China giant panda gives birth to twins

A newborn panda is fed at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan. - Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding/AFP

Beijing (AFP) - A giant panda in China has given birth to two cubs, conservation authorities said, the first twins of the critically endangered species this year even though multiple births are common.

Six-year-old Ya Li had the twin sisters last month at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in the southwestern province of Sichuan, it said in a statement.