A Russian woman upset with not having been granted French citizenship threw a coffee mug at the Mona Lisa a little over a week ago, but the masterpiece, dubbed the most famous painting in the world, was undamaged, the Louvre museum said on Tuesday.

According to the Guardian, the woman brought an empty mug into the museum on Aug. 2 and threw this at the painting. Enclosed in bullet-proof glass, the Mona Lisa was untouched.

President Barack Obama marked his 48th birthday on Tuesday with a full plate of meetings at the White House, and a luncheon with Democrats that also served as a final powwow on a healthcare reform bill before lawmakers take a month-long recess. In between, the President blew candles along with veteran White House journalist Helen Thomas, who turned 89 that day, and had a mountain in the Caribbeans named after him.

The nation's fifth youngest commander-in-chief, Obama on his first birthday at the White House made a surprise visit to the James Brady Briefing Room with a plate of cupcakes and singing "Happy Birthday" for Thomas. He was joined by an excited press corps that could not help but greet and ask him mid-song about his own birthday.

Robert Downey Jr. is unhappy with "Iron Man" bosses - because they haven't made him his own superhero costume.

The actor - who reprises his role as industrialist Tony Stark and his metal-clad alter-ego in "Iron Man 2" - was promised he could have a suit to take home with him, but he is still waiting for his memento.

Tokyo and Osaka have become the most expensive cities for expatriates, according to a cost of living survey.

The Japanese capital dislodged Moscow from the top spot of Mercer LLC's list of most expensive cities for foreigners while Osaka moved from 11th spot to number two. The Russian capital, last year's most expensive city for expats, fell to third spot.

Cut-outs of Brad Pitt are being used in Russia to curb reckless driving. Police in Omsk, South Russia, have placed life-size cardboard replicas of the "Inglourious Basterds" actor dressed as a traffic policeman at the most dangerous intersections of the city, to try and deter motorists from speeding.

A regional paper quotes Dmitry Ziryanov, the local official who reportedly came up with the idea, as saying: "Brad is kind of like a colleague for us."