User:Laleena~enwikiversity/US History

2008 and Beyond

Kosovo
The 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence is an act of the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government Assembly of Kosovo, adopted on 17 February 2008, which declared Kosovo to be independent from Serbia. It was the second declaration of independence by Kosovo's Albanian-dominated political institutions, the first having been proclaimed on 7 September 1990. Unlike the post-“Anti-bureaucratic revolution” 1990 Kosovo declaration of independence, which only Albania recognised, Kosovo's second declaration of independence is expected to be supported by some foreign states including most European Union member states and Japan. The United States formally recognized Kosovo's independence on 18 February 2008 in a written statement by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. In response, Serbia withdrew its ambassador, and threatened to do so to any other nation who recognized Kosovo.

Casto Retires
In a letter dated February 18, 2008, Castro announced that he would not accept the positions of president and commander in chief at the February 24, 2008 National Assembly meetings, saying "I will not aspire nor accept - I repeat I will not aspire or accept - the post of President of the Council of State and Commander in Chief," effectively announcing his retirement from official public life. The letter was published online by the official Communist Party Paper Granma. In it, Castro stated that his health was a primary reason for his decision, stating that "It would betray my conscience to take up a responsibility that requires mobility and total devotion, that I am not in a physical condition to offer".

STS-122
STS-122 is the current NASA Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS). It is being flown by Space Shuttle Atlantis. STS-122 marks the 24th shuttle mission to the ISS, and the 121st space shuttle flight since STS-1.

The primary objective of STS-122 is to deliver the European Columbus science laboratory, built by the European Space Agency (ESA), to the station. It will also return Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Daniel M. Tani to Earth. Tani will be replaced on Expedition 16 by Léopold Eyharts, a French Flight Engineer representing ESA. After Atlantis lands, the orbiter will be prepared for STS-125, the final servicing mission for the Hubble Space Telescope. The completion of STS-122 will leave ten flights remaining in the Space Shuttle program until its end in 2010, excluding two as-yet-unconfirmed Contingency Logistic Flights.

Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto was assassinated on 27 December 2007 in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Benazir Bhutto, twice Prime Minister of Pakistan (1988–1990; 1993–1996) and then-leader of the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party, was assassinated while she was campaigning ahead of elections due in January 2008. She was shot at after a political rally at Liaquat National Bagh; a suicide bomb was detonated immediately following the shooting. She was declared dead at 18:16 local time (13:16 UTC), at Rawalpindi General Hospital. At least 24 other people were confirmed dead in the aftermath. Shortly after her return from exile two months earlier, she survived a similar attempt on her life that killed over 136 people.