November 2, 1996: Saby wins the UAE Desert Challenge

Frenchman Bruno Saby broke four year jinx to win the UAE Marlboro Desert Challenge, as double defending champion Jean-Louis Schlesser was hit by a last leg disaster. Holding a 13 minute 53 second overnight lead on Saby in the Sonauto team’s all new Mitsubishi Pajero, Schlesser saw his hopes of a hat-trick in the event disappear into dust, as mechanical problems made control of his car difficult, and hampered efforts to free himself from very soft sand just before the last refuelling point, 60km from the finish. While it was a frustrating end for Schlesser, victory was sweet for Saby whose own hopes had been dashed by a series of mechanical problems over the last three years. Clearly delighted with his win, Saby said, “My win is fantastic! Finally, after four attempts I have done it! It was great as the car was being used for the first time. It was a very big stage today with huge dunes.”

Ottoman ruler Mohammad IV is deposed in revolution in Constantinople and is succeeded by Sulaiman III.

Second Afghan War starts when Afghans massacre British army officers.

Louis Napoleon takes power in France.

Haile Selassie is crowned emperor of Ethiopia.

Gaza, Egypt, falls to the British in Suez War.

Last British troops leave Jordan.

South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem is assassinated by his own troops during a coup.

Faisal Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud succeeds Saud as king of Saudi Arabia.

White mercenaries and black troops invade Congo from Portuguese Angola.

Jimmy Carter is elected the 39th President of the United States.

Two Soviet cosmonauts who set a new record by staying in space 139 days and 15 hours land safely in Kazakhstan.

Militiamen in the Soviet republic of Moldavia shoot and kill six people and wound 30 during an ethnic clash.

Three fuel storage tanks explode when they are struck by lightning in southern Egypt, killing more than 500 people.

Chaos and looting erupt in Central America after Hurricane Mitch, which killed more than 7,000.

Prominent Zulu prince Cyril Zulu, the mayor-designate of Durban, South Africa, is assassinated by an unknown gunman.

At least 54 people are killed and another 32 missing as Typhoon Xangsane pounds Taiwan.

UAE and Iran sign free trade agreement.

Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, President of the UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi, passes away.

Gulam Nabi Azad is sworn in as the tenth chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir.

British Formula One Driver Lewis Hamilton becomes the youngest F1 World Champion in Brazil.

President Hamid Karzai wins the Afghanistan election.