response 2008" and included forces from the United States, Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Armenia. 127 U.S. trainers participated in the exercises. The Georgian 4th Brigade (which later participated in the war) took part in the Georgian exercise with 1,000 American troops, and Russia accused the United States of aiding Georgian attack preparations. Joint exercises focused on counterinsurgency operations and a Georgian brigade was prepared for duty in Iraq. The joint exercises of the US and Georgian Armed Forces ended on 31 July.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Weapons of war, Military exercises
On 6 August the Georgian Defense Ministry announced a two-week exercise, "Georgian Express 2008", would take place with 180 British military personnel, starting in September.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, War
In the first week of August 2008, a number of confrontations took place in South Ossetia after Ossetian separatists attacked Georgian positions.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, War
The crisis gave rise on 7 August 2008, when South Ossetian separatists began shelling Georgian villages several hours after President Saakashvili had called for a cease-fire and resumption of peace talks. Georgia launched a large-scale military operation against South Ossetia.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Post-war events in 2008
On 26 August 2008, Russia officially recognized both South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states. In response to Russia's recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the Georgian government announced that the country had cut all diplomatic relations with Russia.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Post-war events in 2008
On 28 August 2008, South Ossetian representative Mikhail Mindzaev claimed that Georgian pilotless aerial vehicle was shot down during the night.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Post-war events in 2008
In the beginning of September 2008, the White House announced a $1 billion program of economic aid for Georgia, with about half going to Georgia before President Bush would leave office.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Post-war events in 2008
On 10 September 2008, a Georgian policeman was killed allegedly by Russian soldiers in a village north of Gori. The shooting happened several hundred meters from a Russian checkpoint in Karaleti, twelve miles from South Ossetia. Russian officials denied responsibility, saying that it may have been perpetrated by South Ossetians.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Post-war events in 2008
On 13 September 2008, a Georgian policeman was killed in Ganmukhuri on the administrative border between Abkhazia and Georgia.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Post-war events in 2008
On 21 September 2008, a Georgian policeman was killed and three wounded on the administrative border between Abkhazia and Georgia. Georgian authorities stated the incident occurred at the time when shots were fired "from the direction of the [nearby] Russian army checkpoint", with the following exchange of fire between Georgian police and Abkhaz-controlled territory lasting for several minutes.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Post-war events in 2008
On 22 September 2008, two Georgian policemen were wounded by a mine on the administrative border between Abkhazia and Georgia.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Post-war events in 2008
On 24 September 2008, Georgian police detained a Russian military truck near the village of Odzisi in the Mtskheta Municipality. The truck contained ammunitions and explosives. The Russian driver said he had lost his way. He was handed over to OSCE observers.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Post-war events in 2008
On 25 September 2008, a 13-year-old South Ossetian resident was killed when an explosive device blew up on the outskirts of Tskhinvali.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Post-war events in 2008
On 3 October 2008, seven Russian soldiers were killed and another seven wounded by a car bomb that exploded near the Russian military base. Among them was Colonel Ivan Petrik, the peacekeeper's Chief of Staff. The Russians accused the Georgians of orchestrating the "terrorist attack", claiming that just before the blast, the Russians arrested two cars, four Georgians and seized light firearms and two grenades. "The cars and the detained people were escorted to Tskhinvali. During the search of one of the cars, an explosive device equivalent to some 20 kg of TNT went off," a military spokesman told Interfax.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Post-war events in 2008
The South Ossetian leader accused Georgia of "state terrorism". "The latest terrorist attacks in South Ossetia prove that Georgia has not renounced its policy of state terrorism," he said. "We have no doubt that these terrorist acts are the work of Georgia special forces." The Georgian government blamed Russia for the incident. "If provocations and tensions are in the interest of anyone, it's the Russians," the Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili told the Reuters news agency, "They are doing everything not to pull troops out within the set term".


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Post-war events in 2008
Georgia also said it would have had to find Ossetians to take the car into the Russian-controlled area. "I don't understand the logic. How could the Georgian secret service plan that the Ossetians would steal the car and that the Russians would take it to their base. Are we geniuses or what?" Utiashvili said. The French Presidency of the European Union condemned the attack.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Post-war events in 2008
On 6 October 2008, an Abkhaz border guard was shot and killed near the administrative border between Abkhazia and Georgia.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Post-war events in 2008
On 18 October 2008, Georgian media reported that a bridge in the Adzva village in the Gori district was partially blown up by allegedly Ossetians.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Post-war events in 2008
On 21 October 2008, the police car was blown up by a mine near the village of Avnevi and one policeman was injured.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Post-war events in 2008
In mid-October 2008, South Ossetian police were given orders to return fire should they be on the receiving end of a firing from the Georgian side. This was seen as directive that could increase the threat of new violence. South Ossetia's top police official issued this order in response to a police post coming under automatic weapons fire from an ethnic Georgian village. The acting Interior Minister Mikhail Mindzayev said nobody was hurt by the gunfire, although he did refer to it as a series of provocations by Georgians forces.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Post-war events in 2008
On 25 October 2008, a bomb exploded in the Georgian town of Mujava near the administrative border with Abkhazia killing a villager and the governor of the Tsalenjikha district of Georgia, Giorgi Mebonia.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Post-war events in 2008
On 9 November 2008, in the morning two Georgian policemen were killed and three injured after the police car was exploded by a mine on the road near the village of Dvani.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Relations in 2009
On 19 January 2009, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a law making it illegal to sell, supply, or transfer military production to Georgia, and prohibiting the use of Russian railways, waters, and airspace for military co-operation with Georgia. According to RIA Novosti, countries or individuals found to be in breach of these regulations would face economic and financial sanctions. The sanctions were to last until December 2011.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Relations in 2009
On 19 and 21 January, Russia requested that Georgia allow its experts access to Georgian military installations for evaluation and verification checks in accordance with a 1999 Vienna OSCE document on confidence and security-building measures. Georgia rejected these requests.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Relations in 2009
On 23 January 2009, Russia expressed concern over "Georgia's expanding military presence on the borders of Abkhazia and South Ossetia." Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had said, "EU monitors working in areas adjacent to South Ossetia and Abkhazia have been reporting a buildup of Georgian military units and special forces near the borders with South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and our 'technical devices' have also recorded this. Provocations also occur sporadically. We are concerned by this."


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Relations in 2009
On 26 January 2009, Russian junior sergeant Alexander Glukhov appeared in Tbilisi. He gave press interviews at McDonald's in the presence of Georgian Interior Ministry officials. The 21-year-old claimed that bad living conditions and problems with his superior forced him to desert: "I had very bad relations with my commander. He didn't like anything I did and that was why I left." According to Georgian interior ministry sources, he appealed for permission to remain in Georgia.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Relations in 2009
On 2 February 2009, at a meeting with EU envoys, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko expressed concern over the build-up of Georgian troops on the border with South Ossetia. "Grushko expressed concern in connection with the build-up of a Georgian military presence on South Ossetia's borders," the Foreign Ministry declared in a statement. "The increased activity of their [Georgian] special units has been reported on the eastern part of the South Ossetian border."


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Relations in 2009
On 6 February 2009, Georgia submitted the application against Russia to the European Court of Human Rights, to continue the process that started on 11 August 2008.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Relations in 2009
In February 2009, Pavel Felgenhauer, a military analyst, claimed that Russia planned to invade Georgia from South Ossetia in order to topple the Saakashvili government.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Relations in 2009
On 22 April 2009, shooting took place on the administrative border between Georgia and South Ossetia. Both sides reported automatic weapons fire, and blamed each other for the incident.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Relations in 2009
In May 2009, former U.S. Ambassadors to Georgia William Courtney and Kenneth Yalowitz, and the former European Commission ambassador to Georgia, Denis Corboy, called on the United States to lead efforts at preventing a "new tragedy" in Georgia. They cited Russia's military buildup in the country and Moscow's resentment over the "unfinished business" of the August 2008 Russo-Georgian War.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Relations in 2009
By 1 August 2009, at least 28 Georgian policemen patrolling the South Ossetian administrative boundary had been killed by sniper fire or mines during the first year after the end of the war.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Relations in 2009
On 1 August 2009, Russian Defense Ministry said that Georgia had previously opened fire on the South Ossetian territory several times in the past few days. The EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM) said its patrols on the ground did not see any evidence to confirm that any firing had taken place. Earlier, the spokesman for EUMM had said that four explosions took place on the South Ossetian side of the administrative border, but causes were not known. The EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia also said that its unarmed patrols were blocked from entering South Ossetia and EUMM needed access to areas "where the incidents are purported to have taken place" in order to make a "more complete assessment of the situation on the ground."


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Relations in 2009
On 3 August 2009, South Ossetian separatists threw grenades into Georgian and Russian checkpoints. The next day, South Ossetia accused Georgia of opening fire on 3 August.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Relations in 2009
On 3 August 2009, RIA Novosti published an interview with South Ossetian president Eduard Kokoity. Kokoity said that he ruled out a new "Georgian aggression". He said he would demand ceding of the Truso Gorge (part of the Georgian administrative unit of Mtskheta-Mtianeti) to South Ossetia. He also talked about Georgian president Saakashvili: "As for that lover of wars and bellicose slogans, that international criminal, I would advise him to be careful. Considering his behavior, Georgia has a shortage of mental hospitals."


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Relations in 2009
On 4 August 2009, it was reported that tensions were rising before the war's first anniversary. The European Union urged "all sides to refrain from any statement or action that may lead to increased tensions at this particularly sensitive time." Georgia's Foreign Ministry condemned Russia's "deliberate attempts" to escalate the situation. Mikheil Saakashvili urged the US and EU to defuse the tensions.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Relations in 2009
On 5 August 2009, Russia claimed that the United States continued to deliver large amounts of weapons to Georgia.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Relations in 2009
Yulia Latynina wrote in The Moscow Times that events in South Ossetia were unfolding according to last year's scenario. As soon as the U.S. Vice President Joe Biden had announced that the United States would not provide arms to Georgia, the South Ossetian president Eduard Kokoity claimed that Tskhinvali had come under fire from the Georgian village of Nikozi. Latynina argued: "Considering the fact that South Ossetian forces had already wiped Nikozi off the map, his statement sounded a bit strange."


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Relations in 2009
It would be impossible to repeat last year's scenario again, because in 2008 the world didn't pay attention to the fact that before the war started, South Ossetian forces were shelling Georgian territory while declaring their readiness to launch a "counterstrike" against Georgian cities. Latynina concluded that if the conflict was renewed, nobody would believe that Kokoity had started the war; everyone would conclude that it had been Putin.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Relations in 2009
Close to the one year anniversary of the start of the war, internet attacks occurred that targeted one Georgian user. The Twitter account of a Georgian blogger, Cyxymu came under attack, leading to a several-hour-long downtime of the entire service.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Relations in 2009
On 14 August 2009, Shota Utiashvili, Georgia's Interior Ministry representative said that the South Ossetian side had confessed to shelling of the Georgian villages.


2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis, Relations in 2009
In late September 2009, the explosion occurred with no casualties on a road near the village of Ergneti, south of Tskhinvali, when a police car drove over it. The explosion happened 40 minutes before a meeting between the Georgian, South Ossetian, and Russian sides to discuss the situation in the region and ways to implement a mechanism for incident prevention.


2008 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team
After losing star halfback Ray Rice to the NFL Draft, Rutgers faced a rebuilding season. Senior Mike Teel was forced to step up his game at quarterback without being able to rely on Rice so frequently. Rutgers started off very slowly, dropping 5 of the first 6 games, including two to Big East rivals West Virginia and Cincinnati. With dreams of a Big East championship now completely eroded, Rutgers now had to recover to try to at least secure a fourth consecutive bowl berth. Starting with a 12-10 win against Connecticut on homecoming weekend, Rutgers never lost another game.


2008 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team
The next week, they posted an impressive 54-34 win over #17 Pittsburgh. They won their next four games, finishing the season 7-5 with a solid 5-2 conference record. Rutgers earned a bowl berth in the PapaJohns.com Bowl, and they won a close game against NC State for their third consecutive bowl win.


2008 Rwandan parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Rwanda from 15 to 18 September 2008. The elections were boycotted by the opposition, and resulted in a victory for the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (FPR), which won 42 of the 53 elected seats. The elections also produced the world's first national parliament with a female majority.


2008 Rwandan parliamentary election, Electoral system
The 80 members of the Chamber of Deputies consisted of 53 directly-elected members elected by proportional representation in a single nationwide constituency, 24 women elected by electoral colleges, and three members elected by mini-committees, two of which represented youth and one represented disabled people.


2008 Rwandan parliamentary election, Campaign
Campaigning for the elections began on 25 August 2008. The day was marked by a march of about 2,000 FPR supporters through Kigali.


2008 Rwandan parliamentary election, Campaign
The FPR assembled a coalition which included six smaller parties: the Ideal Democratic Party (PDI), the Centrist Democratic Party (PDC), the Party for Progress and Concord (PPC), the Prosperity and Solidarity Party (PSP), the Democratic Union of the Rwandan People (UPDR) and the Rwandan Socialist Party (PSR). Aside from the FPR coalition, only two other parties participated in the elections; the Social Democratic Party and the Liberal Party. Since both also supported President Paul Kagame, there was no opposition participation, as they remained in exile. In addition to the political parties, a single independent candidate, J.M.V. Harelimana, stood in the elections.


2008 Rwandan parliamentary election, Campaign
The United Democratic Forces opposition coalition, based in Belgium, said that the FPR had total control of the state machinery and electoral process, making the election a mere "smoke screen".


2008 Rwandan parliamentary election, Conduct
The EU sent an observation mission, as did the Commonwealth of Nations, the African Union, COMESA, and the East African Legislative Assembly.


2008 Rwandan parliamentary election, Conduct
The direct phase of voting for 53 seats occurred on 15 September. Voting was from 6 am to 3 pm. Kagame voted in the Nyarugenge district of Kigali, and he said on this occasion that the people and the parties needed "to work together for national development". The indirect phase of voting for 27 seats began on 16 September and ended on 18 September.


2008 Rwandan parliamentary election, Results
Chrysologue Karangwa, the head of the electoral commission, announced on 16 September that the FPR had won 42 seats, the Social Democratic Party won seven, and the Liberal Party won four.


2008 Rwandan parliamentary election, Aftermath
The newly elected deputies were sworn in on 6 October, and Rose Mukantabana was elected as President of the Chamber of Deputies, receiving 70 votes and defeating Abbas Mukama. Dennis Polisi was re-elected as First Vice-President of the Chamber of Deputies, and Jean Damascene Ntawukuriryayo was elected as its Second Vice-President.


2008 Ryde state by-election
A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Ryde on 18 October 2008 to coincide with the Port Macquarie, Lakemba and Cabramatta by-elections. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of sitting member and Deputy Premier John Watkins, who cited exhaustion and the lack of time spent with his family for his resignation. Watkins resigned as Deputy Premier and Minister for Transport and retired from parliament on 8 September 2008, prompting a Cabinet reshuffle.


2008 Ryde state by-election
The by-election was won by Liberal candidate Victor Dominello on a swing of 23%. This was a marked turnaround to the result at the 2007 state election, when Watkins was reelected with 60.09% of the two-party preferred vote. However, the writ was dropped at a very bad time for the government. Labor had been sinking in the polls since being reelected a year earlier. It had suffered from several months of bad press that had driven its poll numbers downward. It was only polling at 44% support, a swing of almost 8% from the 2007 election. Additionally, Watkins' resignation had touched off a domino effect that ultimately resulted in Premier Morris Iemma leaving politics as well.


2008 Ryde state by-election
Watkins had held Ryde without interruption or serious difficulty since its re-creation in 1999, having held its predecessor seat of Gladesville since 1995. Labor sat on a margin of 10.1%, which would have been considered safe under normal conditions (any seat with a two-party margin greater than 10% is considered safe on paper). However, the seat had historically been marginal at the federal level. Combined with Labor's declining poll numbers, commentators thought it was vulnerable to being taken by the Liberals.


2008 Ryde state by-election
On paper, Dominello's victory turned Ryde from a safe Labor seat into a safe Liberal seat in one stroke. At the time, it was the largest swing against a sitting government in New South Wales history; it has since been outdone by the 2010 Penrith by-election (which saw a 25% swing against Labor) and the 2013 Miranda by-election (which saw a 26% swing against the Coalition).


2008 Ryde state by-election
The loss of Ryde significantly weakened the standing of Iemma's successor, Nathan Rees, who would himself be ousted in a party room coup a year later. Labor would go on to suffer a landslide defeat at the 2011 state election.


2008 Ryder Cup
The 37th Ryder Cup Matches were held September 19–21, 2008, in the United States at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky. Team USA won 161⁄2 - 111⁄2 to end the streak of three successive victories for Europe. This was USA's largest margin of victory since 1981 and the first time since 1979 that the Americans had held the lead after every session of play. The team captains were Paul Azinger for the US and Nick Faldo for Europe.


2008 Ryder Cup
The U.S. team had been in the lead since the contest began on the Friday. Europe was two points behind going into the Sunday singles matches. They had only previously overturned a deficit once before, in 1995. USA won the majority of the first matches out and subsequently Jim Furyk defeated Miguel Ángel Jiménez 2 & 1 to win his match and win the Ryder Cup for the USA. Other matches still out on the course would see this margin of victory increase further. Following the defeat Nick Faldo was heavily criticised for his decision to "bottom load" his best players in the singles when the Americans only needed 51⁄2 points to win which they got before they could have any effect on the overall outcome.


2008 Ryder Cup, Television
All matches were covered live in the United States. ESPN handled Friday coverage. Mike Tirico and Andy North hosted from the 18th tower, with Curtis Strange calling holes, and on-course reporters Billy Kratzert and Judy Rankin. With Azinger, ESPN's lead analyst, captaining the U.S. team, North was moved to the booth to fill Azinger's seat. NBC Sports covered the weekend action, with Dan Hicks and Johnny Miller hosting from the 18th tower, Gary Koch and Bob Murphy calling holes, and on-course reporters Mark Rolfing, Roger Maltbie, and Dottie Pepper.


2008 Ryder Cup, Format
The Ryder Cup is a match play event, with each match worth one point. The competition format used in 2008 was:


2008 Ryder Cup, Format
With a total of 28 points available, 141⁄2 points were required to win the cup, and 14 points for the defending champion to retain it. All matches were played over a maximum 18 holes.


2008 Ryder Cup, Format
For the first time since 1995, the opening matches featured foursomes. US captain Paul Azinger chose the format, hoping to give his team an early advantage in Kentucky. Foursomes was used in the first sessions of every event since 1981 until European captain Seve Ballesteros opened with better ball (fourball) in 1997 at Valderrama.


2008 Ryder Cup, Team qualification and selection, United States
The selection process was radically changed for 2008. The United States team consisted of:


2008 Ryder Cup, Team qualification and selection, Europe
The qualification process was the same as in 2006. The European team consisted of:


2008 Ryder Cup, Team qualification and selection, Europe
The final line-up for the European team was announced after the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles on August 31, 2008. Søren Hansen, Oliver Wilson and Justin Rose were the last three automatic qualifiers after successful tournaments. Nick Faldo handed wildcards to Paul Casey and Ian Poulter.


2008 Ryder Cup, Teams, Captains
The team captains were Paul Azinger for the US and Nick Faldo for Europe.


2008 Ryder Cup, Teams, Vice-captains
The USA vice-captains were Olin Browne, Raymond Floyd and Dave Stockton.


2008 Ryder Cup, Teams, Vice-captains
The only European vice-captain was José María Olazábal. Paul McGinley had been announced as a vice-captain in May 2007 but resigned in September 2007.


2008 Ryder Cup, Teams, Players
Tiger Woods was the leading player on the points list but was recovering from knee surgery and unable to compete. Captains picks are shown in yellow; the world rankings and records are at the start of the 2008 Ryder Cup.


2008 Ryder Cup, Teams, Players
Captains picks are shown in yellow; the world rankings and records are at the start of the 2008 Ryder Cup.


2008 Ryder Cup, Friday's matches, Morning foursomes
The morning foursomes began well for Team Europe, as they took the lead in all four matches within the first hour. However, things changed by the end of the morning, with Team USA ending the session up 3–1, marking the first time since the last American win in 1999 that Team USA held the lead at the end of any Ryder Cup session.


2008 Ryder Cup, Friday's matches, Afternoon four-ball
The afternoon session was almost a replay of the morning session. Team Europe led after the front nine in three of the four matches, but only won one. Team USA ended up with its largest lead after the first day since Europe was first included in the Ryder Cup in 1979.


2008 Ryder Cup, Individual player records
Each entry refers to the Win–Loss–Half record of the player.


2008 S.League
2008 S.League is the 13th season of Singapore's professional football league. It was won by Singapore Armed Forces, which was their seventh league title.


2008 S.League, Foreign players
Each club is allowed to have up to a maximum of 4 foreign players.


2008 SAFF Championship
The 2008 SAFF Championship was held in Malé, Maldives and Colombo, Sri Lanka between 3 and 14 June 2008.


2008 SAFF Championship
Initially, the tournament was due to be held in 2007 but was postponed to 2008.


2008 SANFL Grand Final
The 2008 South Australian National Football League (SANFL) Grand Final saw the Central District Bulldogs defeat Glenelg by 42 points to claim the club's seventh premiership victory.


2008 SANFL Grand Final
The match was played on Sunday 5 October 2008 at Football Park in front of a crowd of 34,128.


2008 SANFL season
The 2008 South Australian National Football League season was the 129th season of the top-level Australian rules football competition in South Australia.


2008 SAP Open
The 2008 SAP Open was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 119th edition of the SAP Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California, United States, from February 18 through February 24, 2008.


2008 SAP Open
The singles draw featured ATP No. 6 and 2007 Davis Cup champion Andy Roddick, Australian Open quarterfinalist and other 2007 Davis Cup champion James Blake, and 2007 US Open quarterfinalist Tommy Haas. Other seeds were Sydney semifinalist Radek Štěpánek, 2007 SAP Open quarterfinalist Hyung-taik Lee, Jürgen Melzer, Sam Querrey and Kristof Vliegen.


2008 SAP Open
The event started off with an exhibition match between fourteen time Grand Slam champion Pete Sampras and Tommy Haas, replacing injured Marat Safin, scheduled to play the exhibition in the first place. The retired American legend defeated his opponent 6–4, 6–2.


2008 SAP Open, Finals, Doubles
Scott Lipsky /  David Martin defeated  Bob Bryan /  Mike Bryan, 7–6(7–4), 7–5


2008 SAP Open – Doubles
Eric Butorac and Jamie Murray were the defending champions. They were both present but did not compete together. Butorac partnered with Todd Perry, but lost in the first round to Sanchai Ratiwatana and Sonchat Ratiwatana. Murray partnered with Max Mirnyi, but lost in the quarterfinals to Steve Darcis and Kristof Vliegen.


2008 SAP Open – Doubles
Scott Lipsky and David Martin won in the final 7–6(4), 7–5, against Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan.


2008 SAP Open – Singles
Andy Murray was the defending champion, but chose not to participate that year.


2008 SAP Open – Singles
First-seeded Andy Roddick won in the final 6–4, 7–5, against Radek Štěpánek.


2008 SBS Drama Awards
The 2008 SBS Drama Awards (Korean: SBS 연기대상) is a ceremony honoring the best performances in television on the SBS network for the year 2008. It was held on December 31, 2008, at the SBS Open Hall in Deungchon-dong, Seoul, and was hosted by Ryu Si-won and Han Ye-seul.


2008 SEAT Cupra Championship
The 2008 Blaupunkt SEAT Cupra Championship season was the sixth and final season of the SEAT Cupra Championship. It began on 30 March at Brands Hatch, and ended on 21 September at the same circuit, supporting rounds of the British Touring Car Championship.


2008 SEAT León Eurocup
The 2008 SEAT León Eurocup was the first season of the SEAT León Eurocup, a one-make racing series supporting the World Touring Car Championship. The best classified driver at each event was rewarded with a drive in a SUNRED Engineering–run SEAT León TFSI at the next round of the WTCC.


2008 SEAT León Eurocup
Oscar Nogués won the championship tied on 47 points with Marin Čolak, winning by having three race wins to Čolak's two.


2008 SEC Championship Game
The 2008 Dr Pepper SEC Championship Game was played December 6, 2008, in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia to determine the 2008 football champion of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The game featured the Florida Gators and the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Gators were classified as the home team. Before this game was played, the designated "home team", chosen on an alternating basis, was 10–6 (11-6 after Florida's win in this game) in SEC Championship Games. The SEC East is 10–6 in SEC Championship games (11-6 after Florida's win), with the Florida Gators accounting for six of the 10 victories. (seven after this game) Before this game, Alabama had represented the SEC West five times in the conference championship game with a 2–3 record.


2008 SEC Championship Game
The game was televised by CBS Sports and kicked off at 4:00 pm EST.


2008 SEC Championship Game, Selection process
The SEC Championship Game matches up the winner of the Eastern and Western divisions of the Southeastern Conference. The game was first played in 1992, when the conference expanded from 10 to 12 teams with the addition of Arkansas and South Carolina. The SEC was the first conference in college football to have a conference championship game. Seven other conferences currently have conference championship games (ACC, BIG 10, BIG 12, CUSA, MAC, MWC & Pac-12).


2008 SEC Championship Game, Regular season
Alabama entered Nick Saban's second year as head coach with an AP preseason ranking of 24. After finishing the 2007 season 7–6, including a win in the Independence Bowl, the Crimson Tide brought in one of the nation's top recruiting classes and was expected to improve in 2008. The team started off strong in the Chick-fil-A College Kickoff with a convincing 34-10 win over #9 Clemson. Four weeks later they shocked the nation by defeating #3 Georgia 41–30 in Athens after building a 31–0 halftime lead.


2008 SEC Championship Game, Regular season
The rest of the season included a 27–21 overtime victory over #16 LSU in Nick Saban's first game in Baton Rouge against his old team, as well as a 36–0 shutout of Auburn to end Alabama's 6-game losing streak to their in-state rival. The Crimson Tide finished the regular season with a 12–0 record and a #1 ranking in the BCS, AP, and Coaches' Polls.


2008 SEC Championship Game, Regular season
Only two years removed from a national championship, Florida entered the season with high hopes and an AP preseason ranking of 5. The Gators went 9–4 in 2007, and they had many key players returning, including Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow. After a 3-0 start, the team suffered a devastating home loss to Ole Miss. However, this loss was later seen as a turning point for Florida. In their last 8 games, the Gators scored no less than 38 points and had an average margin of victory of 39.6. Key victories included #4 LSU (51–21), #6 Georgia (49–10), #25 South Carolina (56–6), and #20 Florida State (45–15). Florida finished the regular season with an 11–1 record and a #2 ranking in the AP Poll.


2008 SEC Championship Game, Game hype and difference in style
After the match-up between Alabama and Florida was set November 8, when Alabama defeated LSU and Florida defeated Vanderbilt, the game began to receive a great deal of attention in sports media. Many college football analysts called the game a "play-in game" for the BCS National Championship, easily making it one of the most anticipated games of the year.


2008 SEC Championship Game, Game hype and difference in style
Analyst cited the differences in the teams' styles as a major point of interest. Florida's style of football came directly from Urban Meyer's offensive-minded philosophy of a fast-paced offense and defense, generally using smaller, quicker players. They run a form of the spread offense, using speed to spread the field, which results in quick drives and higher scoring games. The Gators use a basic 4-3 defense and again use speedy players to try to gain an advantage on their opponent.


2008 SEC Championship Game, Game hype and difference in style
Alabama on the other hand run an almost complete opposite style of football, led by Nick Saban's defensive-minded philosophy of physical domination on both sides of the ball, generally using bigger, more physical players. The Tide run a smashmouth offensive scheme utilizing a physical offensive line and power running backs to control the line of scrimmage, which results in slower drives, an advantage in time of possession and lower scoring games. On defense, the team runs out of a base 3-4 defense, utilizing quick and physical linebackers to allow more flexibility in stopping multiple offensive formations and schemes.


2008 SEC Championship Game, Game summary
After a forcing Alabama to a three-and-out on their opening drive Florida struck first moving 59 yards while never facing a third-down to take a 7-0 lead on a 3-yard touchdown pass from Tim Tebow to Carl Moore. Alabama responded with a touchdown "drive" of their own. On the first play, quarterback John Parker Wilson connecting on a 64-yard bomb to superstar freshman receiver Julio Jones. On the very next play Glenn Coffee burst through for an 18-yard touchdown run. After a Florida three-and-out Alabama took its first lead at 10-7 with a 30-yard field goal by Leigh Tiffin.


2008 SEC Championship Game, Game summary
After another Florida three-and-out Alabama drove to the Florida 32-yard line. The 49-yard field goal attempt was a fake and holder P. J. Fitzgerald could only gain a yard. Taking over at their own 31-yard line, Florida retaliated with a swift drive culminating in a 19-yard field goal by Jonathan Phillips to tie the game, 10-10. Following an Alabama three-and-out Florida retook the lead with a 57-yard drive that Tebow capped off with a 5-yard touchdown pass to David Nelson. Alabama was forced to punt on their next drive and Florida lead at halftime 17-10.


2008 SEC Championship Game, Game summary
Alabama's defense forced a three-and-out and then their offense used the "ground-and-pound" strategy to perfection running 15 plays, gaining 91 yards and taking 6:53 off the clock to tie the game at 17-17 with a 2-yard rushing touchdown by Mark Ingram Jr.. Florida seemed poised to take the lead on their drive, but after the drive stalled Phillips missed a 42-yard field goal. Alabama didn't waste their chance as a 27-yard Tiffin field goal gave them a 20-17 lead going into the fourth quarter. Then, Tebow took over.


2008 SEC Championship Game, Game summary
Florida took a page from the Alabama playbook, using a long drive, converting two third downs before Jeffery Demps ran in a touchdown from one yard out, retaking the lead 24-20. Return ace Javier Arenas returned the resulting kickoff 41 yards to the Alabama 41, but on 3rd-and-8 Jermaine Cunningham sacked Wilson for an 11-yard loss. The Gators put the game away on their next drive, storming 67 yards in just 8 plays with Tebow throwing a dart to Riley Cooper to increase the lead to 31-20 with just 2:50 remaining in the game.


2008 SEC Championship Game, Game summary
An interception by Joe Haden with 1:41 sealed the deal as Florida ran out the rest of the clock. Florida out gaining Alabama 358-323, converting 7 of their 13 third downs to Alabama's 5 of 12, and  zero Florida turnovers were the most deciding factors. Despite going just 14-22 for the game, Tebow was 5-5 for 70 yards and 1 touchdown in the fourth quarter bringing his overall night to 14-22 for 218 yards 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. Tebow and Demps carried the Florida running game combining for 110 yards on 30 carries.


2008 SEC Championship Game, Game summary
Louis Murphy was the leading receiver for Florida with 86 yards on just 4 catches. Wilson struggled going just 12-25 for 187 yards  0 touchdowns and 1 interception, but Coffee continued his hot streak by rushing for 112 yards on 21 carries including an 18-yard touchdown run. Jones was spectacular with 124 yards on merely 5 catches.


2008 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2008 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament took place on March 13–16, 2008 in Atlanta, Georgia. The first, quarterfinal, and semifinal rounds were televised by Raycom/LF Sports, and the SEC Championship Game was produced by CBS and televised by ESPN2. The University of Georgia, the improbable winner of the tournament, earned the Southeastern Conference's automatic bid to the 2008 NCAA Tournament.


2008 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament
The tournament was originally scheduled to be played at the Georgia Dome, but a tornado struck downtown Atlanta on the night of March 14, while the third of four quarterfinal games was in overtime. While that game was completed, SEC officials decided not to risk playing the fourth game, between the University of Kentucky and University of Georgia. That quarterfinal was subsequently postponed until Saturday morning. That game and all subsequent games were played at Alexander Memorial Coliseum on the campus of Georgia Tech, a school in the Atlantic Coast Conference (and coincidentally a former SEC member). Due to the smaller capacity, only the players' families, credentialed media, school officials and 400 fans from each school were allowed to attend the rest of the tournament.


2008 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament
Georgia, which had a sub-.500 record (13–16, 6–12 in the SEC) going into the tournament and had to win the title to secure an NCAA Tournament bid, was forced to play and win three games in the space of 30 hours, including two games on Saturday — the original quarterfinal game against Kentucky that was postponed by the tornado and venue change, and the subsequent semifinal game. Coincidentally, Georgia won the SEC tournament championship on the home court of its bitter rival, Georgia Tech. This was Georgia's first SEC men's basketball tournament championship since 1983.


2008 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament, Bracket
* Denotes game ended in overtime. † Game originally scheduled for 9:45 p.m. the day before. Postponed due to tornado. ‡ - Game was originally to have been telecast on CBS.


2008 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament, Bracket, All-Tournament Team
Sundiata Gaines, Georgia (Most Valuable Player)Terrance Woodbury, GeorgiaCharles Thomas, ArkansasDarian Townes, ArkansasMykal Riley, Alabama


2008 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament, Bracket, Game delays and relocation
During overtime of the Friday night quarterfinal between Mississippi State and Alabama, a tornado hit the Georgia Dome at 9:40 p.m. The National Weather Service had issued a tornado warning at 9:26 p.m., because radar indicated a thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado. The storm tore open a panel on the north side of the dome; sheared bolts and insulation fell into the arena. After the storm passed, the teams returned to the court at 10:30 and completed the game.


2008 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament, Bracket, Game delays and relocation
The Kentucky–Georgia basketball game, originally scheduled for Friday night, was postponed. It was rescheduled for Saturday at noon. Due to the severe damage suffered at the Georgia Dome, the remainder of the tournament was moved to Georgia Tech's Alexander Memorial Coliseum. The semifinals began at 6:00pm Saturday in Alexander Memorial Coliseum. Because the games were moved to a significantly smaller arena, only players' families & friends, bands, cheerleaders, and persons with working credentials were admitted.


2008 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament, Bracket, Game delays and relocation
The SEC looked at several possible scenarios; one specifically mentioned by media involved playing only the Kentucky-Georgia game on Saturday, playing both semifinals on Sunday, and declaring the semifinal winners co-champions. However, tournament officials were told by the NCAA tournament selection committee (which included SEC commissioner Michael Slive) that it had to finish the tournament in order to preserve the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.


2008 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament, Bracket, Game delays and relocation
The championship game was originally slated to be televised by CBS but was bumped to ESPN2 after the SEC opted to move the tip time to 3:30 p.m. (EDT). The move to ESPN2 was because CBS televised the Big Ten tournament final at 3:30 p.m. However, CBS still produced the game, with announcers Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery calling the game. All CBS affiliates in the finalists' home markets also carried the game.


2008 SEC Softball Tournament
The 2008 SEC Softball Tournament was held at Tiger Park on the campus of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana from May 8 through May 10, 2008. Florida won the tournament and earned the Southeastern Conference's automatic bid to the 2008 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament.


2008 SEC Women's Basketball Tournament
The 2008 SEC Women's Basketball Tournament was held on March 6-9, 2008 in Nashville, TN at the Sommet Center.


2008 SEC Women's Basketball Tournament
Tennessee won the tournament and received the SEC's automatic bid to the 2008 NCAA Tournament.


2008 SK Brann season
The 2008 season was SK Brann's 100th season and their 22nd consecutive season in the Norwegian Premier League.


2008 SK Brann season, Information
Manager: Mons Ivar MjeldeLeague: Norwegian Premier LeagueShirt supplier: Kappa Shirt sponsor: Sparebanken VestAverage league attendance: 16,954 League: 8th Norwegian Cup: 4th round  (0-8 vs. Molde)Champions League: Third qualifying round (0-1 (h) and 1-2 (a) vs. Marseille) UEFA Cup: First round (2-0 (h) and 0-2 (a) vs. Deportivo Coruña. Brann lost 2–3 on the penalty shootout)Top goal scorer: Thorstein Helstad (11 in league, 13 over-all) Player of the year: Olafur Örn Bjarnason


2008 SK Brann season, Squad
Matches and goals updated as of November 21, 2008 and is for league only.


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


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


2008 SK Brann season, Matches (goals)
The table shows matches and goals in the Norwegian Premier League, Norwegian Cup, Champions League and UEFA Cup, and was last updated after the game against Vålerenga on November 2, 2008.


2008 SMU Mustangs football team
The 2008 SMU Mustangs football team represented Southern Methodist University in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS college football season. The Mustangs, led by first-year head coach June Jones, played their home games at Gerald J. Ford Stadium and competed in Conference USA.


2008 SVL season
The 2008 Shakey's V-League (SVL) season was the fifth season of the Shakey's V-League. There were two indoor conferences for this season.


2008 SVL season, 1st Conference
The Shakey's V-League 5th Season 1st Conference was the seventh conference of Shakey's V-League, a collegiate women's volleyball league in the Philippines founded in 2004. The conference started March 30, 2008 at the Filoil Flying V Centre (formerly The Arena), San Juan.


2008 SWAC Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2008 Southwestern Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament took place from March 12–15, 2008 at Fair Park Arena in Birmingham, Alabama.


2008 SWAC Men's Basketball Tournament, Format
The top eight eligible men's basketball teams in the Southwestern Athletic Conference receive a berth in the conference tournament. After the conference season, teams are seeded by conference record.


2008 Sabah state election
The 2008 Sabah state election was held on Saturday, 8 March 2008, simultaneously with the 12th general election of Malaysia. 60 state assembly seats were contested. The election was won by the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition with a similar number of seats won as in the previous election, where they won 59 seats. One seat was won by Democratic Action Party (DAP). In the previous election, BN won 59 seats, while one seat was won by an independent candidate. Other parties contesting in this election are Democratic Action Party, Parti Keadilan Rakyat, BERSEKUTU, Pasok, Setia, and 47 independent candidates. The 25 parliamentary seats were also contested the same time. This is the second time the state election of Sabah is held simultaneously with the general (parliamentary) elections, the first time being in the 2004 general elections.


2008 Sabah state election
The State Legislative Assembly was dissolved on 13 February 2008, after state Chief Minister Musa Aman obtained consent from the Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Ahmadshah Abdullah. The nomination day was held on 24 February 2008. On this day, Ramlee Marbahan of BN won the seat of N.54 Bugaya unopposed. Barisan Nasional also won two parliamentary seats on nomination day.


2008 Sabah state election
On 27 February 2008, the PKR candidate Mohaspa Mohd Hassan pulled out of the election, thus awarding the N.41 Gum Gum seat to Zakaria Mohd Edris.


2008 Sabah state election, Parties representing Barisan Nasional
Allocation of seats among parties within the ruling BN coalition is as follows. This formula was used in the 2004 election and has been retained for this election.


2008 Sabah state election, Parliamentary seats
The parliamentary election was held simultaneously nationwide with the state elections of all Malaysian states except Sarawak. Barisan Nasional had won two seats unopposed on nomination day itself—the P.182 Pensiangan seat by Joseph Kurup, and P.191 Kalabakan by Ghapur Salleh. The following is a summary of results for parliamentary seats in Sabah:


2008 Sacramento Monarchs season
The 2008 WNBA season was the 12th season for the Sacramento Monarchs. The team reached the playoffs for the man consecutive season. It was also their 9th and final playoff berth before folding a season later.


2008 Sacramento Monarchs season, Player stats
Note: GP= Games played; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average


2008 Sacramento State Hornets football team
The 2008 Sacramento State Hornets football team represented Sacramento State University during the 2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season.


2008 Sacramento State Hornets football team
Sacramento State competed in the Big Sky Conference. The Hornets were led by second-year head coach Marshall Sperbeck and played home games at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, California. They finished the season with a record of six wins and six losses (6–6, 3–5 Big Sky). Sacramento State was outscored by its opponents 319–324 for the season.


2008 Sacramento State Hornets football team, Team players in the NFL
No Sacramento State players were selected in the 2009 NFL Draft.


2008 Sacramento mayoral election
The 2008 Sacramento mayoral election was held on June 3, 2008 and November 4, 2008 to elect the mayor of Sacramento, California. It saw the election of Kevin Johnson, who defeated incumbent mayor Heather Fargo.


2008 Saginaw Sting season
The 2008 Saginaw Sting season was the first season for the American Continental Indoor Football League franchise, who began play as an expansion team. Original team owners were Mike Johnson, Mike Trumbull, and Esteban Rivera, who also owned the Kalamazoo Xplosion. The team was led by former Michigan State quarterback Damon Dowdell, who led the league in passing yards (2,190), touchdowns (54) and completion percentage (62%). Nick Body was Dowdell's favorite target, leading the league in receptions (78), yards (1,005) and touchdowns (31). Despite their offensive numbers, neither player won Offensive Player of the Year or the CIFL MVP. The duo led the Sting to a 10–2 regular season and a playoff berth. On June 29, 2008, the Sting defeated the Xplosion 41–37 to win the CIFL Championship Game.


2008 Saginaw Sting season, Roster
Rookies in italics updated June 29, 20082 Active, 0 Inactive, 0 PS


2008 Sahrawi legislative election
A legislative election for the Sahrawi National Council took place between 17 February and 19 February 2008. More than 126 candidates competed for the 53 seats of the Sahrawi National Council, which is the unicameral legislature of the partially recognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. The Council was elected for a period of three years. The election was only held in the so-called Free Zone as well as in the Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria, the rest of Western Sahara being under the de facto administration of Morocco.


2008 Sahrawi legislative election
As stipulated in the Sahrawi Constitution, the renewal of the Council occurred after the previous Council was dissolved following the 12th Congress of the Polisario Front, which took place two months earlier between 14 December and 21 December 2007. First-time MPs represented 61.53% of those elected. The percentage of young people in the new Council stood at 57.67%, while women gained 34.61% of seats, thanks in part to a quota system. Mahfoud Ali Beiba was reelected Speaker of the Council on 27 February 2008.


2008 Sai Kung bus crash
On 1 May 2008, at approximately 09:02 HKT, a tour bus flipped onto its side on Hiram's Highway in Sai Kung District, New Territories. The crash killed 19 people and injured 43.


2008 Sai Kung bus crash
The incident was Hong Kong's third deadliest road traffic accident, behind a 2018 incident killing 19 and injuring 61, and a 2003 incident which killed 21.


2008 Sai Kung bus crash, Incident, Crash
On 1 May 2008, at 8:30 am, two tour buses carrying several members of the Shinji Shumeikai Hong Kong branch left from Tsz Wan Shan for Sai Kung. At around 9:02, one of the tour buses rolled over when entering the Hiram's Highway roundabout in Nam Pin Wai. The bus flipped onto its side and struck a noise barrier, causing the roof of the bus to collapse, trapping many passengers between the roof and the seats, and hindering rescue efforts.


2008 Sai Kung bus crash, Incident, Immediate aftermath
Firefighters arrived after nine minutes, and 14 passengers were pronounced dead at the scene. A makeshift morgue was set up, the first time since a bus accident in 2003. Four more passengers died after being transferred to hospital, bringing the death toll to 18. Then-Chief Executive Donald Tsang visited Tseung Kwan O Hospital, where the largest amount of injured passengers were transferred, then visited the crash site. He expressed that this was Hong Kong's most serious traffic accident in recent years, and asked for all relevant departments to investigate the causes of this accident, as well as provide help for all affected families.


2008 Sai Kung bus crash, Incident, Immediate aftermath
Four days after the crash, on 5 May, one more passenger died after being transferred to a hospital, bringing the death toll to a final of 19. Many of the survivors were left with lifelong injuries and disabilities.


2008 Sai Kung bus crash, Criminal proceedings
The 33-year-old bus captain, Hung Ling-kwok, was charged with dangerous driving causing death. Investigators stated that Hung was travelling around 67 kph, while the speed limit was 50 kph. The bus was found to have no mechanical faults. The judge in the case criticised Hung for descending the hill in the wrong gear, failing to use the throttle or exhaust brake, and ignoring warning signs including passengers' repeated calls to slow down.


2008 Sai Kung bus crash, Criminal proceedings
Hung apologised to the families of the victims in the District Court in June 2009, but the apology was not accepted.


2008 Sai Kung bus crash, Criminal proceedings
On 1 May 2009, Hung pleaded guilty to one count of dangerous driving causing death, for which the maximum sentence was five years' imprisonment at the time of the offence. On 19 June 2009, Hung was sentenced to three years and four months in prison, with the maximum sentence being reduced in recognition of his guilty plea. His driving licence was also suspended for three years. However, as his driving licence suspension would take place during the period of his imprisonment, he would be able to drive upon his release.


2008 Sai Kung bus crash, Criminal proceedings
The families of victims, as well as survivors of the crash, called the sentence excessively lenient. They felt that the prison sentence was light, and said that Hung should not be allowed to drive again. Hung evaded a longer jail term as new legislation raising the penalty for dangerous driving causing death (to ten years) only came into effect on 4 July 2008, and he was charged under the old law. On 29 June 2009, the victims petitioned the Department of Justice for a review of the sentence.


2008 Sai Kung bus crash, Criminal proceedings
In response, the Department of Justice applied to the Court of Appeal to review the length of the driving ban. On 15 April 2010, the Court of Appeal doubled the driving ban to six years.


2008 Saint Francis Cougars football team
The 2008 Saint Francis Cougars football team represented the University of Saint Francis, located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the 2008 NAIA football season. They were led by head coach Kevin Donley, who served his 11th year as the first and only head coach in the history of Saint Francis football. The Cougars played their home games at Bishop John D'Arcy Stadium and were members of the Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) Mideast League (MEL). The Cougars finished in 1st place in the MSFA MEL division, so they received an automatic bid to the 2008 postseason NAIA playoffs.


2008 Saint Francis Cougars football team, Schedule
(12-1 overall, 6-0 conference)After an undefeated regular season, USF finished with a loss at Sioux Falls. This was the second time in three seasons that Sioux Falls put the only blemish on the USF record.


2008 Saint Francis Red Flash football team
The 2008 Saint Francis Red Flash football team represented Saint Francis University as a member of the Northeast Conference (NEC) during the 2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Red Flash were led by seventh-year head coach Dave Opfar and played their home games at DeGol Field. They finished the season 0–11 overall and 0–7 in NEC play to place last.


2008 Saint John River flood
The 2008 Saint John River flood was considered the worst flooding of the Saint John River in 35 years. Flood levels reached 27 feet and 4 inches in Fredericton on May 1, almost reaching the previous record of 28 feet and 3 inches, set in 1973. Flooding was attributed to the melting of record snowfall from the 2007-2008 winter and heavy rain during the melting season. Fifty streets in Fredericton area were closed as a result of the flooding. The flooding caused severe damage in areas of northern Maine and western New Brunswick including international bridges and hundreds of homes and buildings.


2008 Saint John River flood
By May 3, the Canadian Red Cross had registered 680 residents who had been forced to evacuate from their homes. An additional 600 residences were evacuated in Maine.


2008 Saitama Seibu Lions season
The 2008 Saitama Seibu Lions season was the 59th season of the Saitama Seibu Lions franchise. The Lions played their home games at Seibu Dome in the city of Tokorozawa, Saitama as members of Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League. The team was led by Hisanobu Watanabe on his first season as team manager.


2008 Saitama Seibu Lions season
Seibu finished the season in first place with a record of 76–64–4, winning the team its 21st PL pennant and qualifying them for the Climax Series. In the 2008 Pacific League Climax Series, the Lions defeated the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in the Second Stage and went on to win the 2008 Japan Series, its thirteenth, as well as the 2008 Asia Series.


2008 Salford City Council election
The 2008 Salford City Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of Salford City Council in England. One third of the council was up for election. The Labour Party lost six seats but stayed in overall control of the council. Overall turnout was 31.3%.


2008 Salt Lake County mayoral election
The 2008 Salt Lake County mayoral election was held to elect the Mayor of Salt Lake County, Utah on November 4, 2008, alongside the presidential, House of Representatives and gubernatorial elections. This marked the third election to the office since the post was created in 2000.


2008 Salt Lake County mayoral election
Popular incumbent Democrat Peter Corroon was elected in a nearly 2 to 1 landslide against token Republican opposition. In the same election cycle, Salt Lake County narrowly voted for Democrat Barack Obama for president, but also voted for incumbent Republican Governor Jon Huntsman Jr..


2008 Salwator Cup
The 2008 Salwator Cup was a professional tennis tournament played on hard courts. It was the first edition of the tournament which was part of the 2008 ITF Women's Circuit. It took place in Kraków, Poland between 3 and 9 November 2008.


2008 Salwator Cup, WTA entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2008 Salwator Cup, WTA entrants, Other Entrants
The following player received entry from a Lucky loser spot:


2008 Salwator Cup, Champions, Doubles
Angelique Kerber /  Urszula Radwańska def. Olga Brózda /  Sandra Zaniewska, 6–3, 6–2


2008 Sammarinese general election
A snap general election was held in San Marino on 9 November 2008. Elections were called after the collapse of the centre-left majority which had won the previous 2006 election.


2008 Sammarinese general election
In June 2008, due to disagreements within the coalition partners, the Party of Socialists and Democrats (PSD), Popular Alliance (AP) and United Left (SU), AP left the coalition and the cabinet fell down. The PSD tried to form a narrow-majority coalition with SU and Sammarineses for Freedom (SpL), but two dissenting members of PSD left their party  and formed Arengo and Freedom (AL), leaving the proposed coalition without a majority in Parliament.


2008 Sammarinese general election
Due to the new electoral law passed earlier in 2008 which introduced a number of changes (an electoral threshold of 3.5% and a majority premium for the winning coalition, on the example of the electoral system for the Italian cities), the election was contested by two major coalitions: Pact for San Marino (centre-right) and Reforms and Freedom (centre-left).


2008 Sammarinese general election, Electoral system
Voters had to be citizens of San Marino and at least 18 years old.


2008 Sammarinese general election, Coalitions and parties
Due to the new electoral law, Sammarinese political parties are organized in two major coalitions:


2008 Sammarinese referendum
Four referendums were held in San Marino on 16 March 2008. Voters were asked questions on the voting system, raising salaries in line with inflation, projects, and the abolition of temporary employment contracts. As voter turnout was just 35.36%, all four referendums failed to pass the 32% quorum of registered voters required.


2008 Sammarinese referendum, Results, Voting system
Voters were asked whether they wanted to only allow voters a single preference on their ballots.


2008 Sammarinese referendum, Results, Wages rising in line with inflation
Voters were asked whether they wished for salaries of employees to be revalued on 1 January each year in line with the rate of inflation recorded by the Centro di Elaborazione Dati e Statistica dello Stato.


2008 Sammarinese referendum, Results, Projects
Voters were asked whether they wished to delete Article 18 of the September 2005 law on promoting, supporting and developing employment training, which related to projects.


2008 Sammarinese referendum, Results, Temporary contracts
Voters were asked whether they wished to delete Article 17 of the September 2005 law on promoting, supporting and developing employment training, which related to temporary contracts.


2008 Samoa National League
The 2008 Samoa National League, or also known as the Upolo First Division, was the 20th edition of the Samoa National League, the top league of the Football Federation Samoa. OSM Sinamoga won their first record title, though it is thought that they won their first title in the unrecorded period from 1986-96.


2008 Samsung 500
The 2008 Samsung 500 was the seventh race for the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season and run on Sunday, April 6 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. The race was broadcast on television by Fox starting at 1:30 PM US EDT, and broadcast via radio and Sirius Satellite Radio on the Performance Racing Network beginning at 1 PM US EDT.


2008 Samsung 500, Qualifying
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won his first pole as a member of Hendrick Motorsports, with a speed of just under 191 mph.


2008 Samsung 500, Qualifying
However, the major story to come out of this was the spectacular crash of Michael McDowell into Turn One during his second qualifying lap in the #00 Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing. Going into Turn 1, McDowell said on the radio "Way too tight!" The car proceeded to turn sharply left, then when McDowell tried to correct it, the car sharply steered hardly to the right, plowing head-first into the SAFER barrier at over 180 mph, causing his car to barrel-roll 8 times with fire coming from the engine compartment.


2008 Samsung 500, Qualifying
McDowell was shown to be moving around in the car when the car landed on its wheels in the middle of Turns 1 and 2, and seconds later was able to get out of the car under his own power, uninjured. Due to the fact that his primary car was destroyed, he was forced into the rear of the field in a backup. The crash would prove the safety of the Car of Tomorrow, which had been criticized for its looks. For most of McDowell's career, this would be his legacy; proving the safety of the Car of Tomorrow until the 2021 season, when in a stunning upset McDowell would pass Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano on the final lap to win the 2021 Daytona 500.


2008 Samsung 500, Qualifying
Failed to qualify: Burney Lamar (#08), Dario Franchitti (#40), Chad McCumbee (#45).


2008 Samsung 500, Race recap
The race was won by Carl Edwards. Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman and Denny Hamlin would round out the top five while Jeff Burton, Tony Stewart, Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth and Clint Bowyer would be the remaining finishers in the top ten finishing order.


2008 Samsung FEI Nations Cup Promotional League
The 2008 Samsung FEI Nations Cup Promotional League was the 2008 edition of the second division of the Samsung Super League, an international team Grand Prix show jumping competition run by the FEI. Ireland won the Promotional League the previous year and had been promoted to the 2008 Samsung Super League. France joined the series, having been relegated from the 2007 Samsung Super League.


2008 Samsung FEI Nations Cup Promotional League
Before the beginning of the 2009 season of the Meydan FEI Nations Cup (the follower of the Samsung Super League), the number of participating nations teams in the Meydan FEI Nations Cup has been increased up to ten. Thus, after the descent of Sweden, three nations starting positions are reassigned. This was done by the placement of best placed show jumpers from every nation in the world rankings. The emerging nations to the 2009 Meydan FEI Nations Cup were Sweden, France and Canada. The national equestrian federation of Canada refrained, so Italy moved into the Meydan FEI Nations Cup for the 2009 season.


2008 Samsung FEI Nations Cup Promotional League, Standings
The points of the seven best results of each nation are added to the final result.


2008 Samsung Super League
The 2008 Samsung Super League was the 2008 edition of the Samsung Super League, the premier international team Grand Prix show jumping competition run by the FEI and sponsored by Samsung Electronics. It was held at eight European venues from May 9 to September 21, 2008. Germany won the series for the third consecutive year, while Ludger Beerbaum of Germany won the title of top rider. Sweden was relegated to the 2009 FEI Nations Cup after finishing last in the eight team series.


2008 Samsung Super League, Standings, Overall
Sweden was relegated to the 2009 FEI Nations Cup Promotional League. Before the beginning of the 2009 season of the Meydan FEI Nations Cup (the follower of the Samsung Super League), the number of participating nations teams in the Meydan FEI Nations Cup has been increased up to ten. Thus, after the descent of Sweden, three nations starting positions are reassigned. This was done by the placement of best placed show jumpers from every nation in the world rankings. The emerging nations to the 2009 Meydan FEI Nations Cup were Sweden, France and Canada. The national equestrian federation of Canada refrained, so Italy moved into the Meydan FEI Nations Cup for the 2009 season.


2008 San Antonio Silver Stars season
The 2008 WNBA season was the 12th season for the San Antonio Silver Stars.


2008 San Antonio Silver Stars season, Regular season
Silver Stars guard Shanna Crossley tore the ACL in her left knee during a preseason game against the Detroit Shock. The news was announced by head coach and general manager Dan Hughes on May 14. Crossley injured her knee during San Antonio’s second offensive possession of the game.


2008 San Antonio Silver Stars season, WNBA Playoffs
° Played in the Galen Center, Los Angeles, CA ^ Played in the EMU Convocation Center, Ypsilanti, MI


2008 San Diego Chargers season
The 2008 season was the San Diego Chargers' 39th in the National Football League and their 49th overall. While they completed the regular season with only an 8–8 record, they nonetheless captured their third consecutive AFC West championship. In the first round of the playoffs, the Chargers upset the Indianapolis Colts, but they were eliminated the following week during their divisional round game on the road against the eventual Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers.


2008 San Diego Chargers season
The Chargers became the first team to go 8–8 and win their division since the 1985 Cleveland Browns, and by winning their Wild Card playoff game against the Indianapolis Colts, became the first team in NFL history to actually go an entire season without having a winning record until after the first round of the playoffs. They also became the first team in NFL history to start the season 4–8, yet make the playoffs.


2008 San Diego Chargers season, 2008 schedule, Regular season
In addition to their regular games with AFC West rivals, the Chargers played teams from the AFC East and NFC South as per the schedule rotation, and also played intraconference games against the Colts and the Steelers based on divisional positions from 2007.


2008 San Diego Chargers season, 2008 schedule, Regular season
On October 26, the Chargers had a game against the New Orleans Saints in London, England, where the Saints were the designated home team. i.e. They were playing their home game in London. This was the second NFL game played in London in as many years.


2008 San Diego Chargers season, 2008 schedule, Regular season
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. * NFL overseas game in England. New Orleans is the designated home team. * * Game time changed due to NBC's flex scheduling.