BACKGROUND
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott blamed Russia on Friday for the shooting down of a Malaysia Airlines passenger jetliner over eastern Ukraine that killed all 298 people on board. Abbott appeared to go further than other Western leaders in apportioning blame over the crash, demanding that Moscow answer questions about the "Russian-backed rebels" that he said were behind the disaster, which claimed 28 Australian lives. Read more >>
THE CARTOON
Cartoonist Peter Brookes from The Times seems to agree with Tony Abbot. His cartoon shows a shirtless Russian President Vladimir Putin leaning on the mantelpiece wearing combat trousers and holding a rifle. Behind him is a wall full of hunting trophies. Among the various wild animals, including a panda and a rhinoceros, one trophy sticks out — literally — the nose of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17.
COMMENT
Putin's bare-chested antics are a gift for cartoonists. See this here and here for earlier examples.
