Calendar year
Calendar year
2004 (MMIV ) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar , the 2004th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini 3rd millennium and the 21st century , and the 5th year of the 2000s decade.
Calendar year
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations,[ 1] International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO ).[ 2]
The world population on January 1, 2004, was estimated to be 6.462 billion people and increased to 6.545 billion people by January 1, 2005.[ 3] [ 3] life expectancy was 67.7 years, an increase of 0.3 years from 2003.[ 3]
There were 32 armed conflicts in 2004 that resulted in at least 25 fatalities, all of which involved violent non-state actors .[ 7] Colombian conflict , the Iraqi insurgency , the Kashmir insurgency , the Nepalese Civil War , the Second Chechen War in Russia, the Second Sudanese Civil War , the Sudanese War in Darfur , and the Lord's Resistance Army insurgency in Uganda.
The Iraqi insurgency emerged in Iraq in 2004 and carried out attacks against the US-backed caretaker government . It was initially confined to the Sunni Triangle , but it expanded to other areas throughout the year with two suicide bombings in Iraqi Kurdistan on February 1 and a conflict with the Shia Mahdi Army in April. Conflicts with al-Qaeda continued in 2004, primarily in Pakistan along the Afghanistan–Pakistan border . An Islamic militant uprising also took place in northern Nigeria. Although the Second Congo War had ended, insurgencies continued within the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Ituri and in Kivu . Globally, two major rebel groups acted for the first time in 2004: the National Revolutionary Front for the Liberation and Reconstruction of Haiti successfully brought about the resignation of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide , while the Islamic Jihad Union was defeated in its attempt to overthrow the government of Uzbekistan.
The War in Darfur escalated significantly in Sudan with debate over whether its mass killings constituted a genocide. The Burundian Civil War was complicated as factionalism divided the CNDD-FDD and tentative peace agreements with the government were opposed by the National Forces of Liberation . The Nepalese Civil War escalated as the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) abducted over one thousand people to train as fighters and the Nepalese government established civilian militias. The frozen conflict between Georgia and the breakaway state of South Ossetia escalated in July and August until a ceasefire was signed on August 18. The Second Chechen War continued in 2004 with a bombing that killed Russian-backed Chechen president Akhmad Kadyrov .
Two major peace agreements were made in 2004: one between Senegal and the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance , and one between Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement . A ceasefire was established in Uganda after the Ugandan military made significant gains over the Lord's Resistance Army . A 2003 ceasefire held in the Kashmir conflict , bringing about the conflict's first full year without military action in roughly a decade, although an insurgency continued in the region. Disarmament of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia began in November during the Colombian conflict, but fighting with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia continued and the Colombian government launched its Plan Patriota mobilization program.
The highest-grossing film globally in 2004 was Shrek 2 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Spider-Man 2 The Passion of the Christ [ 21] Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind [ 22] [ 23] [ 24] [ 25] Kill Bill: Volume 2 [ 23] [ 24] [ 25] [ 26] Million Dollar Baby [ 22] [ 23] [ 24] [ 26]
Music sales in 2004 amounted to about 2.75 billion physical units, stalling the decline of units in previous years. CD albums made up 86% of sales, but DVD and digital music continued an upward trajectory.[ 27] Confessions Usher , followed by Feels like Home Norah Jones and Encore Eminem . The best-selling non-English album was the Japanese album Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol. 1 Hikaru Utada , the 19th best-selling of the year.[ 28]
Critically acclaimed video games from 2004 include Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Half-Life 2 Halo 2 [ 29]
March 2 – A series of bombings occur in Karbala , Iraq, killing over 140 Shia Muslims commemorating the Day of Ashura .[ 43] March 5 – ImClone stock trading case : Martha Stewart is found guilty of financial crimes.[ 32] March 7 – The 2004 Greek legislative election is held to elect all 300 members of the Hellenic Parliament and the New Democracy party, led by Kostas Karamanlis , won 165 out of 300 seats, ending over 11 years of rule by the PASOK party.[ 44] March 11 – Al-Qaeda bombings on Cercanías trains in Madrid , Spain, kill at least 192 people.[ 45] [ 46] March 14 – The PSOE wins the election in Spain; José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is elected Prime Minister of Spain , replacing José María Aznar .[ 47] March 18 – The Pan-African Congress meets for the first time, in Addis Ababa .March 19 – The Konginkangas bus disaster kills 23 and injures 14 people in Äänekoski, Finland .[ 48] March 28 – Hurricane Catarina , the first ever recorded South Atlantic hurricane, makes landfall in Santa Catarina , Brazil.[ 49] March 29 – Bulgaria , Estonia , Latvia , Lithuania , Romania , Slovakia and Slovenia are admitted to NATO , the largest expansion of the organization.[ 50] March 30 – The Iranian government under President Mohammad Khatami approved a policy stating that children of foreign nationals in Iran without valid documentation are not entitled to education in Iran. Furthermore, foreign students with valid documents are required to pay all or part of the enrollment fees and are not allowed to study in pre-university courses, vocational and technical schools, or evening classes.[ 51] March 31 – Air America , a planned progressive alternative to the popularity of conservative talk radio in the U.S., airs its first broadcast.[ 32] April 1 – George W. Bush signs the Unborn Victims of Violence Act into law. The law recognizes a "child in utero" as a legal victim if killed in the commission of a crime.[ 32] April 4 – The First Battle of Fallujah starts.April 7 – Rwanda observes a national moment of silence on the 10th anniversary of the start of the Rwandan genocide .[ 32] April 8 – The Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement is signed by the Sudanese government and two rebel groups, in order to put a pause on the War in Darfur .April 17 – Israeli helicopters fire missiles at a convoy of vehicles in the Gaza Strip , killing Hamas leader Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi .[ 52] April 18 – Newly-elected prime minister of Spain , José Zapatero , announces the withdrawal of all 1,300 Spanish troops from Iraq .[ 53] April 23 – The United States eases economic embargo against Libya , in preparation for the resumption of diplomatic relations in July.[ 54] April 24 – Referendums on the Annan Plan for Cyprus , which proposes to reunite the island, take place in both the Greek -controlled and the Turkish -controlled parts. Although the Turkish Cypriots vote in favour, the Greek Cypriots reject the proposal.[ 55] April 28 – CBS News first breaks the story of Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse .[ 32] April 29 – The World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. opens to the public.[ 32] August 1 – A fire in the "Ycua Bolaños-Botánico" supermarket in Asunción , Paraguay kills around 400 people.[ 73] August 3 – NASA 's unpiloted MESSENGER Mercury .[ 74] August 12 – Lee Hsien Loong is sworn in as the third Prime Minister of Singapore .[ 75] August 13 – Hurricane Charley makes landfall at Punta Gorda, Florida , at Category 4 intensity.[ 32] August 13 – Akku Yadav , a notorious gangster and serial rapist, is lynched to death by several women in a courtroom in Nagpur , India, while appearing for a bail hearing.[ 76] August 13 –29 – The 2004 Summer Olympics are held in Athens , Greece.[ 77] August 18 – Broadband internet connections surpass dial-up for the first time in the United States.[ 78] August 22 – Armed robbers steal Edvard Munch 's The Scream Madonna Munch Museum in Oslo , Norway.[ 79] August 24
October 8 – Suicide bombers detonate two bombs at the Red Sea resort of Taba, Egypt , killing 34 people and injuring 171, mostly Israeli tourists.[ 87] October 9 – 2004 Australian federal election : John Howard 's Liberal /National Coalition government is re-elected with an increased majority, defeating the Labor Party led by Mark Latham .[ 88] October 17 – Parque Central Complex fire : A fire that lasted over 15 hours destroyed almost one third of the East Tower of the Parque Central Urban Complex in Caracas , Venezuela.[ 89] October 19 – A team of explorers reach the bottom of Krubera Cave , the world's deepest cave, with a depth of 2,080 meters (6,824 feet).[ 90] October 20 – Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is sworn in as the 6th President of Indonesia , becoming the first directly elected president in Indonesia.[ 91] October 27 – The Boston Red Sox win the World Series for the sixth time after completing a sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals . It was their first championship since 1918 .October 29 – European heads of state sign in Rome the Treaty and Final Act, establishing the first European Constitution .[ 92] November 2 – 2004 United States presidential election : George W. Bush is re-elected President of the United States , defeating his Democratic challenger John Kerry .November 7 – The Second Battle of Fallujah starts.November 13 – The European Space Agency probe SMART-1 arrives at the Moon , becoming the first European satellite to fly to the Moon and orbit it.[ 93] November 16 – NASA 's hypersonic Scramjet Mach 9.6) in an unpiloted experimental flight.[ 94] [ 95] [ 96] November 21 – Nintendo releases the Nintendo DS , the best-selling handheld game console, in North America.November 22 – The Orange Revolution begins, following a disputed presidential election in Ukraine where Viktor Yanukovych won against Viktor Yushchenko amid accusations of electoral fraud. A revote results in Yushchenko being declared the winner.[ 97] November 26 – The last known Po'ouli dies in captivity at the Maui Bird Conservation Center in Maui , Hawaii .November 30 – A McDonnell Douglas MD-82 , operating as Lion Air Flight 538 , overran the runway and crashed on a cemetery near Adisumarmo Airport , Surakarta , Central Java , Indonesia, killing 25 people.[ 98] December 2 – EUFOR takes over peacekeeping duties in Bosnia and Herzegovina from the United Nations .[ 32] December 12 – Vladimir Putin signs a bill bringing gubernatorial elections in Russia to an end; governors will hereafter be appointed rather than directly elected.[ 32] December 13 – New Zealand passes the Civil Union Act , granting civil unions to same-sex couples as of April 2005.December 14 – The world's tallest bridge, the Millau Viaduct over the Tarn in the Massif Central mountains, France, is officially opened.[ 99] December 16 – The European Council decides to start accession negotiations for Turkey to become a full member of the European Union .[ 100] December 20 – Hungary withdraws the last of its 300 coalition troops from Iraq .[ 32] December 21 – Iraqi insurgents attack a U.S. military base in the city of Mosul , killing 22 people.[ 101] December 23 – The Second Battle of Fallujah ends.December 26 – The 9.1–9.3 Mw Indian Ocean earthquake shakes northern Sumatra with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent ). One of the largest observed tsunamis follows, affecting coastal areas of Thailand , India , Sri Lanka , Somalia , the Maldives , Malaysia , Myanmar , Bangladesh , and Indonesia , killing 227,000 people.[ 102] December 27 – Astrophysicists from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching near Munich measure the strongest burst from a magnetar . At 21:30:26 UT Earth is hit by a huge wave front of gamma and X-rays. It is the strongest flux of high-energetic gamma radiation measured so far.[ 103] December 30 – A fire in the República Cromañón nightclub in Buenos Aires , Argentina kills 194.[ 104] December 31 – Taipei 101 , at the time the tallest skyscraper in the world, standing at a height of 1,670 feet (510 m), officially opens.[ 105]
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