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Events from the year 1996 in the British Virgin Islands.
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Events from the year 1996 in the British Virgin Islands.
The Governor of the Virgin Islands is the representative of the British monarch in the United Kingdom's overseas territory of the British Virgin Islands. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The role of the governor is to act as the de facto head of state, and he or she is responsible for appointing the chief minister and the executive council.
The Premier of the Virgin Islands is the head of government for the British Virgin Islands. As a British Overseas Territory, the Premier is appointed by the Governor on behalf of the British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II. Until 2007, the head of government was known as the Chief Minister.
Ralph Telford O'Neal, OBE is a former politician in the British Virgin Islands. He is the longest ever serving elected representative in the British Virgin Islands, and has served as Chief Minister or Premier of the British Virgin Islands for three terms.
Hurricane Bertha was an intense and early-forming major hurricane that affected areas from the Leeward Islands to the United States in July of the 1996 Atlantic hurricane season. The second tropical cyclone and named storm during the season, Bertha originated from a tropical wave that moved off the coast of Africa in early July. Steadily organizing while moving generally towards the west, the disturbance was designated as a tropical depression at 0000 UTC on July 5, and was further upgraded to a tropical storm by 1200 UTC later that day. Over the next few days, continued intensification occurred, and Bertha became a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale, the first hurricane of the season, prior to moving through the northern Leeward Islands. Late on July 8, a period of rapid intensification began, and at 0600 UTC on July 9, Bertha reached its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (185 km/h) with a minimum barometric pressure of 960 mbar (28 inHg). Moving around the western periphery of the subtropical ridge, Bertha passed north of the Bahamas as a weakening hurricane before turning towards the north-northeast and undergoing another period of rapid intensification. Late on July 12, Bertha made landfall between Wrightsville Beach and Topsail Beach, North Carolina with winds of 90 mph (140 km/h). Gradual weakening ensued the following day as Bertha moved up the Mid-Atlantic and into New England before becoming an extratropical cyclone on July 14.
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The British Virgin Islands (BVI), officially simply the Virgin Islands, are a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean, to the east of Puerto Rico. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.
The United States Virgin Islands, officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, is a group of islands in the Caribbean and an unincorporated and organized territory of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.
Geography of the United States Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands are geologically and biogeographically the easternmost part of the Greater Antilles, the northern islands belonging to the Puerto Rican Bank and St. Croix being a displaced part of the same geologic structure. Politically, the British Virgin Islands have been governed as the western island group of the Leeward Islands, which are the northern part of the Lesser Antilles, and form the border between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The archipelago is separated from the true Lesser Antilles by the Anegada Passage and from the main island of Puerto Rico by the Virgin Passage.
The Leeward Islands are a group of islands situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean. Starting with the Virgin Islands east of Puerto Rico, they extend southeast to Guadeloupe and its dependencies. In English, the term Leeward Islands refers to the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain. The more southerly part of this chain, starting with Dominica, is called the Windward Islands. Dominica was originally considered part of the Leeward Islands, but was transferred from the British Leeward Islands to the British Windward Islands in 1940.
Saint Thomas is one of the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean Sea and, together with Saint John, Water Island and Saint Croix, a former Danish colony, form a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincorporated territory of the United States. Located on the island is the territorial capital and port of Charlotte Amalie. As of the 2010 census, the population of Saint Thomas was 51,634 about 48.5% of the US Virgin Islands total. The district has a land area of 32 square miles (83 km2).
Saint John is one of the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean Sea and a constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincorporated territory of the United States.
The British Virgin Islands national football team is the national team of the British Virgin Islands and is controlled by the British Virgin Islands Football Association.
The British Virgin Islands sent a delegation to compete at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia from 15 September to 1 October 2000. This was the territory's fifth appearance at a Summer Olympic Games. The delegation consisted of a single track and field athlete, Keita Cline. He was eliminated during the first round of the men's 200 meters.
The Anguilla Football Association is the governing body of football in Anguilla.
The British Virgin Islands Football Association is the governing body of football in the British Virgin Islands.
The Montserrat Football Association is the governing body of football in Montserrat. It is incharge of the Montserrat national football team and is also responsible for the league in Montserrat.
The British Virgin Islands national rugby union team represents the British Virgin Islands in international rugby union. The nation are a member of the International Rugby Board (IRB) and have yet to play in a Rugby World Cup tournament. The British Virgin Islands played their first international in 1996 - losing to Barbados 17 - 0.
The law of the British Virgin Islands is a combination of common law and statute, and is based heavily upon English law.
The British Virgin Islands took part in the 2008 Summer Olympics, which were held in Beijing, China from 8 to 24 August 2008. The dependency's participation at Beijing marked its seventh consecutive appearance in the summer Olympics since its debut in 1984, and its eighth Olympic appearance ever. The British Virgin Islander delegation included two athletes in 2008 participating in two distinct events in one sport: discus thrower Eric Matthias and sprinter Tahesia Harrigan. Of the athletes, Harrigan was the flagbearer and the first female Olympian to participate on behalf of the British Virgin Islands in its entire history. Overall, Harrigan advanced to quarterfinals in her event, although neither athlete medaled.
The British colony of the British Virgin Islands has issued its own stamps since 1866. The first Post Office was opened in Tortola in 1787, at this time postage stamps were not invented yet and it was not until 1858 that a small supply of adhesive stamps issued by Great Britain depicting Queen Victoria was utilized by the local Post Office. These stamps were cancelled by an A13 postmark and as such they are extremely rare.
Miss British Virgin Islands is a national beauty pageant in British Virgin Islands.
The British Virgin Islands competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's ninth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics.
The British Virgin Islands national basketball team represents the British Virgin Islands (BVI) in international basketball competitions. It is administrated by the British Virgin Islands Amateur Basketball Federation.
The British Virgin Islands requires its residents to register their motor vehicles and display vehicle registration plates. Many plates have 'Virgin Islands' and 'Nature's Little Secrets' above and below the sequence respectively. Before 1996, European standard 520 mm × 110 mm sizes and British stamping dies were used, but current plates are North American standard 6 × 12 inches as used in the US Virgin Islands.