Portal:Current events/December 2008/Sidebar

Ongoing events

Automotive industry crisis Canadian political crisis Diplomatic response to Abkhazian and South Ossetian independence Diplomatic response to Kosovar independence Gaza Strip airstrikes Global financial crisis Greek riots Guinean coup d'état Icelandic financial crisis Nord-Kivu campaign Presidential transition of Barack Obama Piracy in Somalia Russian financial crisis Slovakian transition to the Euro Treaty of Lisbon ratification World food price crisis Zimbabwean cholera outbreak

Recent deaths

December 29: Freddie Hubbard 27: Robert Graham 27: Jaafar of Malaysia 26: Justin Eilers 26: Gösta Krantz 25: Eartha Kitt 24: Samuel P. Huntington 24: Harold Pinter 22: Lansana Conté 21: Dale Wasserman 20: Olga Lepeshinskaya 20: Adrian Mitchell 20: Robert Mulligan 19: James Bevel 19: Bernard Crick 19: Dock Ellis 18: Majel Barrett 18: Jack Douglas 18: W. Mark Felt 18: Robert Jonquet 18: Conor Cruise O'Brien 18: Paul Weyrich 17: Sammy Baugh 16: Sam Bottoms 15: Leon Febres Cordero 15: Davey Graham 13: Horst Tappert 13: Kathy Staff 12: Avery Cardinal Dulles 12: Van Johnson 11: Ron Carey 11: Bettie Page 10: Didith Reyes 8: Oliver Postgate 7: Marky Cielo 6: Sunny von Bülow 5: Patriarch Alexy II of Russia 4: Forrest J Ackerman 2: Odetta 2: Carlos Abascal 2: Edward Samuel Rogers 2: Frank Crean

Ongoing conflicts

War in Afghanistan Balochistan conflict Casamance Conflict Chadian Civil War (2005–2010) Second Chechen War Colombian Civil War War in Darfur Fatah–Hamas conflict Iran-PJAK conflict Iraq War Israeli-Palestinian conflict Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir Kayin State Conflict Kivu conflict Insurgency in the Maghreb Mexican Drug War Ethnic conflict in Nagaland Naxalite-Maoist insurgency Conflict in the Niger Delta Insurgency in Ogaden War in North-West Pakistan Communist and Islamic Insurgency in the Philippines The Secret War Somali Civil War Sri Lankan Civil War War on Terrorism South Thailand insurgency Second Tuareg Rebellion Turkey-PKK conflict Second Ugandan Civil War

Elections
7: Ghana, President (1st Round) and Parliament 10: Switzerland, Federal Council 14: Turkmenistan, Parliament (1st Round) 28: Ghana, President (2nd Round) 28: Turkmenistan, Parliament (2nd Round) 29: Bangladesh, General January 18: El Salvador, Parliament 25: Bolivia, Constitutional referendum

Trials

Upcoming Austria: Josef Fritzl Canada: Larry O'Brien Estonia: Herman Simm Italy: Raffaele Sollecito, Amanda Knox Malaysia: Anwar Ibrahim Netherlands: ICTY Radovan Karadžić Singapore: Chee Soon Juan and others Singapore: Peter Lloyd U.S.: Aníbal Acevedo Vilá U.S.: Rod Blagojevich U.S.: Viktor Bout U.S.: Noshir Gowadia U.S.: William J. Jefferson U.S.: James Charles Kopp U.S.: Bernard L. Madoff U.S.: Ehren Watada Ongoing Cambodia: Khmer Rouge Tribunal Iraq: Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal Netherlands: ICC Thomas Lubanga Netherlands: ICTY Peru: Alberto Fujimori Republic of China (Taiwan): Chen Shui-bian Sierra Leone: SCfSL Charles Taylor Thailand: Thaksin Shinawatra US: Jena Six US: Brian Nichols US: José Padilla US: Phil Spector

Upcoming holidays and observances

8: Immaculate Conception 8: Eid al-Adha 21: Hanukkah begins at sundown 21: December Solstice, also known as Yule 25: Christmas in Western Christianity 25 - January 6: Twelve Days of Christmas (Christianity) 26 - January 1: Kwanzaa (African Americans) 31: New Year's Eve 31: Solidarity Day (Azerbaijan) 31: Restoration of the Republic (Geneva) 31 - January 1: Hogmanay (Scotland) January 1: New Year's Day