Prince Albert II of Monaco and his wife Charlene welcomed their twin babies to the world, and announced that Jacques will be next in line to the throne.
Russia's President will hold talks with India's new prime minister as his sanctions-hit country seeks to strengthen energy, defence and strategic ties in Asia.
President Bashar al-Assad met a top Russian envoy who said Moscow is hoping to relaunch peace talks for the war-torn country and could host a Syria-US meeting.
President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev has spoken about cooperation between the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union at the Kazakh-French business forum in Astana.
Kazakh singer Rosa Nurkey of Astana Opera has become one of the winners of the 3rd International Competition-festival of Choral, Instrumental Music and Academic Vocal in Turku, Finland.
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini called on Russia not to involve the Balkans in tensions between Brussels and Moscow over the Ukrainian crisis.
Ukraine and the pro-Russian rebels said they had agreed to halt fire on December 9 under the terms of a truce aimed at ending one of Europe's bloodiest conflicts in decades.
US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Basel evening for a meeting of top diplomats from some 50 OSCE countries which will focus on the spiralling Ukraine crisis.