Historical timeline for February 17

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: 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.

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

Kosovo declares independence from Serbia.

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

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.

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

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

First Nagorno-Karabakh War: Armenian troops massacre more than 20 Azerbaijani civilians during the Capture of Garadaghly.

Ryan International Airlines Flight 590 crashes during takeoff from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, killing both pilots, the aircraft's only occupants.

First winter ascent of Mount Everest by Krzysztof Wielicki and Leszek Cichy.

The Sino-Vietnamese War begins.

The Troubles: The Provisional IRA detonates an incendiary bomb at the La Mon restaurant, near Belfast, killing 12 and seriously injuring 30 others, all Protestants.

Robert K. Preston, a disgruntled U.S. Army private, buzzes the White House in a stolen helicopter.

Cumulative sales of the Volkswagen Beetle exceed those of the Ford Model T.

The family of Jeffrey R. MacDonald, United States Army captain, is found murdered in their home in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, US. Eventually, MacDonald was charged with and convicted of the murder of his pregnant wife and two daughters.

American aquanaut Berry L. Cannon dies of carbon dioxide poisoning while attempting to repair a leak in the SEALAB III underwater habitat. The SEALAB project was subsequently abandoned.

Aeroflot Flight 065 crashes during take-off from Sheremetyevo International Airport, killing 21.