On This Day: February 17th

Military vehicles explode outside a Turkish Armed Forces barracks in Ankara, Turkey, killing at least 29 people and injuring 61 others.

Eighteen people are killed and 78 injured in a stampede at a Mardi Gras parade in Haiti.

Arab Spring: Libyan protests against Muammar Gaddafi's regime begin.

Arab Spring: In Bahrain, security forces launch a deadly pre-dawn raid on protesters in Pearl Roundabout in Manama; the day is locally known as Bloody Thursday.

Kosovo declares independence from Serbia.

A massive mudslide occurs in Southern Leyte, Philippines; the official death toll is set at 1,126.

In Philadelphia, world champion Garry Kasparov beats the Deep Blue supercomputer in a chess match.

NASA's Discovery Program begins as the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft lifts off on the first mission ever to orbit and land on an asteroid, 433 Eros.

The 8.2 Mw Biak earthquake shakes the Papua province of eastern Indonesia with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). A large tsunami followed, leaving 166 people dead or missing and 423 injured.

The Cenepa War between Peru and Ecuador ends on a ceasefire brokered by the UN.