2004

2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2004th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 4th year of the 3rd millennium and the 21st century, and the 5th year of the 2000s decade. Global politics was focused on the American occupation of Iraq and the Iraqi insurgency. The United States transferred control to the Iraqi Interim Government, and former ruler Saddam Hussein was put on trial for crimes against humanity. American involvement became more controversial as it was revealed that American soldiers were committing acts of torture against Iraqi prisoners and doubts grew about whether American claims of an Iraqi weapons of mass destruction program were accurate. Afghanistan held its first presidential election, which was won by Hamid Karzai. President Jean-Bertrand Aristide of Haiti was overthrown in a coup, and President Yasser Arafat of Palestine died in office. The International Criminal Court commenced operations and opened its first two investigations. NATO grew by seven members in 2004 and the European Union grew by ten. The economy grew steadily in 2004, especially in the developing world, and the developed world tightened monetary policy and raised interest rates. The United States dollar depreciated throughout the year. The nuclear weapons programs of Iran and North Korea saw renewed attention, especially after a suspected weapons test in North Korea, and it was discovered that Pakistan's nuclear weapons official Abdul Qadeer Khan was involved in black market activity. Gay rights remained a major issue among Protestant denominations, while Islam wrestled with the violence of Islamism. The spread of H5N1 avian influenza led to fears of a pandemic, but the total number of cases remained small. Russia's Soyuz program was the only crewed space program in 2004, but NASA's Spirit and Opportunity rovers landed on Mars in January. The debate over stem cell usage remained a major controversy in science. A new prehistoric human species, homo floresiensis, was discovered in 2004. The year's most destructive tropical storms included Hurricane Jeanne, Typhoon Rananim, Typhoon Muifa and Typhoon Nanmadol. The final days of 2004 were defined by a magnitude 9.1 earthquake that struck Indonesia and affected countries across the Indian Ocean, killing approximately 230,000 people. The 2004 Summer Olympics were held in their birthplace of Athens, Greece, where the United States won the most gold medals. Shrek 2 was the highest grossing film of the year and Confessions by Usher was the best-selling album. Tech releases in 2004 included the Nintendo DS handheld game console by Nintendo and the Firefox browser by Mozilla.

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