Editing 2002 (section)

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{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Events by month|2002|prefix=Portal:Current events/}}
{{About year|2002}}
{{Year nav|2002}}
{{C21 year in topic}}
{{Year article header|2002}}

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 [[2001–2002 India–Pakistan standoff|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 [[2002 Gujarat riots|violent riots]] and other attacks and attacks on Jews in response to the [[Second Intifada]]. The [[Catholic Church]] grappled with scrutiny amid [[Catholic Church sexual abuse cases|sexual abuse cases]].

[[East Timor]] 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 [[South American economic crisis of 2002|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.

Norway won the most gold medals in the [[2002 Winter Olympics]], which were held in [[Salt Lake City]]. The popular film franchises [[Harry Potter (film series)|''Harry Potter'']] and [[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|''The Lord of the Rings'']] saw continued success while [[James Bond (film series)|''James Bond'']] and ''[[Star Wars]]'' were less successful than other franchise instalments. [[Pop music]] lost its popularity in 2002 amid the rise of [[Country music|country]] and [[Hip hop music|hip hop]], with hip hop artist [[Eminem]] producing the year's most successful album, ''[[The Eminem Show]]''.

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