Could Australian-Indonesian relations get worse?  Oops, they did – Ukraine bans the protests that have stymied the capital for weeks on end – European countries reportedly protest Israel’s settlement building spree – The woman in the French Presidential sex scandal seeks her pounds of flesh.

Canberra is apologizing to Indonesia for breaching its territorial waters without permission.  The government had earlier promised that border patrol boats would not enter Indonesian waters to turn back asylum seekers.  Relations with Jakarta were already strained by the clumsy way the government handled revelations that our intelligence bugged the phones of the Indonesian president and his wife, and their inner circle.

A Chechen rebel leader who threatened to attack the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi is dead, according to the Kremlin-backed leader of Chechnya, a semi-autonomous region of Russia.  Ramzan Kadyrov said on his Instagram that Doku Umarov, who urged his fighters to strike the Games, has died – but the body has yet to be recovered.

Ukraine’s parliament approved sweeping legislation clearly aimed at banning massive anti-government protests.  Tents in public areas are now against the law, as is “slandering” government officials.  MPs passed it by a show of hands rather than go on the record the usual way.  The opposition said this was illegal, accusing the ruling party of a coup.

Uganda has revealed its troops are helping South Sudan forces battle rebels.  The Ugandans are assisting loyalist troops flush the rebels out of the strategically important city of Bor.  Previously, Kampala would only say that its troops were helping refugees from the civil war.

US Secretary of State John Kerry is strongly urging Syrian opposition groups to get on the ball and attend the peace conference in Geneva next week.  The Syrian National Coalition, the main US-backed opposition group, is voting later today on whether to attend.  But the group has become fractured because of the pull of al Qaeda-allied Islamist groups, and it’s not at all clear how the vote will shake out.

Doggies on paddle boards!

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says some European Union states had called in Israeli ambassadors to protest Israel's latest announcement of settlement-building in Palestinian areas.  Israel Radio identified them as Britain, France, Italy, and Spain.  Netanyahu accused them of being “hypocritical.”  The Palestinians accuse Israel of taking their land and say the settlements are a barrier to a lasting peace.

Baby Polar Bears!  Baby Polar Bears!

Firefighters in Barcelona, Spain filled the streets to protest austerity cuts.  The firefighters any further reductions in staff and spending would put the “safety of workers and the people of Catalonia” at risk.  It looked like a great time:  Mock executions, a die-in, burning a mock-up of a fire truck to demonstrate the government’s indifference.  That’s how you do a protest right.

Baby Panda!  Baby Panda!

French actress Julie Gayet is suing a Paris tabloid for publishing a report and photos of an alleged affair with French President Francois Hollande.  She’s seeking more than A$77,000.  Meanwhile, Hollande has been baned from the hospital room of the woman he allegedly jilted, France’s de facto First Lady Valerie Trierweiler.  She sought treatment for shock and depression after the story was published.  And Hollande’s partner before Trierweiler – Socialist politician Segolene Royal – won’t comment, and says it time to “turn the page and get back to work.”  C’est la vie!