:: wikimiki.org ::
| The World In 2004 |
The world in 2004:This is a description of different aspects of the world in the year 2004. It gives a flavour of life in this period, ordered from the most macroscopic downward.
Environment
Weather
Temperatures: 2004 was generally considered the fourth-warmest year on record (1998 being the warmest), with the global mean surface temperature measured at 0.44°C above a 30-year mean of 14°C between 1961 and 1990. This continues a warming trend over recent decades, with 9 of the previous 10 years in the top 10 warmest.
Rain: 2004 was the also the wettest year since 2000.
Wind: During the hurricane season in the Atlantic, 15 named tropical storms developed (mean approximately 10), eight of which were during August, the most for this month in any year on record. In the Pacific there were about 27 named cyclones, of which a record 10 hit Japan.
"Flying Flame earthquake"
An earthquake in the Indian Ocean in December was measured as one of the four most powerful in the last one hundred years, the biggest since the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake. With the resulting tsunami, it was about the sixth-worst natural disaster (apart from disease and famine) in recorded history in terms of number of deaths.
Species extinction or risk
A record 15,589 species were listed by the IUCN as close to extinction, 3,330 more than in 2003. The IUCN estimated that the rate of extinction was between 100 and 1000 times higher than natural rates.
Population
World population increased by 75,000,000 to 6,400,000,000 (6.4 billion) by the end of 2004, an increase of 1.16%, continuing a slowing down of the rate of increase which has been going on since the mid 1960s. 2.5 billion (39%) of these are in China and India.
Health
Mean life expectancy at birth was 62.5 years for males and 65.7 years for females but this varied widely in different parts of the world from around 80 years in some developed countries to below 40 years mainly in parts of Africa.
Political
World
The war and subsequent occupation of Iraq continued to be divisive in 2004. The US also found itself isolated over the environment with its refusal to sign the Kyoto Agreement. The issue of global terrorism received much media coverage which generated much political debate and, arguably, affected several national election results.
Political Overview by region
Europe
2004 saw a massive expansion of the European Union, with the admission of 10 new countries: (Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia). The signing of the proposed European constitution by the major EU leaders brings forward closer integration of the EU nations, although the constitution is still to be ratified by member states. The EU also began accession talks with Turkey and concluded them with Bulgaria and Romania which are set to join the EU in 2007.
Middle East
The Iraq war continued to dominate Middle Eastern politics, with a strong and increasingly violent rebellion threatening the stability of the country. Troops from the United States of America and the United Kingdom continued to occupy Iraq, in the face of fierce resistance. The occupying powers transferred sovereignty of Iraq to an interim government with the aim of holding elections in 2005.
The Israeli - Palestinian peace talks continued against a background of continued military action by Israeli forces in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and terrorist attacks by militant Palestinian groups. Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the Palestinian National Authority died in a hospital outside Paris at 02:30 UTC on November 11 at age 75.
Saudi Arabia continued to battle domestic terrorism, and saw a large increase in attacks on foreign citizens, including an attack on the United States consulate in Jeddah.
South Asia
An important event that took place in South Asia in 2004, was the Indian Lok Sabha elections during April/May. The ruling alliance, NDA, surprisingly lost the polls. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee resigned, and the Congress party and its allies, with the support of Communist Parties, formed an alliance called United Progressive Alliance. UPA elected Congress party president, Sonia Gandhi, as its chairman, while Dr. Manmohan Singh was made the prime minister of India.
The American occupation of Afghanistan continued in 2004, and for the first time its history, elections took place on October 9, with Hamid Karzai elected the first President of Afghanistan.
In Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf continued his rule as President of Pakistan, despite calls for a return to democracy in the country.
Near the end of the year, the region was devastated by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and resulting tsunamis, which killed over 125,000 people by the end of December.
East Asia
Sino-Taiwanese relations in 2004 remained stable, a referendum on peaceful resolution to disputes between the countries was defeated. Elections in the island saw Chen Shui-bian re-elected as President of the Republic of China. The elections were marred by an attempted assassination on the President the day before pooling day.
China continued its impressive economic growth in the region, and undertook Trade relations tours in South America during the latter half of 2004.
Ethnic violence in Thailand erupted during 2004, sparked by the deaths of several Muslim men in Thai police custody. Bomb explosions in the mainly Muslim southern provinces claimed many casualties.
Australasia/Pacific
Australia continued to feel the effects of terrorism in 2004, with attacks against its embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia. In November, the incumbent government under John Howard was returned for a fourth term in the federal government elections.
The New Zealand Government caused division within its ranks and elsewhere with legislation to "clarify" the legal status of the foreshore and seabed, seen by thousands of indigenous Maori as another land grab. Labour Party minister Tariana Turia resigned as a result and successfully returned in a byelection, with opinion polls suggesting that her new Maori Party may win half a dozen seats in the 2005 general election.
French Polynesia saw some changes at top government levels.
South America
In July, 2004, Mercosur and the Andean Community, South America's two largest economic communities, agreed to merge and form a single trade zone spanning most of the continent. On December 8, 2004, the South American Community of Nations, which includes every independent state in South America, was formed.
A majority of voters in Venezuela rejected a referendum to remove president Hugo Chávez from office in August. Several South American nations continued to be led by left-wing, socialist, or populist presidents. Hugo Chávez in Venezuela, Lula da Silva in Brazil, Nestor Kirchner in Argentina, Ricardo Lagos in Chile,and after elections in November, 2004, Tabaré Vázquez in Uruguay.
Colombia continued to experience civil unrest as a result of the ongoing civil war between the government, communist FARC rebels and right-wing paramilitary groups with ties to narcotics smuggling and organized crime. Colombian president Alvaro Uribe pursued close ties to the United States government in 2004, and this resulted in the extradition of several high profile FARC leaders and drug traffickers to the United States.
North America
Elections in North America, saw the American President, George W Bush get another term in office. In Canada, the Prime Minister, Paul Martin lost his majority in the Canadian federal election, 2004, but managed to form a minority government.
The US federal government's investigation into the September 11 terrorist attacks was published.
Hurricanes battered the Caribbean and North America during the summer with more ferocity than usual. The hardest hit areas included Grenada, western Cuba, the Cayman Islands, Haiti (where approximately 3,000 people died), the Bahamas, and the Southeastern United States, especially Florida and the Gulf Coast. The hurricane season was the most expensive ever in the North Atlantic.
In Haiti, a civil war broke out which saw the exile of President Jean Bertrand Aristide. The United States and France deployed troops to the region to provide humanitarian relief.
Africa
In Sudan, the Darfur conflict caused an exodus of refugees and an humanitarian crisis for aid agencies. Civil war also continued in Côte d'Ivoire and Zaire.
The regime of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe continued to attract international condemnation.
Military
Warfare
2004 saw armed conflicts take place in the following regions:
- Haiti
- Iraq
- Côte d'Ivoire
- Sudan
- Congo-Kinshasa
Terrorism
Terrorist attacks took place in many different locations throughout the world in 2004. The continuing operations of Al-Qaeda were attributed to be behind many attacks in the world. Russia suffered more than most in 2004 with attacks attributed to Chechen independence supporters.
Major terrorist attacks included:
- March 11, 2004 Madrid attacks- 191 dead
- Beslan school siege- 344 dead (177 children)
- Destruction of two Russian airliners on August 24, 2004.
- Australian embassy bomb in Indonesia.
- US consulate attack in Jeddah, Saudia Arabia
Economy
2004 saw recovery in the world stock markets, particularly in the United States of America, Europe and Japan. The weakening of the US Dollar against the major currencies of the world continued as record US trade deficits were reached. China and Russia were among the fastest growing major economies.
Commodity markets were particularly unstable in 2004. The price of oil increased rapidly, attributed to increasing demand from the growing Chinese and Indian economies, as well as worries over supply from the Middle East under volatile political circumstances.
In the corporate world, 2004 saw a recovery in the takeover and merger of corporate firms. IT firms Oracle Corporation and Peoplesoft finalised a merger after many months of wrangling. The banking sector saw an increase in cross-border consolidation with the takeover of Charter One Bank (USA) by the Royal Bank of Scotland (UK); and Abbey National (UK) by Banco Santander (Spain).
Category: 2004
2004
2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. It was designated the:
- International Year of Rice (by the United Nations)
- International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO)
- 2004 World Health Day topic was Road Safety (by World Health Organization)
- Year of the Monkey (by the Chinese calendar)
See the world in 2004 for a description of the state of the world in this year.
See also Wikipedia's almanac of events for this year.
Events
- January 1 - Pervez Musharraf gets a vote of confidence from an electoral college consisting of Parliament and the provincial assemblies, confirming him as President of Pakistan until 2007.
- January 3 - Flash Airlines Flight 604 crashes into the Red Sea off the coast of Egypt, killing all 148 aboard.
- January 4 - Mikhail Saakashvili wins the presidential elections in Georgia.
- January 4 -NASA's MER-A (Spirit) lands on Mars.
- January 8 - Queen Elizabeth II christens the RMS Queen Mary 2 cruise liner, currently the largest ocean liner in the world.
- January 13 - An Uzbekistan Airways plane crashes in Uzbekistan's capital of Tashkent, killing 37.
- January 22 - The European Union bans the import of poultry from Thailand, as bird flu spreads throughout Southeast Asia.
- January 24 - NASA's MER-B (Opportunity) lands on Mars.
- January 27 - The British government narrowly wins a House of Commons vote on the proposed introduction of tuition top-up fees in British universities.
- January 28 - The findings of the Hutton Inquiry are published in London. The British Government is found not to have falsified information in the "sexed up dossier". The report criticises the BBC's role in the death of David Kelly, a weapons expert on Iraq.
- January 28 - At a hearing of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, it is revealed that the September 11, 2001, terrorists used Mace (a brand of tear gas) or pepper spray in overpowering the flight crew of American Airlines Flight 11.
- February 1 - A hajj stampede in Mina, Saudi Arabia, kills 251 pilgrims.
- February 3 - The CIA admits that there was no imminent threat from weapons of mass destruction before the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
- February 6 - A suicide bomber kills 41 people on a metro car in Moscow.
- February 7 - Several leaders of Abnaa el-Balad arrested in Israel.
- February 10 - At least 50 people killed in a car bomb attack on a police recruitment centre south of Baghdad.
- February 10 - The French National Assembly votes to pass a law banning religious items and clothing from schools.
- February 12 - Same sex marriage in the United States: The City and County of San Francisco begins issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples as an act of civil disobedience.
- February 13 - Scientists in South Korea announce the cloning of 30 human embryos.
- February 14 - Riots break out between New South Wales Police and Aboriginal residents of Redfern, a suburb of Sydney, Australia.
- February 18 - A train carrying a convoy of petrol, fertiliser, and sulfur derails and explodes in Iran, killing 320 people.
- February 20 - Conservatives win a majority in the Iranian parliament election.
- February 24 - 6.5 Richter scale earthquake in Northern Morocco hits in the Rif mountains near the city of Al Hoceima - over 400 dead. Ait Kamara is destroyed. 517 dead.
- February 25- Ash Wednesday. Also, the religious docudrama, The Passion of the Christ was released.
- February 26 - The United States lifts a ban on travel to Libya, ending travel restrictions to the nation that had lasted for 23 years.
- February 26 - Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski is killed in a plane crash near Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- February 29 - 2004 Haiti rebellion: Jean-Bertrand Aristide resigns as president of Haiti. The chief justice of the Haitian Supreme Court, Boniface Alexandre, is sworn in as interim president.
- February 29 - The film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King directed by Peter Jackson wins 11 Academy Awards in every category it was nominated.
- March 2 - John Kerry effectively clinches the 2004 U.S. Democratic Party presidential nomination by winning nine out of 10 "Super Tuesday" primaries and caucuses.
- March 2 - NASA announces that the Mars rover MER-B (Opportunity), has confirmed that the area of Mars they landed in was once drenched in water.
- March 10 - Five British men released from detention at Camp Delta, Guantanamo Bay land at RAF Brize Norton. Four are immediately arrested for questioning.
- March 11 - Simultaneous explosions on rush hour trains in Madrid kill 190 people.
- March 12 - Following the terrorist attacks in Madrid on March 11, millions of protesters take to the streets of Spanish cities against terrorism.
- March 14 - Two suicide bombers kill eleven Israeli civilians in Ashdod, Israel.
- March 14 - The Spanish parliamentary elections of 2004 take place. The incumbent government led by José María Aznar is defeated by the Socialist José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.
- March 14 - Presidential elections in Russia are held. Vladimir Putin easily wins a second term.
- March 15 - A trio of astronomers announce they have discovered a large trans-Neptunian object, the largest object found in the solar system since Pluto was discovered in 1930. Initially designated 2003 VB12, it was named 90377 Sedna in late September.
- March 15 - The new Spanish government announces that it will withdraw Spain's 1,300 troops in Iraq.
- March 17 - Organized violence breaks out over two days in Kosovo. Nineteen people are killed, 139 Serbian homes are burned, schools and businesses are vandalized, and over 30 orthodox monasteries and churches are burned and destroyed.
- March 19 - The UN launches a corruption investigation due to the scandal over its Iraqi Oil for Food program.
- March 20 - President Chen Shui-bian wins the Taiwanese presidential election by 0.2% of the vote. The day before, he and Vice President Annette Lu were 'shot'. Lien Chan refuses to concede and demands a recount. A controversial 'peace referendum' opposed by the People's Republic of China is invalidated.
- March 21 - The 2004 Malaysian general election takes place. The incumbent Barisan Nasional party wins 198 out of 219 seats in the Malaysian Parliament.
- March 21 - Tony Saca is elected President of El Salvador (inauguration June 1).
- March 22 - Palestinians protest in the streets after an Israeli helicopter gunship fires a missile at the entourage of Ahmed Yassin in Gaza City, killing Yassin and 7 others.
- March 25 - British Prime Minister Tony Blair visits Libyan leader Colonel Muammar al-Qaddafi, in return for the dismantling of Libya's WMD programme in December 2003 - the first time a major western leader has visited the nation in several decades.
- March 28 - In France, the government of Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin suffers a stunning and unprecedented defeat in regional elections. The first ever South Atlantic Hurricane makes landfall in South Brazil on the state of Santa Catarina, the Hurricane is dubbed Hurricane Catarina.
- March 29 - The Republic of Ireland bans smoking in all enclosed work places including: restaurants, pubs and bars.
- March 29 - Largest expansion of NATO to date, allowing Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia into the organization.
- March 31 - Four American private military contractors working for Blackwater USA, are killed and their bodies mutilated after being ambushed in Fallujah, Iraq.
- April 1 - Faroese Prime Minister's Office announces that from then on the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister's Office would use a new version of the Faroese Coat of Arms. The colours were inspired from the Merkið (flag) and yellow/gold was added. The new Coat of Arms depicts a Ram on a blue shield ready to defend. It can be used by the Government Ministries and by Faroese embassies, but some still use older versions of the Coat of Arms. Coat of Arms
- April 3 - A bomb explosion in a Madrid flat kills a Spanish policeman and five terrorists suspected of responsibility for the Madrid train bombings on March 11.
- April 4 - Serious fighting breaks out in Najaf, Sadr City, and Basra in Iraq as Shia insurgents supporting Muqtada al-Sadr rise against coalition forces.
- April 5 - Queen Elizabeth II begins a state visit to France to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale.
- April 8 - Darfur conflict: The Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement is signed by the Sudanese government and two rebel groups.
- April 8 - Three Japanese citizens are taken hostage in Iraq.
- April 8 - Former Japanese famous economist, professor at Waseda University graduate school Kazuhide Uekusa was arrested on the escalator of JR Shinagawa Station because of trying to peep under high school girl's skirt with his hand mirror.
- April 16 - India defeats Pakistan in their first cricket tour in 14 years.
- April 17 - Israeli helicopters fire missiles at a convoy of vehicles in the Gaza Strip, killing the Gaza leader of Hamas, Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi.
- April 20 - In Iraq, 12 mortars were fired on Abu Ghraib Prison by insurgents. Twenty two detainees were killed and 92 wounded. [http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2004-04-20-iraq_x.htm]
- April 21 - Mordechai Vanunu, who revealed an Israeli nuclear weapons programme in the 1980s, is released from prison in Israel after an 18 year term for treason.
- April 22 - Two trains carrying explosives and fuel collide in the North Korean town of Ryongchon, killing 161 people, injuring 1,300 and destroying thousands of homes.
- April 22 - The last coal mine in France closes, ending nearly 300 years of coal mining.
- April 25 - Referenda on a United Nations plan, which proposes to re-unite the island of Cyprus, take place in both the Greek and Turkish parts. Although the Turks vote in favour, the Greeks reject the proposal.
- April 28 - Abuse of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq is revealed on the television show 60 Minutes II.
- May 1 - the largest expansion to date of the European Union takes place, extending the Union by 10 member-states: Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Malta and Cyprus.
- May 6 - The final episode of Friends airs on NBC, drawing an estimated 52 million viewers in North America.
- May 8 - Would-be "Saudi Princess" "Antoinette Millard" surfaces in New York City and claims that muggers had stolen jewels worth of $262.000 from her (she later proves to be an impostor).
- May 9 - Chechen president Akhmad Kadyrov is killed by landmine placed under a VIP stage during a World War II memorial parade in Grozny.
- May 9 - Team of Canada won the World Ice Hockey Championship in Prague.
- May 10 - The 2004 Philippine presidential and legislative elections take place. Incumbent president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo wins the presidency.
- May 11 - An explosion destroys a plastics factory in Glasgow, UK, killing nine people and injuring over a hundred.
- May 12 - An American civilian contractor in Iraq, Nick Berg, is shown being decapitated by a group allegedly linked to al-Qaida on a web-distributed video.
- May 13 - In India, the Congress Party wins a surprise victory in the elections to the Lok Sabha.
- May 14 - Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, marries Australian Mary Donaldson in Copenhagen.
- May 17 - Ezzedine Salim, holder of the rotating leadership of the Iraqi Governing Council, is killed in a bomb blast in Baghdad.
- May 17 - Massachusetts legalizes same-sex marriage in compliance with a ruling from the state's Supreme Judicial Court (Goodridge v. Department of Public Health).
- May 19 - Tony Blair is hit with a purple flour bomb in the chamber of the House of Commons during a session of Prime Minister's Questions.
- May 19 - Jeremy Sivits pleads guilty in a court-martial in connection with alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad.
- May 23 - A section of the ceiling in Terminal 2E at Paris's Charles de Gaulle International Airport collapses, claiming at least six lives.
- May 23 - Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi visits North Korea to secure the release of the families of the nine abducted Japanese citizens returned earlier.
- May 26 - Terry Nichols is convicted by an Oklahoma state court on murder charges stemming from the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
- May 29 - Dedication of the National World War II Memorial takes place in Washington, DC.
- May 30 - Thousands of people in Hong Kong take to the streets to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.
- June 1 - Twelve-year-old Satomi Mitarai, a Japanese schoolgirl attending Okubo Elementary School in Sasebo, Japan is murdered. Her killer, an 11-year-old classmate identified by Japanese authorities as "Girl A", becomes the basis for the Nevada-tan Internet meme.
- June 4 - Marvin Heemeyer destroys many local buildings with a home-made tank in Grancby, Colorado
- June 5 - Former President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, dies at age 93.
- June 6 - The 60th anniversary of D-Day is remembered by world leaders.
- June 7 - Tampa Bay Lightning defeat Calgary Flames in 2004 Stanley Cup Finals.
- June 8 - The first transit of Venus since 1882 occurs; the next one will occur in 2012.
- June 8 - The G8 Summit takes place over the next 2 days on Sea Island, in Georgia, USA.
- June 8 - The pickled heart of Louis XVII of France is buried in the royal crypt at Saint-Denis.
- June 11 - Terry Nichols is spared the death penalty by an Oklahoma state court on murder charges stemming from the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. The decision came on the third anniversary of the execution of his co-defendant, Timothy James McVeigh, in Terre Haute, Indiana.
- June 11 - After the first presidential state funeral since 1973, President Ronald Wilson Reagan is laid to rest at Simi Valley, California, at the site of the Reagan Presidential Library.
- June 12 - A 1.3 kg chondrite type meteorite struck a house in Ellerslie, New Zealand causing serious damage but no injuries.Ellerslie, New Zealand
- June 15 - The Detroit Pistons upset the heavily favored Los Angeles Lakers to win the 2004 NBA Finals, four games to one.
- June 16 - The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (or "9/11 Commission") issues an initial report of its findings.
- June 21 - SpaceShipOne becomes the first privately-funded spaceplane to achieve spaceflight.
- June 28 - Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe trains collided in a rural area outside of San Antonio, Texas. Forty cars were derailed, including one chlorine car, and three people died, another 50 people were hospitalized because of exposure to the gas.
- June 28 - The U.S.-led coalition occupying Iraq transfers sovereignty to an interim Iraqi government.
- June 28 - Canadian election: The Liberal Party, led by Paul Martin, is reduced to a minority government, after holding a majority since November 1993.
- June 30 - The preliminary hearings begin in Iraq in the trial of former president Saddam Hussein, for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
- July 1 - The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft arrives at Saturn.
- July 4 - Groundbreaking of Freedom Tower at Ground Zero in New York City.
- July 4 - The Euro 2004 final between Portugal and Greece takes place in Lisbon, Portugal. Greece wins the match 1:0.
- July 22 - The Old Bridge of Mostar in Bosnia-Herzegovina is reconstructed and reopened after being destroyed by Bosnian Croat forces on November 9, 1993.
- July 25 - Over 100,000 opponents to Israel's unilateral disengagement plan of 2004 participate in a human chain from Gush Katif, to the Western Wall, Jerusalem (90 kilometers).
- July 25 - Lance Armstrong of Austin, Texas wins an unprecedented 6th consecutive Tour de France cycling title.
- August 1 - Supermarket fire in Asunción, Paraguay, kills about 400 people and leaves over 100 missing.
- August 3 - Statue of Liberty reopens after security improvements.
- August 6 - A United Nations report that blames the government of Sudan for crimes against humanity in Darfur is released.
- August 12 - Singapore's prime minister Goh Chok Tong hands over his position to Lee Hsien Loong.
- August 13 - The 2004 Summer Olympics begin in Athens. They end on August 29.
- August 13 - Hurricane Charley kills 27 people in Florida after killing four in Cuba and one in Jamaica. Charley made landfall near Cayo Costa, FL as a Category 4 hurricane. Charley was the most intense hurricane to strike the United States since Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
- August 16 - Severe flooding in the village of Boscastle in Cornwall.
- August 18 - In Dublin, Ireland the Dublin Port Tunnel excavation works were completed and the final tunnel boring machine breakthrough ceremony took place.
- August 21 - A series of blasts rocks a rally of an opposition party in Dhaka, Bangladesh, killing at least 13 people.
- August 22 - Armed robbers steal Edvard Munch's The Scream, Madonna and other paintings from the Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway.
- August 24 - Two airliners in Russia, carrying a total of 89 passengers, crash within minutes of each other after flying out of Domodedovo International Airport, leaving no survivors. Authorities suspect suicide attacks by rebels from Chechnya to be the cause of the crashes.
- August 29 - Around 200,000 protesters demonstrate in New York City against President George W. Bush and his government, ahead of the 2004 Republican National Convention.
- August 31 - Two suicide attacks on buses in Beer Sheva, Israel, kill at least 16 people and injure at least 60. Hamas claims responsibility for the attacks.
- August 31 - A woman commits a suicide attack near a subway station in northern Moscow, Russia, killing at least 10 people and injuring at least 50. Authorities hold Chechen rebels responsible.
- September 1 - Chechen rebels take between 1,000 and 1,500 people hostage, mostly children, in a school in Beslan, Northern Ossetia. The hostage-takers demand the release of Chechen rebels imprisoned in neighbouring Ingushetia and the independence of Chechnya from Russia.
- September 2 - The United Nations Security Council adopts Resolution 1559 calling for the removal of all foreign troops from Lebanon. This measure is largely aimed at Syrian troops.
- September 3 - Russian forces end the siege at a school in Beslan, Northern Ossetia. At least 335 people (among which at least 32 of the approximately 40 hostage-takers) have been killed and at least 700 people have been injured.
- September 3 - Hurricane Frances makes landfall in Florida. After killing two people in the Bahamas, Hurricane Frances killed ten people in Florida, two in Georgia and one in South Carolina.
- September 7 - The Scottish Parliament meets in the new Scottish Parliament Building for the first time.
- September 7 - Hurricane Ivan passes directly over Grenada, killing 37 people. It passes over other Caribbean islands over the next two days, killing 5 people in Venezuela, 4 in the Dominican Republic, 1 in Tobago and 20 in Jamaica.
- September 8 - In the "Rathergate" affair, the first Internet posts appear pointing out that documents claimed by CBS News to be typewritten memos from the early 1970s appear instead to have been produced using modern word processing systems.
- September 9 - A bomb blast outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, kills eleven people and injures up to 100 people.
- September 13 - The Assault Weapons Ban expires.
- September 15 - Davíð Oddsson prime minister of Iceland steps down after serving as prime minister since April 30 1991. Oddson becomes foreign minister as his foreign minister Halldór Ásgrímsson becomes prime minister.
- September 15 - Security at the Palace of Westminster is compromised when the House of Commons is stormed by a small group of protestors during a debate about fox hunting.
- September 15 - "Girl A" is sentenced to be institutionalized due to the murder of classmate Satomi Mitarai.
- September 16 - Hurricane Ivan strikes Gulf Shores, Alabama, as a Category 3 storm, killing 25 in Alabama and Florida.
- September 17 - 2004 Summer Paralympics commences in Athens, Greece.
- September 17 - Mexico and Japan finish the two year long negotiations and sign a Free Trade Agreement in Mexico City.
- September 23 - Mount St. Helens becomes active again.
- September 23 - Tropical Storm Ivan, having come around and reformed in the Gulf of Mexico, makes its final landfall near Cameron, Louisiana, to little effect. In total, the storm killed 92 people.
- September 25 - Hurricane Jeanne makes landfall near Hutchinson Island, FL. In all, Jeanne killed over 3,000, most in Haiti.
- September 29 - First Ansari X-Prize flight of SpaceShipOne.
- October 4 - Two car bombs kill at least 16 people and injure dozens more in Baghdad.
- October 5 - A fire breaks out on the Canadian submarine HMCS Chicoutimi leaving it stranded without power in the North Atlantic ocean, off the north coast of Ireland. One crewmember is killed.
- October 8 - Kenneth Bigley, the British hostage held by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, an Iraqi insurgent, is killed after a failed escape attempt.
- October 8 - Suicide bombers detonate two bombs at the Red Sea resort of Taba, Egypt, killing 34 people, mainly Israeli tourists and Egyptian workers.
- October 9 - Queen Elizabeth II opens the new Scottish Parliament Building in a ceremony in Edinburgh
- October 9 - Incumbent Prime Minister of Australia John Howard leads the Liberal-National coalition to victory over the Labor Party led by Mark Latham in federal elections.
- October 9 - Direct elections for president held for the first time in Afghanistan. Interim president Hamid Karzai is eventually declared the winner.
- October 10 - Abdullahi Yusuf is chosen as the new transitional president of Somalia.
- October 14 - Prince Norodom Sihamoni is chosen as the new king of Cambodia.
- October 16 - The New York Yankees defeat the Boston Red Sox, 19-8 in Game 3 of Major League Baseball's American League Championship Series. The game, which pushed the Yankees to a 3 games to none series lead, sets a record for longest nine inning baseball game.
- October 17 - A referendum in Belarus approves the lifting of constitutional term limits for the presidency.
- October 18 - Three men attack Greek journalist Philippos Syrigos in Athens and seriously wound him
- October 19 - General Khin Nyunt is replaced by Lieutenant-General Soe Win as Prime Minister of Myanmar.
- October 20 - The Boston Red Sox defeat the New York Yankees in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series, completing an unprecedented comeback from three games to none down.
- October 20 - Corporate Airlines Flight 5966 crashes in Missouri, killing 13 people, and injuring 2.
- October 20 - Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono becomes the first directly-elected President of Indonesia.
- October 21 - The Ministry of Defence approves the deployment of the Black Watch regiment of the British Army to Baghdad, Iraq after a request for assistance by the U.S. government.
- October 24 - The bodies of 49 Iraqi soldiers discovered after being ambushed by insurgents.
- October 24 - Brazil successfully launches its first rocket into space.
- October 25 - Reverand Dr Martin Luther King, Jr and Coretta Scott King receive Congressional Gold Medal.
- October 26 - October 26The Cassini probe passes within 1,200km of Titan
- October 27 - Details of the discovery of a new, recent, species of fossil hominid, Homo floresiensis, from the island of Flores, Indonesia are published.
- October 27 - The Boston Red Sox sweep the St. Louis Cardinals to win the World Series championship for the first time since 1918.
- October 29 - A videotape of Osama Bin Laden speaking airs on Arabic TV, in which he threatens terrorist attacks on the United States, and taunts the president, George W. Bush, over the September 11 Terrorist attacks.
- October 29 - European heads of state signed in Rome the Treaty and Final Act establishing the first European Constitution.
- October 30 - A 163 metre high radio mast in Peterborough, UK collapsed at a fire
- October 31 - Leftist candidate Tabaré Vázquez is elected President of Uruguay.
- November 1 - a 16 year old Palestinian, a muslim, blew himself up in an outdoor market in Tel Aviv, killing three Israelis.
- November 2 - U.S. presidential election: President George W. Bush defeats Senator John Kerry. Republicans make gains in the physical objects that are measurable and observable by the naked eye. When applied to phenomena and abstract objects, it describes existence in the world as we perceive it. Lengths scales generally considered macroscopic roughly fall in the range 1 mm - 1 km.
The term macroscopic may also refer to a "larger view", namely a view only available from a large perspective. A macroscopic position could be considered the "big picture".
Examples
- A macroscopic view of a ball is just that: a ball. A microscopic view could reveal a thick round skin seemingly composed entirely of puckered cracks and fissures (as viewed through a microscope) or, further down in scale, a collection of molecules in the rough shape of a sphere.
Macroscopy in physics
In physics, macroscopy is can be a physical trait applied relative to what one is observing. If one looks at a galaxy, a star is a microscopic entity, even if it is many, many orders of magnitude larger than us.
See also
- Length
- Length scale
- Microscopic
Category:Fundamental physics concepts
Category:Philosophy of physics
1998
1998 (MCMXCVIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean.
Events
January
- January 1998 - A massive ice storm, caused by El Niño, strikes New England, southern Ontario and Quebec, resulting in widespread power failures, severe damage to forests, and a number of deaths.
- January 1 - Smoking is banned in all California bars and restaurants.
- January 2 - Russia begins to circulate new rubles to stem inflation and promote confidence.
- January 2 - Gunman shoots Antario Teodoro Filho, Brazilian politician and radio presenter, in a middle of his broadcast.
- January 4 - Wilaya of Relizane massacres of 4 January 1998 in Algeria; over 170 killed in three remote villages.
- January 6 - The Lunar Prospector spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon and later found evidence for frozen water in soil in permanently shadowed craters near the Moon's poles.
- January 8 - Ramzi Yousef is sentenced to life in prison for planning the World Trade Center bombing.
- January 8 - Cosmologists announce that the expansion rate of the universe is increasing.
- January 11 - Sidi-Hamed massacre in Algeria; over 100 people killed.
- January 12 - 19 European nations agree to forbid human cloning.
- January 13 - A tourist visiting the White House sprays paint on to marble busts of Giuseppe Ceracchi
- January 14 - Researchers in Dallas, Texas present findings about an enzyme that slows aging and cell death (apoptosis).
- January 15 - The stalker of Howard Stern, Lance Carvin, is sentenced to 2 1/2 years for threatening to kill Stern and his family.
- January 16 - NASA announces that John Glenn will return to space when Space Shuttle Discovery blasts off in October 1998.
- January 17 - Paula Jones accuses President Bill Clinton of sexual harassment.
- January 20 - Nepalese police intercepts a shipment of 272 human skulls in Kathmandu
- January 22 - Suspected "Unabomber" Theodore Kaczynski pleads guilty and accepts a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.
- January 26 - Lewinsky scandal: On American television, Bill Clinton denies he had "sexual relations" with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
- January 26 - Compaq buys Digital Equipment Corporation.
- January 26 - Monkeys attack people in Ito, Japan
- January 27 - American First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton appears on the Today show calling the attacks against her husband part of a "vast right-wing conspiracy."
- January 28 - Ford Motor Company announces the buyout of Volvo Cars for $6.45 billion.
- January 28 - Gunmen hold at least 400 children and teachers hostage for several hours at an elementary school in Manila, Philippines.
- January 29 - In Birmingham, Alabama a bomb explodes at an abortion clinic killing one and severely wounding another. Serial bomber Eric Rudolph is suspected as the culprit.
February
- February - Iraq disarmament crisis: The United States Senate passes resolution 71, which urged President Bill Clinton to "take all necessary and appropriate actions to respond to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs."
- February 3 - Cavalese cable-car disaster: a United States Military pilot causes the death of 20 people near Trento, Italy when his low-flying plane severs the cable of a cable-car.
- February 3 - Karla Faye Tucker is executed in Texas becoming the first woman executed in the United States since 1984.
- February 4 - An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter Scale in northeast Afghanistan kills more than 5,000.
- February 6 - Washington National Airport is renamed Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
- February 6 - The French prefect Claude Erignac is assassinated in the streets of Ajaccio (Corse) by a commando of Corsican insurgents, among them Yvan Colonna (trial june 2).
- February 7 - Roger Nicholas Angleton committed suicide in a prison cell in Houston, Texas by cutting himself with razor blades. He admitted to murdering socialite Doris Angleton in her River Oaks home in his suicide note.
- February 10 - A college dropout becomes the first person to be convicted of a hate crime committed in cyberspace.
- February 10 - Voters in Maine repeal a gay rights law passed in 1997 becoming the first U.S. state to abandon such a law.
- February 12 - The presidential line-item veto is declared unconstitutional by a United States federal judge.
- February 14 - Authorities in the United States announce that Eric Rudolph is a suspect in an Alabama abortion clinic bombing.
- February 15 - Dale Earnhardt wins the Daytona 500 in his 20th try after many unsucsessful attempts.
- February 16 - China Airlines Flight 676 crashed into a residential area near by Chiang Kai-shek International Airport, killing 202 people, included all 196 on board and six on the ground.
- February 18 - Two white separatists were arrested in Nevada and accused of plotting a biological attack on New York City subways.
- February 19 - 66-day blackout begins in Auckland, New Zealand.
- February 19 - Larry Wayne Harris of the Aryan Nations and William Leavitt are arrested in Henderson, New York for possession of military grade anthrax
- February 20 - Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraqi President Saddam Hussein negotiates a deal with U.N. secretary-general Kofi Annan, allowing weapons inspectors to return to Baghdad, preventing military action by the U.S. and Britain.
- February 22 - Collapse of one third of the Tower block "Palace II" in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- February 23 - Tornadoes in central Florida destroy or damage 2,600 structures and kill 42 (see Florida El Niño Outbreak).
- February 23 - Osama bin Laden publishes fatwa declaring jihad against all Jews and Crusaders.
- February 24 - Hustler publisher Larry Flynt is acquitted of charges of defamation of Jerry Falwell.
- February 24 - A man tries to hijack Turkish Airlines passenger plane claiming that he has a bomb in his teddy bear. Passengers disapprove and apprehend him
- February 28 - Serbian police begin to wipe out so-called "terrorist gangs" in Kosovo.
March
- March 1 - Attack Submarine USS Sea Devil (now ex-Sea Devil (SSN-664)) starts to be deactivated
- March 2 - Data sent from the Galileo probe indicates that Jupiter's moon Europa has a liquid ocean under a thick crust of ice
- March 4 - Gay rights: The Supreme Court of the United States rules that federal laws banning on-the-job sexual harassment also apply when both parties are the same sex.
- March 5 - NASA announced that the Clementine probe orbiting the Moon had found enough water in polar craters to support a human colony and rocket fueling station
- March 5 - NASA announces the choice of United States Air Force Lt. Col. Eileen Collins as commander of a future Space Shuttle Columbia mission to launch an X-ray telescope making Collins the first woman commander of a space shuttle mission.
- March 6 - Closure of the South Crofty tin mine
- March 6 - The Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan is fined for burning a cross in his garden and infringing air regulations in California
- March 10 - American troops stationed in the Persian Gulf begin to receive the first vaccinations against anthrax.
- March 11 - Danish parliamentary election held, unexpectedly returning Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen to power.
- March 14 - An earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale hits southeastern Iran
- March 23 - At the Academy Awards ceremony Titanic wins 11 Oscars
- March 24 - In Jonesboro, Arkansas, two young boys (aged 11 and 13 years) fire upon students at Westside Middle School while hidden in woodlands near the school. Four students and one teacher are killed and 10 injured
- March 26 - Oued Bouaicha massacre in Algeria; 52 people killed with axes and knives, 32 of them babies under the age of 2.
- March 27 - The FDA approves Viagra for use as a treatment for male impotence, becoming the first pill to be approved to treat this condition in the United States.
April
- April 1 - Ukrainian serial killer Anatoly Onoprienko is sentenced to death for 52 murders
- April 5 - In Japan, the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge linking Shikoku with Honshu and costing cost about US$3.8 billion, opens to traffic, becoming the largest suspension bridge in the world.
- April 6 - Pakistan tests medium-range missiles capable of hitting India
- April 7 - Citicorp and Travelers Group announce plans to merge creating the largest financial-services conglomerate in the world, Citigroup
- April 8 - Iraq disarmament crisis: UNSCOM reports to the UN Security Council that Iraq's declaration on its biological weapons program is incomplete and inadequate.
- April 10 - Good Friday: 18 hours after the end of talks deadline the Belfast Agreement is signed between the Irish and British governments and most Northern Ireland political parties, with the notable exception of the Democratic Unionist Party.
- April 16 - A massive tornado occurred in Nashville, Tennessee. It is the first tornado in 11 years to make a direct hit on a major city. (see Nashville Tornado of 1998)
- April 25 - A waste reservoir at Los Frailes mine in Andalusia, Spain, ruptures, discharging heavy metal waste into the Guadiamar River. The pollution threatens the sensitive ecosystem and endangered species of Doñana National Park, Spain's largest nature reserve, but is diverted into the Guadalquivir River. Up to 100 km² of farmland are ruined by the spill. [http://edition.cnn.com/EARTH/9804/25/spain.disaster.reut/]
May
- May 2 - Japanese rock star hide (Hideto Matsumoto) mysteriously dies of asphyxiation.
- May 7 - Apple Computer unveils the iMac.
- May 9 - Dana International, a transexual singer from Israel, wins the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest in Birmingham,UK.
- May 11 - Nuclear testing: In the Rajasthan Desert, India conducts its second series of underground nuclear tests (the first were in 1974) and inflaming its rival neighbor Pakistan (who already has nuclear weapons).
- May 13 - Following India's second round of nuclear tests the United States and Japan impose economic sanctions on the nation.
- May 15 - Iraq disarmament crisis: UNSCOM learns that an Iraqi delegation has travelled to Bucharest to meet with scientists who can provide the country with missile guidance systems.
- May 18 - United States v. Microsoft: The United States Department of Justice and 20 U.S. states file an antitrust case against Microsoft
- May 21 - School shooting: At Thurston High School in Springfield, Oregon, Kipland Kinkel (who was suspended for bringing a gun to school) shoots a semi-automatic rifle into a room filled with students killing 2 wounding 25 others after killing his parents at home
- May 21 - Reproductive rights: In Miami, Florida, five abortion clinics are hit by a butyric acid attacker
- May 21 - Suharto resigns, after 32 years as Indonesian President and 7th consecutive re-election by the Indonesian Parliament (MPR). Suharto's hand-picked Vice President, B. J. Habibie, became Indonesia's third president.
- May 21 to September 30 - Expo '98 is held in Lisbon, Portugal, with the title "Oceans, an Heritage for the Future". UNESCO had previously declared 1998 to be the International Year of the Oceans due to the Expo. 12 million people attend the world fair
- May 22 - Lewinsky scandal: A federal judge rules that United States Secret Service agents can be compelled to testify before a grand jury concerning the scandal
- May 27 - Oklahoma City bombing: Michael Fortier is sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined $200,000 for failing to warn authorities about the terrorist plot.
- May 28 - Nuclear testing: In response to a series of Indian nuclear tests, Pakistan explodes six nuclear devices of its own in the Chaghai hills of Baluchistan, prompting the United States, Japan and other nations to impose economic sanctions.
- May 28 - Wife of US comedian Phil Hartman kills him and commits suicide afterwards
- May 30 - Nuclear testing: Pakistan conducts two more nuclear explosions following its first test.
- May 30 - A 6.6 magnitude earthquake hits northern Afghanistan killing up to 5,000.
- May 31 - Geri Halliwell, better known as "Ginger Spice", announced her departure from the biggest selling girl group of all time, the Spice Girls
June
- June 2 - The CIH virus is discovered in Taiwan.
- June 2 - Voters in California approved California Proposition 227, abolishing that state's bilingual education program.
- June 3 - Eschede train disaster: an ICE high speed train derails, causing 101 deaths.
- June 4 - Terry Nichols is sentenced to life in prison for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing
- July 5 - Japan launches a probe to Mars, and thus joins the United States and Russia as a space exploring nation
- June 5 - A strike begins at the General Motors parts factory in Flint, Michigan that quickly spreads to five other assembly plants (the strike lasted seven weeks)
- June 8 - Charlton Heston assumes the presidency of the National Rifle Association.
- June 8 - President Sani Abacha of Nigeria dies of apparent heart failure
- June 12 - A jury in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, convicts 17-year-old Luke Woodham of killing two students and wounding seven others at Pearl High School [http://www.cnn.com/US/9806/12/school.shooting.verdict/]
- June 12 - 13-year old Christina Marie Williams was kidnapped in Seaside, California while taking her dog for a walk.
- June 14 - The Chicago Bulls win their sixth NBA title in 8 years when they beat the Utah Jazz, 87-86 in Game Six. This is also Michael Jordan's last game as a Bull.
- June 16 - The Detroit Red Wings sweep the Washington Capitals in 4 games in the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals.
- June 25 - In Clinton v. City of New York, the United States Supreme Court decides that the Line Item Veto Act of 1996 is unconstitutional.
July
- July 6 - The new Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok opens.
- July 10 - The DNA-identified remains of United States Air Force 1st Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie arrive home to his family in St. Louis, Missouri after being in the Tomb of the Unknowns since 1984
- July 10 - Catholic priests' sex abuse scandal: The Diocese of Dallas agrees to pay $23.4 million to nine former altar boys who claimed they were sexually abused by former priest Rudolph Kos
- July 12 - France defeats Brazil 3-0 to win the Football World Cup 1998
- July 17 - In St. Petersburg, Nicholas II of Russia and his family are buried in St. Catherine Chapel 80 years after he and his family were killed by Bolsheviks
- July 17 - A tsunami triggered by an undersea earthquake destroys 10 villages in Papua New Guinea killing an estimated 1,500, leaving 2,000 more unaccounted for and thousands more homeless
- July 17 - Biologists report in the journal Science how they sequenced the genome of the bacterium that causes syphilis, Treponema pallidum
- July 24 - Russel Eugene Weston Jr. bursts into the United States Capitol and opens fire killing two police officers. He is later ruled to be incompetent to stand trial
- July 25 - The United States Navy commissions the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman and puts her into service
- July 25 - Wakayama Arsenic poison case - 63 poisoned and 4 dead by arsenic in a festival in the town in Wakayama Prefecture in Japan - Masumi Hayashi is arrested for murder
- July 28 - Monica Lewinsky scandal: Ex-White House intern, Monica Lewinsky receives transactional immunity in exchange for her grand jury testimony concerning her relationship with US President Bill Clinton.
- July 31 - UK import ban on landmines
August
landmines
- August 7 - Yangtze River Floods: In China the Yangtze River breaks through the main bank, before this from August 1-5 periphery levees collapsed consecutively in Jiayu County Baizhou Bay. The death toll was more than 12,000 injuring many | | |
