TODAY: Putin in Brisbane for G20 amid criticisms of Russian aggression in Ukraine; President says the Kremlin is prepared for oil price slump. Pussy Riot take their prison campaign to London; politician hopes to legislate on marriage attire; concerns over threat to Arctic ecosystem; North Korea reaches out to Putin.

As Vladimir Putin prepares to head to Brisbane for a G20 summit expected to focus on Ukraine, he has announced that Russia is readying itself for a ‘catastrophic‘ decline in oil prices which it will counter with $400 billion in reserves.  Andrew Wood of Chatham House believes that the real problem is that ‘nobody‘ wants to invest in Russia.  Ahead of the G20, British Prime Minister David Cameron has called Russia’s actions in Ukraine ‘unacceptable […] It is a large state bullying a smaller state in Europe‘, a sentiment echoed by Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.  ‘It actually says more about Russia’s weaknesses than strength that the former KGB colonel has atavised into a czar.’   Two Dutch F16 fighter jets, part of a NATO force, have reportedly intercepted a Russian Ilyushin transport aircraft flying near Estonian and Lithuanian airspace.  All of the Nordic states are apparently concerned about Russian ‘brinkmanship’.  Although global concern over Russia’s movement of troops into Ukraine is mounting, this has not prevented President Putin from being invited to Davos in January.