On this day
Revisit the music, news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
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New York Mets now consider putting pitcher David Cone in fourth spot in starting rotation, after initially deciding to give him more time to pitch in minor leagues after one-year retirement; photos (M)
McDonald's Said to Weigh Sale of Nonburger Chains Shares of McDonald's climbed 27 cents, to $14.50, on reports the company is seeking to sell a controlling interest in its non-McDonald's group of restaurants, including Boston Market, Chipotle Mexican Grill and Donatos Pizzeria. Such a sale would reverse the company's five-year effort to diversify its business away from the flagship McDonald's chain, which has been fast ceding market share to what the food industry calls the fast-casual restaurants. [Page C2.]
War in Iraq and outbreak of mysterious respiratory ailment that began in China are combining to wreck havoc on tourism in Asia, and are threatening to weaken economies throughout region; leading airlines are scaling back operations; major hotel chains are reporting unusual number of cancellations; photo (M)
Japan will put deregulation to test with Japan Post, new public corporation that will replace government-run Postal Services Agency on April 1; mail delivery now is highly reliable, and savings and insurance programs service runs provide safe and popular shelter for consumers who are worried about leaving money in Japan's shaky commercial banks; lawmakers are trying to turn as many bureaucracies as they can into freestanding companies because of Japan's ever-increasing national budget deficit; Japan Post president Masaharu Ikuta says he wants to create mail system that allows autonomy and flexibility; photo (M)
Italy's largest electr
Music on My Birthday
The Top 50 albums for the chart week of March 26, 2003, covering March 28, 2003.
50 Cent
Norah Jones
R. Kelly
Dixie Chicks
AFI
2003In a friendly fire incident, two American A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft attack British tanks participating in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, killing one soldier.[†]
In military terminology, friendly fire or fratricide is an attack by belligerent or neutral forces on friendly troops while attempting to attack enemy or hostile targets. Examples include misidentifying the target as hostile, cross-fire while engaging an enemy, long range ranging errors or inaccuracy. Accidental fire not intended to attack enemy or hostile targets, and deliberate firing on one's own troops for disciplinary reasons is not called friendly fire, and neither is unintentional harm to civilian or neutral targets, which is sometimes referred to as collateral damage. Training accidents and bloodless incidents also do not qualify as friendly fire in terms of casualty reporting.
In 2003, the world population was approximately 6,420,361,634 people[†]