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| January 2002 |
January 2002(December 2001) 2002 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December
A timeline of events in the news for January, 2002.
See also:
- Afghanistan timeline January 1-16, 2002
- Afghanistan timeline January 17-31, 2002
- George W. Bush delivered his State of the Union Address to Congress.
- Enron hearings begin.
- Terrorist suspect John Walker Lindh's hearing begins.
- Kenneth Lay, CEO of the bankrupt Enron Corporation, resigns.
- Speed skating: world championships sprint, Hamar, Norway. Katriona Lemay-Doan of Canada wins in the women's event (2. Andrea Nuyt, Neth., 3. Anzhela Kotyuaga, Bel.), Jeremy Wotherspoon, also of Canada becomes the champion in the men's competition (2. Casey Fitzrandolph, USA, 3. Michael Ireland, Can.).
- Fast-food restaurant chain Wendy's founder Dave Thomas dies at 69.
- Ozzie Smith is elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame
- Michael Jordan's wife files for divorce.
- U.S. officials announce they have custody of Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi.
- The Israeli Army seizes the Karine A on the Red Sea, claiming the arms on the ship were bound for the Palestinian Authority.
- Tom Daschle accuses President Bush and the Republicans have caused the "most dramatic fiscal deterioration in our nation's history."
- The United States Department of Labor announces that the United States unemployment rate rose to 5.8% in December.
- U2, India Arie, and Alicia Keys lead the nominations for the 44th annual Grammy Awards from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
- The movies Impostor, Eisenstein, Black Hawk Down, and Gosford Park are released in the U.S.
- Beer brewer Freddy Heineken (grandson of the brewery's founder) died in his home at the age of 78.
- Euro banknotes and coins become legal tender in 12 member states of the European Union.
Topics in the news in January 2002
- Ethnicity: Israeli - Jew - Palestinian
- Geography:
- Re Colin Powell's speech: Gaza - Gaza Strip - Golan Heights - Israel - Judea - Palestine - Syria - West Bank
- Re airport security bill: Reagan National Airport
- Re germ warfare: Iraq - North Korea
- Law: anti-terrorism legislation
- Organizations, governmental and professional: Air Transport Association - American Automobile Association - House of Lords - United States Department of Transportation
- People: Yasser Arafat - Caroline Dickinson - Saddam Hussein - Shimon Peres - Colin Powell - Condoleezza Rice - Nabil Shaath - Ariel Sharon
- Religion: Islam - Judaism
- Concepts:
- Military and defense: biological weapons program - sniffer dogs - weapons of mass destruction - x-ray searching
- Other: airline baggage - bounty - bounty hunter - sniffer dog - x-ray searching
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Background for events in January 2002
The War in Afghanistan: Background
- Developing stories: 2001 U.S. Attack on Afghanistan - individual cases of anthrax
- Ethnicity: Demographics of Afghanistan - Azerbaijan - Pashtun - Tajik
- Geography: Afghanistan - Baghlan, Afghanistan - Israel - Kabul - Kandahar - Kunduz, Afghanistan - New York City - Pakistan - Palestine - United States of America - Washington, D.C.
- History: September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack/Back history
- People: Osama bin Laden - Tony Blair - George W. Bush - Abdul Rashid Dostum - Pervez Musharraf - Mullah Mohammed Omar - Burhanuddin Rabbani - Donald Rumsfeld - Abdul Sattar
- Organizations: al Qaeda - CDC - Northern Alliance - Taliban - United Nations - United Nations Security Council - U.S. Special Operations
- Concepts
- Geographical: airport - airspace - pipeline
- Military/guerilla/defense technology and strategy: aircraft carrier - airport security - anthrax - antibiotic resistance - baggage screening - biological warfare - biological weapon - car bomb - ciprofloxacin - domestic security - gas mask - germ warfare - aircraft hijacking - smallpox - terrorist cell - vaccine
- Political: anti-Americanism - domestic terrorism - foreign aid - foreign aid worker - humanitarian aid - peace - risk analysis - terrorism - terrorist groups - war
- Religious: Islamism
- Psychological: collective trauma
U.S. Domestic Response to Terrorism: Background
- Geography: New York City - Reno, Nevada - Washington, D.C.
- People: John Ashcroft - George W. Bush - Colin Powell -
- Organizations: Air Transport Association - Central Intelligence Agency - U.S. Department of Defense - Federal Bureau of Investigation - Office of Homeland Security
- Concepts: bipartisanship - electronic surveillance - encryption - wiretap - tax cut
The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Background
- Ethnicity: Israeli - Jew - Palestinian
- Geography: Gaza - Gaza Strip - Golan Heights - Israel - Judea - Palestine - Syria - West Bank
- People: Yasser Arafat - Shimon Peres - Colin Powell - Nabil Shaath - Ariel Sharon
- Religion: Islam - Judaism
- The terrorist attack: September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack - World Trade Center - The Pentagon - New York City - Washington, D.C. - AA Flight 11 - UA Flight 75 - AA Flight 77 - UA Flight 93 - September 11
India and Pakistan
- India/Transnational issues
- Kashmir
Other Conflicts
- East Timor
Science and Technology
- Max Perutz, the molecular biologist, has died at the age of 87.
- A new genetic mechanism has been found allowing evolution to radically redesign body plans, caused by mutations occurring in the regulatory genes that control embryonic development.
Europe
- ETA
- Anti-war protests
Business news
- recession
- stock market - stock exchange - Dow Jones Industrial Average - NASDAQ
- Cisco Systems
- United Auto Workers
- Railtrack
Celebrity news
- Jennifer Lopez - Sharon Stone - aneurysm
Sports news
- Basketball: Michael Jordan returns to the NBA, with the Washington Wizards
- American football: Super Bowl XXXVI
- 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah
- 2002-01
December 20012001 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December
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Events:
- December 2 - Enron files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection five days after Dynegy canceled a US$8.4 billion buyout bid (as of 2003 this was the largest bankruptcy in the history of the United States).
- December 4 - Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah Al-Haj, Sultan of Selangor and 11th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia dies in office.
- December 13 - Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin, Raja of Perlis becomes the 12th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia
- December 14 - Annular solar eclipse
- December 18 - Two men, Ahmed Agiza and Muhammad Zery, are secretly deported to Egypt from Sweden after a request from the United States in what is believed to be a CIA-led operation. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11976-2004Jul24.html (Washington Post)]
- December 20 - The Argentine government of President Fernando De la Rúa collapses amidst rioting and violence throughout the country. See December 2001 riots (Argentina)
- December 27 - The People's Republic of China is granted permanent normal trade status with the United States.
- 2001-12
February 20022002 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December
- Alicia Keys wins five Grammys.
- Today is the centennial of John Steinbeck's birth.
- "War on Terrorism": The U.S. sends Special Operations Forces to the former Soviet republic of Georgia to help combat guerrilla fighters, though Russia protests.
- Ethnic violence in India: 57 people die in Godhra when a Muslim mob sets fire to a carriage on the Sabarmati Express filled with Vishwa Hindu Parishad activists returning from Ayodhya en route to Ahmedabad. After detaching the burned carriage, the train continues to Vadodara, where Hindus beat and stab people leaving the train, killing one. A 17-year-old is later killed in Godhra by police trying to disrupt mobs.
- 12 Shiite Muslims are killed in a mosque in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
- Chuck Jones, Academy-Award-winning animator, dies at 89.
- British Telecommunications plc starts its US federal court case relating to a controversial patent that it claims gives it a monopoly on the technology of web links.
- The opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, which are held in Salt Lake City.
- Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said today that the United States was willing to sign a treaty with Russia on limiting strategic nuclear weapons, indicating a possible shift in administration policy after withdrawing, last December, from the Antiballistic Missile Treaty of 1972. President George W. Bush and President Vladimir V. Putin are to hold a arms reduction summit meeting in Moscow this May. - Background material: nuclear disarmament, nuclear warfare, nuclear proliferation.
- American football: Super Bowl XXXVI: New England Patriots 20, Saint Louis Rams 17 -- one of the most astonishing upsets in Super Bowl history.
- Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, heir to the Dutch throne, marries Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti in Amsterdam.
- 2002-02
April 20022002 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December
A timeline of events in the news for April, 2002.
See also: Afghanistan timeline April 2002
- Recent celebrity deaths: Alexander Lebed - Russian General who ran for the presidency against Boris Yeltsin; Ruth Handler - inventor of the Barbie Doll
- In Erfurt, Germany, a nineteen-year-old runs amok at his high school, killing 14 teachers, two other pupils and himself. The event sparks a discussion about stricter weapons laws in Germany, and about banning violent computer games and movies.
- Extreme-right candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen qualifies for second round of French Presidential Elections. Right-wing incumbent Jacques Chirac places first. Socialist prime minister Lionel Jospin places third and announces his retirement from politics. Thousands take to the street all over France to protest against Le Pen.
- Chirac (19.9%), Le Pen (17.4%), Jospin (16.3%), Bayrou (6.5%), Lauguiller (6.3%), Mamere (5.5%), Chevenement (5.3%), Besancenot (4.5%), Saint-Josse (4.0%), Hue(3.6%). Turnout 75%.
- Hetal Panjari's father Mr. Shantilal Mehta died on the spot as a Mud carrying vehicle dashed into him throwing him around ten feet away. He is survived by his wife Jayaben Tejani, sons Mukesh and Ashwin, daughters Pratibha, Kokila, Hema and Hetal. All are married and well settled.
- Hugo Chavez returns to power in Venezuela.
- Coup d'�tat in Venezuela. President Hugo Ch�vez is brought to military barracks. Military announces transitional government consisting of mix of civilians and military headed by leader of the Venezualan Chamber of Commerce(FEDECAMERAS), Pedro Carmona, who immediately repeals constitution, dissolves supreme court and parliament.
- Ten nations deposit their ratifications for the International Criminal Court at a United Nations ceremony, bringing the total to 66, well above the 60 needed to bring the Statute into force. The ICC will therefore come into force on 1 July 2002.
- There are reports that the Poincar� conjecture may have been solved by Martin Dunwoody.
- As the Israeli-Palestinian conflict intensifies, the United States repeats its demands to Israel that it should pull back its troops.
- Various April Fool's hoaxes are perpetrated throughout the world, as is custom.
- 2002-04
May 20022002 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December
A timeline of events in the news for May, 2002.
See also:
- Afghanistan timeline May 2002
- The United States Department of State issues a travel warning advising all Americans except for essential diplomatic personnel (about 60,000 people) to leave India because "conditions along India's border with Pakistan and in the state of Jammu and Kashmir have deteriorated."
- The European Union ratifies the Kyoto Protocol treaty, and Japan stated they would shortly.
- Football World Cup 2002: Senegal defeats defending champion France 1-0.
- Miller Brewing is acquired from Philip Morris by South African Brewing for $3.6 billion in stock.
- September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack: A wordless ceremony at the World Trade Center site marks the end of the recovery effort. In the ceremony, which started at 10:29 AM with the tolling of a firemen's bell, a stretcher with an American flag, symbolizing the victims whose remains were not recovered or yet identified was carried up the 500-foot ramp to an FDNY ambulance, which slowly left the site, as did the flatbed truck carrying the last steel beam to be removed. The ceremony included the playing of America the Beautiful by the NYPD pipe-and-drum corps, a flyover by five NYPD helicopters, and the playing of taps by a NYPD and FDNY bugler. The ceremony was attended by hundreds of rescue and recovery workers, family members of victimes, and New York politicians.
- September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack: The last steel beam standing at the World Trade Center site is cut down and placed on a flatbed truck (to be carried away Thursday) in a quiet ceremony honoring the construction workers.
- Space exploration: The BBC reports that the NASA space probe Mars Odyssey has found signs of huge ice deposits on the planet Mars.
- China Airlines Flight 611, breaks up in mid-flight while flying from Chiang Kai Shek International Airport in Taipei, Taiwan to Hong Kong International Airport in Hong Kong, China. All passengers and crew on board perished.
- An article in the journal Science reports that a new naturally-occurring amino acid has been found in a certain type of archaic bacteria. This puts the total number of known amino acids used in living organisms to 22. Scientists are calling this new amino acid Pyrrolysine.
- Recent celebrity deaths: Golfer Sam Snead dies at 89.
- The Indian-Pakistani conflict intensifies in the Kashmir region. Both powers have nuclear weapons.
- Recent (discovery of) celebrity deaths: Police find the remains of missing intern Chandra Levy in a park in Washington, DC.
- Recent celebrity deaths: The French artist Niki de Saint Phalle dies in San Diego, California, aged 71.
- East Timor becomes an independent state.
- Recent celebrity deaths: Stephen Jay Gould dies.
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict: A suicide bomber disguised as an Israeli soldier kills at least two Israelis and wounds more than 50 in Netanya.
- Politics of the Netherlands: General elections for the lower house of parliament were held.
- The Lijst Pim Fortuyn (LPF) was the great winner, the party gained 26 of the 150 seats, a historic achievement for a new party. The CDA (Christen Democratisch Appèl) led by Jan Peter Balkenende became the greatest party (43 seats). The great losers were the coalition parties of the ruling "purple coalition" (PvdA, labour party; VVD, liberals; D'66, leftist liberals). These parties were deminished to half of their former size. Ad Melkert (PvdA) resigns as political leader of his party.
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Muhammad al-Madani, governor of Bethlehem, leaves the Church of the Nativity
- Israel calls up additional reserve forces and moves tanks into position for an expected incursion into the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the most recent suicide bombing.
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict: A Palestinian suicide bomber badly injures himself near Megiddo, southeast of Haifa, when the explosives he was carrying go off prematurely.
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict: A Palestinian suicide bomber kills 15 and wounds 58 in a billiards and gambling club in Rishon le Zion at approximately 11 pm local time, while Ariel Sharon is meeting with President Bush in Washington D.C.
- Recent celebrity deaths: In the Netherlands, controversial right wing politician Pim Fortuyn is shot dead when leaving a radio studio, nine days before the general election for the lower house of parliament.
- Jacques Chirac wins the French presidential elections with 82.21% of the vote to 17.79% for Jean-Marie Le Pen, the turnout was 79.71%. Chirac appoints Jean-Pierre Raffarin as his prime minister, replacing Lionel Jospin.
- 2002-05
July 20022002 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December
A timeline of events in the news for July, 2002.
See also:
- Afghanistan timeline July 2002
- The Foreign Relations Committee of the United States Senate begins hearings on the proposed invasion of Iraq
- The Stock Market continues its recovery from the Stock market downturn of 2002
- In Mexico Pope John Paul II canonizes St. Juan Diego an Indian who had a vision of the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe.
- Pope John Paul II canonizes Pedro de San Jose Betancur.
- Greek electronic game ban: The bill 3037/2002, a controversial attempt to fight illegal gambling, is declared a law in Greece.
- England beats India in the first cricket test match of the series.
- Cyclist Lance Armstrong wins his fourth consecutive Tour de France.
- Ukraine airshow disaster: A Sukhoi Su-27 fighter plane crashes into a crowd at an airshow in Lviv in Ukraine, killing at least 78 people and injuring many more.
- A series of bomb blasts have rocked the Christian districts of the city of Ambon in Indonesia in what appears to be a continuation of violence between Christian and Muslim inhabitants. Over the past 5 years more than 5000 people have been killed in this conflict.
- Nine American miners have been rescued from a mine in Pennsylvania, after frantic drilling by rescuers.
- The Homeland Security Bill passes the United States House of Representatives, in a form that appears to kill Operation TIPS.
- A US proposal to delay adoption of a new United Nations anti-torture pact was defeated 15-29, after which the pact was adopted by the Economic and Social Council. The US cited concerns that, if adopted by the General Assembly, American state prisons and other facilities may become subject to inspection.
- Open source: Streaming media company RealNetworks has announced that it will support the free software Ogg Vorbis audio compression technology as part of its new open-source initiative. This will provide a mass market for the Vorbis technology, allowing it access to network effects which may make it a serious competitor to Microsoft's closed technologies.
- First near-earth object to be given a positive rating on the Palermo Technical Impact Hazard Scale for potential Earth collision is (89959) 2002 NT7 with a potential impact on February 1, 2019.
- US Congressman James Traficant was expelled from the House of Representatives on a vote of 420 to 1. Traficant had been convicted of ten federal counts of corruption.
- The major Millennium Challenge 2002 wargame run by the United States armed forces begins.
- Recent celebrity deaths: Chaim Potok, novelist dies of cancer at age 73
- 40 years ago today, Telstar transmits the first trans-Atlantic television signal.
- A few hours after the spiritual leader of Hamas, Ahmed Yassin, offered to halt all suicide attacks in exchange for full Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza Strip, an Israeli F-16 jet dropped a bomb into a densely populated residential area of Gaza City. Fifteen people were killed, including Salah Shehade (the leader of Hamas's military wing, the Izz ad-Din el-Qasam Brigades), and more than 100 others were wounded. Nine of the dead were children, including Mohammed al-Huwaiti (aged 4), his brother Subhi (aged 3), Ayman Mattar (aged 1) and Dunya Rami Mattar (aged 3 months). The United Nations swiftly condemned the action as a flagrant violation of international law. Ariel Sharon, Israel's Prime Minister, said it was "one of our biggest successes," though the Prime Minister's office later added, "it is well known he regrets the killing of civilians." [http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/meast/07/23/hanna.gaza.otsc/]
- An earthquake (magnitude 4.7) hits parts of Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
- Accounting scandals: WorldCom has filed for bankruptcy protection, in the largest corporate insolvency ever.
- Harry Potter. The director for the third Harry Potter film has been announced as Mexican-born Alfonso Cuaron. Cuaron will start directing "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" next year.
- Politics of the Netherlands. A new cabinet is sworn in, with Jan Peter Balkenende replacing Wim Kok as Prime Minister. He heads a coalition of three parties: Christen Democratisch Appèl, Lijst Pim Fortuyn and Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie. One of the state secretaries of the new cabinet resigned a few hours later.
- Patents: Forgent Networks has asserted that it owns and will enforce patent rights on the widely-used JPEG image compression standard which is used widely on the World Wide Web. The announcement has created a furore remisicent of Unisys' attempts to assert its rights over the GIF image compression standard.
- Muslim missile engineer Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam is elected president of India, to be sworn into office July 25.
- John Walker Lindh, the so-called "American Taliban", pled guilty to two charges, and prosecutors dropped the rest. He will be sentenced in October.
- French president Jacques Chirac misses a would-be assassin's bullet during Bastille Day celebrations.
- Michel Brunet, a paleontologist at the University of Poitiers, France, announced in the journal Nature that a 7 million-year-old skull found in the desert of Chad is the earliest hominid fossil ever found. But he was immediately met by a firestorm of criticism from other scientists who claim that it is merely the skull of a female gorilla.
- George W. Bush gives a stern speech addressing American accountancy scandals.
- Recent celebrity deaths: Rod Steiger, American actor, aged 77.
- Organization of African Unity disbanded, African Union created.
- Recent celebrity deaths: Ted Williams, baseball player, aged 83.
- Luisa Rivers Murder Children dead.
- Nicotine water is ruled illegal by the Food and Drug Administration.
- Entertainment - Yahoo! Internet Life magazine folds.
- Medicine - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the United States will be headed by an infectious disease expert.
- Technology - A US federal judge decided that Microsoft is not required to reveal its lobbying contacts.
- A Russian Tupolev Tu-154 airliner and a Boeing 757 operated by DHL collide at 35,000ft over Uberlingen, due to failure of correct communication from ground-to-air. The 69 people aboard the Tupolev (mainly Russian schoolchildren) and the two pilots of the Boeing are all killed.
- 2002-07
September 20022002 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December
A timeline of events in the news for September, 2002.
See also:
- Afghanistan timeline September 2002
- Senator Robert Torricelli (D-NJ) withdraws from his campaign for reelection following ethics scandals.
- NOAA and NASA researchers announce the ozone hole over Antarctica has grown markedly smaller since last year and has broken into two, due to warmer temperatures.
- Accounting scandals: New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has filed civil fraud lawsuits against ex-WorldCom CEO Bernie Ebbers, Qwest Communications executives Philip Anschutz and Joseph Naccio, Metromedia Fiber Networks chairman Stephen Garofalo, and ex-McLeod USA CEO Clark McLeod.
- 2002 stock market downturn: Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi fired financial regulator Hakuo Yanagisawa in favor of economy minister Heizo Takenaka.
- Hundreds of thousands of people marched in London to protest the U.S. plan to invade Iraq. About a hundred thousand also protested in Rome, Italy.
- Several thousand people marched in Denver, Colorado to protest the U.S. plan to invade Iraq when President Bush visited the city.
- Sports: The best golfers in Europe and the United States begin competition for the 2002 Ryder cup at The Belfry in England.
- The annual G7 meeting begins the weekend of the 2002 IMF/World Bank annual meetings in Washington, D.C.. 649 protesters from the alternative globalization movement are arrested.
- East Timor becomes the 191st member of the United Nations.
- India: The federal government has moved thousands of troops into the state of Gujarat after 32 people were killed in an attack on a Hindu temple. According to the government, the move is aimed at preventing further communal violence in the aftermath of the attack.
- Technology: Motorola has announced a single-chip satellite navigation receiver, opening the possibility of the addition of location-specific functions to low cost ubiquitous computing devices. The chip combines RF processing, analog signal processing, digital signal processing and a CPU on a single chip.
- Côte d'Ivoire: Côte d'Ivoire rebel soldiers, still attempting to overthrow the government, have invested a compound containing over 100 American citizens and other foreigners. 200 United States Marines have entered the country to rescue the foreigners.
- Belgium is the second European country (after the Netherlands) to legalise euthanasia.
- Stock market downturn of 2002: Global indices sink heavily today, with the Nasdaq falling 3 percent to a 6-year low of 1,184.94. The yield of the U.S. Treasury's 10-year bond sank to a 40-year low of 3.70 percent, with the 2-year bond yield falling to a record low of 1.89 percent. Meanwhile, concern of the U.S. plan to invade Iraq pushed oil prices to over $30 a barrel, not seen since February 2001.
- Spratly Islands: The Governor of the Philippine state of Palawan has sent Philippine soldiers to take possession of the uninhabited oil-rich Spratly Islands, which are claimed by the Philippines, Brunei, the People's Republic of China, Malaysia, the Republic of China (Taiwan), and Vietnam.
- A new Bundestag (German parliament) is chosen. In a very tight election, Gerhard Schröder defeats Edmund Stoiber to remain Chancellor. The German Green Party does very well. The coalitation between the SPD and the German Green Party continue with Joschka Fischer as vice chancellor.
- Politics of Germany, Bundestag, List of political parties in Germany (SPD, CDU/CSU, Greens, FDP, PDS)
- People: Guido Westerwelle (Chancellor-Candidate of the FDP)
- recent celebrity deaths: Science fiction author Robert L. Forward dies.
- U.S. plan to invade Iraq: White House and Pentagon officials announce that Gen. Tommy Franks presented detailed war plans to President Bush in early September.
- An attempted coup by disaffected former soldiers of Côte d'Ivoire was put down, with the death of the alleged coup leader, General Robert Guéï, a former military dictator of the country. Guéï was killed when his car refused to stop at a roadblock in downtown Abidjan. Rebels continue in control of the cities of Bouaké and Korhogo.
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict: After a suicide bomber kills 5 and wounds more than 60 on a bus next to Tel Aviv's Great Synagogue, Israeli troops, tanks, and bulldozers destroy buildings in Yasser Arafat's Ramallah headquarters.
- U.S. plan to invade Iraq: The Bush administration pressures US Congress to pass a resolution giving Bush authority to use "all means he determines to be appropriate, including force" to oust Saddam Hussein and disarm Iraq.
- Extreme weather, recent celebrity deaths: About one-third of the Maili glacier breaks off from the Caucasus Mountains and buries Karmadon, Russia under up to 500 feet of ice and debris, killing 125, including the young Russian movie star Sergei Bodrov Jr.
- After three days of negotiations in Sattahip, Thailand, the Tamil Tigers agreed to drop their demand for independence from Sri Lanka, and accepted autonomy in the north and northwest of the country.
- Archaeologists use a remote-controlled robot to access a hitherto sealed chamber within the Great Pyramid of Giza: the robot drilled a hole in a long-sealed door and poked a fiber-optic camera through. Unfortunately, all that was revealed was another closed door.
- Nazi collaborator Maurice Papon is released from jail due to health reasons.
- Recent celebrity deaths: Athlete Bob Hayes dies.
- U.S. plan to invade Iraq: Colin Powell meets with the U.N. Security Council to push for stronger resolutions against Iraq. In a surprise reversal, Iraq tells the UN it will allow weapons inspectors "immediately and without condition."
- Cryptography: A worrying theoretical cryptanalytic attack on the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) has been announced in a paper by Nicolas Courtois and Josef Pieprzyk entitled "Cryptanalysis of Block Ciphers with Overdefined Systems of Equations". This appears to show a surprising potential theoretical weakness in the AES algorithm.
- Tim Montgomery of the United States broke the world record in the 100 meter dash at the IAAF Grand Prix Final, running 9.78 seconds to beat the former record of 9.79 set by Maurice Greene of the United States in 1999.
- In both San Francisco and Los Angeles, California, hundreds of anti-war protesters marched and spoke out against the U.S. plan to invade Iraq.
- U.S. plan to invade Iraq: In a speech before the U.N. General Assembly, George W. Bush asserts that Iraq has defied various U.N. resolutions and is "a threat to the authority of the United Nations and a threat to peace". He says that the US will work with the Security Council to draft the necessary resolutions for military action.
- The first anniversary of the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack is marked by many services and memorials.
- Ramzi Binalshibh, a key al Qaeda member who supposedly helped to plan the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack was captured in Pakistan
- Johnny Unitas dies.
- Switzerland becomes a full member of the UN.
- Large deposits of methane hydrate are found off the west coast of Vancouver Island.
- Martin Strel is swimming to his final destination of the Gulf of Mexico.
- 2002 US Open: Pete Sampras defeats Andre Agassi in four sets to win his record 14th major.
- 2002 US Open: Serena Williams defeats Venus Williams.
- September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack/Memorials and Services: The US Congress convenes for a one-day joint session in Federal Hall in New York City, the original capital of the United States.
- An assassination attempt was made on President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan in Kandahar. A gunman wearing the uniform of the new Afghan Army opened fire, wounding the Governor of Kandahar and an American Special Operations officer. The gunman and one of the President's bodyguards were killed.
- Argentina defeated the United States, 87-80, at the World Basketball Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was the first loss ever in international play for a United States team containing National Basketball Association players.
- The Oakland Athletics baseball team won their 20th consecutive game, an American League record.
- Stock market downturn of 2002: The Nikkei stock average falls 3.2 percent to 9,217.04, an 18-year low.
- 2002 US Open: Lindsay Davenport defeated Yelena Bovina to advance to the semi-finals against the winner of Serena Williams vs. Daniela Hantuchová; Monica Seles defeated Martina Hingis to advance to the quarter-finals against Venus Williams.
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict: The Arab League disavowed the final statement made by the Zayed Center for Coordination and Follow-up, claiming that they adhere to a policy of supporting Israel's right to exist within pre-1967 borders, and restating that the conflict in the Middle East is between Palestinians and Israelis, not all Jews.
- 2002-09
September 8 2002 On this date five Bush administration officials appeared on Sunday news talk shows, presenting their case for military intervention in Iraq to avert a nuclear or chemical
attack by Saddam Hussein. Vice President Dick Cheney appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press", Joint Chief of Staff Chairman General Richard Myers on ABC's "This Week", National Security Advisor Condaleeza Rice on CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer", Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on CBS's "Face the Nation", and Secretary of State Colin Powell on "Fox News Sunday". CNN.com, http://cnn.allpolitics, also "The Nation" magazine November 14, 2005 article "The White House Criminal Conspiracy" by Elizabeth DeLaVega.
October 20022002 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December
A timeline of events in the news for October, 2002.
- The Russian Health Minister Yuri Shevchenko has now stated that the incapacitating agent used in the storming of the Moscow theatre siege was a fentanyl derivative.
- Over a million people gather in Greenwich Village to celebrate Halloween.
- Nine bombs exploded in Soweto, South Africa and the vicinity and one near Pretoria. It is believed to be the work of white right-wing soldiers or police.
- Pat Buchanan denounces Canada as Soviet Canuckistan over the warning issued by the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs regarding travel to the US (see October 29 below.)
- Recent deaths: Run-DMC DJ Jam Master Jay is shot and killed at age 37.
- The Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party chose former Vice President of the United States Walter Mondale as their candidate for the United States Senate seat of recently-deceased Senator Paul Wellstone from Minnesota.
- The government of Canada issued a travel advisory to the United States for all Canadian citizens born in Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan or Syria after the United States announced that anyone born in those countries will be photographed and fingerprinted upon arrival in the United States.
- The European Union accused tobacco company R.J. Reynolds of selling black market cigarettes to drug traffickers and mobsters from Italy, Russia, Colombia and the Balkans.
- Moscow theatre siege: Some medical experts now believe that the Moscow hostages and terrorists were gassed with a military incapacitating agent such as BZ or a similar substance. Others claim that a fentanyl derivative may have been used. The U.S. Embassy in Moscow stated that it believed that the substance was an opiate. Other candidates suggested include the Russian incapacitating agent Kolokol-1 and aerosolized Valium. Yet another medical expert has stated that the gas used is a common anaesthetic gas that is commonly used in Europe.
- Jack the Ripper: The crime novelist Patricia Cornwell announces DNA evidence possibly linking the painter Walter Sickert to one of the many letters claiming to be from the 19th century serial killer Jack the Ripper.
- The Canadian ministry of foreign affairs issues an advisory to Canadians born in Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, and Sudan warning them to "consider carefully" whether to go to the United States for "any reason." This follows a US law requiring photos and fingerprints of Canadian citizens born in those countries upon entering the US, as well as the deportation to Syria of Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen. The American ambassador, Paul Cellucci, later assures the Canadian government that all Canadian passport holders will be treated equally; however, further incidents attributed to racial profiling take place.
- Sports: Team Bath become the first university team to qualify for the FA Cup First Round since 1882. They beat Horsham 4-3 on penalties in the Fourth Qualifying Round replay.
- Sports: The Anaheim Angels win the 2002 World Series by 4 games to 3, with a 4-1 win over the San Francisco Giants in Game 7.
- Sports: Emmitt Smith of the Dallas Cowboys passes Walter Payton as the NFL's leading rusher in a 17-14 loss to the Seattle Seahawks
- Leftist Luis Inácio Lula da Silva handily wins Brazil's presidential election
- Sports: The Anaheim Angels force a decisive 7th game with the San Francisco Giants in the 2002 World Series with a dramatic late-inning rally from 5-0 to win 6-5
- Moscow theatre siege: Special forces of the Russian army attacked the Chechen separatists who were holding hostages in a Moscow theater. 50 of the 53 separatists and 117 of the 800 hostages were killed. Most of hostages were killed by poison gas used by the special forces, with most of the surviving hostages hospitalised with gas poisoning.
- Recent celebrity deaths: Richard Harris, Irish actor, dies at 72 in hospital from Hodgkin's disease, a form of lymphoma.
- Recent celebrity deaths: Paul Wellstone, U.S. Senator, is killed in a plane crash with his wife, daughter, and five others.
- Moscow theatre siege: The Chechen separatist "suicide squad" released eight children but kept some 700 people hostage in a Moscow theater rigged with explosives. Diplomats waited for the gunmen to honor a pledge to free about 75 foreigners among their hostages, including Australians, Austrians, Britons, Germans and three Americans.
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Hundreds of Israeli soldiers backed by scores of tanks and other military vehicles took control of the Palestinian city of Jenin in response to a suicide bombing that killed 14 people.
- Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi dissolved the country's Parliament, officially starting the campaign for one of the East African country's most competitive general elections and closing his tenure as one of Africa's longest ruling leaders.
- IBM has announced that its Blue Gene petaflop supercomputer architecture will use the Linux operating system.
- Moscow theatre siege: The Chechen rebels holding hundreds of hostages in a Moscow theater shot and killed one captive and said they were ready to die for their cause, warning that thousands more of their comrades were "keen on dying."
- Beltway sniper: Within hours of Police Chief Charles Moose announcing that John Allen Muhammed was wanted in connection with the investigation, Muhammed and his 17-year-old stepson John Lee Malvo were arrested on federal weapons charges, found with the rifle used in the shootings.
- Recent celebrity deaths: Adolph Green, prolific playwright and lyricist, dies at 87. With songwriter Betty Comden, he wrote the hit Broadway musicals On the Town, Wonderful Town, and Bells Are Ringing and screenplays for Singin' in the Rain and The Band Wagon.
- Recent celebrity deaths: Harry Hay, gay rights activist. He founded the Mattachine Society, the first gay rights group in the US. He also helped found the Rainbow Coalition and the Radical Faeries.
- Moscow theatre siege: Suspected Chechen guerrillas took hundreds hostage in a theater in Moscow, threatening to blow up the building and demanding withdrawal of Russian troops from Chechnya.
- Washington sniper: Police reported that a ransom note was left at the scene of the latest shooting by the person believed to have shot 13 people and killed 9. The note apparently demanded $10 million, and it contained a threat to local residents saying, "Your children are not safe anywhere at any time."
- recent celebrity deaths: Former CIA chief Richard Helms dies at 89.
- The German Bundestag made Gerhard Schröder again Chancellor. He was elected with 305 votes, one vote out of the 306 red-green coalition missing. After that, the new ministers of the Bundesregierung were appointed.
- Canadian author Yann Martel won the Booker Prize for his "quirky fable" Life of Pi. The prize is worth £50,000 ($77,300). Martel's work was picked from 130 novels from Britain, Ireland and the Commonwealth.
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Sixteen people were killed and 30 wounded when a car pulled alongside a commuter bus and exploded in Israel's Karkur Junction. The militant Islamic Jihad movement claimed responsibility for the attack, which police described as a suicide bombing.
- Washington sniper: Authorities took two men into custody for questioning in the Washington-area sniper attacks, after surrounding a white van parked at a pay phone. They were later said not to be related to the sniper investigation.
- European Union: The Irish referendum on the Treaty of Nice has approved Ireland's acceptance of the treaty, removing an obstacle to the proposed expansion of the EU to 25 countries. Since the caretaker administration in the Netherlands has also agreed not to veto the expansion, relying on the support of the parliamentary opposition, it seems that it will be approved by all member states.
- Astronomy: Asteroid 2002 AA29 appears to be an astronomical object sharing the orbit of the Earth in an unusual "horseshoe" orbit.
- The singer Jessica Simpson marries Nick Lachey, also a singer.
- Computer chess: Chess champion Vladimir Kramnik and the computer program Deep Fritz have drawn the Brains in Bahrain match, a series of eight games, with 4 points each.
- October 18, 2002 Manila bus bombing: A bomb exploded in suburban Manila, destroying a bus and killing at least three people, while 23 others were wounded. A grenade exploded in the Philippine capital's financial district hours earlier. The bomb attacks occurred only one day after two deadly bombings in the southern Philippines.
- An armed individual entered a school in Stuttgart, Germany and held five people hostage, demanding a ransom for their release. The hostages were known to be four schoolchildren and one teacher. The 16-year old subsequently released the hostages and surrendered peacefully.
- Valentin Tsvetkov, governor of the Russian Far East region of Magadan, was assassinated on the streets in Moscow, in what authorities claim was probably a contract killing.
- Zamboanga bombings: Two bombs exploded in the main shopping district of the mostly Christian city of Zamboanga in the southern Philippines, killing six and wounding about 150. It was the second major evident terrorist incident in southeast Asia in less than a week. Suspicion immediately focused on Jemaah Islamiyah, an Islamic extremist group also being investigated for the October 11 Bali car bombing, in which more than 180 people died.
- Astronomy: There is further evidence for the existence of a supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way galaxy. The object Sagittarius A
- has now been identified as the black hole at the galactic centre by a team led by Rainer Schödel of the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, who observed the behavior of the star S2 which is near Sagittarius A
- .
- U.S. officials announce the existence of a clandestine North Korea nuclear weapons program, admitted to by North Korean officials.
- Politics of the Netherlands: the cabinet of Balkenende resigns. Because of the constant internal fighting in the new party LPF, the other two governing parties, CDA and VVD decided that continuing the coalition was impossible. It seems almost certain that there will be new elections, possibly as early as December.
- Officials in Brussels fear that the collapse in the Netherlands will delay the expansion of the EU. The Netherlands cabinet was already divided on the issue and if new elections are to be held it may take 4-5 months before another cabinet is installed that is willing to make a decision.
- Politics of Germany: Gerhard Schröder and Joschka Fischer sign the coalition treaty for the second red-green cabinet.
- A Kyiv judge ordered prosecutors to open a criminal probe of Ukraine's veteran President Leonid Kuchma, on charges of corruption and abuse of power.
- ImClone Systems founder Sam Waksal pleaded guilty to bank fraud and conspiracy in an insider trading scandal that threatens Martha Stewart and her home decorating empire.
- The San Francisco Giants defeated the St. Louis Cardinals, 4 games to 1, to win the National League Championship Series and move on the World Series. They will play the Anaheim Angels, who defeated the Minnesota Twins 4 games to 1 to win the American League Championship Series.
- The Washington sniper strikes again at 9:15 pm at a Home Depot in Falls Church, Virginia, making Linda Franklin the ninth victim.
- United Kingdom took back the reins of government in Northern Ireland amid a crisis in the peace process provoked by a spying scandal, but vowed to try and restore home rule early next year. See also Good Friday Agreement.
- Indonesia's defense minister blamed al-Qaida and its extremist allies for the massive bomb attack that killed more than 180 people at a nightclub on the resort island of Bali.
- U.S. President George W. Bush amongst many others has condemned the perpetrators of the Bali car bombing of October 11. The death toll has now risen to at least 187.
- Ethnic rioting in India results in numerous deaths. The riots are said to be a reaction to recent public comments by Jerry Falwell, American televangelist, derogatory of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad.
- 2002 Bali terrorist bombing: A car-bomb on theIndonesian island of Bali explodes outside a nightclub killing at least 182 people, 75% of whom are said to have been foreign holidaymakers. Another 210 people are said to have been injured. The principal suspects for this terrorist incident are a group seeking to establish an Islamic state in Indonesia, Jemaah Islamiyah, although it could equally be the work of al-Qaeda. Another bomb explodes at around the same time in the nearby town of Denpasar, Bali.
- U.S. plan to invade Iraq: The United States Senate voted to give war powers to President George W. Bush as part of the ongoing conflict between the United States and Iraq.
- Jimmy Carter is honored with the Nobel Peace Prize.
- Myyrmanni bombing: A suicide bomber explodes at the Myyrmanni Shopping Mall in Vantaa, Finland, killing 7 including the bomber.
- United States embassy guards in Tel Aviv, Israel stopped a suicide bomber from setting off a bomb in a crowded beachfront cafe.
- More than 10,000 supporters of Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat rallied in Gaza City to show strength against Hamas.
- France confirms that an explosion aboard French oil tanker Limburg off the coast of Yemen was, indeed, a terrorist act.
- Hungarian Holocaust survivor Imre Kertész wins the Nobel Prize for Literature. The Nobel Committee singled out his 1975 novel Fateless, a semiautobiographical account of a boy sent to Auschwitz who survives by detaching himself from the everyday gritty reality.
- In the Journal Nature, anthropologist Milford Wolpoff and colleagues at the University of Michigan argued that the fossil skull discovered in Chad in July is not that of an early human, but of an ape.
- A suicide bomber killed a 71-year-old woman and injured several other at a bus stop near Tel Aviv, Israel.
- A large crowd of Palestinian police officers and militiamen marched in a funeral procession for a policeman killed by a Hamas militiaman. Hamas claims that, although they did not authorize the killing, it was justified under Islamic law.
- The International Court of Justice grants sovereignty over the Bakassi peninsula to Cameroon and not Nigeria.
- The European Commission of the European Union has announced that ten countries - Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia - have met its criteria for entry, opening the way for an expansion of the EU from 15 member states to 25. The European Parliament has still to consider each candidate individually and the final decision will require the approval of the current member states.
- Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom is making various ceremonial appearances in Canada in her role | | |
