February 17, 2013 (Sunday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Iraqi insurgency (post-U.S. withdrawal):
- A series of car bombs kill at least 37 people and injure more than 130 others in mostly Shiite areas of the capital Baghdad. (BBC) (AP) (Los Angeles Times)
- Nigerian Sharia conflict:
Arts and culture
- American country music singer Mindy McCready dies as the result of a suspected suicide at the age of 37. (E! Online) (BBC)
Business and economy
- Government of Venezuela opens a granite processing plant in the state of Bolívar, with the intention of providing about 25% of the granite required nationwide. (Pub Memo)
Disasters and accidents
- Five people are killed and eleven are injured, two seriously, when an apartment complex is destroyed by a gas explosion in Frenštát pod Radhoštěm, Czech Republic. (Prague Daily Monitor)
Politics and elections
- Voters in Ecuador go to the polls for a general election with incumbent President Rafael Correa claiming a landslide victory. (Reuters) (BBC) (The New York Times) (IOL News)
- Voters in Cyprus go to the polls for a presidential election with Nicos Anastasiades of the Democratic Rally and Stavros Malas of AKEL to contest a runoff on 24 February. (AAP via NineMSN)[permanent dead link]
- Protests occur in Pakistan demanding protection for Shiite Muslims following yesterday's bombing in Quetta that killed 84 people. (AFP via Channel News Asia) (Ary News)
Sport
- In cricket, Australia defeats West Indies in the final of the 2013 Women's Cricket World Cup. (BBC Sport) (Cricket Country)
- In biathlon, Norway's Emil Hegle Svendsen and Tora Berger become the main heroes of the 2013 Biathlon World Championships in Nové Město, Czech Republic. (IBU) (Biathlon WC2013)
- In beach soccer, Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil secure qualification for the 2013 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. (FIFA) (BeachSoccer)
- In motorsport, Danica Patrick becomes the first woman to win pole position at the Daytona 500 and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. (AP via ESPN) (CNN)
- In speed skating, Sven Kramer wins the men's 2013 World Allround Speed Skating Championships for a record sixth time. Ireen Wüst wins the women's title. (Eurosport) (NRC.nl) (Le Matin)