August 2004
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- The WTO authorizes the imposition of sanctions against the United States for persistent violation of global trade laws.
- A female suicide bomber kills ten and injures 51 others near a subway station in Moscow.
- 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.
- 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"
- Repeated attacks on pipelines linked to southern oil fields have significantly hampered oil exports from Iraq.
- 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'.
- 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.
- Afghan police say a United States bombing raid killed at least six civilians in the eastern province of 2004 Atlantic hurricane season: Hurricane Frances affects the British Virgin Islands, the United States Virgin Islands and the northern-east part of Puerto Rico.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 2004 Atlantic hurricane season: Tropical Storm Gaston makes landfall at Bulls Bay, South Carolina with near hurricane strength 70 mph winds.
- An explosion at a school in southern Afghanistan has killed at least 10 people, many of them children, the US military has said.
- Australian Prime Minister John Howard announces that the 2004 Australian federal election will take place on October 9, 2004.
- The 2004 Summer Olympics are closed by IOC President Jacques Rogge.
- 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 Lebanese Cabinet, under Syrian pressure and despite widespread opposition, votes to modify the constitution to allow President Émile 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."
- 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.
- In a video circulating on the Internet, former Texas lieutenant governor Ben F. Barnes apologizes for his role in getting current United States President George W. Bush into the Texas Air National Guard in 1968.
- Free and Open Source Software advocacy: TheOpenCD, the Free Software Foundation and the Open Source Initiative celebrate the first annual Software Freedom Day.
- A precious icon is returned to the Kremlin's Cathedral of the Assumption by a Roman Catholic Cardinal as a goodwill gesture from the Pope to the Russian Orthodox Church. The image is an 18th century copy of the August 27, 2004
- 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.
- 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 FBI has launched a full espionage investigation into Larry Franklin after obtaining evidence pointing to a high-ranking spy in the Pentagon. According to , 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. 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.
- Enzo Baldoni, an Italian journalist kidnapped by Islamic militants in Iraq, is killed by his kidnappers.
- 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.
- 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.
- Artillery and mortar fire again rock Georgia's breakaway republic of South Ossetia, scuppering efforts to enforce a ceasefire.
- 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.
- A jury including U.S. talk show host Oprah Winfrey convicts Dion Coleman of murder after two hours of deliberation.
- Israel's prime minister, Ariel Sharon, vows to press on with his disengagement plan, despite it receiving another rejection from his Likud party.
- Nature magazine reveals that five new satellites and a further candidate moon have been discovered orbiting Neptune, bringing its tally to 13.
- 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.
- Hungarian prime minister Péter Medgyessy resigns following a row with his Socialist party's liberal coalition partner, the Free Democrats.
- Chávez recall: Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez defeats a recall vote with 58% support. Some opposition members claim election fraud, but monitors from the OAS and the Carter Center endorse the official result.
- 1,300 Iraqi delegates begin a three-day conference in Baghdad to select an interim national assembly. The area of the conference is attacked by mortars, which kill one person and wound 17.
- 1,600 Palestinians in Israeli jails begin a liquids-only diet, which they are describing as a hunger strike to protest against their prison conditions. Israeli Internal Security Minister Tzahi Hanegbi comments: "As far as I'm concerned, they can strike for a day, a month, until death."
- India's Independence Day celebrations are marred by a bomb blast that kills some 18 people at a parade in Dhemaji, Assam. Immediate suspicion falls on ULFA separatists.
- Same-sex marriage in Canada: Three Nova Scotia couples have filed suit requesting that the provincial government be ordered to issue them marriage licences. Such a ruling would make Nova Scotia the fifth province or territory to recognize same-sex marriages.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- A spectacular opening ceremony marks the start of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.
- A group of women kill an alleged rapist during his trial in Nagpur, India.
