October 4, 2004 (Monday)
- Conflict in Iraq
- Three car bombs—two in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, and one in the northern city of Mosul—kill at least 26 people and wound at least 100. All the casualties are Iraqis. (Reuters) Archived 2005-04-08 at the Wayback Machine (BBC)
- The U.S. military continues its aerial bombardment of the rebel-held city of Fallujah. Local hospital officials say that nine people were killed. Elsewhere, two U.S. soldiers are shot dead at a checkpoint in Baghdad. (AP) (BBC)
- Canada's 38th Parliament opens with the selection of the Commons Speaker. It is the first minority government in 25 years. The Throne Speech follows tomorrow. (CBC)
- Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is officially declared the winner of last month's Indonesian presidential elections. (BBC)
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict
- United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan agrees to investigate claims that Palestinian terrorists are using UNRWA ambulances. (Jerusalem Post)[permanent dead link]
- At least three civilians are among the dead in the sixth day of the Israeli raid into the Jabaliya refugee camp. (BBC) (Channel news Asia) (Reuters)
- Scaled Composites SpaceShipOne reaches an estimated altitude of 112.2 km (69.7 mi), lands safely and wins the Ansari X Prize. (Spaceflight Now) (X Prize Foundation)
- Richard Axel and Linda B. Buck are awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries regarding odorant receptors and the organization of the olfactory system. (Nobel Prize)
- The retrial of 16 Hindus accused of murdering 14 people, mostly Muslims, in the 2002 Gujarat violence begins in Mumbai. India's Supreme Court ordered a re-trial after a Gujarat court acquitted the defendants. (BBC)
- The parliament of Cambodia ratifies legislation creating a tribunal that will try leaders of the former regime, the Khmer Rouge, for genocide and crimes against humanity. (BBC)
- Mercury astronaut Gordon Cooper dies of Parkinson's disease.