While U Slept: Big 5 Stories Breaking Overnight. Thursday, February 17, 2011

produced by Worldcrunch

SUDDEN CRACKDOWN ON PROTESTERS IN BAHRAIN, DEATHS REPORTED Police launch early morning assault to forcibly removed protesters from the capital’s Pearl Roundabout. At least three people reported killed. (CNN)

LIBYAN DAY OF RAGE, AMID REPORTS OF 14 PROTESTERS KILLED IN RECENT DAYS Libyan protesters seeking to oust longtime leader Moammar Gaddafi defy a crackdown and take to the streets in four cities. Human rights groups attempt to verify numbers of dead, arrested. (AP)

COLIN POWELL DEMANDS ANSWERS FROM CIA ON WMDs Former Secretary of State calls on CIA and Pentagon to explain why they failed to alert him to the unreliability of a key source behind claims of Saddam Hussein’s bio-weapons capability. (Guardian)

WORLD STOCKS HIT 30-MONTH HIGH Strong corporate earnings and cautious optimism on the U.S. economy from the Federal Reserve helps drive up prices in Asia and Europe, while oil prices eased after hitting a 28-month high the previous day. (Reuters)

COMPUTER BEATS HUMANS AT JEOPARDY QUIZ SHOW IBM computer takes down Ken Jennings, famous for winning 74 games in a row on the TV quiz show. Seen as further sign that intelligent machines will be able to understand and respond to humans, and perhaps inevitably, replace some of them. (NYT)

from Worldcrunch:

Italy’s Top Conceptual Artist Flips Off High Finance