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'Mars' returns for a second season

Mars is a documentary and science fiction television series produced by National Geographic. Prior to its official air date, it was launched in a streaming format. It blends elements of real interviews with a fictional story of a group of astronauts as they land on the planet Mars. National Geographic announced it was renewing the series for a second season.

Earthquake hits on the Iran–Iraq border

An earthquake with a moment magnitude of 7.3 occurred on the Iran–Iraq border. It was felt as far away as Israel and the United Arab Emirates. With at least 630 people killed, mostly in Iraq's Kurdish Halabja area and the Iranian Kurdish dominated province of Kermanshah, and more than 8,100 injured, as well as many more unaccounted for, it was the deadliest earthquake of 2017.

Beirut terror attacks

Two suicide bombers detonated explosives in Bourj el-Barajneh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, that is inhabited mostly by Shia Muslims. Reports of the number of deaths range from 37 to 43 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed responsibility for the attacks. The bombings were the worst terrorist attack in Beirut since the end of the Lebanese Civil War.

China's first commitment to cut greenhouse gases

At the end of the APEC trade summit in China, Barack Obama announced a climate change agreement with Xi Jinping that would cut both countries' greenhouse gas emissions by close to a third in the next two decades. It was the 1st time China agreed to cut its carbon emissions.

The largest fancy orange diamond on record is sold

The rare pear-shaped orange diamond was 14.82-carats. As it was sold for $35.5 million, it set a world record for a fancy vivid orange diamond. At $2,398,151 per karat, it also set a world record price per karat for any colored diamond sold at auction.

'World of Warplanes' is released

World of Warplanes is a free-to-play flight combat massively multiplayer online action game developed by Persha Studia in Ukraine and published by Wargaming in Belarus, set in the Golden Age of military aviation. The game was released in CIS countries, North America and Europe.

'Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike' opens Off-Broadway

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike is a comedy play written by Christopher Durang. The story revolves around the relationships of three middle-aged single siblings, two of whom live together, and takes place during a visit by the third, Masha, who supports them. The play premiered at McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey, followed by an Off-Broadway production.

'Breaking Dawn - Part 2' premieres in LA

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 is the last film in The Twilight Saga series. It was directed by Bill Condon and based on the novel by Stephenie Meyer. The film, starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner, became the highest-grossing film of the series.

Silvio Berlusconi tenders his resignation as Prime Minister

After a final meeting with his cabinet, Berlusconi met Italian President Giorgio Napolitano at the Palazzo del Quirinale to tend his resignation. As he headed to the presidential residence, a crowd gathered shouting insults at Berlusconi and throwing coins at his car.

'Tomb Raider: The Prophecy' is released

Tomb Raider: The Prophecy is an action-adventure video game released for the Game Boy Advance, part of the Tomb Raider franchise. It was developed by Ubi Soft Milan, and published by Ubi Soft under license from Eidos Interactive. The game is based around an ancient prophecy written in the Tome of Ezekiel, which tells of three magical stones, used by various powerful rulers around the world.

'Resident Evil Zero' is released

Resident Evil Zero, known in Japan as Biohazard Zero, is a survival horror game developed and published by Capcom. It is the 5th major installment in the Resident Evil series and was originally released for the Nintendo GameCube. It is a prequel to Resident Evil, covering the ordeals experienced in the Arklay Mountains by the special police force, S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team.

AA plane crashes in Rockaway, New York

The National Transportation Safety Board attributed the disaster to the first officer's overuse of rudder controls in response to wake turbulence, or jet wash, from a Japan Airlines Boeing 747-400 that took off minutes before it. This overuse caused the vertical stabilizer to snap off the plane.

Destiny’s Child start an 11-week run at #1 on the US singles chart

The song held the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for eleven consecutive weeks from November to February. Billboard likened the song's release strategy to being influenced by Janet Jackson's "Doesn't Really Matter," saying the group "began planting the seeds for the upcoming release" in a similar vein.

The world's deadliest mid-air collision kills 349 people

The aircraft, involved in the collision, was a Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747-100B en route from Delhi to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, and a Kazakhstan Airlines Ilyushin Il-76 en route from Chimkent, Kazakhstan, to Delhi. The accident was a fault of the Kazakh commander, who descended from the assigned altitude to 14,000 feet and lower.

1995

Michael Schumacher wins Formula One WDC by 33 points

Michael Schumacher, driving for the Benetton, won the F1 World Championship for the second consecutive year by defeating Damon Hill by 33 points. The season was highlighted by the rivalry between Schumacher and Hill, with Schumacher winning nine races and Hill winning four races.

'Grand Hotel' opens at the Martin Beck Theatre

Grand Hotel is a musical with a book by Luther Davis and music and lyrics by Robert Wright and George Forrest, with additional music and lyrics by Maury Yeston. The show's Broadway production garnered 12 Tony Award nominations, winning 5, including best direction and choreography for Tommy Tune. Big-name cast replacements, including Cyd Charisse and Zina Bethune, helped the show become the first American musical since 1985's Big River to top 1,000 performances on Broadway.

Broken satellite salvage

American space shuttle Challenger crew retrieved two communication satellites from orbit and took them back to Earth for repairs. Both satellites, Indonesian Palapa B2 and Canadian Westar 6, were deployed earlier by another space shuttle mission. However, they ended on improper orbits because of their kick motors failure.

UK announces withdrawal of the familiar green £1 note

The English pound note was announced to disappear by Chancellor Nigel Lawson. After more than 150 years, the note was replaced by coins. This idea was credited mainly to the intervention of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Bruce Springsteen scores his first #1 US album

The River is the fifth studio album by Bruce Springsteen. It was released by Columbia Records. Springsteen's only double album, The River was produced by Jon Landau, Springsteen, and bandmate Steven Van Zandt. The album was Springsteen's first to go #1 on the Billboard 200 and spent four weeks at the top of the chart.

'Berzerk' is released

Berzerk is a multi-directional shooter arcade game, released by Stern Electronics of Chicago. Berzerk places the player in series of top-down, maze-like rooms containing armed robots. The player controls a green stick man. Using a joystick and a firing button that activates a laser-like weapon, the player navigates a simple maze filled with many robots, who fire lasers back at the player character.

Firm officially begins using the 'Microsoft' tradename

The Microsoft trade name was given to the firm in order to identify computer programs for use in automatic data processing systems, pre-programing processing systems, and data processing services including computer programming services.

All-black version of 'Hello, Dolly!' opens at the St. James Theatre

Hello, Dolly! is a 1964 musical with lyrics and music by Jerry Herman and a book by Michael Stewart. Based on Thornton Wilder's 1938 farce The Merchant of Yonkers, the musical follows the story of Dolly Gallagher Levi to find a match for the miserly "well-known unmarried half-a-millionaire" Horace Vandergelder. RCA Victor released a recording of the all-black Broadway replacement cast, featuring Pearl Bailey, who also starred in the unrecorded 1975 revival.

The first space selfie

The first known space selfie was taken by Buzz Aldrin during the Gemini 12 mission. The extra-vehicular activity equipment used by astronauts during spacewalks contains a specially designed camera for photography in outer space. The main purpose of the EVA camera is to take pictures of the subjects related to the missions.

Ellis Island closes

Ellis Island was the gateway for over 12 million immigrants to the USA. The last person who passed through Ellis Island was a Norwegian merchant seaman by the name of Arne Peterssen. In 1965, the island was made part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument.

Early anaesthetic

Scottish obstetrician James Y. Simpson used chloroform as an anesthetic in an operation. He was not first. Anaesthetic properties of the chemical were known for more than fifteen years. Simpson was, however, its great proponent. In his time there was a great discussion on whether women should use anesthetics during labor.

Anniversaries of the (in)famous