China

For China, host of the summer Olympics, the year 2008 was supposed to be a celebration of its stunning economic growth and its emergence as a world power. Instead, it has suffered disasters and other setbacks.

Unseasonably cold weather and ice storms across central and southern China kill at least 129 people at the end of January and in February, cause transport chaos and cut off power and water for millions.

More than 1.66 million people are displaced, millions of hectares of crops are damaged and around 70 million animals die. Economic damage estimated at $15.4 billion.

Riots erupt in the Tibetan capital Lhasa on March 14 in which China says 19 people are killed. Representatives of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama say about 140 people died in the fiercest unrest in decades across Tibet and nearby areas.

China cracks down on the protests, accusing the Dalai Lama of links to Tibetan groups that had organized the unrest.

Thousands of protesters waving Tibetan flags and shouting "Shame on China" disrupt the Olympic torch's relay through London. Relays in Paris and San Francisco were also disrupted.

An outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease that began in March in eastern China kills at least 39 children. Close to 27,500 cases of the disease have been reported.

China's worst earthquake in three decades on May 12 kills nearly 12,000.