Musically star Sophia Bidges

Events in 2002 and 16-6

Events in the world in the birth year of Sophia Bidges

• Former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic’s trial on charges of crimes against humanity opens at The Hague (Feb. 12).
• Tamil Tigers and Sri Lankan government sign a cease-fire agreement, ending 19 years of civil war (Feb. 22). Background: World in Review
• India's worst Hindu-Muslim violence in a decade rocked the state of Gujarat after a Muslim mob fire-bombed a train, killing Hindu activists. Hindus retaliated, and more than 1,000 died in the bloodshed (Feb. 27 et seq.). Background: World in Review
• U.S. and Afghan troops launch Operation Anaconda against remaining al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters in Afghanistan (March 2). Background: Taliban Timeline and Afghanistan
• Israeli tanks and warplanes attack West Bank towns of Nablus, Jenin, Bethlehem, and others in response to string of Palestinian suicide attacks (March 29–April 21). In the first three months of 2002, 14 suicide bombers kill dozens of Israeli civilians, and wounded hundreds. Background: World in Review
• International Criminal Court wins UN ratification; U.S. refuses to ratify (April 11).
• Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez ousted in coup, then reinstated (April 12, 14).
• U.S. and Russia reach landmark arms agreement to cut both countries' nuclear arsenals by up to two-thirds over the next 10 years (May 13).
• East Timor becomes a new nation (May 20).
• Terrorist bomb in Bali kills hundreds (Oct. 12).
• Government suspended in Northern Ireland in protest of suspected IRA spy ring (Oct. 14).
• North Korea admits to developing nuclear arms in defiance of treaty (Oct. 16).
• Chechen rebels take 763 hostages in Moscow theater (Oct. 23). Russian authorities release a gas into theater, killing 116 hostages and freeing remainder (Oct. 26). Background: Chechnya Timeline
• China's Jiang Zemin officially retires as general secretary; Hu Jintao named as his successor (Nov. 14).
• UN Security Council passes unanimous resolution calling on Iraq to disarm or else face "serious consequences." (Nov. 8).
• UN arms inspectors return to Iraq (Nov. 18).

Birthday Sophia Bidges (16-6) in history

• Day 16-6 year 1487: The Battle of Stoke is over, and it is the final battle of the "War of the Roses", lasting 30 years.
• Day 16-6 year 1858: Senate candidate Abraham Lincoln declared, "a house divided against itself cannot stand."
• Day 16-6 year 1904: Events in James Joyce's novel Ulysses took place on this day, which is celebrated as Bloomsday, for the main character, Leopold Bloom.
• Day 16-6 year 1933: President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the National Industrial Recovery Act.
• Day 16-6 year 1963: Valentina Tereshkova of the USSR became the first woman in space.
• Day 16-6 year 1996: Russia voted in its first independent presidential election. Boris Yeltsin eventually won in a runoff.
• Day 16-6 year 2004: The 9/11 Commission determined that Saddam Hussein had no strong links to al-Qaeda, contradicting White House beliefs.