Timeline September 2008

Events in September 2008 8

• 1925 – 2008 Paul Newman (1925-2008) Died 26 September 2008, aged 83 American actor and philanthropist celebrated for films including The Hustler, Cool Hand Luke and The Sting, winning the Academy Award for Best Actor for The Color of Money. He also founded the Newman's Own food brand, donating all profits to charity.
• 2008 Zimbabwe election crisis Disputed presidential vote and power-sharing deal Robert Mugabe lost the first round of Zimbabwe's presidential election on 29 March 2008 but refused to concede, and violence forced his opponent Morgan Tsvangirai to withdraw from a runoff. Regional pressure led to a power-sharing agreement signed on 15 September 2008.
• 2008 Global bank bailouts Governments rescue financial system Following the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008, governments worldwide pumped trillions into failing banks to prevent a total financial system collapse. The US TARP programme alone provided $700 billion.
• 2008 Google launches Chrome Search giant enters the web browser market Google released the first version of its Chrome web browser on 2 September 2008. Built around a fast JavaScript engine and a minimalist interface, it went on to become the world's most widely used browser.
• 2008 Large Hadron Collider starts CERN's particle accelerator first beam The Large Hadron Collider at CERN near Geneva fired its first beam of particles on September 10, 2008, the most powerful particle accelerator ever built at the time.
• 2008 Chinese milk scandal Melamine contamination sickens tens of thousands of infants Melamine-adulterated infant formula produced by Chinese dairy company Sanlu was revealed in September 2008 to have sickened hundreds of thousands of children. The scandal triggered international recalls of Chinese dairy products and led to criminal prosecutions.
• 2008 Lehman Brothers collapses Global financial crisis begins Lehman Brothers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on September 15, 2008, triggering the worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression. The $600 billion bankruptcy was the largest in US history.
• 2008 Richard Wright dies -- the last hope of reunion fades Richard Wright dies of cancer on 15 September 2008, aged 65. His death ends any remaining possibility of a full Pink Floyd reunion. Wright had been the most musically gifted of the four founders -- his keyboard playing, chord voicings and harmonic sense are the emotional centre of the band's sound, most evident on 'The Great Gig in the Sky,' 'Us and Them' and 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond.' Gilmour says: 'The world is a lesser place without him.' Waters, after years of not speaking to Wright, calls the family to express his condolences.