the newts.net

A brief review of the year 2004 with links to all stories.

• JANUARY.

January 4th - Unlike the UK’s ill fated Mars lander Beagle 2 that was supposed to land safely on Mars Christmas Day 2003, the American Mars rover ‘SPIRIT’ lands safely and begins to beam back incredible pictures of the Red Planet. Full Story.

January 13th - Britain’s most prolific serial killer Dr Harold Shipman dies after hanging himself with his bed sheets in his prison cell. Full Story.



• FEBRUARY.

February 6th - Tragedy strikes as fast incoming tides cut off Chinese cockle pickers in Morecambe bay, Lancashire. Some bodies are retreived but others wash ashore over the following weeks. A total of 21 bodies were recovered but 2 are still missing feared drowned. Full Story.



• MARCH.

March 11th - A series of 4 Al Qaeda bombs explode simultaneously at 3 different train stations in the Spanish capital Madrid. 191 people are killed and hundreds more injured. Full Story.



• APRIL.

April 30th - Michael Jackson denies child abuse charges. The falling star, who faces a long prison sentence if convicted, stepped up to a microphone and thanked his fans for their support but refused to answer questions. Full Story.



• MAY.

May 1st - The European Union welcomes 10 new members. The 15 old members welcomed in Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia at midnight. Full Story.



• JUNE.

June 5th - Ronald Reagan dies aged 93 after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. He became the 40th president of the United States in 1980 at the age of 69, the oldest man elected to the office. Full Story.

June 6th - 60th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe, where 250,000 died in the 80-day battle for Normandy. Full Story.



• JULY.

July 3rd - Screen legend Marlon Brando, famous for his roles in On the Waterfront and The Godfather, dies aged 80. Full Story.



• AUGUST.

August 7th - With an amazing 61% of the votes, Nadia Almada, a Portuguese post op transexual, becomes the fifth person to win the Channel Four reality TV show, Big Brother. Try the newts’ quiz NADIA or NOT or read the Full Story.

August 13th - The Olympics returns home as Athens welcomes the world to the opening of the XXVIII Olympiad. Full Story.

August 22nd - Armed robbers steal the iconic Edvard Munch painting, The Scream, from the Munch Museum in Norway. That along with another picture stolen, Madonna, were worth an estimated £10.4m. Full Story.



• SEPTEMBER.

September 3rd - The siege at at Beslan’s No 1 school enters its third and final day. Chechen separatists holding more than 1,000 children and adults are stormed by Russian special forces after a series of explosions. 326 people are killed. Most are children. Full Story.



• OCTOBER.

October 7th - After a spate of beheadings, Ken Bigley becomes the first British citizen to suffer this dreadful execution. Full Story.

October 11th - Superman star Christopher Reeve, who lobbied for medical research after being paralysed in a fall nine years ago, dies aged 52. Full Story.

October 16th - Veteran BBC broadcaster and champion of UK music John Peel dies at the age of 65, while on holiday in Peru. Full Story.

October 24th - Arsenal’s 49 games unbeaten run record comes to an end after they lose 2-0 to Manchester United. Full Story.



• NOVEMBER.

November 2nd - American President George ‘Dubya’ Bush is re-elected in to office for 4 more years after a close fought presidential race with democrat candidate John Kerry. Full Story.

November 11th - Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who led his people’s struggle for 40 years, dies aged 75 in a French hospital. Full Story.

November 14th - More than 40 music stars recorded a new version of Band Aid single Do They Know It’s Christmas? 20 years after the original. Full Story.



• DECEMBER.

December 15th - Home secretary David Blunkett resigns after getting caught with his fingers in one fish pie too many. Full Story.

December 26th - And sadly the year finishes with the biggest and saddest story. Late Christmas day / early Boxing day - A huge under sea earth quake measuring 9.0 on the richter scale causes a tsunami in the Indian Ocean, devastating numerous countries along it’s shore line. 125,000 people are confirmed dead with thousands missing. Millions are homeless and destitute, and threat of disease and starvation is imminent. Full Story.