On this day
Revisit the music, news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
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Market Place column on moves by leveraged buyout firms to take tens of millions of dollars in profits from companies they own in form of special dividends, mostly financed by junk bonds and loans; profit-taking could help firms raise capital to make new acquisitions at time when it is hard for them to sell companies they own; photo (M)
Episcopal Church officials suddenly delay decision to approve V Gene Robinson as first openly gay Anglican bishop, saying they need to investigate sexual accusations against him; some attending Episcopal Church USA meeting in Minneapolis say any accusations must be thoroughly studied, while others denounce them as desperate, last-minute move to block Robinson's appointment; Bishop Gordon P Scruton is assigned to lead investigation into accusation that Robinson inappropriately touched church member at meeting several years ago, and that he has connection to group for gay and bisexual youth whose Web site includes link leading to Web site for pornography; Robinson meets privately with church leaders but makes no public comments on matter; his fellow church officials in New Hampshire voice 'continued confidence' in him (M)
New York City Fire Dept's hazardous materials unit was devastated by 9/11 attacks and now has fewer firefighters than before attacks; there is widespread agreement that unit, which deals with biological, chemical and radiological situations, should expand, but now 14 of unit's 35 positions are vacant; firefighters are reluctant to join unit that requires tedious study and will surely respond to any new attacks; federal aid only covers equipment and training, leaving salaries of second unit to city; department responds by giving all personnel some training, but experts say that solution is inadequate; photo (L)
Europeans are increasingly buying Japanese autos, many of them designed and engineered specifically for Europe and for small and midsize segments that account for bulk of European sales; buyers are also attracted to larger Japanese models; sales of Japanese cars in Europe jumped almost 7 percent in 2002, to 1.64 million vehicles, while overall car sales fell 3 percent; Japanese car sales grew 6 percent in 2003 first half, while overall sales fell 2.6 percent; fresh models are behind recent Japanese growth; more new models are in preparation and new Japanese factories planned or under construction in several European nations; sales graph; photo (M)
Olympus Optical reports profits in April-to-June quarter jumped 86 percent, to 9.1 billion yen ($76 million) (S)
Music on My Birthday
The Top 50 albums for the chart week of July 30, 2003, covering August 5, 2003.
Soundtrack
Chingy
Beyonce
Brooks & Dunn
Ashanti
2003Toni Shaw, British Paralympic swimmer[†]
Toni Stephanie Shaw is a British Paralympic swimmer. In 2019 she set the world record time for the S9 200m butterfly, and was also part of the team that set a new world record for the 4 × 100 m medley relay. At the 2020 Summer Paralympics, she won a bronze medal in the women's 400 metre freestyle S9 event and later went on to win gold at the 2022 World Para Swimming Championships, becoming the World Champion. She is a three-time World Champion and two-time European Champion.
2003A car bomb explodes in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta outside the Marriott Hotel killing 12 and injuring 150.[†]
A suicide bomber detonated a car bomb outside the lobby of the JW Marriott Jakarta hotel on 5 August 2003, killing 12 people and injuring 150. Those killed included 11 Indonesians and one Dutch national. The hotel was viewed as a Western symbol, and had been used by the United States embassy for various events. The hotel was closed for five weeks and reopened to the public on 8 September 2003.
In 2003, the world population was approximately 6,420,361,634 people[†]