2002
- Memorial for the victims of the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 202 people;
- Vladimir Putin visiting hospitalized hostages of the Moscow theater hostage crisis, in which 132 of the 912 hostages are killed;
- The 2002 FIFA World Cup is held in South Korea and Japan and was won by Brazil;
- The 2002 European floods kill 232 people;
- The 2002 Gujarat riots began after the train burnings, resulting in 1,000–2,000 deaths;
- Euro coins and banknotes are introduced;
- Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother dies;
- The Prestige oil spill causes a major environmental disaster in Spain, France, and Portugal;
- East Timor, now known as Timor-Leste, officially gains its independence.
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2002 (MMII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2002nd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 2nd year of the 3rd millennium and the 21st century, and the 3rd year of the 2000s decade.
The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operations, and human rights concerns arose surrounding the treatment of suspected terrorists. Elsewhere, the Colombian conflict and the Nepalese Civil War represented some of the most severe militant conflicts, while the conflict between India and Pakistan was the only one between two sovereign nations. Religious tensions permeated the year, including violence between Hindus and Muslims in India during violent riots and other attacks and attacks on Jews in response to the Second Intifada. The Catholic Church grappled with scrutiny amid sexual abuse cases.
Politics and religion throughout the rest of 2002 is still focused intently on the Muslim world and Islamic terrorism over the September 11 attacks the previous year.
Timor-Leste was established as a new sovereign nation, and the African Union began operating as a new intergovernmental organization. The International Criminal Court was founded in July. The global economy was stagnant as it slowly moved past the early 2000s recession. South America endured an economic crisis, and the telecommunications and information technology industries faced their own economic declines. The Euro was introduced as a new currency at the beginning of the year.
The year 2002 was the second hottest on record at the time. Eruptions of Mount Nyiragongo severely affected surrounding populations in central Africa. The discovery of Quaoar in October challenged the conventional definition of a planet. Small RNA was discovered in 2002, and the human ancestor Sahelanthropus was first described. The Baiji dolphin was declared functionally extinct from the Yangtze River in China.
Norway won the most gold medals in the 2002 Winter Olympics, which were held in Salt Lake City. The popular film franchises Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings saw continued success, with The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers becoming the highest-grossing film of the year, while James Bond and Star Wars were less successful than other franchise installments. Pop music lost its popularity in 2002 amid the rise of country and hip-hop, with hip-hop artist Eminem producing the year's most successful album, The Eminem Show.