The December 21, 2003 was a Sunday under the star sign of ♐. It was the 354 day of the year. President of the United States was George W. Bush.
If you were born on this day, you are 22 years old. Your last birthday was on the Sunday, December 21, 2025, 197 days ago. Your next birthday is on Monday, December 21, 2026, in 167 days. You have lived for 8,233 days, or about 197,613 hours, or about 11,856,805 minutes, or about 711,408,300 seconds.
Date: 21 December 2003
By Joseph P. Fried
Joseph Fried
Alan Abel, who has long record of hoaxes that have fooled public and news organizations, promises more to come; Kenneth Girven, police captain shot in Harlem in August, is still not back at work; authorities say he may have prevented bloodbath because two men he stopped were on their way to rob gambling spot; photo (M)
Date: 22 December 2003
By Greg Winter
Greg Winter
Rise of Washington Univ in St Louis from 'streetcar college' to join Top 10 circle of US News & World Report college rankings comes alongside wildly successful capital campaign; its fund-raising prowess and $3.5 billion endowment has not only raised its standing, but it has advanced its footing in caliber of student body; among nation's top 20 universities, Wash U has one of most liberal uses of financial incentives for academic achievers; school is open about its reliance on what is typically called merit aid to compete with elite schools in recruitment wars; merit aid, given to top students who may not need help to pay for school, has become volatile issue among elite institutions; Vanderbilt, Rice and Emory are among other highly ranked universities that offer such aid; elite schools that do not offer merit aid scorn it as means of buying better class, sometimes at expense of lower-income students who need financial assistance; photo (M)
Date: 21 December 2003
By Katharine Q. Seelye and Janet Elder
Katharine Seelye
Amendment to United States Constitution to ban gay marriage has widespread support in latest New York Times/CBS News poll; poll finds 55 percent of Americans nationwide favor amendment, while 40 percent oppose it; finds support extends across wide swath of public, including majority of people traditionally viewed as supportive of gay rights, including Democrats, women and people living on East Coast; finds attitudes on subject linked to how people view marriage itself; 71 percent of people who view marriage as largely religious matter oppose gay marriage, while 55 percent of those who see marriage as largely legal matter support gay marriage; findings come after last month's 4-to-3 ruling by highest court in Massachusetts that same-sex marriage is permissable under state's Constitution; Pres Bush, who had been noncommittal about subject after that ruling, worrying that support for ban on gay marriage would alienate moderate voters, now says he would support constitutional amendment banning gay marriage; most Democratic candidates oppose gay marriage but favor civil unions; chart (M)
Date: 22 December 2003
By Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
Victor Li's Trinity Time Investments says he raises his investment offer to Air Canada as airline weighs competing bid from Cerberus Capital Management (S)
Date: 22 December 2003
By Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
Spain's Banco de Sabadell SA to buy rival Banco Atlantico SA for 1.5 billion euros ($1.86 billion); will buy stake of over 92 percent from Arab Banking Corp and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA and make public offer for remaining shares (S)
Date: 22 December 2003
By Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
Japan's Financial Services Agency gets budget increase of 1.6 billion yen ($14.8 million), or 11 percent, for fiscal year starting Apr 1, to strengthen its ability to monitor banks, brokerage firms and accountants; will have 110 more employees; seeks to improve financial system's credibility (M)
Date: 21 December 2003
Letter from Bangladesh Amb M Muhaddes letter rejects charge in Dec 14 editorial that Bangladesh is one of world's most dangerous countries for journalists
Date: 21 December 2003
INTERNATIONAL 3-34 As Fugitive, Hussein Stayed Close to Home Saddam Hussein spent months moving among 20 or 30 nondescript safe houses in the Sunni Muslim heartland of Iraq before his capture. A tightknit network of family and clan sheltered him, brought him news from across American-dominated Iraq and helped him guide the anticoalition insurgency. 1
Date: 22 December 2003
INTERNATIONAL A3-20 Inquiry Examines Trail Of Pakistani Arms Data A lengthy investigation by American and European intelligence agencies and international nuclear inspectors of Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of the Pakistani atomic bomb, has forced Pakistan to question his aides and to confront publicly evidence that they sold crucial technology to enrich uranium to Iran, North Korea and other nations. A1 Millitant Attacks Could Surge United States military officials warned that fresh intelligence indicates that Iraqi insurgents may be planning a new wave of violence timed to the Christmas holiday, in part to avenge the capture of Saddam Hussein. A20
Date: 21 December 2003
WITH Mideast peace talks stalled, Ariel Sharon, Israels prime minister, says his government could decide within months to unilaterally set a makeshift border with the Palestinians. But where would Israel draw the boundary?.