San Diego Zoo’s giant panda gives birth to one twin cub

Bai Yun, a 13-year-old giant panda on loan from China, gave birth to the first of twin cubs, but researchers at the San Diego Zoo were doubtful Wednesday that the second cub would be born healthy with each passing hour.

“The chances of her giving birth to a second live cub are dwindling,” said Pat Morris, the zoo’s director of veterinary services, at least 24 hours after the initial delivery.

Bai Yun, pictured above, gave birth at 1:15 p.m. Tuesday, said Don Lindburg, head of the zoo’s panda team. Bai Yun appeared to have contractions into Wednesday but there were no plans to intervene unless she showed signs of medical distress.

“The longer the birth interval, the less likely that the second fetus will be born alive,” Lindburg said.

Bai Yun gave birth to a cub in 1999 after she was artificially inseminated. Her offspring, Hua Mei, is the first U.S.-born panda to survive into adolescence.

Argentina

Senate gives final approval to scrapping amnesty laws

Argentina’s Senate voted overwhelmingly early today to scrap a pair of amnesty laws dating to the 1980s that had effectively ended trials of human rights abuses committed during the country’s military dictatorship.

With only a simple majority required for passage, the Senate gave final congressional approval to the proposal passed last week by the lower House of Congress. The vote marked a victory for human rights groups pressing for a national re-examination of the 1976-83 dictatorship.

Liberia

New leader chosen

Liberia’s rebels and government picked a Monrovia businessman to lead the country’s postwar transition government, delegates said early today after a day and night of deliberations.

The choice of Gyude Bryant as chairman was to be officially announced later today in Accra, Ghana.

Bryant, 54, pledged to work closely with the United Nations and other international agencies in the two-year transition government, meant to lead Liberia out of 14 years of bloodshed and into elections.

Liberia’s two insurgent movements and government picked Liberian Wesley Johnson as vice chairman.

Selection of a post-war government — and persistent fighting outside Liberia’s capital — comes two days after Liberia’s warring sides signed a power-sharing deal following warlord-President Charles Taylor’s Aug. 11 resignation and flight into exile.

As part of the peace accord, combatants agreed not to vie for the interim government’s top posts themselves. They picked them instead from a list of nominees submitted by political parties and civic groups.