- July 6
- The United Arab Emirates cancels the entire debt owed to it by Iraq, almost US$7 billion. [57]
- July 7
- In Kabul, Afghanistan, a car bomb explodes outside the Indian embassy compound, killing 41, injuring 139. This is the worst such attack since the US invasion in 2001. [223.52] [310]
- (to June 9) The 34th G8 summit is held in Toyako, Hokkaido, Japan. [223.86] [310]
- July 8
- In Ecuador, the government seizes almost 200 companies owned by the Isaís family, to sell as compensation for the loss of US$661 million when the owners of Filanbanco fled to the USA. [223.48]
- Death of John Marks Templeton, investment analyst (Templeton Growth Fund in 1954) and philantropist (Templeton Foundation in 1987), at age 95 in the Bahamas. [261.95]
- July 10
- Former Macedonian Interior Minister Ljube BoÜkoski is acquitted of all charges, by a UN Tribunal accusing him of war crimes. [310]
- July 11
- Crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange hits a record high of US$147.27 per barrel. [105]
- At Bonhams' Goodwood Sale, a 1934 ERA RIA race car sells for US$720,237. A 1955 Jaguar D-Type XKD 509, first customer car, sells for US$4,416,676. [288.129]
- In California, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp takes over mortgage lender IndyMac Bancorp, second largest banking failure (US$32 billion in assets) in U.S. history, and the fifth U.S. bank to fail this year. The insurance firm estimates the cost of the failure at between $4 billion and $8 billion. [35] [261.82]
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- July 12
- In Monterey, California, Mid America Auctions sells a 1915 Cyclone Board Track Racer motorcycle for a world record US$520,000 at the Inaugural Monterey Motorcycle Auction. [288.8]
- July 13
- Carnival Cruise Lines introduces the Carnival Splendor cruise ship (113,300 gross tons, 3006 passengers), its biggest ship. The ship begins a series of 12-day Northern European cruises from Dover, England. [67.13] [128.8]
- In Paris, France, French President Nicolas Sarkozy launches a new international body, the Union for the Mediterranean, with 43 member nations aimed at ending conflict in the Middle East. [57]
- US Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson unveils an emergency plan to save Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, mortgage holders of US$5.2 trillion. [261.15]
- July 14
- American Anheuser-Busch accepts a US$52 billion takeover bid from Belgium-based InBev, creating the world's largest beer maker and placing the U.S. company into foreign hands. The cash offer, once approved by regulators, would be the largest cash transaction in history, and the second-biggest ever foreign takeover of a U.S. company. [35]
- Standard & Poor's 500 stock market index has its worst single day fall since its creation in 1989. [261.82]
- July 15
- (to July 20) World Youth Day takes place in Sydney, Australia. Pope Benedict XVI appears at the event. [310]
- July 17
- American investment bank Merrill Lynch & Company posts a US$4.89 billion quarterly loss after writing down bad debts, and unveils plans to sell billions of dollars of assets. [35]
- July 18
- Warner Bros. Pictures releases the film The Dark Knight to theaters in the USA and Canada. The film sets a one-day US box office record, generating ticket sales of US$66.4 million on opening day. The opening weekend also sets a record, taking in US$155 million. (Total world gross ticket sales: $1.0 billion (1st for 2008).) [35] [105] [196.7] [927]
- July 19
- A 6.6-magnitude earthquake strikes off the eastern coast of Japan. [57]
- July 21
- China and Russia sign an accord settling the border in the north east of China, ending long-standing dispute and tensions in the area. [229.49]
- Radovan Karadžic, the first president of the Republika Srpska, is arrested in Belgrade, Serbia on allegations of war crimes, following a 12-year long manhunt. [310]
- July 22
- The United Progressive Alliance-led government in India survives a crucial no-confidence vote, based on disagreements between the Indian National Congress and Left Front, over the Indo-US nuclear deal. [310]
- July 23
- An earthquake of magnitude 6.8 hits Japan's northern island of Honshu, causing damage to buildings and leaving thousands without power. [57]
- In Nepal an election is held for the Constituent Assembly. 220 of 601 seats are won by the Communist Party of Nepal. The President is Ram Baran Yadav of the Nepali Congress party. [229.52] [310]
- Cape Verde joins the World Trade Organization as its 153rd member. [5]
- July 24
- Ford Motor Company of the USA posts a record US$8.7 billion quarterly loss, due to slumping truck and SUV operations. [35]
- July 25
- A series of seven bomb blasts rock Bangalore, India, killing two and injuring 20. [310]
- July 26
- In India, 19 separate explosions in the western city of Ahmedabad, all within an hour, kill 51 people and wound 200. [105] [230.44]
- July 27
- At least 17 are killed and over 154 wounded in two blasts in Istanbul. [310]
- In the general election in Cambodia, 90 seats of the 123-seat national assembly are won by the Cambodian People's Party with leader Hun Sen. [230.45]
- July 28
- Stack's conducts an auction prior to the ANA convention in Baltimore. Some highlights:
- 1795 Capped Bust 13 Leaves gold $10 eagle MS-64 PCGS: US$546,250;
- 1796 Capped Bust No Stars gold $2.50 quarter eagle MS-62 PCGS: US$488,750;
- 1797 Draped Bust Small Eagle 15 Stars half dollar MS-66 NGC: US$1.38 million;
- 1907 Saint-Gaudens Extremely High Relief Roman Numerals $20 double eagle pattern gold PR-58 NGC: US$690,000.
[47.46,64]
- Typhoon Fung-Wong dumps up to 28 inches of rain on Taiwan, killing one person and causing widespread flooding. [35]
- Three suicide bombers kill at least 28 people and wound about 90 in attacks on crowds in the Iraqi capital Baghdad. In the northern city of Kirkuk, a suicide bomb detonates in a crowd of Kurdish protesters, killing at least 25 and injuring at least 150. [57] [230.48] [310]
- July 29
- Wall Street investment bank and brokerage company Merrill Lynch reports it will take a US$5.7 billion third-quarter writedown due to risky debt. [35]
- Southern California is hit by a 5.4 magnitude earthquake, felt from Los Angeles to San Diego and slightly in Las Vegas. [105]
- July 31
- Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez announces the government will buy the country's third-largest bank, Banco de Venezuela, from Spain's Grupo Santander. [231.36]
- Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva launches the Amazon Fund, in which foreign individuals and governments invest in preservation of the Amazon rainforest. [231.37]
- August 1
- General Motors of the USA announces second quarter loss of US$15.5 billion, worst in the company's history. [105]
- George Tupou V is crowned as the new King of Tonga, an event that had been delayed for over two years following the 2006 Nuku'alofa riots. [231.42] [310]
- August 3
- A stampede at a Hindu temple at Naina Devi in Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh, India kills 162 and injures 400. [310]
- August 4
- In local elections in Bangladesh, the Awami League candidates win 12 of 13 mayoral races. [231.42]
- Two members of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement kill 16 and injure another 16 officers at a police station in Kashgar, Xinjiang, China. [231.39] [310]
- August 6
- Military coup in Mauritania, lead by Colonel Muhammed Ould Abdelaziz, as President Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi is arrested and relieved of duties. [231.44] [252.50] [310]
- August 7
- Death of Andrea Pininfarina, head of his Italian car design group, at age 51 in a scooter road accident outside Turin, Italy. [57]
- Georgia sends its army to regain control of South Ossetia which has had de facto independence since 1992. [57] [252.11]
- August 8
- Russian tanks cross border into Georgia, in response to Georgian forces bombing civilian areas of capital of South Ossetia. [105] [836.2]
- US home mortgage funder Fannie Mae posts a second-quarter loss of US$2.3 billion, its fourth straight quarter loss, totaling US$9.44 billion over the past year. [35]
- Royal Bank of Scotland, Britain's second-biggest bank, records a 5.9 billion pound (US$11.4 billion) writedown on risky assets for the first half of the year. [35]
- Russian forces clash with Georgia inside the breakaway South Ossetia region. [57]
- (8:08 PM) In Beijing, China, the Games of the XXIX Olympiad open. An estimated one billion people worldwide watch the opening ceremonies on TV. [57] [230.46] [310]
- August 9
- Death of Mahmoud Darwish, Palestinian poet laureate, at age 67. [232.75] [310]
- August 11
- Russian troops invade western Georgia and Russian planes launch air raids across the country. [57] [105]
- August 12
- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev orders a cease fire in Georgia. [25]
- August 13
- Death of Jack A. Weil, maker of western cowboy clothing, Rockmont Ranch Wear, at age 107. [251.82]
- August 14
- Nigeria cedes the long-disputed Bakassi peninsula to Cameroon. [57]
- August 15
- Poland signs a deal with the US to host part of its new missile defence shield. The US will install ten interceptor missiles at a base on the Baltic coast, and help strengthen Polish air defences. [57]
- Nepal's parliament elects Maoist leader Prachanda as the country's new prime minister, with 80 percent of votes. [57] [232.33]
- Fernando Lugo takes office as president of Paraguay. [231.35]
- Russian troops advance to 45 km from Tbilisi, Georgia, unimpeded by Georgian police and army. [35]
- August 16
- Russia signs a French-brokered peace plan with Georgia, ending their nine-day-old conflict. [57]
- August 17
- Michael Phelps wins his record eighth gold medal of the Beijing Games, in the 4x100 medley relay, in record time of 3:29.34. Phelps now holds the record for most gold medals at an Olympics event. [105] [310]
- August 18
- Russian Proton Breeze M rocket launches one of the biggest commercial satellites ever built - the Inmarsat-4 (I4-F3). The telecommunications satellite is 7m long, with a 9m wide antenna reflector. Inmarsat's network delivers high-speed mobile internet and phone services to users on land, at sea and in the air. [57]
- In Nepal, Prachanda is sworn in as prime minister by President Ram Baran Yadav. [232.33]
- Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf announces his resignation. Speaker of the Pakistani Senate, Muhammad Mian Sumroo, takes over as caretaker president. [57] [232.32] [310]
- August 19
- Zambian leader Levy Mwanawasa dies at age 59 in a Paris hospital after suffering a stroke in June. [57] [310]
- A suicide bomber rams a car into an Algerian military academy, killing 43 and injuring 45. [232.40] [310]
- Taliban insurgents kill 10 and injure 21 French soldiers in an ambush in Afghanistan. [310]
- August 20
- Spanair flight JK 5022 passenger plane taking off for the Canary Islands from Madrid's Barajas airport swerves off the runway and crashes, killing 153. [57] [310]
- August 21
- Twin suicide bombings outside Pakistan's main munitions factory in the town of Wah kills at least 63 people. [57] [310]
- August 22
- President of Argentina declares a state of emergency due to drought in five northern provinces. [377.27]
- Pirates hijack German, Iranian, and Japanese cargo ships off the coast of Somalia, in seven such attacks since June 20. [310]
- August 23
- Death of Ian Hibell, British long-distance cyclist, at age 74, of dehydration in a desert. [263.96]
- Death of Yuri Ivanovich Nosenko, Soviet KGB defector, at age 80 in the USA. [233.101]
- August 24
- An aircraft crashes in Guatemala, killing 10, including four Americans on a humanitarian mission. [310]
- August 25
- Am Itek Air Boeing 737 passenger plane crashes shortly after take-off from Kyrgyzstan's capital, Bishkek, killing 68 out of the 90 passengers and crew. [57] [310]
- August 26
- Russia unilaterally recognizes the independence of Georgian breakaway republics Abkhazia and South Ossetia. [310] [836.6]
- August 27
- At the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado, Illinois senator Barack Obama is nominated as Democratic presidential nominee. [35] [233.6]
- August 28
- India agrees to a free-trade agreement with the countries in the Association of South-East Asian Nations. [233.16]
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