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 of state funding for the party. Islamic parties, which were effectively predecessors of the AKP, had been previously closed for violating the separation of religion and state, including the National Order Party (1971) National Salvation Party (1981) Welfare Party (1998) and Virtue Party (2001). On 18 March 2008, documents requesting a closure trial of the ruling AKP were presented to the Constitutional Court of Turkey. On 31 May 2008, the Constitutional Court announced that it would accept the indictment of the Chief Public Prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeals, Abdurrahman Yalçınkaya, and hear the case concerning the closure of