- July 14
- During Bastille Day celebrations, French President Jacques Chirac escapes an assassination attempt unscathed. [23]
- July 15
- In Washington, DC, "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh pleads guilty to aiding the enemy and possession of explosives during the commission of a felony. Lindh agrees to serve ten years in prison for each charge. [23]
- Maiden voyage of Royal Caribbean International's Brilliance of the Seas cruise ship from Harwich, England, on a seven-night voyage to the Norwegian fjords. [79]
- July 19
- In Henan Province, the People's Republic of China, 25 die and hundreds are injured due to hail. [23]
- July 20
- A 250-kilogram American bomb from World War II is found in Berlin during a construction project. Hundreds of residents are evacuated for several hours during the defusing of the bomb. [37]
- July 21
- Telecommunications giant WorldCom files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection (the largest such filing in United States history). [23]
- July 23
- Vittorio Innocente cycles a record depth underwater, 52.5m down on the ocean floor off Genoa, Italy. [192.49]
- July 27
- Helen Clark, leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, is re-elected in a historic landslide victory over the Right Wing. [23]
- A Sukhoi Su-27 fighter crashes at an air show in Ukraine, killing 78 and injuring more than 100 others (the largest air show disaster in history). [23]
- July 30
- Sotheby's in New York in conjunction with Stack's auctions the King Farouk specimen of the US 1933 Saint-Gaudens double eagle for $7,590,020, a world record for a single coin at auction. The $20 represents a $20 Federal Reserve note paid by auctioneer David Redden to Mint Director Henrietta Holsman Fore to officially monetize the coin. [421.68] [436.82] [486.64] [548.79,164] [783.92]
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- July 31
- In the south of Panama, a magnitude 6.5 earthquake occurs. No deaths, about 20 injured, some building damage and collapses, felt strongly in parts of Argentina and Costa Rica. [53]
- Torrential rains in southern Romania damage an oil pipeline near the village of Manesti, 50km north of Bucharest, spilling thousands of litres of oil into the Prahova River. [522]
- August 10
- Turkmenistan adopts a law to rename all the months and most of the days of the week according to Ruhnama, a book written by Turkmen president Saparmurat Niyazov. [23]
- August 12
- In Arlington, Virginia, US Airways declares bankruptcy. [23]
- August 15
- A dedication ceremony is held for the Burma Railway Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum, Birmingham, Staffordshire, England. [1433.49]
- August 16
- At the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, in Monterey, California, the 29th Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races are held, over three days. Corvette is the honored marque. Over sixty historic Corvettes are on display and participate in racing, including: Corvette SR-2, Corvette SS, 1959 Sting Ray, CERV-I, Daytona-winning Corvette C5-R, Mako Shark, Aerovette, Grand Sport, 1953 Corvette #2 (EX-122), and plenty of early race Corvettes. [8]
- August 19
- In Baghdad, Iraq, international terrorist Abu Nidal is found dead of several gunshot wounds. [23]
- August 29
- A 78-foot long Japanese midget submarine is found in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, believed to have been sunk by the US Navy two hours before the Japanese attack in 1941. [10]
- September 2
- The United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development, successor of the 1972 Conference on the Human Environment, 1983 World Commission on Environment and Development, and the 1992 Conference on Environment and Development, officially opens. [23]
- September 3
- Consolidated Freightways, the third largest U.S. trucking firm, files for bankruptcy. [23]
- September 5
- A car bomb kills at least 30 people in Afghanistan. [23]
- An apparent assassination attempt on Afghan President Hamid Karzai fails. [23]
- The Sour Biscuit Fire in Oregon and northern California, which burned 499,570 acres (2,022 square km), is finally contained. [23]
- September 8
- Typhoon Sinlaku causes huge waves on the Qiantangjiang River in Sheijang Province, China. [23]
- September 10
- Switzerland joins the United Nations. [23]
- September 12
- U.S. President George W. Bush addresses the United Nations, and challenges its members to confront the "grave and gathering danger" of Iraq, or stand aside as the United States and likeminded nations act. [23]
- A cargo vessel off South Africa burns and spills oil and chemicals. [522]
- September 15
- The Swedish parliamentary election leaves Prime Minister Göran Persson and the Social Democrats in power. [23]
- September 19
- Civil war starts in Côte d'Ivoire. [23]
- September 22
- In German federal elections, the coalition of the SPD led by Gerhard Schröder and the Green party win a narrow election victory (combined 47.1 percent). [23] [37]
- September 24
- A large fireball falls to Earth near Bodaibo, Siberia, Russia, resulting in a crater surrounded by burnt forest. [521] (September 25 [5])
- September 29
- State prosecutors of Dortmund, Germany, charge eleven former German officers with the murder of 5,000 Italian prisoners-of-war on the Greek island of Cephalonia during World War II. The case was re-opened based on new evidence from East German Stasi police files and war diaries. [10]
- October 2
- The Congress of the United States passes a joint resolution, which explicitly authorizes the President to use the United States Armed Forces as he deems necessary and appropriate, against Iraq. [23]
- October 6
- The Catholic Church declares José María Julian Mariano Escribá, AKA Josémaria Escrivá a saint (founder of Opus Dei). [1118.200]
- October 7
- The discovery of Quaoar, a planet-like body orbiting the Sun, is announced. [23]
- October 9
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average reaches a low of 7,286.27, its lowest close since October 1997. [227]
- October 11
- A lone bomber explodes a home-made bomb in the Myyrmanni shopping mall north of Helsinki, Finland. [23]
- October 12
- Massive bombs are detonated in two nightclubs in Kuta, Bali, killing 202 and injuring over 300. [23] [105]
- October 16
- US President George W. Bush signs the Iraq War Resolution. [23]
- October 23
- About 50 Chechen rebels storm the Moscow Palace of Culture theater, taking up to 700 people hostage during a performance of a popular musical. [129]
- October 26
- In Moscow, Russia, after a 57-hour-standoff at the Palace of Culture, Russian special forces surround and raid the theater. Most of the guerrillas and 120 hostages are killed during the raid. [129]
- October 30
- British digital terrestrial television (DTT) service Freeview starts transmitting throughout parts of the United Kingdom. [5]
- November 3
- In Central Alaska, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake occurs, the world's largest earthquake in 2002. No deaths, few injuries, but extensive damage to roads. Felt as far away as Seattle, Washington. [53]
- November 6
- The U.S. Federal Reserve System drops its primary discount rate by 50 basis points to 0.75 percent, putting the real interest rate solidly below the inflation rate. [23]
- November 7
- Iran bans the advertising of United States products. [23]
- November 8
- The United Nations Security Council unanimously approves Resolution 1441, telling Iraq's Saddam Hussein to disarm or face "serious consequences". [23]
- November 13
- Iraq agrees to the terms of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1441. [23]
- The Greek-owned Prestige oil tanker breaks in two and sinks off the northwestern coast of Spain, dumping most of its cargo of 89 million litres of oil. [23] [522]
- November 14
- Argentina defaults on a US$805 million World Bank loan payment. [23]
- Microsoft officially launches the Xbox Live online video gaming service in the USA. [9]
- November 15
- Hu Jintao becomes General Secretary of the Communist Party of China. [23]
- November 16
- A Campaign against Climate Change march takes place in London, England, from Lincoln's Inn Fields, past Esso offices to the United States Embassy. [23]
- November 18
- United Nations weapons inspectors led by Hans Blix arrive in Iraq. [23]
- November 21
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization Summit in Prague: Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia are invited to join NATO. [23]
- November 22
- In Nigeria, more than 100 people are killed at an attack aimed at the Miss World contestants. [23]
- November 23
- The Chinese ship Shunkai No 1 collides with Maltese-registered oil tanker MV Tasman Sea anchored off the coast 25 miles east of Tianjin in north China, spreading an oil slick 4km by 2.2km across the Bohai sea. [522]
- November 25
- U.S. President George W. Bush signs the Homeland Security Act into law, establishing the Department of Homeland Security, in the largest U.S. government reorganization since the creation of the Department of Defense in 1947 (the Senate passed the bill 90-9 on November 19). [23]
- November 26
- Legislation by the European Court of Human Rights and Law Lords, ruling in favour of convicted murderer Anthony Anderson, officially ends the right of the Home Secretary to set minimum terms for convicted murderers. This gives hope of a quicker release for more than 200 convicted murderers whose minimum terms were increased by politicians, including an estimated 70 who have already served longer than their original recommended minimum term. [23]
- December 4
- A total solar eclipse occurs. [23]
- December 5
- A small general cargo vessel collides with a heavily-laden single-hulled tanker in the middle of the Singapore Straits, spilling 408,000 litres of oil. [522]
- December 7
- As required by the recently passed U.N. resolution, Iraq files a 12,000 page weapons declaration with the U.N. Security Council. Although it is supposed to be a complete declaration, it is seen as incomplete by the Security Council and weapons inspectors. [23]
- December 8
- In Serbia, a general election fails to fill presidency due to insufficient voter turn-out. [160.37]
- December 9
- United Airlines, the second largest airline in the world, files under the United States Bankruptcy Code Chapter 11. [23]
- December 11
- Chile government concludes bilateral trade agreement with the USA. [160.28]
- December 12
- Hans Enoksen is elected prime minister of Greenland. [23]
- December 14
- Maiden voyage of Royal Caribbean International's Navigator of the Seas cruise ship from Miami, Florida for a Caribbean tour. [79]
- Holland America Line's Zuiderdam makes its maiden voyage, a 7-day Caribbean cruise. [76]
- December 18
- New Line releases the film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers to theaters. (Total world gross ticket sales: $926 million (1st for 2002).) [933]
- December 19
- General election in South Korea. Roh Moo-hyun of the Millennium Democratic Party narrowly beats rival to become president. [160.31]
- December 21
- A German Sikorsky CD-53 helicopter crashes at Kabul airport, Afghanistan, killing seven German soldiers. [161.33]
- December 22
- In Montenegro, election of new president is held. Under half of the registered voters turn-out, resulting in no election of a new president. [160.6]
- December 27
- A suicide truck-bomb attack destroys the headquarters of Chechnya's Moscow-backed government, killing 72 people. [23] [160.39]
- In Kenya, Mwai Kibaki wins election with 60 percent of votes, defeating 24-year ruler Daniel Arap Moi. [160.35]
- December 29
- The Communist New People's Army blows up a bust of Ferdinand Marcos in Benguet, Philippines. [23]
- December 30
- In Yemen, Abed Abdel Razzak Kamel kills three American missionaries. [160.33]
- United National Security Council passes another resolution restricting more goods for Iraq to import. [160.34]
- In Serbia, speaker of parliament Natasa Micic becomes acting President, due to insufficient voter turn-out earlier in the month to elect a president. [160.6]
- An eruption on the volcanic island Stromboli off the coast of Sicily causes a flank failure and tsunami. The island is later evacuated. [23]
- December 31
- North Korea kicks out United Nations nuclear inspectors. [160.9]
- The euro currency hits US$1.05, highest in three years. [160.58]
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