The debate continues unabated – e. g. S. Georg 2004, A. Vovin 2005, S. Georg 2005 ( anti-Altaic ); S. Starostin 2005, V. Blažek 2006, M. Robbeets 2007, A. Dybo and G. Starostin 2008 ( pro-Altaic ).

* 2008 – 2008 Egyptian general strike starts led by Egyptian workers later to be adopted by April 6 Youth Movement and Egyptian activities.

* 1931 – Ivan Dixon, American actor and director ( d. 2008 )

* 1934 – Guy Peellaert, Belgian artist and photographer ( d. 2008 )

* 1948 – Jeremy Beadle, English television host ( d. 2008 )

* 2008 – Two skeletal remains found near Ekaterinburg, Russia are confirmed by Russian scientists to be the remains of Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia and one of his sisters.

* 1914 – Dorival Caymmi, Brazilian singer-songwriter, actor, and painter ( d. 2008 )

* 1923 – Francis Tucker, South African race car driver ( d. 2008 )

* 1932 – Cor Brom, Dutch footballer and manager ( d. 2008 )

* 1970 – Karl Unterkircher, Italian mountaineer ( d. 2008 )

* 2008 – Competition in the 2008 Summer Olympics in China proceeded with the women's association football tournament.

* 1955 – Gregory Bryant-Bey, American convicted murderer ( d. 2008 )

* 1965 – Mark Speight, English television host ( d. 2008 )

* 1935 – Beverlee McKinsey, American actress ( d. 2008 )

* 1976 – Mark Priestley, Australian actor ( d. 2008 )

* 2005 – Caylee Anthony, American murder victim ( d. 2008 )

Bilateral trade with Russia stood at more than $ 700 million for the first nine months of 2010 – on track to rebound to $ 1 billion mark first reached in 2008 prior to the global economic crisis.

Over half of the tax revenues in the January – August 2008 time period were generated from value-added taxes ( VAT ).

* 2008 – South Ossetian War: Russian units occupy the Georgian city of Gori.

* 1931 – Eddie Fuller, South African cricketer ( d. 2008 )

* 2008 – Jake Warren, Canadian diplomat ( b. 1921 )

* 1936 – Yves Saint Laurent, French fashion designer ( d. 2008 )

* 2008 – Georgia launches a large-scale military offensive against South Ossetia, in an attempt to reclaim the territory from Russia, starting the 2008 South Ossetia war.

In 2008, Brazil has signed a strategic partnership with France and Russia to trade military technology.

Also in 2008 the Brazilian company Embraer showcased the Brazilian military transport aircraft, Embraer KC-390, and some countries already have shown interest in the aircraft, with France even placing orders.

In March 2008, ambassador Gustavo Machin Gomez met General Tariq Majid, the Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee ( CJCSC ) at Joint Staff Headquarters and discussed issues related to military cooperation.

__NOTOC__The current Political Constitution of the Republic of Chile, approved by Chilean voters in a controversial and tightly controlled plebiscite on September 11, 1980, under the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, partially effective March 11, 1981, fully effective 11 March 1990 and amended considerably on August 17, 1989 ( via referendum ) and on September 22, 2005 ( legislatively ), and also in 1991, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, replaced the earlier constitution of 1925.

In his 2008 election campaign, President Barack Obama advocated a full repeal of the laws barring homosexuals from serving in the military.

However, Eritrea condemned Israeli military action during the 2008 – 2009 Israel – Gaza conflict.

As of 2008, around 10, 000 French nationals lived and worked in Gabon, while the 6th Marine Infantry Battalion of the French military is also stationed there.

Lansana Conté died on December 23, 2008, leading to a coup d ' état by the military.

The military suffered serious unrest in 2008.

* Manpower available for military service: 2, 047, 083 males age 16-49, 2, 047, 953 females age 16-49 ( 2008 estimate )

* Manpower fit for military service: 1, 303, 743 males age 16-49, 1, 332, 316 females age 16-49 ( 2008 estimate )

In 2008 some Zimbabwean lawyers and opposition politicians from Mutare claimed that Shiri was the prime mover behind the military assaults on illegal diggers in the diamond mines in the east of Zimbabwe.

Also, H & K developed the lightweight carbon fiber – reinforced G36 polymer assault rifle, the current ( 2008 ) service rifle of the Bundeswehr and numerous other military and police forces.

In October 2008, it was announced that Prince Harry was to follow his brother, father, and uncle in learning to fly military helicopters.

In September 2008, Voight appeared in a video from the Republican National Convention admonishing viewers to support the United States military.

Lithuanian Special Operations Force ( SOF ) of Lithuanian Armed Forces has been in operation de facto since 2002 and it was established de jure on April 3, 2008, when amendments of National Defence System organisation and military service law came into force.

The election was won by Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, who was ousted by a military coup in 2008 and replaced by general Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz.

The Pakistan military also assists the Govt in combating natural disasters, such as the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and the floods in Punjab, Sindh and Baluchistan in 2008 and 2010.

As of 2008, such records are listed as " Archival " by the National Archives and Records Administration meaning they have been transferred from the custody of the military and can no longer be loaned and transferred for retroactive medals determination.

Official government military spending for 2008 was $ 58 billion, the fifth largest in the world, though various sources have estimated Russia ’ s military expenditures to be considerably higher.

On 1 March 2008, the Colombian military attacked a FARC-EP camp inside Ecuador's territory as part of a targeted killing directed at Raúl Reyes.