Angry Jiang attacks Swiss

President Jiang Zemin threw aside diplomatic conventions yesterday to attack his Swiss hosts over a Tibet demonstration, saying the country had 'lost a good friend'.

Mr Jiang received a hostile reception from a few hundred protesters as he approached the parliament building in Berne, forcing officials to ditch plans for a military band performance.

The president departed from his prepared text to complain. 'You have lost a good friend,' he told an audience of politicians including President Ruth Dreifuss.