2008

Overview

The year 2008 was a leap year that began on Tuesday, according to the Gregorian calendar. It was the 2008th year of the Anno Domini era and the 3rd millennium.

International Years

The United Nations declared several international years in 2008:

* International Year of Planet Earth
* International World Year
* International Sanitation Year
* International Potato Year

Events

### January

* January 1: The Republic of Malta and Cyprus adopted the euro.
* January 11: KDE Software Compilation 4 (KDE 4) was released, marking a major version of the desktop environment.
* January 14: The MESSENGER spacecraft made its first pass by Mercury, with its closest approach at 19:04:39 UTC.
* January 20-February 10: The 2008 African International Cup took place in Ghana.
* January 21: Global financial markets suffered a decline due to growing fears of the Great Durgun (a term used to describe the 2007 high interest mortgage crisis) in the US.

### Politics and World Affairs

* January 24: The Democratic Republic of Congo signed a peace agreement in Goma, ending the conflict in Kivu.
* Iraq's Parliament designed a new flag, featuring three stars.

Other Events

* The first "street view" of Google Maps arrived in Italy.
* A suicide bombing occurred on January 1 in Cyprus.

References

Note: This article has been compiled from various sources and attempts to provide a comprehensive overview of the year 2008.