ABSTRACT
In 2008, petroleum for the first time ever reached $100 per barrel. Fidel Castro resigned as President of Cuba. A large part of the Wilkins Ice Shelf in Antarctica fell off into the ocean, making the rest vulnerable. An attempt on the life of Afghan President Hamid Karzai was made by the Taliban. Dmitri Medvedev replaced Vladimir Putin as Russian President. Robert Mugabe was re-elected once again as President of Zimbabwe amid allegations of corruption. In Belgrade, Serbia, Radovan Karadžić was arrested after being on the lam for twelve years. Pirates off the Horn of Africa attacked and hijacked cargo ships from a number of countries, sparking fear of the high seas and leaving government and military officials scrambling to eliminate the problem. After the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by a huge 777 points, a global financial crisis began, casting a large shadow over the US presidential election.
