On this day
Revisit the music, news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
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Reporter Kidnapped A Wall Street Journal reporter missing in Pakistan has been kidnapped, said an e-mail message to news organizations. The message accused him of being a C.I.A. agent. PAGE A6 Russian Generals Killed In the second major loss of Russian commanders in Chechnya recently, a helicopter carrying senior officers exploded. Rebels said they shot the aircraft down. PAGE A3
Cigarette tax proposed by Connecticut Gov John G Rowland will provide estimated $260 million to help ease $1 billion projected shortfall over next two fiscal years; New York Gov George Pataki is also counting on revenue raised from higher tax on cigarettes; many voters who might be opposed to other tax increases support hike in cigarette tax (M)
New Jersey Supreme Court will hear case that is expected to determine which of state's convicted sex offenders may be involuntarily institutionalized after completing prison terms; US Supreme Court recently held that state must prove that sex offender has 'serious difficulty in controlling behavior' before civil commitment can occur, but it is not clear what impact that will have in New Jersey; lawyers who represent civilly committed sex offenders say decision is basis for all cases to be reviewed (M)
Anarchists who would normally demonstrate during World Economic Forum are having second thoughts now that conference is to be held in New York, where sympathy for police and city in general runs high barely five months after Sept 11 terrorist attacks; still, demonstrators want to communicate their anti-globalization message and are inventing alternative means of getting attention that include everything from street theater to old-fashioned civil disobedience; photo (M)
William Kennedy article, in series Writers on Writing, recalls machine politics in Albany when he was reporter there years ago; photos; his new novel, Roscoe, is set in Albany (M)
Music on My Birthday
The Top 50 albums for the chart week of January 23, 2002, covering January 28, 2002.
Creed
Linkin Park
Ludacris
Nickelback
Nas
2002Yoo Seon-ho, South Korean actor[†]
Yoo Seon-ho is a South Korean actor, singer, and model. He is best known as a contestant on the survival reality show Produce 101 season 2 and acting in the drama Under the Queen's Umbrella. He has been a cast member of the variety show 2 Days & 1 Night since 2022.
2002Gustaaf Deloor, Belgian cyclist and soldier (born 1913)[†]
Gustaaf Deloor was a Belgian road racing cyclist and the winner of the first two editions of the Vuelta a España in 1935 and 1936. The 1936 edition remains the slowest winning finish time of the Vuelta in 150:07:54, the race consisted of 22 stages with a total length of 4,407 km. Gustaaf finished first and his older brother Alfons finished second overall.
2002Astrid Lindgren, Swedish author and screenwriter (born 1907)[†]
Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren was a Swedish writer of fiction and screenplays. She is best known for several children's book series, featuring Pippi Longstocking, Emil of Lönneberga, Karlsson-on-the-Roof, and the Six Bullerby Children, and for the children's fantasy novels Mio, My Son; Ronia the Robber's Daughter; and The Brothers Lionheart. Lindgren worked on the Children's Literature Editorial Board at the Rabén & Sjögren publishing house in Stockholm and wrote more than 30 books for children. In 2017, she was calculated to be the world's 18th most translated author. Lindgren had by 2010 sold roughly 167 million books worldwide. In 1994, she was awarded the Right Livelihood Award for "her unique authorship dedicated to the rights of children and respect for their individuality". Her opposition to corporal punishment of children resulted in the world's first law on the matter in 1979, while her campaigning for animal welfare led to a new law, Lex Lindgren, in time for her 80th birthday.
2002Ayşe Nur Zarakolu, Turkish author and activist (born 1946)[†]
Ayşe Nur Zarakolu was a Turkish author, publisher and human rights advocate. She was co-founder, with her husband Ragıp Zarakolu, of notable Turkish publishing house Belge and, in the 1980s, became the director of book-distribution company Cemmay, the first woman in the nation to hold such a position. Zarakolu's publications brought her into frequent conflict with Turkish press laws; in 1997, The New York Times identified Zarakolu as "one of the most relentless challengers to Turkey's press laws". Issues Zarakolu helped publicize in Turkey include the Armenian genocide and human rights of Kurdish people in Turkey. Imprisoned multiple times for her publications, she was designated a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International and her legacy continued to face legal challenge in Turkey after her death. She has received multiple awards and honors for her work and the Human Rights Association of Turkey bestows the Ayşe Zarakolu Freedom of Thought prize in her honor.
2002TAME Flight 120, a Boeing 727-100, crashes in the Andes mountains in southern Colombia, killing 94.[†]
TAME Flight 120 was a Boeing 727-134 airliner, registration HC-BLF, named El Oro, operating as a scheduled international passenger flight between Quito, Ecuador and Cali, Colombia, with a scheduled stopover at the Ecuadorian border town of Tulcán. The aircraft crashed while on approach to Tulcán's Teniente Coronel Luis A. Mantilla International Airport on January 28, 2002. The pilot flew the approach incorrectly in reportedly foggy conditions, and the aircraft crashed into the side of the Cumbal Volcano, located near Ipiales, Colombia, at 10:23 in the morning. All 94 passengers and crew were killed in the crash.
In 2002, the world population was approximately 6,337,730,342 people[†]