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Xi extends 'panda diplomacy' to Finland
by Staff Writers
Helsinki (AFP) April 5, 2017


Orphaned bear cubs win hearts in Montenegro
Podgorica, Montenegro (AFP) April 4, 2017 - Two orphaned bear cubs have captured hearts in Montenegro after a farmer rescued them from starving to death in the wild.

The cubs were found last month by March Ilinka Bigovic, who lives in a village perched on the Pusti Lisac mountain, some 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the capital Podgorica, near the Bosnian border.

"I heard some screams. Persistent, day and night, for two or three days," the 61-year-old said.

Bigovic searched the area with her brother until they almost stumbled over the cubs "separated, on the brink of death, weak," she told AFP.

"We brought them home, put at a warm place near the stove and fed them milk and honey."

Montenegro's mountains are home to 50 to 100 brown bears, according to ecologists, while the national hunters' association puts their number at 357.

Bigovic, who breeds goats, is used to close encounters with wild animals -- a wolf recently killed a goat just near her house and she often sees bears.

The story of the two orphans has spread like wildfire in the Balkan country, with many people coming to have their photo taken holding the cubs.

But engineer and animal-lover Miljan Milickovic was worried -- he realised the cubs were on the way to become irreversibly domesticated, and if nothing was done, their future could be only a zoo or a circus.

Milickovic persuaded Bigovic to let him take the two animals as a temporary measure until they can be moved to a specialised facility that can prepare them to return to the wild.

The cubs, now named Masha and Brundo, are living at his family property, some 20 kilometres north of Podgorica, where they live in the company of a deer, an emu, a boar and a llama.

Masha and Brundo approach people and other animals without fear, looking for a hug, food or to play.

"In a bid to save their lives humans ... made their return to the wild more difficult," said Jovana Janjusevic of the Center for Bird Protection, which is also involved in protecting larger animals.

"After two months with humans, the cubs cannot be rehabilitated and successfully returned to the wild," she said.

Activists are now racing against time to get the permits needed to move the Masha and Brundo to Greece or Romania, which -- unlike Montenegro -- have centres that specialise in dealing with orphaned bear cubs.

Masha and Brundo would spend between a year and 18 months in a such a centre before returning to their mountains.

China's President Xi Jinping, on the way to his eagerly awaited first encounter with Donald Trump, met his Finnish counterpart in Helsinki Wednesday, extending Beijing's famed "panda diplomacy" to Finland.

The two sides agreed to carry out "cooperative panda research" and "make the pandas messengers of friendship between our two countries," Xi said at a joint press conference in Helsinki.

The first visit by a Chinese leader to Finland since 1995 marks the 100th anniversary of the Nordic country's independence and Finns were pleased to learn that a pair of giant pandas were expected in Finland before the end of the year.

Finnish and Chinese officials have been in lengthy talks over China leasing a pair of giant pandas to Ahtari zoo in central Finland, where the construction of a new panda cage costing more than eight million euros (over $8.5 million) is well underway.

"We know that pandas are a national treasure for China and we will honour and value them," President Sauli Niinisto told Xi.

China is Finland's fifth largest trading partner and Xi said the two sides would "expand cooperation in such areas as innovation-driven development, green development and coordinated development."

Xi said China appreciated "Finland's firm commitment to the one-China policy", which Niinisto confirmed in his own address to the media.

After Helsinki, Xi was due to continue his journey across the Atlantic to Florida, where US President Trump awaits him on Thursday with a much tougher stance on trade and China's problematic relationship with Taiwan than the friendly Nordic country had.

Trump had previously infuriated Beijing with suggestions he might break from the US's long-standing One China Policy, which nominally acknowledges the Asian giant's claims over Taiwan without recognising them.

In Helsinki, Xi refused to take any questions from the media and did not comment on the upcoming meeting with Trump in his speech.

Trump has warned talks with Xi will be "very difficult" and accused China during his campaign of stealing American jobs and industry.

US Commerce Department data showed Tuesday that the US deficit with China gained $1.6 billion to $31.7 billion in February.

SUPERPOWERS
In landmark meeting, Trump hails Sisi's 'fantastic job' in Egypt
Washington (AFP) April 3, 2017
US President Donald Trump set human rights scandals aside to welcome Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to the White House Monday, the first such visit from an Egyptian president in almost a decade. Greeting Sisi warmly in the Oval Office, Trump heaped praise on the former general's leadership as he sought to mend ties strained by crackdowns, revolution and counter-revolution. "You have a great friend ... read more

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