On this day
Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
In 2003, the world population was approximately 6,420,361,634 people[†]
2003Mark McCormack, American lawyer and sports agent, founded IMG (born 1930)[†]
Mark Hume McCormack was an American lawyer, sports agent and writer. He was the founder and chairman of International Management Group, now IMG, an international management organization serving sports figures and celebrities.
2003In Morocco, 33 civilians are killed and more than 100 people are injured in the Casablanca terrorist attacks.[†]
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to the east, and the disputed territory of Western Sahara to the south. Morocco also claims the Spanish exclaves of Ceuta, Melilla and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, and several small Spanish-controlled islands off its coast. It has a population of approximately 37 million. Islam is both the official and predominant religion, while Arabic and Berber are the official languages. Additionally, French and the Moroccan dialect of Arabic are widely spoken. The culture of Morocco is a mix of Arab, Berber, African and European cultures. Its capital is Rabat, while its largest city is Casablanca.
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Royal Dutch/Shell Group and its partners approve $10 billion project to tap deposits off Russia's Pacific coast after finding buyer for fuel; Shell, Mitsui & Co and Mitsubishi Corp will proceed with plans to develop Lunskoye gas field and build liquefied natural gas plant on Sakhalin Island (S)
Federal Communications Commission votes to permit companies to lease and trade radio spectrum licenses, move that could result in improved service for millions of users of cellphones and other wireless devices; vote is 4 to 1, following heavy lobbying by largest wireless carriers as well as Wall Street companies hoping to serve as brokers in creation of secondary market for swapping licenses; officials and industry analysts say consumers will benefit from reduced instances of cellphone calls being dropped if license holders are allowed to lease slivers of spectrum that are currently underused; decision to allow companies to transfer portions of spectrum they do not use will change longstanding federal framework that regulates holders of spectrum licenses; FCC's earlier attempt to alter rules was dropped when it found host of problems that would prevent owner of license from lending it and it was not clear which company in such transaction would be held responsible for problems like signal interference; FCC says it has resolved those issues (M)
Trainer Barclay Tagg and exercise rider Robin Smullen, who are partners in life and work, prepare to take Kentucky Derby winner Funny Cide to Preakness Stakes; photos (M)
Analysis of debate among information technology analysts, investors and economists as to whether technology industry is still growth industry as signs are emerging of recovery in industry; whether technology is still growth industry is important not only for technology companies, but for economy as whole; industry represents about 10 percent of economy and about 60 percent of investment in kinds of equipment that companies buy to run their businesses; technology research firm IDC says technology spending will rise by 2.3 percent in 2003; projects rise of 6 to 7 percent annually for 2004 through 2007; graph (M)
New York Giants head coach Jim Fassel and his wife Kitty are reunited with their son John Mathieson, whom they gave up for adoption three days after his birth in 1969 in Denver, Colo; Fassels were 19 and unmarried and felt unprepared for parenthood when John was born; they married two years later and have four other children; they and Mathieson spent several years searching for each other; recent change in Colorado adoption law makes it easier for biolgiocal parents to reconnect with child whose whereabouts they knew nothing of; Mathieson, who was adopted by military family that moved several times as he was growing up, is married with four children; joyous family reunion described; photos (M)
Three top executives of Dominican Republic's Banco Intercontinental, including president Ramon Baez Figueroa, are arrested after authorities discover clandestine banking operation that resulted in embezzling of $2.2 billion; central bank says executives of Banco Intercontinental established unsupervised bank-within-a-bank in 1989 that used deposits to buy companies linked to bank officers and that forgave millions of dollars in bad loans; arrest of Baez Figueroa brings cries of political skullduggery because government placed Baez Figueroa's media properties under 'administrative control,' including Listin Diario, country's leading newspaper, which is seen as friendly to former Pres Leonel Fernandez, who is seeking to regain presidency in next year's election; Baez Figueroa says government is seizing his media properties to help re-election of Pres Hipolito Mejia; Listin Diario publishes editorial denouncing government's probe of Baez Figueroa as threat to press freedom; photo (M)
Truckers' strike that has paralyzed port of Pusan, South Korea, for week is settled (S)
Bruce Weber reviews Writer's Block, two new one-act comedies written and directed by Woody Allen for Atlantic Theater Company; Paul Reiser stars in Riverside Drive with Bebe Neuwirth and Jay Thomas in Old Saybrook; photos (M)
Transcripts released from just-concluded Crown Heights federal trial offer rare glimpse of bare-knuckled rancor, brinksmanship and trash-talking behind the scenes, which were barely hinted at in courtroom; jury forewoman complained to Judge Frederic Block that other jurors had bullied her until she could stand it no more; defendant, Lemrick Nelson Jr, tells Block that one of his previous lawyers relied on defense that he knew was lie; Block angrily threatened to have lawyer hauled in for questioning (M)
Detection of virulent, chicken-killing virus in few fighting cocks across Texas in El Paso has prompted governments from European Union, Mexico, Russia, Japan and Cuba to embargo imports of Texas poultry; no trace of virus, exotic Newcastle disease, has been found in East Texas, state's main poultry producing area; Nacogdoches, important base of operations for large food companies like Tyson Foods and Pilgrim's Pride, is closer to St Louis than El Paso; state's poultry industry stands to lose about $100 million as result of embargoes; David Alders, who grows chickens for Pilgrim's Pride, says paranoia level has risen since poultry industry in Nacogdoches is paying for isolated incident many hundreds of miles away; consolidation in poultry industry contributed to rising prosperity for many chicken growers, but resulting efficiencies have fueled concern that industry is more vulnerable to diseases like exotic Newcastle and avian influenza that can spread rapidly in regions producing millions of birds each month; poultry producers in other states, especially California, have also been affected by concern over possible spread of exotic Newcastle, which was detected in October in Los Angeles; US Agriculture Department has destroyed more than 3.5 million birds in California in effort to prevent spread of disease; isolated cases have been detected in Nevada, Arizona and El Paso, after owner returned from cockfight in southern New Mexico and infected his game birds; chickens from California, Nevada and Arizona have fallen victim to embargoes; map; photos (M)
Alessandra Stanley reviews CBS television mini-serires Hitler: The Rise of Evil, starring Robert Carlyle; photo (M)
Article on Outdoor Resorts Indio Motorcoach Resort and Spa in Indio, Calif, destination spot for enormous, lavishly appointed motor coaches that sell for $500,000 to $2 million each; lots at Indio range in price from $75,000 to $250,000; photos (M)