Editing 1996 (section)

===May===
* May &ndash; [[Iraq disarmament crisis]]: UNSCOM supervises the destruction of [[Al Hakum (Iraq)|Al-Hakam]], Iraq's main production facility of biological warfare agents.
* [[May 9]]
** South Africa's [[National Party (South Africa)|National Party]] pulls out of the coalition government formed two years earlier, and the [[African National Congress]] assumes full political control.
** [[Uganda]]n president [[Yoweri Museveni]] wins a landslide victory in the country's first direct presidential elections, securing 75% of the vote.
* [[May 10]]
** [[1996 Everest disaster]]: A sudden storm engulfs [[Mount Everest]] with several climbing teams high on the mountain, leaving eight people dead. By the end of the month, at least four other climbers die in the worst season of fatalities on the mountain to date.
** The Australian government introduces a nationwide ban on the private possession of both [[automatic rifle|automatic]] and [[semi-automatic rifle]]s, in response to the [[Port Arthur massacre (Australia)|Port Arthur massacre]].
* [[May 11]] &ndash; After takeoff from [[Miami]], a fire started by improperly handled [[oxygen]] canisters in the cargo hold of [[Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta]]-bound [[ValuJet Flight 592]] causes the [[Douglas DC-9]] to crash in the [[Everglades|Florida Everglades]], killing all 110 people on board.
* [[May 13]] &ndash; Severe [[thunderstorm]]s and a [[tornado]] in [[Bangladesh]] kill 600 people.
* [[May 17]]–[[May 28|28]] &ndash; [[Atal Bihari Vajpayee]], leader of the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]], is elected as [[Prime Minister of India]], replacing [[P. V. Narasimha Rao]] of the [[Indian National Congress]]. However, the party does not receive an overall majority and Vajpayee resigns thirteen days later rather than face a no confidence vote and is replaced by the [[United Front (India, 1996)|United Front]] leader, [[Deve Gowda]].
* [[May 18]] &ndash; The [[X Prize Foundation]] launches the $10,000,000 [[Ansari X Prize]].
* [[May 21]]
** The ''[[MV Bukoba]]'' sinks in [[Tanzania]]n waters in [[Lake Victoria]], killing nearly 1,000 people in one of Africa's worst maritime disasters.<ref name=Arai>{{cite web |url=https://www.thecitizen.co.tz/tanzania/news/national/21-years-on-mv-bukoba-is-still-remembered-2589486 |title=21 years on, MV Bukoba is still remembered |date=May 21, 2017|publisher=The Citizen |access-date=July 18, 2024 }}</ref>
** Seven [[Trappists|Trappist]] monks from the [[Abbey of Our Lady of Atlas|monastery of Thibirine]] are [[Murder of the monks of Tibhirine|killed]] by members of the [[Armed Islamic Group]] in [[Algeria]] after talks with French government concerning the imprisonment of several GIA sympathisers break down.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Whitney |first1=Craig R. |title=7 French Monks Reported Killed By Islamic Militants in Algeria |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/05/24/world/7-french-monks-reported-killed-by-islamic-militants-in-algeria.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=12 January 2024 |date=24 May 1996}}</ref><ref name=France24>{{cite news|url=http://www.france24.com/en/20090706-algerian-army-accused-french-monk-massacre|title=Algerian army accused in massacre of French monks|publisher=France 24|date=7 July 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090707230903/http://www.france24.com/en/20090706-algerian-army-accused-french-monk-massacre|archive-date=7 July 2009}}</ref>
* [[May 27]] &ndash; [[First Chechnya War]]: Russian President [[Boris Yeltsin]] meets with [[Chechnya]]n rebels for the first time and negotiates a ceasefire for the dispute.
* [[May 28]] &ndash; [[Albania]]'s [[1996 Albanian parliamentary election|general election]] of [[May 26]] is declared unfair by international monitors, and the ruling [[Democratic Party of Albania|Democratic Party]] under President Muhannad Ibrahim is charged by the [[Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe]] with rigging the elections. Several hundred protestors gather in [[Tirana]] to demonstrate against the election result.
* [[May 30]] &ndash; The [[Likud Party]], led by [[Benjamin Netanyahu]], wins a narrow victory in the [[1996 Israeli general election|Israeli general election]].