Wednesday August 20, 2008

Historical Events

• Spanair Flight 5022 from Madrid to Gran Canaria skids off of the runway and crashes at Barajas Airport. The crash results in the deaths of 146 people and 8 more. Only 18 survivors survive the crash.
• Los Angeles: LeRoi Moore, a Saxophonist and founding member of Dave Matthews Band, has died at 46 from complications following a June vehicle accident.
• The United States and Poland agree to establish a missile defense station on Polish territory. Russia warns that it will not be satisfied with diplomacy.
• Two bombings in Bouira, Algeria, have left at least 11 dead and 31 others injured.
• The United Kingdom Competition Commission recommends BAA Limited sell two of its three South East England airports (Heathrow and Gatwick) and one of its Scottish airports, either Edinburgh Airport or Glasgow International Airport, due to concerns about competition.
• 2008 South Ossetia war:
• Human Rights Watch alleges that Russia and Georgia violated civilian rights during the conflict. The Georgian ground offensive in South Ossetia saw the bombardment of Tskhinvali (the capital of South Ossetia), with Grad rocket systems, and the 'indiscriminate use' of tanks in the city. This resulted in 'numerous civilian casualties and extensive destruction. HRW states that there was a hospital, apartments, houses, schools and kindergartens as well as shops, administrative buildings, and the Uni
• The 2008 Summer Olympics saw Usain Bolt, Jamaica, win the 200-meter race. This set a new world record.
• Spanair Flight JK5022, with 178 passengers on board, crashes at Madrid's Barajas International Airport. This caused 154 deaths.
• Amnesty International, a worldwide human rights movement, reported that the Georgian Army's assault on Tskhinvali resulted in '14 hours' of bombardment of the city. Amnesty International continues to gather information about the civilian casualties and bombings of nonmilitary targets that led to civilian deaths and destruction of buildings.
• Russia rejected the UN Security Council draft resolution on Georgia because it didn't include the entire text of the EU-brokered ceasefire agreement (BBC News). Russia then submitted its own draft resolution, based on the Medvedev/Sarkozy plan.
• Medvedev: Russian troops will leave Georgia by Friday.
• Russia is closer to recognising full independence of Abkhazia/South Ossetia as both regions will hold rallies in support of independence within days.
• At a special meeting in Vienna, the 56 member countries of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe agreed Tuesday to send 100 additional monitors for Georgia.
• After a 2-hour-long detention, Lado Vardzelashvili, the Georgian governor of Shida Kartli Region was released by Russian soldiers.
• See more

See also

What happened on August 20 in history? Find out the list of August 20th major events

What was 2008 famous for? Discover everything about 2008

Who died on August 20, 2008?

• Stephanie Tubbs Jones

  American politician (Born 1949).

• Ed ''Too Tall'' Freeman

  former U.S.

• Gene Upshaw

  American football player and union leader (Born 1945).

• Hua Guofeng
• Pierre-André Boutang
• Hua Guofeng (华国锋 Su Zhu (苏铸)
• Larry Hennessy
• Gene Upshaw (Eugene Thurman Upshaw

Other August 20th famous deaths

• Joe Dassin

  American-born French singer-songwriter, the son of American film director Jules Dassin (1911–2008) and Béatrice Launer (1913–2005), a New...

• Hugo Pratt

  Italian famous cartoon strip author, first published in 1945; the creator of the character, Corto Maltese, which made him famous in the...

• Ulla Jacobsson

  Swedish actress who is perhaps best known for playing the only female speaking role in the film Zulu.

• Kim Stanley

  American actress (Born 1925).

See all famous people who died on August 20th

Western Zodiac - Astrological Sign

Leo

Leo personality

Who should a Leo marry?

Babies born in August are either Leo or Virgo. People born before August 22nd are Leo, while people born from August 23rd have the sign of Virgo

Personality of August born

Chinese Zodiac

Rat

The day of the week was Wednesday.

August 20th marks the 232nd day of the Gregorian calendar for the year 2008.

There are 133 days remaining until the end of the year. Calculate the number of days between two dates.

August 2008 calendar

Top #5 songs in the USA

1. Rihanna - Disturbia
2. Chris Brown - Forever
3. Katy Perry - I Kissed A Girl
4. Rihanna - Take A Bow
5. M.I.A. - Paper Planes

Top #5 R&B songs

1. Lil Wayne - A Milli
2. Keyshia Cole - Heaven Sent
3. Rihanna - Take A Bow
4. Young Jeezy Featuring Kanye West - Put On
5. Jazmine Sullivan - Need U Bad

Top #5 Latin songs

1. Flex - Te Quiero
2. Vicente Fernandez - Para Siempre
3. Mana - Si No Te Hubieras Ido
4. Luis Fonsi - No Me Doy Por Vencido
5. Daddy Yankee - Pose

Stock Markets

• ExxonMobil XOM: opens at $78.54
• Apple AAPL: opens at $174.77
• Microsoft MSFT: opens at $27.54
• General Electric GE: opens at $28.74
• International Business Machines IBM: opens at $123.50

Exchange Rates

• 1 USD = 109.81 JPY
• 1 USD = 1.0601 CAD
• 1 USD = 1.0986 CHF
• 1 USD = 6.8547 CNY
• 1 EUR = 161.89 JPY