June 2004
2004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - June 2004 in sports
- In an unprecedented move, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York write to Tony Blair on behalf of all 114 Anglican bishops, expressing deep concern about UK government policy and criticising coalition troops' conduct in Iraq. They cite the abuse of Iraqi detainees, which they say has been "deeply damaging" - and state that the government's apparent double standards "diminish the credibility of western governments".
- The United States Federal Reserve raises the federal funds interest rate for the first time in four years, by a quarter point.
- Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is sworn in to a new six-year term as president of the Philippines following a disputed victory in the May 2004 presidential election.
- Iraq Occupation and resistance: The United States formally hands over legal custody of Saddam Hussein to the new Iraqi government. The trial of Saddam Hussein is expected to take place in January.
- The Spanish minister of justice, Juan Fernando López Aguilar, announces a number of social bills to be introduced, including one that will legalize same-sex marriage in Spain, one that will introduce rights for common-law couples, and one that will allow transgendered people to legally change their name and sex designation without the requirement of surgery.
- The Israeli Supreme Court issues a landmark ruling that a 30-kilometer planned stretch of the June 29, 2004
- Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, the head of the ruling party in Pakistan, is elected as the new interim Prime Minister of the nation after the resignation of Zafarullah Khan Jamali.
- The United States Supreme Court rules 5-4 in Ashcroft v. ACLU that the Child Online Protection Act is likely in violation of the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech. The case will be reheard at a lower court.
- European Union leaders formally nominate Portuguese Prime Minister José Durão Barroso to the post of European Commission president.
- Albertan MLA Gary Masyk blames Premier Ralph Klein for causing the defeat of the Conservative Party of Canada in the 2004 Canadian election and leaves the Progressive Conservative Party for the newly-formed Alberta Alliance.
- Chinese lawyers visit the victims of last year's deadly accident involving an abandoned WWII-era cache of mustard gas in Qiqihar. The chemical weapons were left behind by invading Japanese troops during the war. The lawyers are preparing to sue the Japanese government.
- Canadian federal election, 2004: Results give the Liberal Party a minority government; in a likely alliance with the NDP, they will together hold exactly half the Commons seats. Despite the heated nature of the campaign, turnout was the lowest in recent memory.
- The United States Supreme Court rules six-to-three that "enemy combatants" such as those held in Guantánamo can challenge the basis of their detentions, yet can also be held without charges or trial.
- The currencies of Estonia (the Kroon), Lithuania (the Litas), and Slovenia (the Tolar) enter ERM II, the European Union's Exchange Rate Mechanism, in a move towards joining the euro.
- Iraq Occupation and resistance:
- In Mongolia, the ruling Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party suffers considerable losses in the general election. Official results have not yet been announced, and it remains unclear whether the MPRP will retain its majority. The MPRP has accused the opposition of vote rigging, and has refused to concede defeat.
- José Manuel Durão Barroso, the Prime Minister of Portugal, gains the backing of the United Kingdom and Germany as the next President of the European Commission
- A Hong Kong appellate court rules 2-1 that a will presented by Nina Wang of her abducted and presumed dead husband June 27, 2004
- Fahrenheit 9/11 breaks the record for highest opening-weekend earnings in the United States for a documentary, earning US$23.9 million. .
- In the 2004 Serbian presidential election, Boris Tadic defeats Tomislav Nikolic in the run-off, with 53.7% to 45.0% of the votes. .
- In the 2004 Lithuanian presidential election, Valdas Adamkus wins in the run-off against Kazimiera Prunskiene, with 52.1% to 47.8% of votes .
- The Taliban kill 16 Afghans after stopping a bus and forcing the sixteen to alight, possibly to get the victims' voter registration cards for elections scheduled in September of this year.
- Iraq Occupation and resistance:
- Palestinians detonate 150 kg (330 lb) of explosives placed in a 300 meter (1000 foot) long tunnel against an Israeli army position in the Gaza Strip. 2000 Palestinians rush into the streets of Gaza City to celebrate.
- Gay pride celebrations, parades and protests are held globally, marking the 35th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, the traditional birth of the modern LGBT civil rights movement.
- Pakistan's Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali resigns.
- U.S. presidential election
- The United States Green Party, in a rebuff to Ralph Nader, nominates Texas lawyer David Cobb as their candidate for President of the United States. This means that Nader will need to attain ballot access on his own in over 23 states, instead of being able to be placed on the ballots automatically as the Green Party candidate. Nader has announced that he may attempt to gain access as the Reform Party candidate.
- Ralph Nader holds a second convention in Portland to put his name on the presidential ballot in Oregon. This attempt is supported by conservative groups who hope his name will draw votes in this swing state from Democratic hopeful John Kerry. The outcome of the convention is still unknown: 943 forms were collected, but 1000 valid signatures are needed; many forms had more than one signature on them, however, the state elections board will require several weeks to validate all of the signatures.
- The Download.ject attack on Internet Explorer users is neutralised for the moment, with the Russian server containing the backdoor program having been shut down. Security experts warn that the IE vulnerabilities still exist and a copycat attack is still possible.
- Czech Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla resigns after narrowly surviving a vote of no confidence.
- Yasser Arafat, President of the Palestinian Authority, commits to refrains from attacks on the Olympics scheduled for this August in Athens, Greece.
- Six Palestinians, including Nayef Abu Sharkh, head of the Nablus old city part of the Al Aqsa Brigades, and Jaafar Masri, the leader of Hamas' military wing in Nablus, are killed during an Israeli operation, according to Palestinian sources.
- 48 Nobel laureates endorse John Kerry as they think that he would increase the prosperity, health, environment, and security of Americans. They criticize the Bush administration for reducing funding for scientific research, setting restrictions on stem cell research, ignoring scientific consensus on critical issues such as global warming, and hampering cooperation with foreign scientists by using deterrent immigration and visa practices.
- A report by the New York Times alleges that the United States administration overstated the intelligence value and importance of the prisoners held at the controversial prisoner camp at Guantanamo Bay. The report, based on interviews with government officials, concludes that only a relatively small percentage of the prisoners were sworn members of Al Qaeda, and that most were relatively unimportant, low-level people.
- The Supreme Court of the United States, in Hiibel v. Sixth Judicial District Court of Nevada, rules that mandatory disclosure of identity to the police, when asked, does not violate the Fifth Amendment, and the Miranda warning does not apply.
- UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan warns Security Council members not to grant the United States another exemption from prosecution by the International Criminal Court, stating that it was wrong, especially after the abuse of prisoners in Iraq.
- Iran seizes three British Royal Navy patrol boats on the Shatt al-Arab waterway that divides Iran from Iraq. Their eight British crew members have been detained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.
- SpaceShipOne, the first privately and commercially funded aircraft/spaceplane designed for space travel without funding from any government, successfully embarks upon its maiden flight into outer space. Designed by legendary aerospace designer Burt Rutan and funded by billionaire Paul Allen, the ship was launched from a larger plane and, after igniting its burners, flew 62 miles (100 km) into space and back down again, an altitude that officially makes test pilot Michael Melvill an astronaut.
- The United States reportedly tries to isolate the United Nations Population Fund because it allegedly supports abortions.
- Three former top bankers in the United Kingdom, accused of stealing more than US$7 million from NatWest (now part of the Royal Bank of Scotland) in a scheme that helped to bring about the collapse of Enron vowed to fight attempts to extradite them to the United States.
- The first official group of Hmong refugees from the Wat Tham Krabok camp in Thailand begin arriving in the United States. 14,300 to 15,000 refugees are expected to arrive by the end of the year. The camp is one of the last remaining from results of the Vietnam War. One family had left early on June 16 due to a medical emergency.
- Facing impeachment over corruption charges, Governor John G. Rowland of Connecticut announces that he will resign, effective July 1.
- Witnesses and hospital officials say that 22 Iraqis, among them children, women, and youths, are killed in a U.S. air strike in a residential neighborhood in Fallujah. U.S. officials say that they targeted an Abu Musab al-Zarqawi safe house. Iraqi locals dispute the American account.
- OpenBeOS becomes Haiku (operating system), announced at the first in Columbus, Ohio.
- EU leaders meet in Brussels to try to agree on the draft European constitution amid the showing of popular discontent with national governments in the recent European Parliament election.
- The USA's 9/11 Commission states that although meetings between al Qaeda representatives and Iraqi government officials had taken place, it has found "no credible evidence" of a "collaborative relationship" between Saddam Hussein's Iraq and al Qaeda in the 9/11 attacks or in any other strike against U.S. interests. It also finds that the original plan involved ten jets and that there was dispute within the terrorist network about its implementation until only shortly before September 11.
- Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr calls upon members of his Mahdi Army to return to their homes and end their attacks.
- The trial begins of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Russian oil tycoon on charges of tax evasion and fraud; the proceedings are later adjourned.
- 25 people die and 100 hurt in a train derailment on the Konkan Railway in India, near the western city of Mumbai.
- Jiang Yanyong's wife, Hua Zhongwei, is reported to have been freed from detention incommunicado in China and returned to the couple's Beijing home.
- The Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change, a group of 27 retired U.S. diplomats and military officers, publishes an open letter that states that U.S. President George W. Bush has so harmed international relations that only a new leader can repair them.
- A computer virus capable of infecting cellphones running the Symbian OS with Bluetooth capabilities, "Cabir", has been developed by software experts.
- The Bloomsday centennial is commemorated in Dublin and around the world.
- The Hong Kong securities-industry watchdog obtained a court order freezing all assets belonging to hedge fund manager June 15, 2004
- A meteorite plunges into a family's living room in the Auckland, New Zealand suburb of Ellerslie on Saturday afternoon. No-one is hurt. Weighing 1.3 kilograms (2.9 pounds), it is the ninth ever meteorite to be found in the country, and the first to hit a home.
- In a Constitutional referendum in Ireland, the electorate approves
