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 – A military junta led by Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz stages a coup d ' état in Mauritania, overthrowing president Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi.

* 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 )

A literature review by Michael McCullough and Camile Farah, published in the Australian Dental Journal in 2008, focused on a possible connection between mouthwashes that contain alcohol, and an increased risk of oral cancer.

* The Australian composer Nigel Butterley set the verse in his 2008 choral work " Beni Avshalom ", commissioned by the Sydney Chamber Choir

In 2007 the international rules series was abandoned because of the aggression and the severity of the Australian team in the previous year, but in 2008, under new rules to protect the player with the ball, it resumed in Australia.

* Lucy Chesser, Parting with My Sex: Cross-dressing, Inversion and Sexuality in Australian Cultural Life, Sydney University Press, Sydney, 2008.

The Australian Government has introduced legislation that requires ISP's to " restrict access to age restricted content ( commercial MA15 + content and R18 + content ) either hosted in Australia or provided from Australia " that was due to commence from 20 January 2008, known as Cleanfeed.

* 2008 – Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd makes a historic apology to the Indigenous Australians and the Stolen Generations.

* 1929 – Jack Gibson, Australian rugby footballer and coach ( d. 2008 )

* 1975 – Clinton Grybas, Australian football commentator ( d. 2008 )

These are contained in the report, " Opportunity not Opportunism: Improving conduct in Australian Franchising " tabled by a Parliamentary inquiry into franchising on 4 December 2008.

* Des Hasler – Former Rugby league player, NSW & Australian representative player, 1987 & 1996 Manly Sea Eagles premiership player, 2008 & 2011 Manly Sea Eagles premiership coach

Henri also created many graphic works on his typewriter: the typewriter poems ( also known as dactylopoèmes ) feature in international art collections such as those of Francesco Conz in Verona, the Morra Foundation in Naples and Ruth and Marvin Sackner in Miami, and have been the subject of Australian, British and French retrospectives ( Aquaviva 2008 ).

* John Young ( jurist ) ( 1919 – 2008 ), Australian jurist

* 1952 – Paul Hibbert, Australian cricketer ( d. 2008 )

* 2008 – Bill Brown, Australian cricketer ( b. 1912 )

* 2008 – Robert Bruning, Australian actor and producer ( b. 1928 )

* 2008 – Peter Leonard, Australian journalist ( b. 1942 )

* Background note: " Sorry ": the unfinished business of the Bringing Them Home report, Australian Parliamentary Library, 4 February 2008

On 14 February 2008, the Federal Labor Government appointed Bracks to head an inquiry into the ongoing viability of the Australian car industry.

In 2008, Australian telco Telstra replaced its existing CDMA network with a national 3G network, branded as NextG, operating in the 850 MHz band.

Since 2008, Vanuatu ( along with Tonga, Kiribati and Papua New Guinea ) has sent seasonal workers to Australia through the Australian government-funded Pacific Seasonal Workers Pilot Scheme ( PSWPS ).

The Australian Medical Services Advisory Committee ( MSAC ) in 2008 has determined that endovenous laser treatment / ablation ( ELA ) for varicose veins " appears to be more effective in the short term, and at least as effective overall, as the comparative procedure of junction ligation and vein stripping for the treatment of varicose veins.

** Smoky Dawson, Australian singer ( d. 2008 )

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

* April 4 – Heath Ledger, Australian actor ( d. 2008 )