August 29, 2004

2004 Atlantic hurricane season: Tropical Storm Gaston makes landfall at Bulls Bay, South Carolina with near hurricane strength 70 mph winds. (CNN)
An explosion at a school in southern Afghanistan has killed at least 10 people, many of them children, the US military has said. (BBC)
Australian Prime Minister John Howard announces that the 2004 Australian federal election will take place on October 9, 2004. (ABC Au)
The 2004 Summer Olympics are closed by IOC President Jacques Rogge. (Reuters)
More than 400,000 demonstrators march in New York City, protesting U.S. President George W. Bush and the policies of the Republican Party on the eve of the 2004 Republican National Convention. Republican delegates and politicians, including Vice President Dick Cheney, also begin to arrive in the city. (The Scotsman) (Houston Chronicle) (Reuters) (BBC)
The Lebanese Cabinet, under Syrian pressure and despite widespread opposition, votes to modify the constitution to allow President Émile Lahoud a second term in office. Patriarch Sfeir states "we have completely lost sovereignty of our territory and our independence and freedom in choosing our rulers and deciding our own affairs." (NYT)
The British Royal Society, with 68 other organizations, urges the UN to ban reproductive but not therapeutic use of the technology in response to a US bid to ban human cloning altogether. (BBC)