* The administration of the Kemerovo region in Russia's southwestern Siberia refuted the reports by the emergencies ministry that the psychiatric and neurological clinic in the city of Taiga had allegedly sent a signal about the fire with a considerable delay and tried to put out the flame on its own
* Moldova's breakaway province of Transdnestr, which overwhelmingly voted in a September 17 plebiscite in favor of independence, held presidential elections
* Iran could review its cooperation with the international nuclear watchdog, if the UN adopts sanctions against the Islamic Republic, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said
* Azerbaijan's breakaway province of Nagorno-Karabakh voted in a referendum on its constitution
* U.S. space shuttle Discovery launched from Cape Canaveral is expected to dock with the world's sole orbital station December 12, the Russian Space Agency said
* Police in the German city of Hamburg reported finding the traces of polonium-210 at places linked to Dmitry Kovtun, a contact of poisoned former Russian intelligence agent Alexander Litvinenko
