September 23, 2002 (Monday)
- Belgium is the second European country (after the Netherlands) to legalise euthanasia.
- Stock market downturn of 2002: Global indices sink heavily today, with the Nasdaq falling 3% to a 6-year low of 1,184.94. The yield of the U.S. Treasury's 10-year bond sank to a 40-year low of 3.70%, with the 2-year bond yield falling to a record low of 1.89%. Meanwhile, concern of the U.S. plan to invade Iraq pushed oil prices to over $30 a barrel, not seen since February 2001.
- Spratly Islands: The Governor of the Philippine state of Palawan has sent Philippine soldiers to take possession of the uninhabited oil-rich Spratly Islands, which are claimed by the Philippines, Brunei, the People's Republic of China, Malaysia, the Republic of China (Taiwan), and Vietnam.