WHAT HAPPENED IN 2004.
Look what happened the 2004.

The Beslan school hostage crisis commences when armed terrorists take children and adults hostage in Beslan in North Ossetia, Russia. (1. September 2004)

Beslan school hostage crisis – day 3: the Beslan hostage crisis ends with the deaths of over 300 people, more than half of which are children. (3. September 2004)

Hurricane Ivan, a Category 5 hurricane hits Grenada, killing 39 and damaging 90% of its buildings. (7. September 2004)

NASA's unmanned spacecraft Genesis crash-lands when its parachute fails to open. (8. September 2004)

2004 Australian embassy bombing: A bomb explodes outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta, killing 10 people. (9. September 2004)

National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman announces lockout of the players union and cessation of operations by the NHL head office. (15. September 2004)

Hurricane Jeanne: At least 1,070 in Haiti are reported to have been killed by floods. (23. September 2004)

The asteroid 4179 Toutatis passes within four lunar distances of Earth. (29. September 2004)

The Burt Rutan Ansari X Prize entry SpaceShipOne performs a successful spaceflight, the first of two required to win the prize. (29. September 2004)

The first images of a live giant squid in its natural habitat are taken 600 miles south of Tokyo. (30. September 2004)

The AIM-54 Phoenix, the primary missile for the F-14 Tomcat, is retired from service. Almost two years later, the Tomcat is retired. (30. September 2004)

SpaceShipOne wins Ansari X Prize for private spaceflight, by being the first private craft to fly into space. (4. October 2004)

Myanmar prime minister Khin Nyunt is ousted and placed under house arrest by the State Peace and Development Council on charges of corruption. (18. October 2004)

Care International aid worker Margaret Hassan is kidnapped in Iraq. (19. October 2004)

A powerful earthquake and its aftershocks hit Niigata prefecture, northern Japan, killing 35 people, injuring 2,200, and leaving 85,000 homeless or evacuated. (23. October 2004)

Arsenal Football Club loses to Manchester United, ending a row of unbeaten matches at 49 matches, which is the record in the Premier League. (24. October 2004)

Fidel Castro, Cuba's President, announces that transactions using the American Dollar will be banned. (25. October 2004)

The Arabic-language news network Al Jazeera broadcasts an excerpt from a 2004 Osama bin Laden video in which the terrorist leader first admits direct responsibility for the September 11, 2001 attacks and references the 2004 U.S. presidential election. (29. October 2004)

An express train collides with a stationary car near the village of Ufton Nervet, England, killing seven and injuring 150. (6. November 2004)

Iraq War: The interim government of Iraq calls for a 60-day "state of emergency" as U.S. forces storm the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah. (7. November 2004)