Starbucks Starbucks, along with its partner Delek Group of Israel, closed all six of its locations in Israel, citing "on-going operational challenges" and a "difficult business environment." The Starbucks location in the former imperial palace in Beijing closed in July 2007. The coffee shop had been a source of ongoing controversy since its opening in 2000 with protesters objecting that the presence of the American chain in this location "was trampling on Chinese culture." In July 2008, the company announced it was closing 600 underperforming company-owned stores and cutting U.S. expansion plans amid growing economic uncertainty. On July 29, 2008, Starbucks
T in the Park 2008 previous year's traffic problems. The first batch of "early bird" tickets (approximately 40,000) were released at 9am on the 10 July 2007, selling out in less than 65 minutes with the line up yet to be announced. The next batch of tickets went on sale on 16 February 2008 at 9am. Although tickets sold out in just over an hour. The 2008 festival was marred by two huge incidents which occurred over the weekend, including the first death at T in the Park. One man was found dead in his tent, another man was stabbed 11 times by two tea