Editing 1996 (section)

===March===
* [[March 1]] &ndash; [[Iraq disarmament crisis]]: Iraqi forces refuse [[UNSCOM]] inspection teams access to five sites designated for inspection. The teams enter the sites only after delays of up to seventeen hours.
* [[March 2]] &ndash; [[1996 Australian federal election]]: The [[Liberal Party of Australia|Liberal]]/[[National Party of Australia|National]] [[Coalition (Australia)|Coalition]] led by [[John Howard]] defeats the [[Australian Labor Party|Labor]] [[Keating government|government]] led by [[Prime Minister of Australia|Prime Minister]] [[Paul Keating]]. Howard was sworn in on March 11.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://australianpolitics.com/elections/federal-1996|title=1996 Federal Election &#124; AustralianPolitics.com|website=australianpolitics.com|access-date=February 26, 2018|archive-date=September 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180902152116/http://australianpolitics.com/elections/federal-1996|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[March 3]] &ndash; [[José María Aznar]], leader of the [[People's Party (Spain)|Popular Party]], is elected as [[Prime Minister of Spain]], replacing [[Felipe González]].
* [[March 3]]–[[March 4|4]] &ndash; Two suicide bombs explode in [[Israel]], killing 32 people. The [[Yahya Ayyash Units]] admit responsibility, and [[Palestinian National Authority|Palestinian]] president [[Yasser Arafat]] condemns the killings in a televised address. Israel warns of retaliation.
* [[March 6]]
** [[Mesut Yılmaz]] of [[Motherland Party (Turkey)|ANAP]] forms the new government of [[Turkey]] (53rd government).
** A boat carrying market traders capsizes outside [[Freetown]] harbour in [[Sierra Leone]], killing at least 86 people.
** [[Chechnya|Chechen]] rebels attack the Russian government headquarters in [[Grozny]]; 70 Russian soldiers and policemen and 130 Chechen fighters are killed.
* [[March 8]] &ndash; [[Third Taiwan Strait Crisis]]: [[China]] begins [[surface-to-surface missile]] testing and military exercises off [[Taiwan]]ese coastal areas. The [[United States]] government condemns the act as provocation, and the [[Taiwan]]ese government warns of retaliation.
* [[March 9]] &ndash; [[Jorge Sampaio]] becomes the new Portuguese president.
* [[March 13]] &ndash; [[Dunblane massacre]]: Unemployed former shopkeeper [[Dunblane school massacre#Perpetrator|Thomas Hamilton]] walks into the Dunblane Primary School in Scotland and opens fire, killing sixteen infant school pupils and one teacher before committing suicide.
[[File:Summit of the Peacemakers in Sharm el-Sheikh, March 13, 1996 II Dan Hadani Archive.jpg|180px|thumb|Summit of the Peacemakers in Sharm el-Sheikh]]
* [[March 14]] &ndash; An international peace summit is held in [[Egypt]] in response to escalating terrorist attacks in the Middle East.
* [[March 15]] &ndash; [[Fokker]], a major manufacturer of small size [[aircraft]], goes [[bankruptcy|bankrupt]] in [[Netherlands]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2021-03-15|title=Bankruptcy Closes Fokker -- 5,664 Employees Lose Jobs At Venerable Aircraft Maker|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19960315&slug=2319031|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220313033733/https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19960315&slug=2319031 |archive-date=March 13, 2022 |access-date=2021-02-05|website=The Seattle Times}}</ref>
* [[March 16]] &ndash; [[Robert Mugabe]] is re-elected as President of [[Zimbabwe]], although only 32% of the electorate actually voted.
* [[March 17]] &ndash; [[Sri Lanka]] wins the Cricket World Cup by beating [[Australia]] in the [[1996 Cricket World Cup Final|final]].
* [[March 18]] &ndash; The [[Ozone Disco Club fire]] in [[Quezon City]], [[Philippines]], kills 163 people.<ref>"[http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/348777/what-went-before-ozone-disco-is-no-6-in-worlds-deadliest-nightclub-fires What went before : Ozone disco is No.6 in deadliest nightclub fires] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130824212641/http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/348777/what-went-before-ozone-disco-is-no-6-in-worlds-deadliest-nightclub-fires |date=August 24, 2013 }}." ''Philippine Daily Inquirer.'' January 29, 2013</ref>
* [[March 22]] &ndash; [[Sweden]]'s Finance Minister [[Göran Persson]] becomes the new [[Prime Minister of Sweden]].
* [[March 23]] &ndash; [[Taiwan]] (Republic of China) holds its first direct elections for president; [[Lee Teng-hui]] is re-elected.
* [[March 24]] &ndash; The [[Marcopper mining disaster]] on the island of [[Marinduque]], [[Philippines]] takes place.
* [[March 25]] &ndash; The [[68th Academy Awards]], hosted by [[Whoopi Goldberg]], are held at the [[Dorothy Chandler Pavilion]] in [[Los Angeles]] with ''[[Braveheart]]'' winning [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]].
* [[March 26]] &ndash; The [[International Monetary Fund]] approves a $10.2&nbsp;billion loan to [[Russia]] for economic reform.