RETIREMENT ANNOUNCED. Pete Sampras, 32, the quiet yet dominant American tennis champion who won a record 14 Grand Slam titles; in a ceremony at the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows, New York. Sampras won the U.S. Open at the age of 19 and was the only player to finish six straight seasons ranked as the world's No. 1. In his 13-year career, he raked in a hefty $43 million in prize money, another record for the sport.
RETIREMENT ANNOUNCED. Michael Chang, 31, tennis player known for his incredible hustle and for being one of the first Asian-Americans to make it in the game; after losing to Fernando Gonzales of Chile in the first round of the U.S. Open; in Flushing Meadows, New York. After turning pro at age 17, Chang burst into the tennis world with a win at the French Open in 1989. In 1997, he was the No. 2 tennis player in the world. Chang said he would devote his time to promoting tennis in Asia.
SENTENCE REDUCED. Pham Hong Son, 35, Vietnamese physician convicted of spying and using the Internet to slander the government, after a campaign by international human rights groups; in Hanoi. Son translated an article from the U.S. State Department website titled What is Democracy? and distributed it to Vietnamese language websites. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison in June, now lessened to five years.
SENTENCED. Mamoru Takuma, 39, to death by hanging for murdering eight schoolchildren and stabbing 13 students and two teachers in June 2001; in Osaka. Takuma's rampage, which he said was prompted by a hatred for his father and ex-wife, was Japan's worst ever school killing.
CHARGED. Two Unidentified Iranian Interrogators, with the "semi-intentional murder" (in the words of the Tehran prosecutor's office) of Canadian photojournalist Zara Kazemi; in Tehran. Kazemi, 54, died of head injuries two weeks after she was taken into custody for shooting pictures outside a prison in the Iranian capital, and officials claimed she suffered a stroke. But after protests by Reporters Without Borders and the Canadian government, they admitted Kazemi died of a hemorrhage caused by a severe blow to the skull.
Numbers
69,000 Estimated number of people who disappeared or died between 1980 and 2000 in Peru's Maoist rebel war
52 Number of people killed by last week's car bombings in Bombay
39 Number of people trampled to death by pilgrims at a Hindu Kumbh festival in Nasik, India
25 Number of people killed when a bridge collapsed in Daman, India
$1 billion Cost per week for the U.S. to occupy Iraq
400,000 Estimated number of pets in government-owned apartments that are officially banned in Hong Kong
960 Number of endangered star tortoises found in three pieces of hand luggage at an airport in Madras, India on their way to Singapore
18 Age of Jeffrey Lee Parson, American teen charged with spreading the MSBlast Internet virus
Omen
A British study has found that students who are younger than their classmates are more likely to have psychiatric disorders, including anxiety, depression, behavioral and emotional difficulties.