WHAT ALL HAPPENED SEPTEMBER TO NOVEMBER 2002
Find out what all happened September to November 2002

Moscow Theatre Siege: Approximately 50 Chechen terrorists and 150 hostages die when Russian Spetsnaz storm a theater building in Moscow, which had been occupied by the terrorists during a musical performance three days before. (26. October 2002)

In Nigeria, more than 100 people are killed at an attack aimed at the contestants of the Miss World contest. (22. November 2002)

Hu Jintao becomes General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and a new nine-member Politburo Standing Committee is inaugurated. (15. November 2002)

The Greek oil tanker Prestige splits in half and sinks off the coast of Galicia, releasing over 20 million US gallons (76,000 m³) of oil in the largest environmental disaster in Spanish and Portuguese history. (19. November 2002)

Bibliotheca Alexandrina in the Egyptian city of Alexandria, a commemoration of the Library of Alexandria that was lost in antiquity, is officially inaugurated. (16. October 2002)

The first public version of the web browser Mozilla Firefox ("Phoenix 0.1") is released. (23. September 2002)

A federal grand jury in Houston, Texas indicts former Enron chief financial officer Andrew Fastow on 78 counts of wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and obstruction of justice related to the collapse of his ex-employer. (31. October 2002)

Iraq disarmament crisis: United Nations weapons inspectors led by Hans Blix arrive in Iraq. (18. November 2002)

Ho Chi Minh City ITC fire, a fire destroys a luxurious department store where 1500 people are shopping. Over 60 people die and over 100 are unaccounted for. It is the deadliest disaster in Vietnam during peacetime. (29. October 2002)

Veteran's Day weekend tornado outbreak; a tornado outbreak stretching from Northern Ohio to the Gulf Coast, one of the largest outbreaks recorded in November. The strongest tornado, an F4, hits Van Wert, Ohio during the early to mid afternoon and destroys a movie theater but the theater is evacuated prior to the hit. (10. November 2002)

Iraq disarmament crisis: UN Security Council Resolution 1441 – The United Nations Security Council unanimously approves a resolution on Iraq, forcing Saddam Hussein to disarm or face "serious consequences". (8. November 2002)

Moscow Theatre Siege begins: Chechen terrorists seize the House of Culture theater in Moscow and take approximately 700 theater-goers hostage. (23. October 2002)

The overcrowded Senegalese ferry MV Le Joola capsizes off the coast of the Gambia killing more than 1,000. (26. September 2002)

Suicide bombers blow up an Israeli-owned hotel in Mombasa, Kenya; their colleagues fail in their attempt to bring down Arkia Israel Airlines Flight 582 with surface-to-air missiles. (28. November 2002)

The French oil tanker Limburg is bombed off Yemen. (6. October 2002)

Chinese authorities arrest cyber-dissident He Depu for signing a pro-democracy letter to the 16th Communist Party Congress. (4. November 2002)

Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraq agrees to the terms of the UN Security Council Resolution 1441. (13. November 2002)

The Beltway sniper attacks begin, extending over three weeks. (2. October 2002)

Police arrest spree killers John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo, ending the Beltway sniper attacks in the area around Washington, DC. (24. October 2002)

NATO invites Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia to become members. (21. November 2002)