Historical timeline for January 17

Indonesia Air Transport ATR 42 crashed near Mount Bulusaraung in South Sulawesi, after losing contact en route to Makassar.

An avalanche strikes Nyingchi, Tibet, killing 28 people.

The search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 is announced to be suspended.

President Barack Obama announces the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, an agreement intended to limit Iran's nuclear program.

Former cyclist Lance Armstrong confesses to his doping in an airing of Oprah's Next Chapter.

Shahzad Luqman is murdered by members of Golden Dawn in Petralona, Athens, leading the creation of new measures to combat race-based attacks in Greece.

Rioting begins between Muslim and Christian groups in Jos, Nigeria, results in at least 200 deaths.

British Airways Flight 38 crashes short of the runway at Heathrow Airport, injuring 47.

The Doomsday Clock is set to five minutes to midnight in response to North Korea's nuclear testing.

Mount Nyiragongo erupts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, displacing an estimated 400,000 people.

Clinton–Lewinsky scandal: Matt Drudge breaks the story of the Bill Clinton–Monica Lewinsky affair on his Drudge Report website.

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station: A Delta II carrying the GPS IIR-1 satellite explodes 13 seconds after launch, dropping 250 tons of burning rocket remains around the launch pad.

The Czech Republic applies for membership in the European Union.

The 6.9 Mw Great Hanshin earthquake shakes the southern Hyōgo Prefecture with a maximum Shindo of 7, leaving 5,502–6,434 people dead, and 251,301–310,000 displaced.

The 6.7 Mw Northridge earthquake shakes the Greater Los Angeles Area with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), leaving 57 people dead and more than 8,700 injured.

During a visit to South Korea, Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa apologizes for forcing Korean women into sexual slavery during World War II.

Crown Prince Harald of Norway becomes King Harald V, following the death of his father, King Olav V.

Gulf War: Operation Desert Storm begins early in the morning as aircraft strike positions across Iraq, it is also the first major combat sortie for the F-117. LCDR Scott Speicher's F/A-18C Hornet from VFA-81 is shot down by a Mig-25 and is the first American casualty of the War. Iraq fires eight Scud missiles into Israel in an unsuccessful bid to provoke Israeli retaliation.

Patrick Purdy opens fire at an elementary school in Stockton, California, killing five and wounding 31 others.

President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos lifts martial law eight years and five months after declaring it.