Other Notable Events, February 24

In 2007, a bombing near a Sunni mosque outside Baghdad killed at least 35 people, signaling an end to a downturn in sectarian violence.

In 2008, at least 52 Shiite pilgrims headed to the shrine of Imam Hussein in Karbala to celebrate Arbaeen were killed in an attack at a rest stop. Four others were killed the next day by suicide bombers.

In 2009, in his first address as chief executive to a joint session of Congress, U.S. President Barack Obama spoke of the necessity of immediate action to resurrect the flailing economy and of plans for investing in energy, healthcare and education.

Also in 2009, Taliban insurgents in Pakistan's militarily strategic Swat Valley agreed to a cease-fire leaving them in charge of the area near the Afghan border and about 100 miles from the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.

In 2010, in what was described as the largest yearly decline since the 1940s, a Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. report said lending by U.S. banks fell in 2009 to $587 billion, down 7.5 percent from the previous year.

In 2011, fighting erupted in western Ivory Coast near the Liberian border as Laurent Gbagbo sought to remain president after losing an election to Alassane Ouattara.

Also in 2011, more than 50 Somali refugees seeking to escape violence at home apparently drowned when their small boat bound for Yemen capsized in the Gulf of Aden.

In 2012, bombers and gunmen in Iraq killed 55 people and wounded more than 200 in a series of attacks on civilian and government targets in more than a dozen cities.

Also in 2012, the British House of Commons voted overwhelmingly to approve a bill legalizing same-sex marriage, making it, observers say, a certainty to pass in the House of Lords just as easily and become the law in England and Wales.