Portal:Current events/August 1996

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August 1996 was the eighth month of that leap year. The month, which began on a Thursday, ended on a Saturday after 31 days.

Portal:Current events

This is an archived version of Wikipedia's Current events Portal from August 1996.

August 1, 1996 (1996-08-01) (Thursday) Sarah Balabagan returns to the Philippines. A pro-democracy demonstration supporting Megawati Sukarnoputri in Indonesia is broken up by riot police. August 4, 1996 (1996-08-04) (Sunday) The 1996 Summer Olympics conclude. August 6, 1996 (1996-08-06) (Tuesday) NASA announces that the Allan Hills 84001 meteorite, thought to originate from Mars, may contain evidence of primitive lifeforms. The Australian census is conducted. The American punk rock band the Ramones perform for the final time. August 7, 1996 (1996-08-07) (Wednesday) Heavy rains kill more than 80 campers near Huesca, Spain. August 9, 1996 (1996-08-09) (Friday) Boris Yeltsin is sworn in at the Kremlin for a second term as President of Russia. August 11, 1996 (1996-08-11) (Sunday) The British rock band Oasis plays the biggest free-standing concert in UK history at Knebworth, Hertfordshire. August 13, 1996 (1996-08-13) (Tuesday) Data sent back by the Galileo space probe indicates there may be water on one of Jupiter's moons. August 14, 1996 (1996-08-14) (Wednesday) A rocket ignited during a fireworks display in Arequipa, Peru knocks down a high-tension power cable into a dense crowd, electrocuting 35 people. August 15, 1996 (1996-08-15) (Thursday) Bob Dole is nominated for President of the United States, and Jack Kemp for Vice President, at the Republican National Convention in San Diego, California. August 16, 1996 (1996-08-16) (Friday) Brookfield Zoo, Chicago. After a 3-year-old boy falls into the 20-foot (6.1 m) deep gorilla enclosure, Binti Jua, a female lowland gorilla sits with the injured boy until his rescue. After having spent 378 days in a Taliban prison, the crew of Russian Il-76TD manage to overpower their guards, board their aircraft and fly to freedom (see: 1995 Airstan incident). August 18, 1996 (1996-08-18) (Sunday) The San Jose Mercury News publishes Gary Webb's three-part series on the Reagan CIA's role in crack cocaine importation to fund the Contras. August 20, 1996 (1996-08-20) (Tuesday) A thousands-large protest in Seoul, calling for reunification with North Korea, is broken up by riot police. August 21, 1996 (1996-08-21) (Wednesday) Former State President of South Africa, F. W. de Klerk, makes an official apology for crimes committed under Apartheid to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Cape Town. In the UK, Queen Elizabeth II issues letters patent on divorced former wives of British princes, taking away from the ex-wives the attribute and style of Royal Highness. With that Sarah, Duchess of York as well as Diana, Princess of Wales legally cease to be Royals, but they remain as non-royal Duchess and Princess. Still they are allowed to keep these titles for their children are in line to the throne. August 23, 1996 (1996-08-23) (Friday) Osama bin Laden writes "The Declaration of Jihad on the Americans Occupying the Country of the Two Sacred Places," a call for the removal of American military forces from Saudi Arabia. August 26, 1996 (1996-08-26) (Monday) Chun Doo-hwan is sentenced to death, after being found guilty of mutiny and treason. Bill Clinton signs welfare reform into law. Iraqi expatriates seeking refuge hijack a Sudanese airliner en route from Khartoum to Amman. August 28, 1996 (1996-08-28) (Wednesday) Their Royal Highnesses, the Prince and Princess of Wales, are formally divorced at the High Court of Justice in London. Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales is restyled Diana, Princess of Wales, due to the Queen's letters patent issued a week earlier. August 29, 1996 (1996-08-29) (Thursday) U.S. President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore are re-nominated at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, IL, USA. A Russian Tupolev 154 jetliner crashes into a mountain as it approaches the airport at Spitsbergen, Norway, killing all 141 people on board. August 30, 1996 (1996-08-30) (Friday) The attempted raising of a 15-tonne section of the RMS Titanic fails, as 1,700 spectators, including survivors of the wreckage, watch. August 31, 1996 (1996-08-31) (Saturday) Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraqi forces launch an offensive into the northern No-Fly Zone and capture Arbil. The Big 12 Conference is inaugurated with a football game between Kansas State University and Texas Tech University in Manhattan, Kansas.

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