A 36-year-old man has been arrested and placed in psychiatric care after he smeared the Mona Lisa with cake in a purported protest against artists not focussing enough on “the planet”. The most famous portrait in the world had her cake and ate it too after a man disguised as an elderly woman attempted to smash the painting’s protective glass before smearing the surface with dessert on Sunday. …

One of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies has warned NATO that if Sweden and Finland joined the US-led military alliance then Russia would have to bolster its defences in the region, including by deploying nuclear weapons. Finland, which shares a 1300-kilometre border with Russia, and Sweden are considering joining the NATO alliance. Finland will make a decision in the …

It comes as US and UK defence officials said Russian forces were roughly 30 kilometres outside Kyiv as of Saturday, and that an unspecified number of Russian military sabotage groups had entered the capital. A senior US defence official said Washington estimates that more than 50 per cent of Russia’s combat power arrayed along Ukraine’s borders had entered the country, an …

NATO has announced it will take additional steps to strengthen the alliance’s deterrence and defence after Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine. The defence alliance will also hold an emergency summit of its 30 member nations on Friday. Russian forces invaded Ukraine by land, air and sea on Thursday, confirming the worst fears of the West with the biggest attack by …

Australia is comparatively insulated from the direct effects of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, but we have been warned to brace for strategic and economic fallout. Prime Minister Scott Morrison joined leaders from around the world on Thursday, condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as a “flagrant breach of international law”. Mr Morrison declared that “Russia has chosen war” and followed many …

Russian President Vladimir Putin has authorised a military operation in Ukraine. The imminent invasion follows months of Moscow massing troops near Ukraine. Despite Western states repeatedly expressing fears of just such an outcome, Russia had continued to deny any such plans. The Kremlin had demanded guarantees from the West that NATO would not accept Ukraine and other former Soviet nations as members, halt …

US President Joe Biden says he will consider personal sanctions on President Vladimir Putin if Russia invades Ukraine, as Western leaders stepped up military preparations and made plans to shield Europe from a potential energy supply shock. The rare sanctions threat on Tuesday came as NATO placed forces on standby and reinforces eastern Europe with more ships and fighter jets …

Tens of thousands of climate activists have marched through the Scottish city hosting the UN climate summit, physically close to the global negotiators inside but separated by a vast gulf in expectations, with frustrated marchers increasingly dismissive of the climate talks and demanding immediate action instead to slow global warming. The mood at the protest in Glasgow on Saturday was …

The Global Methane Pledge, which was first announced in September, now includes half of the top 30 methane emitters accounting for two-thirds of the global economy, according to the official. Among the new signatories to be announced on Tuesday is Brazil – one of the world’s five biggest emitters of methane. China, Russia and India, also top-five methane emitters, have …

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has taken advantage of an opportunity to say ‘G’day Emmanuel’ to the French president and shake his hand. The pair crossed paths on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rome for the first time since Australia outraged France by scrapping a $90 billion submarine deal. “I said g’day, I said g’day,” Mr Morrison told …