WHAT ALL HAPPENED JANUARY TO MARCH 2002
Find out what all happened January to March 2002

Angolan political and rebel leader Jonas Savimbi is killed in a military ambush. (22. February 2002)

In his State of the Union address, President George W. Bush describes "regimes that sponsor terror" as an Axis of evil, in which he includes Iraq, Iran and North Korea. (29. January 2002)

The peseta is discontinued as official currency of Spain and is replaced by the euro (€). (1. March 2002)

Mount Nyiragongo erupts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, displacing an estimated 400,000 people. (17. January 2002)

U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda begins in eastern Afghanistan. (1. March 2002)

Afghanistan: Seven American Special Operations Forces soldiers and 200 Al-Qaeda Fighters are killed as American forces attempt to infiltrate the Shahi Kot Valley on a low-flying helicopter reconnaissance mission. (4. March 2002)

Zimbabwe is suspended from the Commonwealth on charges of human rights abuses and of electoral fraud, following a turbulent presidential election. (19. March 2002)

NASA's Mars Odyssey space probe begins to map the surface of Mars using its thermal emission imaging system. (19. February 2002)

An Iran Airtour Tupolev Tu-154 crashes in the mountains outside Khorramabad, Iran while descending for a landing at Khorramabad Airport, killing 119. (12. February 2002)

Sierra Leone Civil War is declared over. (18. January 2002)

In reaction to the Passover massacre two days prior, Israel launches Operation Defensive Shield against Palestinian militants, its largest military operation in the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War. (29. March 2002)

The UN Security Council unanimously establishes an arms embargo and the freezing of assets of Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda, and the remaining members of the Taliban. (16. January 2002)

Kmart becomes the largest retailer in United States history to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. (22. January 2002)

Daniel Pearl, American journalist and South Asia Bureau Chief of the Wall Street Journal, kidnapped January 23, 2002, is beheaded and mutilated by his captors. (1. February 2002)

Passover massacre: A Palestinian suicide bomber kills 29 people partaking of the Passover meal in Netanya, Israel. (27. March 2002)

Israeli forces seize the Palestinian freighter Karine A in the Red Sea, finding 50 tons of weapons. (3. January 2002)

The Envisat environmental satellite successfully reaches an orbit 800 kilometers (500 mi) above the Earth on its 11th launch, carrying the heaviest payload to date at 8500 kilograms (8.5 tons). (1. March 2002)

President George W. Bush signs into law the No Child Left Behind Act. (8. January 2002)

The Open Skies mutual surveillance treaty, initially signed in 1992, officially comes into force. (1. January 2002)

Ryanair Flight 296 catches fire at London Stansted Airport. Subsequent investigations criticize Ryanair's handling of the evacuation. (27. February 2002)