October 16, 2006 (Monday)
- UN Security Council election: The United Nations General Assembly elects Belgium, Indonesia, Italy and South Africa to two-year terms on the Security Council, commencing 1 January 2007. The fifth seat remains deadlocked after ten rounds of voting between Guatemala and Venezuela and may be thrown open to other candidates from Latin America and the Caribbean. (BBC)
- United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan condemns movement by Eritrea of 1,500 troops and 14 tanks into the UNMEE-monitored Temporary Security Zone with Ethiopia as a "major breach" of the ceasefire agreement that ended the Eritrean-Ethiopian War. (ABC News)
- 2006 North Korean nuclear test: The United States confirms that North Korea conducted a nuclear test on October 9, 2006. (FOX News)
- The government of Sudan and the Eastern Front rebels sign a peace treaty in Asmara, Eritrea. (IRIN)
- The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China starts its dual initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong Stock Exchange and Shanghai Stock Exchange, in what would be the world's largest ever IPO. (AP via International Herald Tribune)
- Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels detonate a truck packed with explosives amongst a convoy of buses carrying Sri Lankan Navy personnel in the country's northeast. Approximately 102 people are killed, and 150 people are wounded. (AFP via Yahoo! News)
- Swedish Minister for Culture Cecilia Stegö Chilò resigns after 11 days in office, the second resignation within the Cabinet of Fredrik Reinfeldt. (BBC)
- The government of Hong Kong will not appeal a court ruling striking down the territory's sodomy law. (365gay.com)
- American and Russian scientists announce the discovery of a new chemical element with the atomic number 118, temporarily designated as Ununoctium. (ABC News)
- Uzbek President Islam Karimov fires Saidullo Begaliev, Governor of Andijan, for "short-sighted policies" and "lack of attention to the people's needs" that led to the Andijan massacre in 2005. Karimov appoints Ahmad Usmonov as Begaliev's replacement. (RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty)