February 1, 2004
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- A team composed of Russian scientists at Dubna (Joint Institute for Nuclear Research), and U.S. scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory report on the discovery of two new chemical elements, called "superheavies" because of their atomic mass. From the international convention governing the periodic table, element 113 will be given the temporary name Ununtrium (Uut) and element 115 will be designated Ununpentium (Uup). Their discovery still awaits confirmation.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
- Over one hundred MPs in Iran's parliament resign in protest at the Council of Guardians banning nearly two thousand candidates from standing at forthcoming general elections. [7]
- Pakistan removes Abdul Qadeer Khan, the founder of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program, from his post as a special adviser to the country's prime minister. Dr. Khan, three scientists and three low-level army officers are the focus of an investigation into the possible sharing of Pakistani nuclear technology with Iran, Libya and other countries in the late 1980s and early 1990s. [8]
- 244 Muslim worshippers are trampled to death during the ritual of the stoning of the devil at the Hajj (annual Muslim pilgrimage) in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.[9]
- Iraq: At least 56 are killed and over 200 injured when two suicide bombers hit the offices of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan in Irbil, 200 miles north of Baghdad. Hundreds had gathered at the party offices for the start of al-Adha. [10] [11] [12]
- The European Union and the United States file documents with the International Court of Justice opposing the court's decision to deliberate on Israel's "security fence".[13]
- The new Minato Mirai subway line in Yokohama, Japan opens. [14]
- The first Ghan passenger train across Australia from Adelaide to Darwin sets off on its three-day journey. [15]
- The New England Patriots defeat the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII 32-29 after Adam Vinatieri kicks a game-winning field goal with seconds remaining. During the halftime show, the breasts of Janet Jackson were exposed and caught on the CBS broadcast of the show. CBS was fined hundreds of thousands of dollars by the FCC later in the year.
