Thursday October 02, 2003

Holidays

• Roman Catholic Church - Memorial of Guardian Angels
• World Farm Animal Day
• Roman festivals - First day of the Ludi Augustales to celebrate the recovery by emperor August of Roman standards from the Parthians
• Also see October 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Guinea - Independence Day (from France, 1958)
• French Republican Calendar - Pomme de terre (Potato) Day, eleventh day in the Month of VendTmiaire
• India - Gandhi Jayanti (birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, 1869)
• See more

Events

• North Korea claims to ampquothave already processedampquot 8,000 fuel rods from its Yongbyon nuclear reactor north of Pyongyang and is using the plutonium extracted during the process to make atomic bombs to boost its nuclear capabilities for nuclear deterrent force. Citing a ampquothostile policyampquot by the United States, Vice Foreign Minister Choe Su Hon states this is a means to safeguard the country's territory.
• Occupation of Iraq: The United Nations Security Council discusses a new United States draft resolution on Iraq, which would enhance the United Nations' role in Iraq. Secretary General Kofi Annan states draft did not go in the direction he recommended. A quicker transfer of sovereignty ampquot''may change the dynamics on the ground, in terms of the security situation, and send a message''ampquot.
• Technology – Genome: The genome chip arrived with several companies rushing to sell the known human genes. The products will allow scientists to scan all genes in a human tissue sample at once to determine which are active, with lower cost and increased speed.
• Sino-American relations: The United States Navy blames China for the 2001 Hainan Island incident. A report released to ''Jane's Defense Weekly'' under the Freedom of Information Act said that the pilot of the Chinese jet fighter made three passes at the U.S. propeller-driven reconnaissance plane over international waters. On the third pass, the Chinese fighter hit a propeller on the American plane.
• J. M. Coetzee wins Nobel Prize for literature.
• Ontario general election, 2003: Dalton McGuinty becomes the new premier of Ontario when his party defeats Ernie Eves's incumbent Tories and Howard Hampton's NDP.
• European Union: United States draft legislation which urges The Pentagon to buy defence parts from American manufacturers has turned heads in Brussels, with some warning of yet another trade dispute at the WTO.
• European Union: The first bilateral meeting between France and Austria since 1998 is marked by disagreements over the European Constitution. Austria heads the group of small countries seeking to make changes to the text, but France wants to leave the draft by Valéry Giscard d'Estaing broadly untouched.
• See more

Famous Deaths

• John T Dunlop

  U.

Top #5 songs in the USA

1. Beyonce - Baby Boy
2. Nelly - Shake Ya Tailfeather
3. Chingy - Right Thurr
4. Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz - Get Low
5. Pharrell - Frontin'

Top #5 songs in the UK

1. The Black Eyed Peas - Where Is The Love?
2. Dido - White Flag
3. Elton John - Are You Ready For Love
4. Blu Cantrell featuring Sean Paul - Breathe
5. Big Brovaz - Baby Boy

Top #5 R&B songs

1. Beyonce Featuring Sean Paul - Baby Boy
2. YoungBloodZ Featuring Lil Jon - Damn!
3. Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz Featuring Ying Yang Twins - Get Low
4. Pharrell Featuring Jay-Z - Frontin'
5. Nelly, P. Diddy & Murphy Lee - Shake Ya Tailfeather

Top #5 Latin songs

1. Gloria Estefan - Hoy
2. Chayanne - Un Siglo Sin Ti
3. Obie Bermudez - Antes
4. Alejandro Sanz - No Es Lo Mismo
5. Luis Miguel - Te Necesito

Stock Markets

• ExxonMobil XOM: opens at $37.35
• Apple AAPL: opens at $20.80
• Microsoft MSFT: opens at $28.45
• General Electric GE: opens at $30.54
• International Business Machines IBM: opens at $89.55

Exchange Rates

• 1 USD = 110.68 JPY
• 1 USD = 1.341 CAD
• 1 USD = 1.3183 CHF
• 1 EUR = 129.52 JPY
• 1 EUR = 0.7 GBP