New bear park in Bern, Switzerland
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - A 25-year-old man who was injured when he climbed the wall of the new bear park in Bern, then slipped, is in stable condition after he was attacked by one of the bears. Finn, the nearly 4-year-old male who injured him, was wounded by gunfire from a policeman who was trying to save the young man, and the bear is in serious condition, according to Bernd Schildger, the head of Dählhölzli, the animal park of which the bear pit is a part. If Finn survives, which is not yet clear, he will not be put down, says Schildger.
Police have not been able to determine why the man, who is mentally handicapped, decided to climb the wall, where he crouched for a moment before falling four metres into the bears’ den.
Siberian bear cubs (Photo: RANDO)
Siberian bear cubs, welcomed at Bern's Tierpark (Photo: RANDO)
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Russia’s president, Dmitry Medvedev, arrived in Bern 21 September to military honours and a town that was completely locked down for security reasons. It is the first state visit to Switzerland by a Russian head of state. Medvedev thanked his host, Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz, for representing Russia’s interests in its conflict with Georgia, and he suggested that Swiss neutrality might enable Switzerland to act as a go-between to build bridges between Russia and Nato in order to advance Russia’s new vision for security in Europe.
Switzerland’s programme for economic cooperation with Eastern Europe has supported the transition process in the Russian Federation since 1993. The focus has been mainly on building the private sector, sustainable development of natural resources and governance issues such as migration, human trafficking and prison management.
Switzerland has been working with Russia on sustainable forest projects for several years, part of the economic cooperation programme.
Four agreements were signed at the end of the first day of the two-day visit, covering visas, repatriation, aid in cases of disaster, and a memorandum on sport. The two countries have now signed several treaties.
