2006

January

 * – Russia cuts the shipment of to  over a.
 * – during the  ritual on the last day at the  in, kills at least 362.
 * – 's  mission successfully ends, the first to return dust from a.
 * – launches the first space mission to  as a rocket hurls the  spacecraft on a nine-year journey.
 * – ' buys ' from ' for $7.4 billion and now Pixar is a subsidiary of '.

February

 * – ian passenger ferry, MS al-Salam Boccaccio 98, sinks in the off the coast of Saudi Arabia, killing over 1,000 people.
 * – – The are held in.
 * – A occurs in,  killing an estimated 1,126 people.

March

 * – 's  spacecraft discovers s of a liquid substance shooting from 's moon, signaling a possible presence of water.
 * – NASA's  enters orbit around.
 * – The votes overwhelmingly to establish the.
 * – A, , designed to fly at seven times the speed of sound, is successfully tested at.

April

 * The 's  spaceprobe enters ' orbit.
 * confirms that has  a few grams of low-grade.
 * – announces a deal with Russia, involving a joint  firm on Russian soil; nine days later Iran announces that it will not move all activity to Russia, thus leading to a de facto termination of the deal.
 * – announces a deal with Russia, involving a joint  firm on Russian soil; nine days later Iran announces that it will not move all activity to Russia, thus leading to a de facto termination of the deal.

May

 * – The publishes the last  sequence, in .
 * – The 6.4  shakes central  with an  intensity of IX (Destructive), leaving more than 5,700 dead and 37,000 injured.

June

 * – declares independence after a  . Two days later, the republic of Serbia and Montenegro formed in 2003 collapses, leaving  as the successor country.
 * – – The  takes place in Germany; which is won by Italy.
 * in the in response to rocketfire by  into Israeli territory.
 * The United States Armed Forces withdraws its forces in, thereby disbanding the.
 * The United States Armed Forces withdraws its forces in, thereby disbanding the.

July

 * – The launches a trial operation, making  the last  of China to have a conventional railway.
 * – The pass between India and China, sealed during the, re-opens for trade after 44 years.
 * –  hits the city of, , killing more than 200 people.
 * – i troops in response to  kidnapping two Israeli soldiers and killing three others. Hezbollah declares open war against Israel two days later.

August

 * – crashes near the Russian border in, killing all 170 people on board.
 * – The  '' at its 26th General Assembly, demoting  to the status of  more than 70 years after its discovery.

September

 * – The overthrows the government of   in a .
 * – collides with a business jet over the, killing all 154 on board the former.

October

 * – replaces  as.
 * – claims to have conducted its first-ever.
 * – South Korean is elected as the new Secretary-General of the United Nations, succeeding.

November

 * –  by becomes the  after it is sold privately for.
 * – Former  is  by hanging by the . He is later executed by hanging for crimes against humanity on.
 * – The breakaway state of holds a  on independence from.
 * – A series of in, , kills at least 215 people and injure 257 other people.

December

 * – The military seizes power in, in a led by Commodore.
 * – sends the Mexican military to combat the drug cartels and put down the violence in the state of Michoacán, initiating the.
 * – admits its troops have.
 * – An in 's commercial capital,, killing at least 200 people.
 * – UK settles its, post-WWII loan debt.