On this day
Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
In 2002, the world population was approximately 6,337,730,342 people[†]
2002Anastasia Zakharova, Russian tennis player[†]
Anastasia Vladimirovna Zakharova is a Russian tennis player. She has career-high WTA rankings of world No. 93 in singles and No. 93 in doubles. Zakharova has won sixteen singles and eight doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit.
2002Ki-Jana Hoever, Dutch footballer[†]
Ki-Jana Delano Hoever is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a defender for Auxerre, on loan from Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers.
2002Karim Adeyemi, German footballer[†]
Karim David Adeyemi is a German professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund and the Germany national team.
2002The Sierra Leone Civil War is declared over.[†]
The Sierra Leonean Civil War (1991–2002) was a civil war in Sierra Leone that began on 23 March 1991 when the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), with support from the special forces of Liberian dictator Charles Taylor, the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), intervened in Sierra Leone in an attempt to overthrow the Joseph Momoh government. The resulting civil war lasted almost 11 years, and had over 50,000, up to 70,000, casualties in total; an estimated 2.5 million people were displaced during the conflict, and widespread atrocities occurred.
Small businesses that operated in World Trade Center have received less-than-adequate compensation for their losses in Sept 11 attacks; stories are so wrenching that some lawyers who have been giving them free legal advice are now trying to help them create advocacy group; many are confused by sea of bureaucracy they must navigate in order to qualify for benefits; photos (M)
Unemployment rate in New York City shoots up to 7.4 percent, as more than 10,000 jobs disappear from city's battered economy; job losses since Sept 11 attack on World Trade Center top 100,000, record-breaking drop for three-month period; economists are generally relieved, saying damage could have been much worse; graph (M)
American International Group threatens to scuttle agreement to take over Hyundai Securities, Hyundai Trust and Securities and Hyundai Investment Trust Management, financial units of Hyundai group; consortium led by AIG has raises stakes with demand for government guarantee to cover hidden debts accrued by troubled companies; government has reportedly agreed to guarantee less than half hidden debt of companies (M)
Airbus Industrie says it will cut costs by $530 million this year through early retirement of about 1,200 employees and other measures; says by eliminating overtime and part-time work, company will reduce its labor costs equivalent of 4,800 more full-time jobs without resorting to layoffs; senior vice president John J Leahy expects airlines to order total of only 300 to 350 large civilian airliners from Airbus and Boeing Co in 2002, down from 546 in 2001; president Noel Forgeard says Airbus will aggressively seek military contracts to offset plunge in civilian sales (M)
Justice Dept announces global manhunt for five suspected members of Al Qaeda who were videotaped in Afghanistan offering what Atty Gen John Aschroft describes as 'martyrdom messages,' indicating they could be preparing for suicide attack; says five hourlong videotapes were found by American special forces in rubble of compound occupied by Muhammad Atef, one of Osama bin Laden's chief commanders; Atef was believed killed in airstrike on Kabul in Nov; Ashcroft says men on tapes represent significant threat, and asks people around world for help to 'identify, locate and incapacitate terrorists'; one of five, Ramzi Muhammad Abdullah bin al-Shibh, was named last Nov as unindicted co-conspirator in case brought against Zacarias Moussaoui; Shibh was associate of Mohamed Atta, suspected ringleader of Sept 11 attacks; other four men on tapes are mystery; their names are Abd al-Rahim, Muhammad Sa'id Ali Hasan and Khalid Ibn Muhammad al-Juhani; fourth man's name is unknown; Ashcroft says authorities do not know their nationalities or backgrounds, or when tapes were made; their pictures are being circulated to police agencies around world (L)
New Jersey Devils defeat New York Rangers, 6-4; photo (M)
Sales representative for Merck & Co says she and her associates have been told by their superiors that they should no longer treat doctors to perks that could be viewed as inappropriate; that would be departure from what is common practice in industry; many drug companies woo doctors by paying their way on lavish weekend retreats and expensive evenings out, even though such practices may violate ethics guidelines that industry and American Medical Association agreed to in 1990 (M)
Lone Palestinian gunman with semiautomatic rifle opens fire in crowded reception hall in Hadera, Israel, killing 6 people and wounding at least 25; in retaliation, Israeli forces bomb governor's headquarters in Palestinian-controlled town of Tulkarm in West Bank, and Israeli tanks roll through Ramallah, where Israel has confined Yasir Arafat for last month; witnesses to attack in Hadera say assailant's gun apparently jammed, and he was then knocked to ground and beaten; say three police officers arrived at scene and shot him dead; scores of children and adults were in reception hall for bat mitzvah party; assault comes after four days of escalating violence; renewed fighting, following month of relative calm, leaves in tatters latest cease-fire between Israelis and Palestinians; photos; map (M)
St Louis Rams quarterback Kurt Warner discusses playoff game against Green Bay Packers; photo (M)
Jennifer Dunning article says Jerome Robbins Dance Division of New York Public Library of Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, which has reopened after three years of renovation, provides great rewards to serious scholars on dance and also to casual browsers; collection is largest dance archive in world, with holdings that date back to 1460; photo (L)
Congressional investigators release internal memos from Arthur Andersen & Co indicating that Enron Corp chairman Kenneth L Lay disposed of stock within days of receiving letter from senior employee Sherron S Watkins warning of accounting problems at company; letter ignited investigation by Enron's outside law firm, which concluded that accounting issues could be embarrassing; as part of that inquiry, Lay met with Watkins; Enron fires Arthur Andersen; documents not only put Lay's stock transactions and Watkins letter on timeline, but also provide best map of what Andersen officials considered doing about Enron's accounting; investigators in Houston continue to interview Enron executives and to press for more information on Enron's collapse and Andersen's role, including destruction of documents; one memo reveals that as long ago as February, Andersen workers considered dropping Enron as client because of concerns about disclose of off-balance-sheet debts; Enron's collapse revolves around partnerships formed by Enron's former chief financial officer Andrew S Fastow; Fastow was ousted in late October as investors grew concerned about partnerships, among them LJM1 and LJM2; Enron subsequently disclosed that Fastow made more than $30 million off deals; e-mail dated Deb 6, 2001 shows Andersen partners discussed whether to consolidate one of partnership's financial results with Enron's, and it discussed potential conflicts of interest confronting Fastow; Andersen issues statement saying deliberations described in memo were routine; Congressional investigators have also been told that by September, officials from Chicago office joined review team of Andersen auditors in Houston analyzing Enron's dealings with partnerships in wake of Watkin's letter; Andersen's chief executive Joseph F Berardino says he has been meeting with firm's partners, other employees and clients to reassure them about firm's prospects, interview, CNN program Moneyline (M)
Kmart Corp fires president Mark S Schwartz and names James Adamson chairman after chief executive Charles C Conaway gives up title; fails to reassure investors and manufacturers, who are waiting for concrete signs that company will not file for bankruptcy; is trying to arrange $3 billion in secured credit but is also talking to lenders about debtor-in-possession financing in event that enough secured credit cannot be arranged; photo (M)