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August 20042004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December
See also: August 2004 in sports - The WTO authorizes the imposition of sanctions against the United States for persistent violation of global trade laws. (NYT)
- A female suicide bomber kills ten and injures 51 others near a subway station in Moscow. (CNN) (Reuters) (BBC)
- Despite demands from Iraqi resistance Islamist militant elements threatening to kill two French hostages, France upholds its law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools, specifically its ban on Muslim hijabs. (ABC News)(Reuters)
- In Iraq, the radical Islamist group, Army of Ansar al-Sunna, kill 12 Nepali civilians employed as cooks and cleaners, stating "We have carried out the sentence of God against 12 Nepalis who came from their country to fight the Muslims and to serve the Jews and the Christians ... believing in Buddha as their God" (Reuters)
- Repeated attacks on pipelines linked to southern oil fields have significantly hampered oil exports from Iraq. (Washington Post)(Moscow Times)
- Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, a Belgrade Law School graduate, opens his defence at the trial which accuses him of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes for his alleged role in the conflicts in which tens of thousands were killed. He maintains the charges are 'unscrupulous lies'. (BBC News) (Reuters)
- Palestinian suicide bombers kill at least 16 Israelis and wound more than 91 others aboard two city buses in Beer Sheva, Israel in the first successful Palestinian suicide bombings since March 14, 2004, with Hamas claiming responsibility. (BBC) (Haaretz)
- Afghan police say a United States bombing raid killed at least six civilians in the eastern province of Kunar. (Reuters) (BBC)
- 2004 Atlantic hurricane season: Hurricane Frances affects the British Virgin Islands, the United States Virgin Islands and the northern-east part of Puerto Rico. (AP/The Star Tribune)
- California Governor and former Hollywood star Arnold Schwarzenegger extols the United States as a greater source of good in the world than the UN: "If you believe this country, not the United Nations, is the best hope of democracy in the world, then you are a Republican," he shouts, at the Republican National Convention. (Washington Times) (BBC)
- Following a dramatic intra-party campaign, Betty Castor and Mel Martinez win primary elections in Florida for the U.S. Senate election, 2004. The seat is the most heavily contested in the U.S. Congress, with over $30 million budgeted among twelve candidates' campaigns. (AP/Bradenton Herald)
- The two smallest extrasolar planets ever discovered are announced: one orbiting 55 Cancri in the constellation Cancer, and another orbiting Gliese 436 in the constellation Leo. They are both around the size of Neptune. (Globe and Mail)
- 2004 Atlantic hurricane season: Tropical Storm Gaston makes landfall at Bulls Bay, South Carolina with near hurricane strength 70 mph winds. (CNN)
- An explosion at a school in southern Afghanistan has killed at least 10 people, many of them children, the US military has said. (BBC)
- Australian Prime Minister John Howard announces that the 2004 Australian federal election will take place on October 9, 2004. (ABC Au)
- The 2004 Summer Olympics are closed by IOC President Jacques Rogge. (Reuters)
- More than 400,000 demonstrators march in New York City, protesting U.S. President George W. Bush and the policies of the Republican Party on the eve of the 2004 Republican National Convention. Republican delegates and politicians, including Vice President Dick Cheney, also begin to arrive in the city. (The Scotsman) (Houston Chronicle) (Reuters) (BBC)
- The Lebanese Cabinet, under Syrian pressure and despite widespread opposition, votes to modify the constitution to allow President mile Lahoud a second term in office. Patriarch Sfeir states "we have completely lost sovereignty of our territory and our independence and freedom in choosing our rulers and deciding our own affairs." (NYT)
- The British Royal Society, with 68 other organizations, urges the UN to ban reproductive but not therapeutic use of the technology in response to a US bid to ban human cloning altogether. (BBC)
- Between 5,000 and 6,000 participants take part in the Critical Mass bicyclist ride as part of the 2004 Republican National Convention protest activity. The monthly NYC Critical Mass ride usually attracts about 1500 riders. Police eventually arrested 264 people for deliberately blockading roads during the event. This is the first time the NYPD made any significant arrests of Critical Mass participants. (NYC-IMC)
- Interbrew completes its merger with Ambev. Both were among the top five largest breweries in the world, and together they will become the largest, when measured by volume. The merged company will be called InBev (Bloomberg)
- The FBI has launched a full espionage investigation into Larry Franklin after obtaining evidence pointing to a high-ranking spy in the Pentagon. According to CBS News, the spy has been giving classified secrets to Israel which could compromise U.S. national security. Israel denies the charges.
- Following the intervention of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, an agreement is found to end the standoff in Najaf. Although the terms are not clear, the deal requires both the al-Sadr militia and U.S. troops to leave the city, to be replaced by the police interim government. Responsibility for the Imam Ali Mosque goes to Sistani. (BBC) This resolution occurs two days before the one year anniversary of the assassination of Sayed Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, a prominent Shi'ite cleric from Najaf.
- The Russian Federal Security Service announces that traces of the explosive hexogen have been found in the wreckage of the two Russia airliners which crashed on August 24, 2004. The Islamic group "the Islambouli Brigades" claims responsibility. (AP)
- Enzo Baldoni, an Italian journalist kidnapped by Islamic militants in Iraq, is killed by his kidnappers. (Reuters)
- The Interior Minister of France announces that the number of anti-Semitic attacks in France this year is more than double that of the same period last year. (Reuters)
- An on-going battle, apparently between a combination of U.S. and Iraqi forces, and the al-Mahdi Army of Muqtada al-Sadr, damages two of minarets of the Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf, Iraq, which al-Sadr's forces occupied. (CNN)
- Artillery and mortar fire again rock Georgia's breakaway republic of South Ossetia, scuppering efforts to enforce a ceasefire. (BBC)
- At the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Durban, South African President Thabo Mbeki calls for reform of the UN and other international institutions, saying that developing countries should not allow powerful nations to dictate the world on their own terms. (BBC)
- A jury including U.S. talk show host Oprah Winfrey convicts Dion Coleman of murder after two hours of deliberation. (BBC)
- Israel's prime minister, Ariel Sharon, vows to press on with his disengagement plan, despite it receiving another rejection from his Likud party. (BBC)
- Nature magazine reveals that five new satellites and a further candidate moon have been discovered orbiting Neptune, bringing its tally to 13. (BBC)
- Shares of stock in Google, Inc. begin trading on the NASDAQ stock exchange at around $100 per share in one of the most highly anticipated initial public offerings of the year. It is estimated that the IPO raised a total of $1.66 billion, the third highest ever for an IPO. (Reuters) (CBS MarketWatch)
- Hungarian prime minister Pter Medgyessy resigns following a row with his Socialist party's liberal coalition partner, the Free Democrats. (BBC)
- Aides to rebel Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada al Sadr report that he has been wounded in fighting in the holy city of Najaf; the government denies the reports. The Najaf offensive triggers pro-Sadr protests in cities all over Iraq. (BBC)(protest pictures - BBC)
- In Basra, Iraq, masked militants kidnap and threaten to kill James Brandon, 23, a freelance British journalist, working for the Sunday Telegraph, unless US troops withdraw from Najaf within 24 hours. He is released after intervention by al-Sadr. (BBC)
- Hurricane Charley makes landfall just north of Fort Myers, Florida, USA, around 16:00 EDT (2000 UTC). At landfall, Charley has a windspeed of 145 mi/h (230 km/h), Category 4 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale. There are multiple fatalites.(CNN)
- A spectacular opening ceremony marks the start of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. (Athens 2004) (BBC)
- A group of women kill an alleged rapist during his trial in Nagpur, India. (BBC)
- Microsoft issues Service Pack 2 for its Windows XP operating system. (BBC)
- Pakistan protests to the U.S. over an FBI sting operation involving a fake plot to kill Pakistan's UN envoy. (BBC)
- At least 15,000 people are left homeless after several days of storms and heavy rains around the South African city of Cape Town. (BBC)
- A non-radioactive steam leak at the nuclear power plant in Mihama, Fukui Prefecture, Japan, kills 4 and scalds 8 others. (AP)
- Richard Butler, the controversial governor of the Australian state of Tasmania, resigns. (ABCnews)
- Fierce fighting continues between U.S. forces and backers of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Sadr threatens that he "will defend Najaf until my last drop of blood." According to the U.S. military, U.S forces have killed 300 supporters of Sadr in some of the most violent clashes since the fall of Baghdad. (democracy now!)
- Scientists speaking at a news conference on natural disasters raise the alarm that the Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma, Canary Islands, could erupt at any time, sending a 250 sq.km. rock crashing into the Atlantic Ocean and producing a tsunami that could devastate the Atlantic's coastline, within hours. Very little seismological monitoring of the volcano is being carried out. (BBC)
- Pacific Islands Forum leaders call for assistance for Nauru to prevent the emergence of another "failed state". (The Age)
- U.S. Senate election, 2004: Alan Keyes, a resident of Maryland, indicates he will seek the Republican nomination for the Illinois seat, to run against Barack Obama. (CNN)
- Mohammed M. Hossain and Yassin M. Aref, leaders of the Masjid as-Salam mosque in Albany, New York, are arrested for their part in an alleged plot (actually an FBI sting operation) to use an RPG-7 to assassinate a Pakistani diplomat in New York City.
- A Kuwaiti transport company says it is willing to pay millions of dollars ransom to secure hostages' release. (Times of India)
- In Derry, Northern Ireland, police are attacked by people carrying petrol bombs. (Reuters)
- Saudi police arrest terror suspect Faris Ahmed Jamaan al-Showeel al-Zahrani. (ABC)
- Israel reopens the Gaza-Egypt border crossing after a three-weeks shutdown, allowing 1,500 Palestinians on the Egyptian side to return home. (AP)
- Two Afghan men deny being enemy fighters, in appearances before U.S. military tribunals reviewing the status of Guantanamo Bay detainees. For the first time, the US allows journalists to attend the hearings. (BBC)
- Radical Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr calls for a truce to be restored after a day of heavy fighting between his militia and U.S. troops in Najaf. (BBC)
- The U.S. claims that over 300 of Sadr's fighters have been killed in two days of clashes. (Reuters)
- Chess master Bobby Fischer, apparently seeking to avoid deportation to, and trial in the U.S., says he is renouncing his U.S. citizenship. (AFP)
- The National Institutes of Health decides not to override drug patents to allow generic production of anti-AIDS drug Norvir in the United States, despite claims of price gouging by patients' groups and some members of Congress. (ABC)
- U.S. aviation regulators threaten to cap commercial flights at Chicago's O'Hare airport to reduce delays that are affecting the nation's aviation system. (Reuters)
- Saddam Hussein wants to be transferred to a Swedish jail to await his trial. (Khaleej Times)
- The death toll from monsoon flooding in India exceeds 1,000. (MSNBC)
- NASA dedicates its new supercomputer 'KC' to the memory of India-born astronaut Kalpana Chawla, one of the seven crew members who died when the space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated in mid-air in 2003. (NDTV)
- A bomb explodes near an electrical substation outside Athens, 9 days prior to the beginning of the Olympic Games. (Melbourne Herald Sun)
- The FBI warns that Mumbai, Delhi, or Bangalore could be the target of terrorist attacks. (Times Of India)
- A ceremony is held at London's Cenotaph to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the United Kingdom's entry into the First World War. Four of the 23 surviving British veterans of the war, aged between 103 and 108, are well enough to attend. (BBC)
- Mary Kay Letourneau is released from a Washington prison after serving a sentence of over seven years for statutory rape. The former elementary school teacher became notorious for her sexual involvement with one of her male students, who was 12 years old when the illicit relationship began. She bore two children by the boy, who is now 21 years old. (FOX News)
- Saddam Hussein's daughter Raghad reveals her willingness to hire an American lawyer as long as her father gets a fair trial. (Times Of India)
- Two 'high-value' al-Qaida targets are arrested in Pakistan. (Tampa Bay Online)
- A U.S. court martial hears allegations by the lead criminal investigator that Iraqi prisoners were abused 'for fun' at Abu Ghraib. (Reuters)
- The truce between Muqtada al-Sadr's militia and occupation troops ends as US troops surround his house in Najaf to arrest him. (BBC)
- Reports state that information that led the US to raise the terror alert for five financial centers in New York city, northern New Jersey and Washington D.C. was mainly three or four years old but had been updated as recently as January. Administration officials note, too, that al Qaeda is known for its advance planning, and that this information became available following the apprehension of a Pakistani member of the organization. (CNN) (Xinhuanet)
- NASA launches its MESSENGER spacecraft. It is due to reach the planet Mercury in 2011. (JHUAPL)
- The Statue of Liberty opens to the public for the first time since the September 11, 2001 attacks. (BBC)
- Missouri votes to ban same-sex marriage through a state constitutional amendment. The amendment passes with 72% of the vote. Louisiana will vote on the same issue September 18, followed by Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Utah on November 2. (CBS) Meanwhile, in Washington, a state judge rules that its recently-enacted ban on same-sex marriage violates the state constitution. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
- Tropical Storm Alex strengthens into the first hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season, and skirts North Carolina's Outer Banks without making landfall. (CNN)
- The People's Republic of China says it may delay talks on a free trade agreement with Singapore following a recent visit to Taiwan by Singapore's deputy prime minister Lee Hsien Loong. (AtOL) (StraitsTimes)
- The death toll in the market fire in Asuncin, Paraguay rises to 464. Six people, including the co-owner, are arrested for manslaughter on charges that they locked the doors after the fire started, in order to prevent looting. (The Scotsman) (ABC News)
- U.S. President George W. Bush urges Congress to create a national intelligence director and a national counterterrorism center. (Centre Daily)
- Jorge Hank Rhon, candidate of the left-conservative PRI party—which had held power in Mexico for more than 70 years—wins the Tijuana mayoral election by just 1.09%, on a platform of solving organized crime by omnipresent public surveillance. (El Universal Online)
- A poll shows that U.S. presidential candidate John Kerry gained limited support after the Democratic Convention. (ABC News)
- The U.S. plans to shift 3,600 soldiers to Iraq from South Korea. (Reuters)
- Turkey's truckers' association says it will stop delivering goods to U.S. forces in Iraq, in what appears to be a direct response to insurgents' videotaped killing of a Turkish hostage. (Herald Sun)
- Doom 3, the long-awaited second follow-up to the 1993 first-person shooting classic, is leaked online. (BBC)
- A Philippine lawyer who helped recover millions of dollars stashed by late dictator Ferdinand Marcos and a doctor who exposed China's SARS outbreak are among this year's winners of the Ramon Magsaysay Award, a prestigious prize in Asia. (AP)
- Five Moroccans detained at the U.S. military camp in Guantanamo Bay are turned over to authorities in their home country. (The Australian)
- The Indian Army claims to be confronting teenaged militants, some as young as 13 or 14, wielding sophisticated arms, along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. (Times Of India)
- The Iraqi government blames Al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi for a series of church bombings that killed at least 11 people, saying the aim was to spark religious strife and drive Christians out of the country. (Khaleej Times)
- Sudan's army says the UN resolution on the conflict in Darfur is "a declaration of war" and threatens to fight any foreign intervention. (BBC)
- India's junior Foreign Minister, Edappakath Ahamed, declares that the Indian government has no confirmation of the release of 3 truck drivers who were taken hostage in Iraq in late July. (Reuters)
- The government of Paraguay confirms that at least 275 people died in a supermarket fire in Asuncin. The death toll is still expected to rise as a more thorough search is completed. (Seattle Post) (CNN)
- Police make arrests following the assassination attempt on Pakistan's prime minister-designate. (Herald Sun)
- U.S. General Tommy Franks discloses that, through a double agent codenamed "April Fool", he tricked Saddam Hussein into bungling the defense of his country. (The Australian)
Past events by month 2004: January February March April May June July
2003: January February March April May June July August September October November December
2002: January February March April May June July August September October November December Logarithmic timeline of current events - most important events of the last ten years on one page. News collections and sources See: .
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