Historical timeline for December 17

The United States and Cuba re-establish diplomatic relations after severing them in 1961.

Mohamed Bouazizi sets himself on fire. This act became the catalyst for the Tunisian Revolution and the wider Arab Spring.

MV Danny F II sinks off the coast of Lebanon, resulting in the deaths of 44 people and over 28,000 animals.

Anti-World Trade Organization protesters riot in Wan Chai, Hong Kong.

Jigme Singye Wangchuck abdicates the throne as King of Bhutan.

Sex work rights activists establish December 17 (or "D17") as International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers to memorialize victims of a serial killer who targeted prostitutes, and highlight State violence against sex workers by police and others.

SpaceShipOne, piloted by Brian Binnie, makes its first powered and first supersonic flight.

The Soham murder trial ends at the Old Bailey in London, with Ian Huntley found guilty of two counts of murder. His girlfriend, Maxine Carr, is found guilty of perverting the course of justice.

Second Congo War: The Congolese parties of the Inter Congolese Dialogue sign a peace accord which makes provision for transitional governance and legislative and presidential elections within two years.

Aerosvit Flight 241: A Yakovlev Yak-42 crashes into the Pierian Mountains near Thessaloniki Airport in Thessaloniki, Greece, killing all 70 people on board.

Peruvian internal conflict: Fourteen members of the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement provoke a hostage crisis by taking over the Japanese embassy in Lima.

Fernando Collor de Mello defeats Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the second round of the Brazilian presidential election, becoming the first democratically elected President in almost 30 years.

Romanian Revolution: Protests continue in Timișoara, Romania, with rioters breaking into the Romanian Communist Party's District Committee building and attempting to set it on fire.

The Simpsons premieres on television with the episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire".

Provisional IRA members detonate a car bomb at Harrods Department Store in London. Three police officers and three civilians are killed.

American Brigadier General James L. Dozier is abducted by the Red Brigades in Verona, Italy.

Thirty passengers are killed in an attack by Palestinian terrorists on Rome's Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport.

Polish protests: In Gdynia, soldiers fire at workers emerging from trains, killing dozens.

Project Blue Book: The United States Air Force closes its study of UFOs.

Harold Holt, Prime Minister of Australia, disappears while swimming near Portsea, Victoria, and is presumed drowned.