http://thenewage.co.za/mobi/Detail.aspx?NewsID=168194&CatID=1021
Giant panda gives birth in Malaysia
Aug 19 2015 7:56AM
A giant panda leant by China to Malaysia has given birth to a cub in captivity, Prime Minister Najib Razak said Tuesday, following a diplomatically tough year between the two countries.
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"Glad to hear that Liang Liang, a panda at the National Zoo, has given birth to a child at 1:45 this afternoon," he wrote on his Twitter and Facebook accounts.
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The two countries agreed in 2012 that China would send a pair of giant pandas for a 10-year stay as part of Beijing's "panda diplomacy".
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They were due to arrive last April but were delayed by a month after the disappearance of Flight MH370, which vanished on March 8 with 239 people on board including 153 Chinese on board.
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Beijing, and especially Chinese relatives of those on board, have been highly critical of Malaysia's handling of the disaster.*
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The pandas had also caused controversy in Malaysia over a decision to house them in a special $7.7 million facility at the national zoo.
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Environmentalists had argued the money would have been better spent on conservation efforts for threatened Malaysian wildlife.
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Mat Naim Ramli, the director of the Giant Panda Conservation Centre, said authorities were unable to determine the sex of the new cub.*
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"We can see legs and some parts of the body but Liang Liang is still protecting it," he was quoted as saying by The Star newspaper.
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-AFP
Giant panda gives birth in Malaysia
Aug 19 2015 7:56AM
A giant panda leant by China to Malaysia has given birth to a cub in captivity, Prime Minister Najib Razak said Tuesday, following a diplomatically tough year between the two countries.
*
"Glad to hear that Liang Liang, a panda at the National Zoo, has given birth to a child at 1:45 this afternoon," he wrote on his Twitter and Facebook accounts.
*
The two countries agreed in 2012 that China would send a pair of giant pandas for a 10-year stay as part of Beijing's "panda diplomacy".
*
They were due to arrive last April but were delayed by a month after the disappearance of Flight MH370, which vanished on March 8 with 239 people on board including 153 Chinese on board.
*
Beijing, and especially Chinese relatives of those on board, have been highly critical of Malaysia's handling of the disaster.*
*
The pandas had also caused controversy in Malaysia over a decision to house them in a special $7.7 million facility at the national zoo.
*
Environmentalists had argued the money would have been better spent on conservation efforts for threatened Malaysian wildlife.
*
Mat Naim Ramli, the director of the Giant Panda Conservation Centre, said authorities were unable to determine the sex of the new cub.*
*
"We can see legs and some parts of the body but Liang Liang is still protecting it," he was quoted as saying by The Star newspaper.
*
-AFP
