December 14, 2006 (Thursday)
- The head of UK security service MI5, Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller, has announced she will step down from her post after four years. (The Times)
- A research expedition concludes that the Chinese River Dolphin is now likely extinct, directly due to human action. (Globe & Mail)
- Ban Ki-moon is officially sworn in as the next United Nations Secretary-General. (BBC)
- The Supreme Court of Israel decides that the targeted assassination of Palestinian militants by the Israeli military can be legal under international law. (AP via Houston Chronicle)
- U.S. Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) undergoes surgery after suffering a brain hemorrhage due to an arteriovenous malformation. If he is incapacitated, the Republican Party Governor of South Dakota, Mike Rounds, will be able to appoint his replacement, potentially changing the balance of the Senate. (CNN)
- Gunmen dressed in military uniforms kidnap between 20 and 30 people in the Sanak area of central Baghdad. (BBC)
- Operation Paget, the inquiry into the death in 1997 of Diana, Princess of Wales, headed by Lord Stevens, a former chief of London's Metropolitan Police, concludes that there were no suspicious circumstances and that the fatal car crash in which she died was a 'tragic accident'. (BBC)
- UK Prime Minister Tony Blair is interviewed by police investigating cash for honours allegations. (BBC)
- The European Union announces it will introduce a common EU-wide driving licence in 2013. (BBC News)
- The Nintendo Wii breaks record sales in Australia and is the fastest selling gaming console in Australian history. (Sydney Morning Herald)