October 2002
2002 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December
A timeline of events in the news for October, 2002.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Kiev 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.
- 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.
- 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 as the Queen of Canada.
- Lawrence Lessig argues Eldred v. Ashcroft in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. The case challenges retroactive copyright extensions passed by Congress, and potentially affects millions of copyrighted works.
- Public Interest group Harken's partnership with Harvard University
- Stock market downturn of 2002: Nasdaq falls 1.8% to 1119.40, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index falls 1.4% to 7422.84, and the S&P falls 1.91% to 785.28, levels not reached since August 1996, mid-1997, and spring of 1997 respectively.
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Israeli troops raid Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip, killing 13 (10 from a helicopter missile) and wounding as many as 100, after Palestinians fire a rocket at a Jewish settlement in the area. Later Palestinians kidnap and kill Rajeh Abu Lehiya, chief of the Palestinian riot police, and two others die in gunfire during a police-Hamas supporters conflict.
- Astronomy: Announcement of the discovery of Quaoar a planetoid object circling the Sun
