1996 California Proposition 218 (Local Initiative Power), Lawsuits involving local Proposition 218 initiatives
Such lawsuits have the practical effect of prohibiting the initiative proponents from gathering signatures to place their measure on the ballot which effectively precludes the proponents from exercising the local initiative power under Proposition 218 until at least such time as the local government lawsuit concerning the ballot title and summary has either been resolved by the courts or by the parties. The initiative proponents may need to file a lawsuit against the local government to compel the local government to prepare and issue the ballot title and summary.


1996 California Proposition 218 (Local Initiative Power), Lawsuits involving local Proposition 218 initiatives
Sometimes a local government may refuse to place a local Proposition 218 initiative on the ballot even though the required number of signatures has been obtained and certified. Once a local initiative measure has qualified for the ballot, the responsible local entity or official generally has a mandatory duty to place the initiative on the ballot. If the responsible local entity or official refuses to place the initiative on the ballot, this can force the initiative proponents to file a lawsuit to legally require the local government to place the initiative on the ballot.


1996 California Proposition 218 (Local Initiative Power), Lawsuits involving local Proposition 218 initiatives
A hostile local government is also likely to file a lawsuit against a local Proposition 218 initiative should it be approved by local voters in an election. Postelection lawsuits may also be filed by private interests such as those that may have opposed the initiative during the election campaign. The initiative proponents have to be prepared for any such lawsuits.


1996 California Proposition 218 (Local Initiative Power), Lawsuits involving local Proposition 218 initiatives
This also places emphasis on the need for initiative proponents to ensure that their local initiative under Proposition 218 is drafted in compliance with all applicable legal requirements since violation of any provision of law could result in the invalidation of part or even all of a local revenue reduction or repeal initiative.


1996 California Proposition 218 (Local Initiative Power), Lawsuits involving local Proposition 218 initiatives
Those filing lawsuits relating to local initiatives under Proposition 218 also have to be aware of potential liability for attorney fees under the California Anti- SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) Law. Some local governments have successfully used the California Anti- SLAPP Law to force individuals to pay attorney fees incurred by the local government in certain lawsuits.


1996 California Proposition 218 (Local Initiative Power), Lawsuits involving local Proposition 218 initiatives
Even when local government lawsuits seeking to prevent a local initiative under Proposition 218 from appearing on the ballot are unsuccessful, they almost always result in significant delay which is often the real intent of the local government. When such initiatives do eventually appear on the ballot, any previous questionable conduct on the part of the local government during the initiative process, including any applicable lawsuits which also typically result in a significant waste of public funds paying for lawyers, can be a major campaign issue that increases the likelihood of the initiative measure being approved by the voters.


1996 California Proposition 218 (Local Initiative Power), Validity of local initiative power under Proposition 218
Exercise of the local initiative power under Proposition 218 was generally confirmed and upheld by the California Supreme Court in Bighorn-Desert View Water Agency v. Verjil, 39 Cal. 4th 205 (July 2006). Although the California Supreme Court has yet to more precisely define the limits of the local initiative power under Proposition 218, the California Legislative Analyst has opined that, based on the actual constitutional language, the only limits appear to be those under federal law, such as the federal debt impairment clause.


1996 California Proposition 218 (Local Initiative Power), Local referendum power not included
Proposition 218 only applies to the local initiative power and not to the local referendum power which is a separate power under California law. The referendum is the constitutionally reserved power of the voters to approve or reject laws (or parts of laws) except urgency laws, laws calling elections, and laws providing for tax levies or appropriations for usual current expenses of government. The referendum power issue becomes more significant for local levies that do not require a mandatory election under Proposition 218 prior to their imposition. This is particularly the case concerning property-related fees and charges that are exempt from a mandatory election under Proposition 218 (property-related fees or charges for water, sanitary sewer, or refuse collection services).


1996 California Proposition 218 (Local Initiative Power), Local referendum power not included
In 2020, the California Supreme Court ruled that the electorate cannot legally use the local referendum power to challenge a local government's resolution increasing water utility fees. In reversing the Court of Appeal which held that the exercise of the local referendum power was legally permissible, the California Supreme Court broadly construed the "tax levies" exception to the referendum power to include water utility fees even though these fees are not considered "taxes" for purposes of the voter approval requirements under Propositions 218.


1996 California Proposition 218 (Local Initiative Power), Local referendum power not included
The reasoning in Wilde also likely applies to other property-related fees or charges under Proposition 218 such as for sewer or refuse collection services, but the California Supreme Court did not hold that every local government revenue-raising measure is exempt from the local referendum power. Rather, the holding is limited to utility fees on which local governments depend to provide essential services to their residents.


1996 California Proposition 218 (Local Initiative Power), Local referendum power not included
Following the California Supreme Court decision in Wilde, exercise of the local referendum power is no longer an available option regarding local government imposed utility fees. However, the Wilde decision did not impact the scope of the local initiative power under Proposition 218 which remains a constitutionally available option to reduce or repeal local government imposed utility fees.


1996 California Proposition 218 (Local Initiative Power), Local initiatives after Proposition 218 precondition requirements are satisfied
Once Proposition 218 preconditions applicable to a local government levy have been legally satisfied, a local government may generally impose the local levy. Furthermore, once a local levy is actually imposed by a local government, Proposition 218 provides no mechanism to suspend the effective date of the local levy pending a subsequent vote of the electorate.


1996 California Proposition 218 (Local Initiative Power), Local initiatives after Proposition 218 precondition requirements are satisfied
On the other hand, the local initiative power under Proposition 218 is generally available to reduce or repeal a local government levy that has already been imposed by a local government (i.e., an existing local government levy). The most common situation where exercise of the local initiative power under Proposition 218 is considered following local government compliance with Proposition 218 precondition requirements involves the approval of property-related fees and charges where only the majority protest process (with no election) is involved. This occurs with the approval of local government property-related fees and charges for domestic water, sanitary sewer, or refuse collection services.


1996 California Proposition 218 (Local Initiative Power), Local initiatives after Proposition 218 precondition requirements are satisfied
If the governing body of a local government is not responsive to the objections of property owners concerning a proposed property-related fee or charge that is exempt from an election, local voters generally have recourse in the subsequent exercise of the local initiative power under Proposition 218. This is especially the case if significant opposition is present but the opposition level is not great enough to reach a majority protest which, if reached, would constitutionally preclude the imposition of the property-related fee or charge.


1996 California Proposition 218 (Local Initiative Power), Amending or repealing a local Proposition 218 initiative
A local initiative under Proposition 218 that has been approved by the voters of a local government may be subsequently amended or repealed by the voters. Under the initiative power in general, an initiative measure may be amended or repealed by a majority vote of the applicable electorate unless the initiative measure specifically allows for amendment or repeal without voter approval.


1996 California Proposition 218 (Local Initiative Power), Amending or repealing a local Proposition 218 initiative
It is not uncommon for a local government to seek to replace revenues that are lost as a result of passage of an initiative under Proposition 218 that reduces or repeals a local government levy. In many instances, other provisions of Proposition 218 will require a mandatory election for any replacement revenue source. This includes a replacement tax (a new tax or a tax increase) or a replacement property-related fee or charge (a new or increased property-related fee or charge) subject to a mandatory election under Proposition 218.


1996 California Proposition 218 (Local Initiative Power), Amending or repealing a local Proposition 218 initiative
Where significant controversy often arises is when a reduced or repealed revenue source is not subject to a mandatory election under Proposition 218 in the event a replacement revenue source is pursued by a local government. This occurs primarily in regard to property-related fees and charges exempt from a mandatory election under Proposition 218 (local government fees and charges for domestic water, sanitary sewer, and refuse collection services) and other local fees and charges that are not property-related under Proposition 218 (e.g., groundwater fees). To the extent that a replacement fee or charge would be deemed a “tax” under the provisions of Proposition 26 approved by California voters in 2010, voter approval would be required for that tax under Proposition 218.


1996 California Proposition 218 (Local Initiative Power), Amending or repealing a local Proposition 218 initiative, Initiative Amendment Issues
For a replacement revenue source not subject to a mandatory election under Proposition 218, a critical legal issue is whether the imposition of that replacement source would result in an amendment of the reduction or repeal local initiative measure. If an amendment of the reduction or repeal initiative is involved, then majority voter approval would be required for the amendment to become law. In this situation, the voter approval requirement results not from Proposition 218 but rather from the separate legal requirement that the amendment or repeal of an initiative measure generally requires majority voter approval for the amendment or repeal provision to become law.


1996 California Proposition 218 (Local Initiative Power), Amending or repealing a local Proposition 218 initiative, Initiative Amendment Issues
In some instances, there exists reasonable uncertainty whether a replacement revenue source constitutes an amendment of a successful reduction or repeal initiative under Proposition 218. The governing body of a local government will typically seek to structure a replacement revenue source in such a manner as to avoid the replacement levy being categorized as an initiative amendment, and thereby avoid the voter approval requirement applicable to initiative amendments. On the other hand, the reduction or repeal initiative proponents will generally have a broad interpretation of the types of replacement levies that constitute an amendment of their initiative measure.


1996 California Proposition 218 (Local Initiative Power), Amending or repealing a local Proposition 218 initiative, Initiative Amendment Issues
The proponents of a local initiative under Proposition 218 to reduce or repeal a local revenue source need to take into consideration the foregoing amendment issue in drafting the provisions of an initiative measure. The initiative generally needs to be drafted in such a manner to make it more difficult for a local government to avoid any potential replacement revenue proposal from being categorized as an initiative amendment which would bypass the voter approval requirement applicable to initiative amendments.


1996 California Proposition 218 (Local Initiative Power), Initiating a local government revenue source
Initiating a local government revenue source occurs when voters pass a local reduction or repeal initiative measure under Proposition 218 thereby making any amendment applicable to the local revenue source contained in the initiative measure subject to voter approval. The voter approval requirement results not directly from Proposition 218 itself but rather from the separate legal requirement that an amendment or repeal of an initiative measure requires voter approval for the amendment or repeal provision to go into effect and become law.


1996 California Proposition 218 (Local Initiative Power), Initiating a local government revenue source
The types of local government revenue sources for which voters might want to initiate include those levies that are generally not subject to voter approval under Proposition 218. Such local levies include property-related fees and charges exempt from a mandatory election under Proposition 218 (property-related fees and charges for domestic water, sanitary sewer, or refuse collection services) as well as local government fees and charges that are not property-related under Proposition 218 and would not be deemed a “tax” under Proposition 26 approved by California voters in 2010.


1996 California Proposition 218 (Local Initiative Power), Initiating a local government revenue source
If voters approve a local initiative that initiates a local government revenue source, voter approval would be subsequently required to increase the revenue that had been reduced by the local initiative under Proposition 218. As an example, suppose voters approved a local revenue initiative under Proposition 218 that reduced by a nominal amount certain water rates charged by a local government. The local government would then need voter approval before it could increase the water rates that had been reduced by the local revenue reduction initiative under Proposition 218.


1996 California Proposition 218 (Local Initiative Power), Opposition to local Proposition 218 initiatives
Local initiatives under Proposition 218 frequently face well organized and funded opposition, especially from local public employee unions and often from the local business community. Some of the most heated political and legal battles under Proposition 218 involve the exercise of the local initiative power to reduce or repeal local government levies.


1996 California Proposition 218 (Local Initiative Power), Local government informational campaigns in initiative elections
Although local governments are prohibited from spending public funds and resources to campaign against local initiatives under Proposition 218, they are allowed to expend public funds to engage in “informational” campaigns that “educate” voters about such initiatives. When questionable or controversial informational campaigns occur by local governments in connection with a local initiative under Proposition 218, often the only practical remedy available to voters is to make such informational campaigns a significant political issue during the election campaign.


1996 California Proposition 218 (Local Initiative Power), Local government informational campaigns in initiative elections
The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association has released information to assist taxpayers in stopping illegal campaign spending by a local government, including in connection with the exercise of the local initiative power under Proposition 218.


1996 California Proposition 218 (Local Initiative Power), Availability of local government data
It is generally helpful for voters and initiative proponents to have financial data about a local government to help make more informed voting decisions concerning the merits of a local initiative under Proposition 218. Financial data about a local government can be obtained directly from the local government itself. Additional data that can be of value includes public employee salary and benefits data (especially pension and health benefits data), and annual budgetary and financial reports. Local government budget spending priorities, as contained in recent budgetary data, can be especially helpful with general tax reduction or repeal initiatives where local politicians decide how the proceeds from an existing general tax are spent.


1996 California Proposition 218 (Local Initiative Power), Availability of local government data
Extensive public data sources outside of a local government are also available to voters in connection with local initiatives under Proposition 218. Such data can help provide a supporting basis for pursuing a local reduction or repeal initiative, including a foundation for any factual findings and declarations contained in a local initiative.


1996 California Proposition 218 (Local Initiative Power), Application of political reform act
Campaign reporting requirements under the California Political Reform Act of 1974 usually apply to local initiatives under Proposition 218. This will generally give both the proponents and opponents of such initiative measures an opportunity to find out where the campaign contributions are coming from and the amounts of those campaign contributions. Additional information about the California Political Reform Act of 1974 can be obtained from the California Fair Political Practices Commission.


1996 California Proposition 218 (Local Initiative Power), Local recall power as an additional tool
The recall is the constitutionally reserved power of the voters to remove an elective officer before the term of that officer expires. Although Proposition 218 does not directly affect the recall power, local voters can nonetheless use the local recall power in conjunction with the exercise of the local initiative power under Proposition 218.


1996 California Proposition 218 (Local Initiative Power), Local recall power as an additional tool
This is especially the case if one or more members of the local governing body are frustrating the exercise of the local initiative power under Proposition 218 such as by filing a lawsuit against the levy (before and/or after the election), by refusing to place an initiative on the ballot after having received the required number of signatures, or by refusing to comply with an initiative after having been approved by local voters.


1996 California Proposition 218 (Local Initiative Power), Local recall power as an additional tool
Successful exercise of the recall power only provides for the removal of elective officers and does not by itself alter any prior decisions made by the governing body of the local government such as the approval of a controversial utility fee increase. The local initiative power under Proposition 218 is designed to address such matters involving prior decisions made by the governing body of the local government relating to the approval of controversial local levies.


1996 California Proposition 218 (Local Initiative Power), Local recall power as an additional tool
The California Secretary of State has released a publication on the procedures for recalling local elected officials in California.


1996 California Proposition 218 (Local Initiative Power), Local recall power as an additional tool, Holding Politicians Accountable During the Next Election
Even if a recall is not actually pursued, the approval of one or more controversial levies by local elected officials is a matter for which those elected officials can be held politically accountable during subsequent elections for members of the governing body. This is especially the case for controversial local levies that are not subject to a constitutionally required election under Proposition 218 such as local agency utility fees and charges for domestic water or sanitary sewer services. If an impacted local politician decides to run for another term of office, then the prior approval of one or more controversial local levies can become a significant campaign issue during the upcoming election.


1996 California Republican presidential primary
The 1996 California Republican presidential primary was held on March 26, 1996 as a part of the Republican Party's statewide nomination process for the upcoming presidential election. Senator Bob Dole of Kansas gained nearly two-thirds of the vote against political commentator Pat Buchanan and publishing executive Steve Forbes.


1996 California State Assembly election
The 1996 California State Assembly elections were held on November 5, 1996. California's State Assembly in its entirety comes up for election in even numbered years. Each seat has a two-year term and members are limited to three 2-year terms (six years). All 80 biennially elected seats in the Assembly were up for election this year. Democrats gained 4 seats, retaking control of the Assembly after narrowly losing control in 1994.


1996 California State Senate election
The 1996 California State Senate elections were held on  November 5, 1996. Senate seats of odd-numbered districts were up for election. Senate terms are staggered so that half the membership is elected every two years. Senators serve four-year terms and are limited to two terms. Democrats expanded their majority, gaining two seats, one from the Republicans and one from an Independent.


1996 California elections
California's state general elections were held November 5, 1996. Necessary primary elections were held on March 26, 1996. Up for election were all eighty (80) seats of the State Assembly, twenty (20) seats of the State Senate (half of the forty (40) total seats), and fifteen (15) statewide ballot measures.


1996 California elections, California State Legislature elections, State Senate
There are 40 seats in the State Senate. For this election, candidates running in odd-numbered districts ran for four-year terms.


1996 California elections, California State Legislature elections, State Assembly
All 80 biennially elected seats of the State Assembly were up for election this year. Each seat has a two-year term. The Democrats retained control of the State Assembly.


1996 California elections, Statewide ballot propositions
Fifteen (15) ballot propositions qualified to be listed on the general election ballot in California. Eight measures passed while seven failed.


1996 California elections, Statewide ballot propositions, Proposition 204
(Safe, Clean, Reliable Water Supply Act.) Proposition 204 passed with 62.84% of the vote.


1996 California elections, Statewide ballot propositions, Proposition 205
(Youthful and Adult Offender Local Facilities Bond Act of 1996.) Proposition 205 failed with 40.62% of the vote.


1996 California elections, Statewide ballot propositions, Proposition 206
(Veterans' Bond Act of 1996.) Proposition 206 passed with 53.56% of the vote.


1996 California elections, Statewide ballot propositions, Proposition 207
(Attorneys. Fees. Right to Negotiate. Frivolous Lawsuits.) Proposition 207 failed with 34.22% of the vote.


1996 California elections, Statewide ballot propositions, Proposition 208
(Campaign Contributions and Spending Limits. Restricts Lobbyists.) Proposition 208 passed with 61.27% of the vote.


1996 California elections, Statewide ballot propositions, Proposition 209
(Prohibition Against Discrimination or Preferential Treatment by State and Other Public Entities.) Proposition 209 passed with 54.55% of the vote.


1996 California elections, Statewide ballot propositions, Proposition 210
(Minimum Wage Increase.) Proposition 210 passed with 61.45% of the vote.


1996 California elections, Statewide ballot propositions, Proposition 211
(Attorney-Client Fee Arrangements. Securities Fraud. Lawsuits.) Proposition 211 failed with 25.65% of the vote.


1996 California elections, Statewide ballot propositions, Proposition 212
(Campaign Contributions and Spending Limits. Repeals Gift and Honoraria Limits. Restricts Lobbyists.) Proposition 212 failed with 49.16% of the vote.


1996 California elections, Statewide ballot propositions, Proposition 213
(Limitation on Recovery to Felons, Uninsured Motorists, Drunk Drivers.) Proposition 213 passed with 76.83% of the vote.


1996 California elections, Statewide ballot propositions, Proposition 214
(Health Care. Consumer Protection. Initiative Statute.) Proposition 214 failed with 42.04% of the vote.


1996 California elections, Statewide ballot propositions, Proposition 215
(Medical Use of Marijuana.) Proposition 215 passed with 55.58% of the vote.


1996 California elections, Statewide ballot propositions, Proposition 216
(Health Care. Consumer Protection. Taxes on Corporate Restructuring.) Proposition 216 failed with 38.76% of the vote.


1996 California elections, Statewide ballot propositions, Proposition 217
(Top Income Tax Brackets. Reinstatement. Revenues to Local Agencies.) Proposition 217 failed with 49.20% of the vote.


1996 California elections, Statewide ballot propositions, Proposition 218
(Voter Approval for Local Government Taxes. Limitations on Fees, Assessments, and Charges.) Proposition 218 passed with 56.55% of the vote.


1996 Cameroonian Premier League
In the 1996 Cameroonian Premier League season, 16 teams competed. Unisport Bafang won the championship.


1996 Campeonato Argentino de Rugby
The 1996 Campeonato Argentino de Rugby   was won with a shared victory by the selection of Buenos Aires and Cordoba.


1996 Campeonato Argentino de Rugby, "Campeonato"
For the first time were played a single round robin with 6 teams


1996 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
The 1996 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A was the 40th edition of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, was played between August 8 and December 15, 1996. It had 24 teams and divided into two stages. In the first one, every team played against each other once.


1996 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
After 23 rounds, top eight clubs qualified to next stage, and the bottom two were supposed to be relegated, but CBF decided to keep Fluminense and Bragantino in Série A after the season was over due to the leak of transcripts of recorded telephone conversations broadcast in the most popular Brazilian TV suggested that, during the 1996 season, Atlético-PR and Corinthians general managers Mario Celso Petraglia and Alberto Dualib had conversations with the head of officials of Brazilian football to influence referee appointments. The scandal resulted in a mild individual punishment only, not like similar scandal in Italy where Juventus was relegated and others important clubs were punished.


1996 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
Final stage was played in elimination system with home-and-away matches. The club with better record during first stage had the advantage to qualify in case of a draw. In the end, Grêmio won their second championship in history based on this rule. They were defeated by runners-up Portuguesa 2–0 at Morumbi Stadium, but came back on second leg, winning by the same score at their home ground, Olímpico Stadium in Porto Alegre.


1996 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, Standings and results, Final stage
Grêmio won based on their better record during first stage.


1996 Campeonato Brasileiro Série B
The football (soccer) Campeonato Brasileiro Série B 1996, the second level of Brazilian National League, was played from August 8 to December 8, 1996. The competition had 25 clubs and two of them were promoted to Série A and three were to be relegated to Série C. The competition was won by União São João.


1996 Campeonato Brasileiro Série B
União São João finished the final phase group with the most points, and was declared 1996 Brazilian Série B champions, claiming the promotion to the 1997 Série A along with América-RN, the runners-up. The three worst ranked teams (Goiatuba, Sergipe and Central) were originally relegated to play Série C in 1997. However, with the cancellation of the relegations of Fluminense and Bragantino in the Série A, the three teams were kept in the Série B for 1997.


1996 Campeonato Brasileiro Série C
The football (soccer) Campeonato Brasileiro Série C 1996, the third level of Brazilian National League, was played from August 27 to December 8, 1996. The competition had 58 clubs and two of them were promoted to Série B.


1996 Campeonato Carioca
The 1996 edition of the Campeonato Carioca kicked off on March 10, 1996 and ended on June 30, 1996. It is the official tournament organized by FFERJ (Federação de Futebol do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, or Rio de Janeiro State Football Federation. Only clubs based in the Rio de Janeiro State are allowed to play. Twelve teams contested this edition. Flamengo won the title for the 24th time. no teams were relegated.


1996 Campeonato Carioca, Championship, Taça Cidade Maravilhosa
As a commemoration of the 90th anniversary of the first championship, a separate championship involving only the teams from the city of Rio de Janeiro was played.


1996 Campeonato Carioca, Championship, Aggregate table
The regulation stipulated that the two bottom teams in the aggregate table would dispute a playoff against the top two teams of the Second Level.


1996 Campeonato Gaúcho
The 76th season of the Campeonato Gaúcho kicked off on February 2, 1996 and ended on June 30, 1996. Twenty-eight teams participated. Holders Grêmio beat Juventude in the finals and won their 31st title. Pratense and Rio Grande were relegated.


1996 Campeonato Gaúcho, Copa Daltro Menezes
For the second semester, a state cup was held; the Copa Daltro Menezes. The ten teams played each other in a double round-robin system, with the two best teams qualifying automatically for the Second phase of the 1997 championship.


1996 Campeonato Paulista
The 1996 Campeonato Paulista de Futebol Profissional da Primeira Divisão - Série A1 was the 95th season of São Paulo's top professional football league. Palmeiras won the championship by the 21st time. Ferroviária, Novorizontino and XV de Jaú were relegated.


1996 Campeonato Paulista, Championship
The championship was disputed in a double round-robin format, with the winners of the first and second rounds of the championship qualifying to the finals; In case that the same team won both rounds, it would automatically win the title.


1996 Campeonato da 1ª Divisão do Futebol
Statistics of Campeonato da 1ª Divisão do Futebol in the 1996 season.


1996 Campeonato de España de Turismos
The 1996 Campeonato de España de Turismos was won  by Jordi Gene with Audi A4 Quattro; the German manufacturer won the constructors' championship.


1996 Campionati Internazionali di San Marino
The 1996 Campionati Internazionali di San Marino was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts at the Centro Tennis Cassa di Risparmio di Fonte dell'Ovo in the City of San Marino in San Marino and was part of the World Series of the 1996 ATP Tour. The tournament was held from 5 August until 11 August 1996. First-seeded Albert Costa won the singles title.


1996 Campionati Internazionali di San Marino, Finals, Doubles
Pablo Albano /  Lucas Arnold defeated  Mariano Hood /  Sebastián Prieto 6–1, 6–3


1996 Campionati Internazionali di San Marino – Doubles
Jordi Arrese and Andrew Kratzmann were the defending champions but did not compete that year.


1996 Campionati Internazionali di San Marino – Doubles
Pablo Albano and Lucas Arnold won in the final 6–1, 6–3 against Mariano Hood and Sebastián Prieto.


1996 Campionati Internazionali di San Marino – Doubles, Seeds
Champion seeds are indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which those seeds were eliminated.


1996 Campionati Internazionali di San Marino – Singles
Thomas Muster was the defending champion but did not compete that year.


1996 Campionati Internazionali di San Marino – Singles
Albert Costa won in the final 7–6 (9–7), 6–3 against Félix Mantilla.


1996 Campionati Internazionali di San Marino – Singles, Seeds
A champion seed is indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which that seed was eliminated.


1996 Campionati Internazionali di Sicilia
The 1996 Campionati Internazionali di Sicilia was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts in Palermo, Italy that was part of the World Series of the 1996 ATP Tour. It was the 18th edition of the tournament and took place from 23 September until 29 September 1996. Unseeded Karim Alami won the singles title.


1996 Campionati Internazionali di Sicilia, Finals, Doubles
Andrew Kratzmann /  Marcos Ondruska defeated  Cristian Brandi /  Emilio Sánchez 7–6, 6–4


1996 Campionati Internazionali di Sicilia – Doubles
Àlex Corretja and Fabrice Santoro were the defending champions but only Corretja competed that year with Jose Antonio Conde.


1996 Campionati Internazionali di Sicilia – Doubles
Conde and Corretja lost in the quarterfinals to Cristian Brandi and Emilio Sánchez.


1996 Campionati Internazionali di Sicilia – Doubles
Andrew Kratzmann and Marcos Ondruska won in the final 7–6, 6–4 against Brandi and Sánchez.


1996 Campionati Internazionali di Sicilia – Doubles, Seeds
Champion seeds are indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which those seeds were eliminated.


1996 Campionati Internazionali di Sicilia – Singles
Francisco Clavet was the defending champion but lost in the quarterfinals to Karim Alami.


1996 Campionati Internazionali di Sicilia – Singles
Alami won the final 7–5, 2–1 after Adrian Voinea was forced to retire.


1996 Campionati Internazionali di Sicilia – Singles, Seeds
A champion seed is indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which that seed was eliminated.


1996 Canada Cup
The 1996 Canada Cup was the second edition to take place and was hosted by Edmonton. It was a women's rugby union competition and featured New Zealand, France, the USA and the hosts, Canada. New Zealand had missed the previous World Cup in 1994 and, aside from a couple of games against an untried Australia, had played no international rugby since 1991, when they had lost to the USA in the World Cup semi-finals. Despite this they won all three games they played and won the tournament.


1996 Canada rugby union tour of Australia
The 1996 Canada rugby union tour of Australia was a series of rugby union matches played during June 1996 in Australia by the Canada national rugby union team.


1996 Canadian Figure Skating Championships
The 1996 Canadian Figure Skating Championships took place from February 7 to 11 in Ottawa, Ontario. It is an annual figure skating competition held by Skate Canada, the nation's figure skating governing body. Skaters competed at the senior, junior, and novice levels in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. There was also a senior fours competition. The top finishers are named to Canada's world team, which competes at the 1996 World Championships and the 1996 World Junior Championships.


1996 Canadian Grand Prix
The 1996 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal on 16 June 1996. It was the eighth race of the 1996 Formula One World Championship.


1996 Canadian Grand Prix
The 69-lap race was won from pole position by Englishman Damon Hill, driving a Williams-Renault. Local driver Jacques Villeneuve, Hill's teammate and the son of Gilles, finished second, with Frenchman Jean Alesi third in a Benetton-Renault.


1996 Canadian Grand Prix, Report
Michael Schumacher started from the back of the grid, as his crew were still working on his car as the field set off on the warm-up lap. This started a run of mechanical problems for the reigning double World Champion.


1996 Canadian Grand Prix, Report
Eddie Irvine became the first retirement from 4th position in the leading Ferrari on lap 2 when his suspension failed, he was then followed out by Ukyo Katayama in the second Tyrrell and Ricardo Rosset in the second Footwork when they collided at the final chicane on lap 7 due to Katayama missing his braking point. Before Rosset's teammate Jos Verstappen in the leading Footwork retired in the pits on lap 11 when his engine failed.


1996 Canadian Grand Prix, Report
Rubens Barrichello in the second Jordan after passing Mika Hakkinen for 6th position would also be forced the retire on lap 23 in the pits after his first pit stop when his clutch failed. Michael Schumacher after starting at the back of the grid due to a clutch problem, was able to fight his way up to 13th position, but would soon retire due to driveshaft failure on lap 42 which started the first of three consecutive races which both Ferrari's would fail to finish a race due to mechanical failures.


1996 Canadian Grand Prix, Report
For the second successive race, Gerhard Berger spun off and hit the wall while trying to pass teammate Jean Alesi on lap 43 at turn 4. Alesi continued to third place, while further behind Martin Brundle, running fourth following Berger's exit, had to pit for a new nose-cone following a collision with Pedro Lamy's Minardi when Lamy inadvertently hit Brundle's front wing as he attempted to rejoin the track after a spin on lap 45, dropping Brundle to seventh and handing fourth place to David Coulthard's McLaren. Brundle eventually recovered to sixth place behind Mika Häkkinen in the sister McLaren after getting past Johnny Herbert courtesy of a faster final pit stop.


1996 Canadian Junior Curling Championships
The 1996 Maple Leaf Canadian Junior Curling Championships, the men's and women's national junior curling championships of Canada, were held February 3 to 11 at the Shamrock and Granite Curling Clubs in Edmonton, Alberta. The 1996 event was the first to be sponsored by Maple Leaf Foods.


1996 Canadian Junior Curling Championships
In their first season together, the Jeff Currie rink, representing Northern Ontario won the men's event, defeating future Olympic champion Ryan Fry and his team from Manitoba in the final. The team went on to represent Canada at the 1996 World Junior Curling Championships in Red Deer, where they finished fourth. It was Northern Ontario's fourth junior men's title.


1996 Canadian Junior Curling Championships
The women's side was won by the Heather Godberson (now Nedohin) rink from Alberta. Team Alberta would defeat Saskatchewan, skipped by Cindy Street in the final. At the 1996 Worlds, Godberson led team Canada to a gold medal performance. Alberta's win was the fifth women's junior championship for that province.


1996 Canadian Junior Curling Championships, Men's
The men's field included future Olympic champions Ryan Fry (Manitoba) and Brad Gushue (Newfoundland) as well as future Brier champion Jean-Michel Ménard (Quebec).


1996 Canadian Junior Curling Championships, Women's
The women's field included future Olympic silver medalist Kristie Moore (second for Alberta), future world champion Jeanna Richard (British Columbia) and future Scotties champion Heather Godberson (Alberta).


1996 Canadian Junior Curling Championships, Qualification, Ontario
The Teranet Ontario Junior Curling Championships were held in Newmarket, with the finals on January 14.


1996 Canadian Junior Curling Championships, Qualification, Ontario
Denna Schell of Cannington won the women's event over Milton's Kirsten Harmark in the final, 5-4. In the men's final, Pat Ferris of Sutton defeated the Ottawa Curling Club's Ray Busato, 5-4.


1996 Canadian National Soccer League season
The 1996 Canadian National Soccer League season was the seventy fourth season for the Canadian National Soccer League. The season began on May 31, 1996, and concluded on October 27, 1996, with Toronto Italia defeating St. Catharines Wolves in a two-game series for the CNSL Championship. St. Catharines managed to secure their third league cup title after finishing first in the tournament standings.


1996 Canadian National Soccer League season, Overview
The membership in the league increased to seven teams with three new entries. The league expanded to the Oakville territory with the addition of the Oakville Canadian Westerns, and the acceptance of Toronto Supra from the Canadian International Soccer League (Puma League). While the North York Talons represented the Caribbean Community in the Greater Toronto Area. The Hamilton White Eagles departed to join the Canadian International Soccer League, and the Toronto Jets merged with Toronto Italia.


1996 Canadian National Soccer League season, Overview
Toronto Italia under new ownership transferred their home venue to Rainbow Creek Stadium in Woodbridge, Vaughan. Italia also managed to recruit Diego Maradona for the CNSL All-Star match. In the league's executive branch Peter Li Preti served as president, and Michael Di Biase as commissioner.


1996 Canadian National Soccer League season, Cup
The cup tournament was a separate contest from the rest of the season, in which all seven teams took part. All the matches were separate from the regular season. Teams played each other once home and away in the Cup competition, and the first place team would win the Cup competition. One match involving Toronto Italia and London City failed to materialize, but was of no consequence as St. Catharines Wolves accumulated enough points to secure the title.


1996 Canadian National Soccer League season, All-Star game
The all-star team assembled by the league was limited in its selection of players due to St. Catharines, and Oakville protesting the allowance of their players. As St. Catharines earlier on participated in a European tour, and their players required the necessary rest. Toronto Italia were selected as the opposition, and managed to attract Diego Maradona to play alongside his brother Lalo Maradona. The match was commemorated as the 75th anniversary of the league, and advertised as one of Diego Maradona's final matches. The reported payoff to Maradona was $40,000 with Boca Juniors receiving a share due to ownership of player rights. An additional $15,000 was charged if reporters wished to conduct an interview, and the league insured Maradona for five million dollars.


1996 Canadian National Soccer League season, Individual awards
The annual Canadian National Soccer League awards ceremony was held at the Hollywood Princess Banquet Hall in Vaughan, Ontario with an attendance of 400 people. The majority of the awards were received by Toronto Italia with eight recipients. After leading Toronto to an undefeated streak, and the double head coach Peter Pinizzotto was given the honor of Coach of the Year. Michele Gioia was named both the MVP, and Golden Boot winner consequently the following season he was signed by the Montreal Impact in the USISL A-League.


1996 Canadian National Soccer League season, Individual awards
For the second consecutive season Joe Ciaravino received the Goalkeeper of the Year, and also later was given a contract with the Toronto Lynx. The administrative branch of Toronto Italia was recognized with honors with Joe Mallozzi winning the Manager of the Year, and Pasquale Fioccola awarded the President of the Year.


1996 Canadian National Soccer League season, Individual awards
Toronto Supra came in second with two awards with Gus Kouzmanis being named the Rookie of the Year. The Best Public Relations Director award was given to Sergio Giancola, who notably later was instrumental in acquiring a Major Arena Soccer League franchise in the GTA as the Mississauga MetroStars. The remainder of the awards went to North York Talons as the Most Improved, and London City as the most Disciplined team. The Referee of the Year went to match official Manuel Orellana.


1996 Canadian Senior Curling Championships
The 1996 CIBC Canadian Senior Curling Championships were held in Medicine Hat, Alberta.


1996 Canadian Senior Curling Championships
On the men's side, Team Ontario, skipped by Bob Turcotte won his first of three Senior titles, the seventh men's championship for Ontario. The women's side was also won by Ontario, skipped by Jill Greenwood who won her third of four national Senior championships, the fourth for Ontario.


1996 Canadian census
The 1996 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 14, 1996. On that day, Statistics Canada attempted to count every person in Canada. The total population count of Canada was 28,846,761. This was a 5.7% increase over the 1991 Census of 27,296,859.


1996 Canadian census
The previous census was the 1991 census and the following census was in 2001 census.


1996 Canadian census, Demographics, Ethnic origin
Population by ethnic origin. Only those origins with more than 250,000 respondents are included here. This is based entirely on self reporting.


1996 Canadian federal budget
The Canadian federal budget for fiscal year 1996-1997 was presented by Minister of Finance Paul Martin in the House of Commons of Canada on 6 March 1996. It is the first Canadian federal budget that was identified with an unofficial subtitle:Securing the Future.


1996 Canisius Golden Griffins football team
The 1996 Canisius Golden Griffins football team represented Canisius College in the 1996 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Golden Griffins offense scored 158 points while the defense allowed 108 points.


1996 Canisius Golden Griffins football team
The 1996 season was the only season in which the Golden Griffins had a winning record at the Division I level (its last winning season up to that point, 1990, had come when the team was still in Division III) and the last time the team would ever have a winning season.


1996 Cannes Film Festival
The 49th Cannes Film Festival was held from 9 to 20 May 1996. The Palme d'Or went to Secrets & Lies by Mike Leigh.


1996 Cannes Film Festival
The festival opened with Ridicule, directed by Patrice Leconte and closed with Flirting with Disaster, directed by David O. Russell. Sabine Azéma was the mistress of ceremonies.


1996 Cannes Film Festival, Juries, Main competition
The following people were appointed as the Jury for the feature films of the 1996 Official Selection:


1996 Cannes Film Festival, Juries, Camera d'Or
The following people were appointed as the Jury of the 1996 Camera d'Or:


1996 Cannes Film Festival, Official selection, Un Certain Regard
The following films were selected for the competition of Un Certain Regard:


1996 Cannes Film Festival, Official selection, Films out of competition
The following films were selected to be screened out of competition:


1996 Cannes Film Festival, Official selection, Short film competition
The following short films competed for the Short Film Palme d'Or:


1996 Cannes Film Festival, Parallel sections, International Critics' Week
The following films were screened for the 35th International Critics' Week (35e Semaine de la Critique):


1996 Cannes Film Festival, Parallel sections, Directors' Fortnight
The following films were screened for the 1996 Directors' Fortnight (Quinzaine des Réalizateurs):


1996 Cannes Film Festival, Awards, Official awards
The following films and people received the 1996 Official selection awards:


1996 Cannes Film Festival, Awards, Independent awards
Award the First Multimedia Day at the 49th Cannes Film festival


1996 Canoe Slalom World Cup
The 1996 Canoe Slalom World Cup was a series of five races in 4 canoeing and kayaking categories organized by the International Canoe Federation (ICF). It was the 9th edition. The series consisted of 4 regular world cup races and the world cup final.


1996 Canoe Slalom World Cup, Final standings
The winner of each world cup race was awarded 25 points. The points scale reached down to 1 point for 15th place. Only the best two results of each athlete from the first 4 world cups plus the result from the world cup final counted for the final world cup standings. If two or more athletes or boats were equal on points, the ranking was determined by their positions in the world cup final.


1996 Canoe Slalom World Cup, Results, World Cup Race 1
The first world cup race of the season took place at the Ocoee Whitewater Center, Tennessee from 19 to 21 April.


1996 Canoe Slalom World Cup, Results, World Cup Race 2
The second world cup race of the season took place at the Segre Olympic Park in La Seu d'Urgell, Spain from 8 to 9 June.


1996 Canoe Slalom World Cup, Results, World Cup Race 3
The third world cup race of the season took place at the Augsburg Eiskanal, Germany from 15 to 16 June.


1996 Canoe Slalom World Cup, Results, World Cup Race 4
The fourth world cup race of the season took place at the Prague-Troja Canoeing Centre, Czech Republic from 24 to 25 August.


1996 Canoe Slalom World Cup, Results, World Cup Final
The final world cup race of the season took place in Três Coroas, Brazil from 23 to 29 September.


1996 Cape Verdean presidential election
Presidential elections were held in Cape Verde on 18 February 1996. Only one candidate, incumbent António Mascarenhas Monteiro of the Movement for Democracy, contested the election. He was re-elected with around 92.1% of the vote.


1996 Caribbean Cup
The 1996 Caribbean Cup (also known as the Shell/Umbro Caribbean Cup for sponsorship reasons), was the 8th edition of the Caribbean Cup, the biennial football championship of the Caribbean region (CFU). It was held in Trinidad, where it began on 24 May 1996 and concluded on 7 June.


1996 Caribbean Cup
In the tournament, the hosts Trinidad and Tobago were to be joined by 7 nations who advanced from the qualification process that began in April 1996 and involved 18 Caribbean national teams.


1996 Caribbean Cup
A total of 16 games were played. Trinidad and Tobago won the tournament and landed their fifth Caribbean.


1996 Caribbean Cup, Qualifying Tournament, Group 1, First round
Netherlands Antilles withdrew and the return round was not played


1996 Caribbean Cup, Qualifying Tournament, Group 2
All matches were played in Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis


1996 Caribbean Series
The thirty-eighth edition of the Caribbean Series (Serie del Caribe) was held from February 3 through February 8 of 1996 with the champion baseball teams of the Dominican Republic, Águilas Cibaeñas; Mexico, Tomateros de Culiacán; Puerto Rico, Lobos de Arecibo, and Venezuela, Navegantes del Magallanes. The format consisted of 12 games, each team facing the other teams twice, and the games were played at Estadio Quisqueya in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.


1996 Carolina Panthers season
The 1996 Carolina Panthers season was the franchise's 2nd season in the National Football League and the 2nd under head coach Dom Capers. They improved upon their 7–9 record in 1995, and made it to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.


1996 Carolina Panthers season
The Panthers would be a huge surprise, as it would turn out, as the Panthers won their last seven games of the season to finish the season with a 12–4 record. The result was that the Panthers won the NFC West, and had a first round bye in the 1996 NFL Playoffs. The Panthers would then beat the Dallas Cowboys 26–17 before falling 30–13 to the eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship.


1996 Carolina Panthers season
The Panthers did not return to the playoffs until 2003, when they would make their first Super Bowl but lost 29-32 to the New England Patriots.


1996 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 1: vs. Atlanta Falcons
Kerry Collins started for the Panthers and threw two touchdowns while John Kasay booted five field goals as the Falcons were crushed 29–6.


1996 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 2: at New Orleans Saints
Acquired from the Jacksonville Jaguars, quarterback Steve Beuerlein did not throw a single pass, instead rushing three times for a net loss of ten yards; Kerry Collins handled the quarterbacking duties, throwing for 171 yards and one pick while Jim Everett threw for 255 yards and two touchdowns. This game, though, was a battle of field goals; following an 84-yard Winslow Oliver punt return touchdown John Kasay provided the rest of Carolina's offense with five field goals, two of them 51-yarders, for a 22–20 Panthers win.


1996 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 4: vs. San Francisco 49ers
The first sign that perennial NFC West champion San Francisco was in for a serious season-long fight with Carolina came as both 2–0 teams clashed at Ericsson Stadium. Steve Beuerlein started and threw for 290 yards, two touchdowns, and one pick; a second pick was called back on a Niners holding call. The Panthers controlled the game from the opening kick as Steve Young was sacked four times and picked off in the fourth quarter by Brett Maxie; Willie Green and Merton Hanks also spent the day jawing at each other following Green catches, ultimately finishing up in a 23–7 Carolina win.


1996 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 5: at Jacksonville Jaguars
Former Jaguars quarterback Steve Beuerlein was knocked out of the game after being sacked five times. Kerry Collins managed a touchdown throw but the Jaguars sealed the 24–14 win by recovering a late onside kick.


1996 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 6: at Minnesota Vikings
Two Warren Moon touchdown throws were enough for the Vikings as they edged the Panthers 14–12. Anthony Johnson ran in a four-yard touchdown and the Panthers blocked a Vikings punt out of the endzone for a safety, but could manage no closer than the 14–12 final.


1996 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 7: vs. St. Louis Rams
The Panthers erupted to over 30 points for the first time in their short history as they hammered the 1–4 Rams. Anthony Johnson rushed for 126 yards and Kerry Collins threw for 196 yards and three touchdowns, while Michael Bates added a 93-yard kickoff-return score. Tony Banks was pounded all day, fumbling to Kevin Greene for a 66-yard touchdown and then getting crushed by Panthers defenders as he unloaded a pass picked off by Chad Cota. The Panthers rocked to a 45–17 win.


1996 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 8: vs. New Orleans Saints
The Panthers rolled to a 19–7 win, but the story of the game turned out to be a postgame interview with Saints coach Jim Mora, who ripped the team by saying, "We couldn't do diddley poo offensively" in a tirade that became one of the most famous soundbites in sports history.


1996 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 9: at Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles Ty Detmer delivered 342 passing yards and a touchdown and also got into a brief scrum with Lamar Lathon of the Panthers after a sack. Irving Fryar led the Eagles offense with 143 receiving yards on seven catches as the Eagles won 20–9.


1996 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 10: at Atlanta Falcons
The winless Falcons recorded their first win of the season as they sacked Panthers quarterbacks six times and Bobby Hebert tossed a 15-yard score to J. J. Birden. Steve Beuerlein replaced Kerry Collins late in the game and found Mark Carrier from 12-yards out in the fourth quarter; it was not enough to prevent a 20–17 Falcons win.


1996 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 11: vs. New York Giants
The Panthers began an eight-game winning streak by erasing a 14–7 first-quarter gap. They intercepted New York Dave Brown three times and outscored the Giants 20–3 after the first quarter.


1996 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 12: at St. Louis Rams
Panthers quarterback Steve Beuerlein and Rams quarterback Tony Banks combined for just 290 passing yards. Beuerlein got the better of the duel with a seven-yard score to Anthony Johnson in a 20–10 Panthers win.


1996 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 13: at Houston Oilers
Beuerlein torched the 6–6 Oilers with three touchdown throws, to Willie Green and Wesley Walls in a 31–6 Panthers win. Chris Chandler and sophomore Steve McNair each had an interception and the Oilers also fumbled twice.


1996 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 14: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Kerry Collins started and needed only 83 passing yards as the Panthers hammered the Bucs 24–0. Trent Dilfer threw two picks and Shawn King grabbed a Bucs fumble and scored.


1996 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 15: at San Francisco 49ers
The Panthers effectively ended San Francisco's hopes of another division title in a matchup of two of the league's best defenses. The two defenses, however, got crushed by offense. The Panthers raced to a 10–0 lead in the first quarter but Steve Young found Brent Jones for a 10–7 score; the second quarter was a points explosion as Kerry Collins connected with Willie Green and ex-Niner Wesley Walls while Young found rookie Terrell Owens from 46 yards out; at the half the Panthers led 27–17.


1996 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 15: at San Francisco 49ers
Jerry Rice's five-yard touchdown catch in the fourth was the closest the Niners came to the Panthers as Young was picked off twice and the Niners fumbled two more times; they also were hit with 14 penalties and 121 yards. Carolina thus finished a season sweep 30–24; Collins and Young combined for 620 passing yards.


1996 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 16: vs. Baltimore Ravens
Despite two interceptions Kerry Collins threw for 268 yards and two second half scores, erasing a 13–10 Ravens halftime lead in a 27–16 win. Anthony Johnson's 81 rushing yards accounted for all but one of the Panthers yards on the ground.


1996 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 17: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Former Steelers coach Dom Capers and former Steelers linebacker Kevin Greene greeted Bill Cowher and his AFC Central champions for the regular-season finale. After a Wesley Walls touchdown catch Mike Tomczak was hit in the endzone; he threw the ball before going down but it was ruled intentional grounding, for a Panthers safety. Kordell Stewart ran in an 80-yard touchdown, but in the fourth down 18–14 the Steelers choked on a procedure penalty and then a Chad Cota interception in the endzone.


1996 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 17: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
The moment of the year, though, came in the second quarter on a Panthers punt; the ball fell into the endzone and the mascot Sir Purr jumped on the ball even though it was still live; Cowher was laughing hard at the miscue and Sir Purr was listed as having one punt return for zero yards. As of recently, this marks the only time in franchise history the Panthers defeated the Steelers.


1996 Carolina Panthers season, Postseason results, NFC Divisional Playoff
The second-year Panthers held Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman to 165 passing yards and forced three interceptions en route to their first playoff win in team history. Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin was knocked out of the game on its second play on a hard hit by Lamar Lathon; the hit broke Irvin's collarbone. On offense, running back Anthony Johnson was their top performer with 104 rushing yards and a 9-yard reception. Dallas scored first on kicker Chris Boniol's 22-yard field goal, but wide receiver Michael Irvin was knocked out of the game with a separated shoulder.


1996 Carolina Panthers season, Postseason results, NFC Divisional Playoff
Carolina quarterback Kerry Collins then threw two touchdown passes, a 1-yarder to tight end Wesley Walls and a 10-yarder to wide receiver Willie Green. The Cowboys countered with a 73-yard drive to score on Aikman's 2-yard touchdown pass to Daryl Johnston, but they failed on the extra point attempt and the Panthers lead was only cut to 14–9. A bad snap on a Carolina punt attempt went out of the end zone to give the Cowboys a safety.


1996 Carolina Panthers season, Postseason results, NFC Divisional Playoff
But Panthers safety Chad Cota intercepted a pass and returned it 49 yards to set up kicker John Kasay's 24-yard field goal with three seconds in the half, giving Carolina a 17–11 halftime lead. The second half was a battle of field goals with Kasey kicking 3 over Boniol's 2. In the final minutes of the fourth penalties on Tyrone Poole kept a Cowboys drive alive, until Aikman was intercepted by Pat Terrell; the subsequent Kasay field goal ended all hopes for the Cowboys in the 26–17 Carolina win.


1996 Carolina Panthers season, Postseason results, NFC Championship
The Packers recorded 201 rushing yards and 476 total yards of offense. Green Bay running back Dorsey Levens recorded 117 yards receiving and 88 yards rushing, including a 29-yard touchdown catch. Quarterback Brett Favre managed to overcome two early turnovers that set up 10 Carolina points, completing 19 out of 29 passes for 292 yards and 2 touchdowns. Packers running back Edgar Bennett, who recorded 99 rushing yards, scored a touchdown from 4 yards out, and kicker Chris Jacke added 3 field goals.


1996 Carolina Panthers season, Postseason results, NFC Championship
Early in the first quarter, Panthers linebacker Sam Mills intercepted a pass from Favre and returned it to the Packers 3-yard line, setting up Kerry Collins' 3-yard touchdown pass to fullback Howard Griffith. Green Bay struck back with Favre's 29-yard touchdown pass to Levens, but after forcing a punt, Carolina lineman Lamar Lathon recovered a fumble from Favre on the Packers 45-yard line. A few plays later, John Kasay's 22-yard field goal put the Panthers back in the lead, 10–7.


1996 Carolina Panthers season, Postseason results, NFC Championship
But after that, the Packers dominated the rest of the game. Favre responded by leading Green Bay 71 yards in 15 plays and scoring with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Freeman. Then on the first play after the ensuing kickoff, safety Tyrone Williams intercepted a pass from Collins on the Packers 38-yard line. Favre's completions to Andre Rison and Freeman for gains of 23 and 25 yards moved the ball into field goal range, and Jacke's 31-yard field goal finished the drive, giving Green Bay a 17–10 halftime lead.


1996 Carolina Panthers season, Postseason results, NFC Championship
On the first drive of the second half, Green Bay moved the ball 73 yards in 11 plays and scored with another Jacke field goal. The Panthers managed to respond with an 11-play, 73-yard drive of their own and score with Kasay's second field goal, which cut their deficit to 7 points. But Green Bay stormed right back with a 74-yard touchdown drive, featuring a 66-yard reception by Levens. On the next play, Bennett's 4-yard touchdown run gave the Packers a 27–13 lead with two minutes left in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, Jacke's third field goal put the game out of reach.


1996 Carquest Bowl
The 1996 Carquest Bowl was the final game of the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season for the Miami Hurricanes and the Virginia Cavaliers.


1996 Carquest Bowl, Background
The Hurricanes were co-champion (along with Virginia Tech) of the Big East Conference for the third straight season (second under Davis), but playing in a bowl game for the first time since the 1995 Orange Bowl due to a scandal that had made them ineligible the season before. The Cavaliers had finished 4th in the Atlantic Coast Conference after three losses by an average of 7 points and a late Virginia Tech (who had beaten Miami) loss knocked them out of the Top 25. This was Virginia's 2nd appearance and Miami's first in this bowl game, as Virginia had appeared in 1994.


1996 Carquest Bowl, Game summary
Despite outrushing the Hurricanes and having less penalties than them, Virginia was beset by injuries to quarterback Tim Sherman (who only went 3 of 10 for 27 yards before his arm injury) and tailback Tiki Barber (who had only 14 yards on 7 carries) early in the game. Yatil Green caught a touchdown pass from Ryan Clement early in the first quarter and Tremain Mack recovered a fumble and returned it 79 yards for a touchdown to give Miami a 14–0 lead with 4:47 left in the first.


1996 Carquest Bowl, Game summary
But Virginia responded :39 seconds later with an Germane Crowell touchdown catch from Aaron Brooks to narrow the lead. Andy Crosland made it 17–7 early in the 2nd with a field goal, his only of the day. Late in the quarter, Virginia was driving when Mack returned a Brooks pass 42 yards for a touchdown, giving them a commanding 24–7 lead going into halftime. Brooks had a touchdown run late in the 3rd quarter to narrow it to 24–10.


1996 Carquest Bowl, Game summary
The Cavaliers tried to make it a one possession game with Rafael Garcia's field goal attempt, but Mack blocked the kick and a few plays later, Trent Jones made it 31–10 with a touchdown run. Virginia could only respond with a Thomas Jones touchdown run, but by that point there was only 7:74 left. This was Miami's first bowl win since the 1992 Orange Bowl.


1996 Carquest Bowl, Aftermath
The Cavaliers would not win a bowl game in Welsh's four remaining years, and would not win one until 2002, with Al Groh as coach. The Hurricanes would return to the bowl game two years later, this time known as the MicronPC Bowl, in 1998.


1996 Castleford Tigers season
The 1996 Castleford Tigers season was the club's 1st year in the Super League. The club finished in 9th place. Castleford also competed in the Challenge Cup, but were knocked out in the Fourth Round by St. Helens.


1996 Castleford Tigers season, Squad
Statistics include appearances and points in the Super League and Challenge Cup.


1996 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix
The 1996 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix was the thirteenth round of the 1996 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on 15 September 1996 at the Circuit de Catalunya.


1996 Caymanian general election
General elections were held in the Cayman Islands on 20 November 1996. The result was a victory for the ruling National Team, which won 9 of the 15 seats in the Legislative Assembly.


1996 Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships in Athletics
The 12th Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships was held in San Salvador, El Salvador, between 14–16 July 1996.


1996 Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships in Athletics, Medal summary
Medal winners are published by category: Junior A, Male, Junior A, Female, and Junior B. Complete results can be found on the World Junior Athletics History website.


1996 Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships in Athletics, Participation (unofficial)
Anguilla and Aruba competed for the first time at the championships. Detailed result lists can be found on the World Junior Athletics History website. An unofficial count yields a new record number of about 524 athletes (293 junior (under-20) and 231 youth (under-17)) from about 20 countries:


1996 Central Michigan Chippewas football team
The 1996 Central Michigan Chippewas football team represented Central Michigan University in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their third season under head coach Dick Flynn, the Chippewas compiled a 5–6 record (4–4 against MAC opponents), finished in fifth place in the MAC, and were outscored by their opponents, 353 to 351. The team played its home games in Kelly/Shorts Stadium in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, with attendance of 100,074 in five home games.


1996 Central Michigan Chippewas football team
The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Chad Darnell with 2,921 passing yards, tailback Silas Massey with 1,544 rushing yards, and flanker Reggie Allen with 1,229 receiving yards. Darnell was selected as the team's most valuable player. Massey had three 200-yard rushing games, including 292 yards against Kent State, which was at the time the third highest single game total in school history. Allen became the first Central Michigan player to total over 1,000 receiving yards, including a 229-yard game against Bowling Green.


1996 Central Michigan Chippewas football team
Darnell, Massey, Allen, offensive tackle Scott Rehberg, and tight end Adam Simonson were selected as first-team All-MAC player.


1996 Cerveza Club Colombia Open
The 1996 Cerveza Club Colombia Open was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts at the Club Campestre El Rancho in Bogotá in Colombia and was part of the World Series of the 1996 ATP Tour. It was the third edition of the tournament and ran from September 9 through September 15, 1996. Thomas Muster won the singles title.


1996 Cerveza Club Colombia Open, Winners, Men's Doubles
Nicolás Pereira /  David Rikl defeated  Pablo Campana /  Nicolás Lapentti 6–3, 7–6


1996 Cerveza Club Colombia Open – Doubles
Jiří Novák and David Rikl were the defending champions but only Rikl competed that year with Nicolás Pereira.


1996 Cerveza Club Colombia Open – Doubles
Pereira and Rikl won in the final 6–3, 7–6 against Pablo Campana and Nicolás Lapentti.


1996 Cerveza Club Colombia Open – Doubles, Seeds
Champion seeds are indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which those seeds were eliminated.


1996 Cerveza Club Colombia Open – Singles
Nicolás Lapentti was the defending champion but lost in the final 6–7(6–8), 6–2, 6–3 against Thomas Muster.


1996 Cerveza Club Colombia Open – Singles, Seeds
A champion seed is indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which that seed was eliminated.


1996 Chadian constitutional referendum
A constitutional referendum was held in Chad on 31 March 1996 to approve or reject the new constitutional draft meant to definitively replace the Transitional Charter established by the Sovereign National Conference in 1993. It was approved by 63.5% of voters with a 61% turnout.


1996 Chadian constitutional referendum, Background
President Idriss Déby had promised since his rise to power in 1990 to introduce multiparty democracy. Despite these promises, Déby slowed the process in an attempt to maintain full control over the transition. This worried France, Chad's former colonial power, as it noted that by 1995 only Chad had yet to hold multi-party elections. With the French putting pressure on Déby, on 6 January 1996 he was forced into round table talks with the 15 armed groups and 58 opposition parties in Franceville, Gabon.


1996 Chadian constitutional referendum, Background
The conference was a failure, as it soon foundered on procedural points and questions of representation, and, at a deeper level, due to the deep mistrust between northern and southern Chadians. Déby used it to divide the opposition, allying himself with groups willing to put an end to armed confrontation with the government.


1996 Chadian constitutional referendum, Background
On 6 March Déby used a presidential decree to announce that the referendum would take place on 31 March. Despite a certain degree of administrative confusion, the referendum was carried out successfully with the assistance of the French garrison present in the country.


1996 Chadian constitutional referendum, Conduct
In its report on the presidential elections, the Agency for Cultural and Technical Co-operation of the Francophonie criticised the referendum's conduct. The criticism centered on four points, concerning the inadequacy of the personnel in charge of polling stations and the local electoral commissions, the absence of neutrality in the recruitment of election personnel, scarce respect for the electoral code during vote counting and the uneven distribution of the referendum material.


1996 Chadian constitutional referendum, Conduct
During the referendum campaign the local authorities arrested the leader of the Chadian League of the Rights of Man (LTDH) in Bongor, after he had asked a village headman to follow the indications of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), which prohibited campaigning on voting day.


1996 Chadian constitutional referendum, Results
On 8 April CENI published provisional results of the referendum, which saw a victory for the "yes" camp with 61.46% of the vote. The "no" camp took 38.54% of the vote, obtaining a clear majority in four of the 18 prefectures, all in southern Chad. The results were revised by the N'Djamena Court of Appeals, which had temporarily replaced the Constitutional Council and the Supreme Court as the highest jurisdiction in Chad, as the latter were to be instituted.


1996 Chadian constitutional referendum, Results
The court rejected a number of ballots for technical reasons, raising the "yes" percentage to 63.5%, The result was officially validated and made public on 13 April. The Court also immediately proceeded to proclaim the draft constitution as the new supreme law of the State, and the following day, President Idriss Déby promulgated the new constitution.


1996 Chadian presidential election
Presidential elections were held in Chad on 2 June 1996, with a second round on 3 July. They were the first multiparty presidential elections in the history of Chad and occurred at the end of a long transitional process after repeated delays. The elections were won by the incumbent President Idriss Déby, who easily defeated a prominent southern politician, Wadel Abdelkader Kamougué, in the second round. Déby benefited from the support of another southern politician, Saleh Kebzabo, who was placed third in the first round. The election was marred by widespread and credible reports of electoral fraud and government intimidation of opposition forces, confirmed by international observers. Voter turnout was 67.5% in the first round and 77.7% in the second.


1996 Chadian presidential election
Following his victory, Déby was sworn in on 8 August 1996.


1996 Challenge Bell
The 1996 Challenge Bell was a tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts at the Club Avantage Multi-Sports in Quebec City in Canada that was part of Tier III of the 1996 WTA Tour. It was the 4th edition of the Challenge Bell, and was held from October 21 through October 27, 1996. Lisa Raymond won the singles title.


1996 Challenge Bell, Finals, Doubles
Debbie Graham /  Brenda Schultz-McCarthy defeated  Amy Frazier /  Kimberly Po, 6–1, 6–4


1996 Challenge Bell – Doubles
Nicole Arendt and Manon Bollegraf were the defending champions, but Bollegraf decided not to participate this year. Arendt partnered with Katrina Adams, but lost in the semifinals to Debbie Graham and Brenda Schultz-McCarthy.


1996 Challenge Bell – Doubles
Graham and Schultz-McCarthy went on to win the title, defeating Amy Frazier and Kimberly Po 6–1, 6–4 in the final.


1996 Challenge Bell – Singles
Brenda Schultz-McCarthy was the defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals to Lisa Raymond.


1996 Challenge Bell – Singles
Raymond went on to win her maiden WTA singles title, defeating Els Callens 6–4, 6–4 in the final.


1996 Challenge Cup
The 1996 Challenge Cup was the 95th staging of the Challenge Cup tournament. Known as the Silk Cut Challenge Cup due to sponsorship from Silk Cut, it was the first Challenge Cup of the summer era. The tournament featured 40 teams playing 42 games, the culmination of which was the final at London's Wembley Stadium between Super League I teams St. Helens and Bradford Bulls.


1996 Challenge Cup, Prize money
The following is a table of prize amounts received by each club depending on which round of the Challenge Cup was reached. No prizes were awarded in the first two rounds of the competition, but amateur clubs who reached the Third Round each received £1,000.


1996 Challenge Cup, Final
The 1996 tournament's final featured Super League clubs St. Helens and Bradford Bulls, and was played on Saturday, 27 April  at London's Wembley Stadium before a crowd of 78,550. The match was refereed by Stuart Cummings and at half time Bradford led 14-12. Trailing 26-12 from the 53rd to the 57th minute, St Helens overcame this 14-point deficit, the biggest in Challenge Cup final history for a winning team, to prevail by 40-32. This also made it the highest-scoring Challenge Cup final in history.


1996 Challenge Cup, Final
Bradford's 32 points set a new record for most points scored in a Challenge Cup final-losing team. Bradford's scrum half back, Robbie Paul, became the fourth player ever to achieve what was a Challenge Cup final record of three tries, and was awarded the Lance Todd Trophy for man-of-the-match.


1996 Challenge Tour
The 1996 Challenge Tour was a series of golf tournaments known as the Challenge Tour, the official development tour run by the PGA European Tour. The tour was started as the Satellite Tour in 1986 and was renamed the Challenge Tour ready for the start of the 1990 season.


1996 Challenge Tour
The Challenge Tour Rankings was won by England's Ian Garbutt.


1996 Challenge Tour, Rankings
The top 15 on the Challenge Tour Rankings gained membership of the European Tour for the 1997 season.


1996 Champion Hurdle
The 1996 Champion Hurdle was a horse race held at Cheltenham Racecourse on Tuesday 12 March 1996. It was the 67th running of the Champion Hurdle.


1996 Champion Hurdle
The winner was Wally Sturt's Collier Bay, a six-year-old bay gelding trained in Wiltshire by Jim Old and ridden by Graham Bradley. Collier Bay's victory was a first in the race for jockey, trainer and owner.


1996 Champion Hurdle
Collier Bay, had been unsuccessful flat racer, who had become a good handicapper over hurdles before emerging as a potential champion by defeating Danoli in the Irish Champion Hurdle in January. Starting the 9/1 fourth choice in the betting, he won Champion Hurdle by two and a half lengths from Alderbrook the 1995 winner who started the 10/11 favourite. Fourteen of the sixteen runners completed the course.


1996 Channel Tunnel fire
The Channel Tunnel fire of 18 November 1996 occurred on a train carrying Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) and their drivers through the Channel Tunnel from France to the United Kingdom (UK). The fire was seen on the train as it entered the tunnel and, in line with the policy at the time, an attempt was made to drive to the UK where the fire would be dealt with. However, after an indication of a serious problem with the train, the driver stopped at 21:58 CET, 19 kilometres (12 mi) into the tunnel. The locomotive and passenger coach were rapidly enveloped in thick smoke, and the locomotive lost power. Reconfiguration of the tunnel ventilation systems was delayed, but by 22:30 all passengers and crew were safe, in the service tunnel, with minor injuries.


1996 Channel Tunnel fire
Firefighters fought the fire overnight, and it was declared out at 11:15 the following morning. The fire damaged about 500 metres (1,600 ft) of tunnel. The HGV shuttle service was suspended, and all other services restarted using single-line working in the adjacent tunnel, reducing capacity until repairs were completed. The tunnel was fully reopened, and the HGV shuttle service was restored on 15 May 1997.


1996 Channel Tunnel fire
Eurotunnel changed the policy of attempting to run trains on fire through the tunnel to one of stopping the train and evacuating the passengers as soon as possible.


1996 Channel Tunnel fire, Fire
The Channel Tunnel is a 50.45-kilometre (31.35 mi) long undersea railway tunnel linking Folkestone in the United Kingdom with Coquelles near Calais in northern France. A 4.8-metre (16 ft) diameter service tunnel is positioned between two 7.6 m (25 ft) diameter running tunnels each with standard gauge rail track with an overhead line energised at 25 kV 50 Hz. There are connecting passages from the running tunnels to the service tunnel every 375 m (1,230 ft) and piston relief ducts connect the running tunnels managing the pressure changes due to the movement of trains.


1996 Channel Tunnel fire, Fire
Ventilation is provided from both France and the UK; in the event of a fire, a supplementary ventilation system is available. There are crossovers linking the two rail tracks at the tunnel entrances and in two caverns under the sea, dividing the running tunnels into six 'intervals'. The system is controlled from a control centre in the UK terminal with a stand-by centre on the French side.


1996 Channel Tunnel fire, Fire
The tunnel carries through traffic in the form of high-speed Eurostar passenger trains and international rail freight trains. Two types of Eurotunnel Shuttle transport vehicles between the terminals – an enclosed type carrying coaches, cars and passengers with their vehicles and an open lattice type carrying Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGV), their drivers traveling in an amenity coach.


1996 Channel Tunnel fire, Fire
On 18 November 1996, at 21:48 CET a fire about 2 m by 2 m (6 ft by 6 ft) was seen on HGV Shuttle No. 7539, carrying 31 passengers and three crew, as it entered the French portal. The driver was told there was a fire on his train and that the train would be diverted to the emergency siding on arrival in the UK.


1996 Channel Tunnel fire, Fire
When the fire was confirmed a few minutes later, the control centre restricted the speed of all trains in the tunnels to 100 km/h (62 mph) and attempted to close the piston relief ducts and doors in the crossover caverns to limit the area of the tunnel affected by smoke. Five minutes later, a train fault with risk of derailment was indicated to the driver. The train was brought to a controlled stop adjacent to a door leading to the service tunnel, at 21:58, about 19 km (12 mi) from the French portal.


1996 Channel Tunnel fire, Fire
After stopping, power from the overhead line was lost and smoke filled the tunnel; crew members could not see the service tunnel doors. Smoke began to enter the coach and the crew and passengers suffered from smoke inhalation. The supplementary ventilation system was turned on and ran for seven minutes with the blades set incorrectly. Once the blades were set correctly, the smoke cleared sufficiently for the passengers and crew to evacuate. Twenty six passengers and the driver were taken out of the tunnel by a tourist shuttle that had stopped in the adjacent running tunnel. The remaining people were treated on site before being evacuated via the service tunnel. All passengers and crew were taken to a hospital in France for observation.


1996 Channel Tunnel fire, Response
Response teams were mobilised on both sides of the channel, the French team of eight firefighters leaving at 21:56 and the British team of eight firefighters leaving at 22:03. Initially, there was confusion as to the location of the train and the French team found the passengers in the service tunnel at 22:28. The driver was rescued from his cab a minute later and a search of the coach and front locomotive confirmed no-one was on board the train. With the French team treating the casualties, the fire fighting was initially left to the British team. A reconnaissance team located the fire, the British second response was requested and Kent Fire Brigade informed of the fire. While the fire fighting was being planned the French second response team arrived and took control.


1996 Channel Tunnel fire, Response
The fire was located between two cross-passages and teams of firefighters from both countries fought the fire for the next five hours. Each shift of firefighters only worked in the running tunnel for short periods of time before returning to the service tunnel. The water supply was restricted, mainly due to leaking pipework in the south running tunnel, and the number of jets was reduced until a Eurotunnel engineer reconfigured the valves.


1996 Channel Tunnel fire, Response
The fire was mostly out by 05:00 the following morning and declared extinguished at 11:15. There were no fatalities, although the people on the train suffered smoke inhalation, and there were no reported injuries to the firefighters.


1996 Channel Tunnel fire, Aftermath
Along a 50-metre length of tunnel, the normally 40-centimetre thick tunnel lining was reduced to a mean depth of 17 centimetres, with the thinnest area being 2 centimetres. The chalk marl showed no signs of failing or collapsing but colliery arches were installed as a precaution. Over a 240-metre long section (70 metres towards Britain, 170 metres towards France), damage to the concrete extended as far back as the first set of reinforcement bars. Superficial damage to the surface of the concrete segments was evident along a further 190 metres of tunnel length.


1996 Channel Tunnel fire, Aftermath
In the vicinity of the fire, services were destroyed, including high-voltage cables, low-voltage cables, communications, lighting systems, traction and junction boxes over a length of 800 metres. Five hundred metres of track had to be replaced, as did 800 metres of overhead line, 800 metres of refrigeration pipe and signalling equipment over a length of 1,500 metres. Four escape cross-passages and five pressure relief ducts had to be refitted with new doors and dampers. The damage was in interval 3. Service through the tunnel restarted using single track working over the parallel interval 4.


1996 Channel Tunnel fire, Aftermath
In a phased re-opening, freight train service was restored on 29 November 1996, followed by Eurostar services on 4 December, and tourist shuttles on 10 December for cars and 6 January 1997 for coaches. Agreement had been reached on the repairs by 24 January 1997. The civil engineering work, repairing the tunnel wall, was completed by the French contractor Freyssinet in 60 days. This was followed by the replacement of the track, overhead line and signalling by Eurotunnel and, completed in less than a month, the tunnel was fully reopened on 15 May 1997.


1996 Channel Tunnel fire, Aftermath
The damage to the train was concentrated in the rear half. The front locomotive, amenity coach and front rake (including a truck carrying dangerous goods) suffered minor damage from heat and smoke: all were re-usable after thorough cleaning and minor repairs. The rear rake suffered major thermal damage: eleven wagons and the rear locomotive were scrapped, as were most of the HGVs being carried.


1996 Channel Tunnel fire, Investigations
Three separate investigations were conducted. The first was a French judicial inquiry into the cause of the fire, the second was an internal inquiry by Eurotunnel and the third was an inquiry by the Channel Tunnel Safety Authority (CTSA), a bi-national body formed of personnel from British and French railway safety bodies, fire brigades and government departments.


1996 Channel Tunnel fire, Investigations
The usage of the HGV shuttles had been approved with the plan that, in the event of fire, the shuttle was to either continue to the terminal or to detach the locomotive and passenger coach. Neither of these happened, as the fire had damaged the train such that it was forced to stop, and the overhead line failed four seconds after the train had come to a stand. The concept of an 'unconfirmed alarm' meant that the incident was not treated seriously until five minutes after the train entered the tunnel on fire. The CTSA report recommended that all alarms be treated seriously.


1996 Channel Tunnel fire, Investigations
The French crossover doors and one of the piston relief duct doors failed to close properly, allowing smoke to enter the other running tunnel. Furthermore, control centre staff were overwhelmed, having not been sufficiently trained for an emergency and were using procedures and systems that were complex. This led to, for example, the supplementary ventilation system being brought online late and running incorrectly for fifteen minutes.


1996 Channel Tunnel fire, Legacy
Additional staff were placed on duty in the control room. Eurotunnel's policy of attempting to drive trains through the tunnel in the event of an on-board fire with a backup plan of uncoupling the locomotive and amenity coach and driving out were abandoned and replaced by plans to bring trains to a controlled stop and evacuate the occupants into the service tunnel. Liaison between Eurotunnel and emergency services was improved with joint exercises and exchanges of personnel between the British and French fire brigades, so that each had experience with the other's operational procedures. Communications were also improved.


1996 Charity Challenge
The 1996 Liverpool Victoria Charity Challenge was the second edition of the professional invitational snooker tournament, which took place in January 1996. The tournament was played at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham, England, and featured sixteen professional players.


1996 Charity Challenge
Ronnie O'Sullivan won the title, beating John Higgins 9–6 in the final.


1996 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision
On 12 November 1996, Saudi Arabian Airlines Flight 763, a Boeing 747 en route from Delhi, India, to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, and Kazakhstan Airlines Flight 1907, an Ilyushin Il-76 en route from Chimkent, Kazakhstan, to Delhi, collided over the village of Charkhi Dadri, around 100 km (62 mi; 54 nmi) west of Delhi. The crash killed all 349 people on board both planes, making it the world's deadliest mid-air collision and the deadliest aviation accident to occur in India.


1996 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision, Collision
The Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) Boeing 747-168B, registration HZ-AIH, was flying the first leg of a scheduled international Delhi–Dhahran–Jeddah passenger service as Flight SVA763 with 312 people on board; the Kazakhstan Airlines Ilyushin Il-76TD, registration UN-76435, was on a charter service from Chimkent Airport to Delhi as KZA1907. SVA763 departed Delhi at 18:32 local time (13:02 UTC). KZA1907 was descending simultaneously, to land at Delhi. Both flights were controlled by approach controller VK Dutta. The crew of SVA763 consisted of Captain Khalid Al-Shubaily, First Officer Nazir Khan, and Flight Engineer Ahmed Edrees. The crew of KZA1907 consisted of Captain Alexander Cherepanov, First Officer Ermek Dzhangirov, Flight Engineer Alexander Chuprov, Navigator Zhahanbek Aripbaev, and Radio Operator Egor Repp.


1996 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision, Collision
KZA1907 was cleared to descend to 15,000 feet (4,600 m) when it was 74 nautical miles (137 km) from the beacon of the destination airport, while SVA763, travelling on the same airway as KZA1907 but in the opposite direction, was cleared to climb to 14,000 feet (4,300 m). About eight minutes later, around 18:40, KZA1907 reported having reached its assigned altitude of 15,000 feet (4,600 m), but it was actually lower, at 14,500 feet (4,400 m), and still descending. At this time, Dutta advised the flight, "Identified traffic 12 o'clock, reciprocal Saudia Boeing 747, 10 nautical miles (19 km). Report in sight."


1996 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision, Collision
When the controller called KZA1907 again, he received no reply. He tried to warn of the other flight's distance, but was too late. The two aircraft collided, with the tail of KZA1907 cutting through SVA763's left wing and horizontal stabiliser. The crippled Boeing quickly lost control and went into a rapidly descending spiral with fire trailing from the wing. The Boeing broke up before crashing into the ground at a nearly supersonic speed of 1,135 km/h (705 mph). The Ilyushin remained structurally intact as it entered a steady but rapid and uncontrolled descent, until it crashed in a field.


1996 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision, Collision
Rescuers discovered four critically injured passengers from the Ilyushin, but they all died soon afterwards. Two passengers from the Saudia flight survived the crash, still strapped to their seats, only to die of internal injuries soon after. In the end, all 312 people on board SVA763 and all 37 people on KZA1907 were killed.


1996 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision, Collision
Captain Timothy J. Place, a pilot for the United States Air Force, was the sole eyewitness of the event. He was making an initial approach in a Lockheed C-141B Starlifter when he saw that "a large cloud lit up with an orange glow".


1996 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision, Collision
The collision took place about 100 kilometres (60 mi) west of Delhi. The wreckage of the Saudi aircraft landed near Dhani village, Bhiwani District, Haryana. The wreckage of the Kazakh aircraft hit the ground near Birohar village, Rohtak District, Haryana.


1996 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision, Passengers and crew, Saudi Arabian Airlines Flight 763
The captain of the flight was a 45-year old veteran pilot with more than 9,800 flying hours. An article published in The New York Times on 14 November 1996 stated that 215 Indians who boarded the flight worked in Saudi Arabia; many of them worked or planned to work in blue-collar jobs as house maids, drivers, and cooks. The article also stated that 40 Nepalis and three Americans boarded the Saudi flight. According to an article published a day earlier in the same newspaper, the passenger manifest included 17 people of other nationalities, including nine Nepalis, three Pakistanis, two Americans, one Bangladeshi, one British, and one Saudi. Twelve of the crew members, including five anti-terrorism officials, were Saudi citizens.


1996 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision, Passengers and crew, Kazakhstan Airlines Flight 1907
The captain of Flight 1907, aged 44, was also highly experienced, with more than 9,200 flight hours. A company from Kyrgyzstan chartered the flight, and the passenger manifest mostly included ethnic Russian Kyrgyz citizens planning to go shopping in India. Thirteen Kyrgyz traders boarded the flight.


1996 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision, Investigation and final report
The crash was investigated by the Lahoti Commission, headed by then-Delhi High Court judge Ramesh Chandra Lahoti. Depositions were taken from the Air Traffic Controllers Guild and the two airlines. The flight data recorders were decoded by Kazakhstan Airlines and Saudia under the supervision of air crash investigators in Moscow and Farnborough, England, respectively. The ultimate cause was held to be the failure of Kazakhstan Airlines Flight 1907's pilot to follow ATC instructions, whether due to cloud turbulence or due to communication problems.


1996 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision, Investigation and final report
The commission determined that the accident had been the fault of the Kazakhstani Il-76 commander, who (according to FDR evidence) had descended from the assigned altitude of 15,000 to 14,500 feet (4,600 to 4,400 m) and subsequently 14,000 feet (4,300 m) and even lower. The report ascribed the cause of this serious breach in operating procedure to the lack of English language skills on the part of the Kazakhstani aircraft pilots; they were relying entirely on their radio operator for communications with the ATC. The radio operator did not have his own flight instrumentation and had to look over the pilots' shoulders for a reading. Kazakhstani officials stated that the aircraft had descended while their pilots were fighting turbulence inside a bank of cumulus clouds.


1996 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision, Investigation and final report
Indian air controllers also complained that the Kazakhstani pilots sometimes confused their calculations because they are accustomed to using metre altitudes and kilometre distances, while most other countries use feet and nautical miles respectively for aerial navigation.


1996 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision, Investigation and final report
Just a few seconds from impact, the Kazakhstani plane climbed slightly and the two planes collided. This was because the radio operator of Kazakhstan 1907 discovered only then that they were not at 15,000 feet and asked the pilot to climb. The captain gave orders for full throttle, and the plane climbed, only to hit the oncoming Saudi Arabian plane. The tail of the Kazakhstani plane clipped the left wing of the Saudi Arabian jet, severing both parts from their respective planes. Had the Kazakhstani pilots not climbed slightly, it is likely that they would have passed under the Saudi Arabian plane.


1996 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision, Investigation and final report
The recorder of the Saudi Arabian plane revealed the pilots recited the prayer that is required, according to  Islamic law, when one faces death. The counsel for the ATC Guild denied the presence of turbulence, quoting meteorological reports, but did state that the collision occurred inside a cloud. This was substantiated by the affidavit of Capt. Place, who was the commander of the aforementioned Lockheed C-141B Starlifter, which was flying into New Delhi at the time of the crash. The members of his crew filed similar affidavits.


1996 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision, Investigation and final report
Furthermore, Indira Gandhi International Airport did not have secondary surveillance radar, which provides extra information, such as the aircraft's identity and altitude, by reading transponder signals; instead the airport had primary radar, which produces readings of distance and bearing, but not altitude. In addition, the civilian airspace around New Delhi had a single corridor, common for both departures and arrivals. Most areas have separate corridors for the departure and arrival of aircrafts (One for departures and another one for arrivals). But the airspace of Delhi in 1996 had only one civilian corridor because much of the airspace was taken by the Indian Air Force. Due to the crash, the air-crash investigation report recommended changes to air-traffic procedures and infrastructure in New Delhi's air-space:


1996 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision, Aftermath
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation subsequently made it mandatory for all aircraft flying in and out of India to be equipped with an airborne collision avoidance system. This set a worldwide precedent for mandatory use of Traffic Collision Avoidance System.


1996 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision, Documentaries
Miditech, a company based in Gurgaon, Haryana, produced a documentary about the disaster called Head On!, which aired on the National Geographic Channel.


1996 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision, Documentaries
The disaster was also the subject of an episode in the documentary series Mayday (Air Crash Investigation) on 11 November 2009 entitled "Sight Unseen", also shown on the National Geographic Channel.


1996 Charlotte Rage season
The 1996 Charlotte Rage season was the fifth and final season for the Charlotte Rage. They finished the 1996 Arena Football League season 5–9 and were one of four teams in the National Conference to miss the playoffs.