Hong Kong-born giant panda cubs meet public

China

Hong Kong-born giant panda cubs meet public

2025-02-16 16:14 Last Updated At：02-17 15:17

The first locally-born giant panda cubs at Ocean Park Hong Kong made their public debut Sunday, and residents are encouraged to propose names for the cuddly twins.

The bears were born last August, becoming the first successfully born pair of giant panda cubs in Hong Kong.

Their parents, Ying Ying and Le Le, are the second pair of giant pandas gifted by China's central government to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).

At birth, the female cub weighed approximately 122 grams, and the male cub weighed around 112 grams.

Under the careful 24-hour care from the staff at Ocean Park, both cubs have gained weight, now exceeding 10 kilograms each.

The cubs are available for public viewing daily from 10:00 to 15:00, with up to 5,000 people expected to have the chance to see the cubs each day.

Currently, the panda twins have not been named.

A naming competition, organized by the HKSAR's Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau and co-hosted by the Ocean Park Hong Kong, was launched on Saturday.

Hong Kong residents are encouraged to suggest a pair of names for the twin cubs by observing their physical features and characteristics, as well as the interaction between the cubs and their daily lives. Results will be announced in the first half of this year.

Death toll from shopping mall fire in Pakistan's Karachi rises to 60

The death toll from a shopping mall fire in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi climbed to 60 after at least 30 bodies were recovered from a shop of the multi-story building, officials said on Wednesday.

The bodies were recovered from the mezzanine floor of the shopping mall, said senior police official Syed Asad Raza, adding that several people are still missing and a search operation is continuing to recover them.

He said that the rescue efforts are being carried out using sophisticated machines, and debris is being removed from the collapsed sections of the building.

The official said that the rescue workers are facing difficulties reaching some parts of the building due to smoke and heat inside the damaged structure, adding that one part of the building is cleared and the other two parts are being combed to rescue people under the rubble.

Karachi Commissioner Syed Hassan Naqvi said that an investigation into the incident has been launched as authorities look into the fire from multiple angles.