* The roof of a jail in southeast Moscow collapsed, killing three people and injuring another 10. The local prosecutor's office launched criminal proceedings with charges of negligence
* The Khabarovsk Territory in Russia's Far East held elections to the local legislature. As of 14:00 p.m. local time (04:00 a.m. GMT), 20.38% of registered voters had come to the polls, crossing the electoral threshold of 20%
* The Novosibirsk Region in central Siberia held elections to the local legislature. As of 18:00 p.m. local time (12:00 p.m. GMT), 31.98% of registered voters had come to the polls, crossing the electoral threshold of 20%
* The Moldovan self-declared republic of Transdnestr held parliamentary elections, with 172 candidates running for the 43-seat Supreme Council. Voter turnout exceeded 37.8% as of 15:00 p.m. local time (1:00 p.m. GMT), crossing the electoral threshold of 25%
* Five Russian sailors were reported dead following the sinking of a fishing vessel off Russia's South Kuril Islands near Japan on the night of December 10-11
* A Japanese official said Russia and Japan had agreed to adopt a new "Strategic Discussion" format for bilateral talks
* Iran agreed to Russia's participation in a transnational project to build a pipeline transporting Iranian natural gas to Pakistan and India, a spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry said
