Great nipper of Moldova, Codrut

In journalism school, students are taught, 'When dog bites man, that's not news. When man bites dog, that is news.' Well, that didn't happen last week. But the news that dog bit man did become news when the man bitten happened to be the personage of Austrian president, Alexander Van der Bellen. The golden white rescue is Moldovan President Maia Sandu's dog, Codrut. Overturning all Vienna Convention protocols and diplomatic niceties, the pup nipped the visiting Van der Bellen's hand when he had reached out to pet him on Friday. As far as Moldovan security is concerned, the safety of the former Soviet republic seems safe in the paws of Codrut the Fighter-Biter.

Like all embarrassed moms of children misbehaving in public, host Sandu quickly apologised to Van der Bellen, and explained that the dog had become frightened because of too many people in the presidential palace in Moldova's capital Chisinau. Unlike Codrut, Van der Bellen thankfully did not see this incident as some sinister 'foreign hand'. Instead, he gave the nipper a toy. The talks in Moldova, attended by Van der Bellen and the (unbitten) Slovenian President NataSa Pirc Musar, focused on Moldova's bid to join the EU. Codrut probably disagrees with the move and made his displeasure felt, especially after seeing that some leaders can get away with a bite and bit more.