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
2008 Justice and Development Party closure trial AKP and banning the prime minister and dozens of lawmakers from politics. Of the 11 judges, 7 would have sufficed to close down the AKP and ban its 71 figures from politics. The members of the Constitutional Court were: On 28 July 2008, 6 members voted for closure (Osman Alifeyyaz Paksüt, Fulya Kantarcıoğlu, Şevket Apalak, Zehra Ayla Perktaş, Mehmet Erten, and Necmi Özler), while 5 voted against (Haşim Kılıç, Sacit Adalı, Serruh Kaleli, Ahmet Akyalçın, and Serdar Özgüldür). The last vote was submitted two days later, after 10 members had already voted, by the President of the Constitutional Court Haşim