The oldest ever first-time giant panda mom just welcomed twins into the world at Ocean Park in Hong Kong.

Ying Ying, 19, gave birth to a male and female “following over five hours of labor,” according to Ocean Park.

In a social media post, Ocean Park shared that it is “thrilled to welcome the birth of the first-ever giant panda twins in Hong Kong!”

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The park has tried over the years to successfully breed pandas. Giant panda females only ovulate once per year, making the birth of these twins even more special.

The cubs were born Aug. 15 at Ocean Park, just one day before Ying Ying’s 19th birthday. She is the world’s oldest first-time panda mom.

“This birth is a true rarity, especially considering Ying Ying is the oldest giant panda on record to have successfully given birth for the first time,” the park said in a social media post. 

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“As a first-time mother, Ying Ying was understandably nervous throughout the process. She spent much of her time lying on the ground and twisting.”

The twins were born over an hour apart, with Ocean Park adding, “the Park’s team and CCRCGP experts provided comfort, allowing Ying Ying to safely deliver the twin cubs at 2:05am and 3:27am respectively.”

Ying Ying, 19, is the oldest first-time mom of the giant panda species to give birth to twins. (Ocean Park Hong Kong)

The cubs are “very fragile” as newborns, especially the female. The twins are under 24-hour care and supervision by Ocean Park’s animal specialists and veterinary team.

The unnamed female panda cub “has a lower body temperature, weaker cries, and lower food intake” than her brother.

The post concluded, “We are all looking forward to meeting the giant panda cubs. Please wait a few months patiently to make their debut and officially meet everyone!”

Firefighters in Türkiye continue to battle multiple blazes burning for a third day in several areas across the country’s west. 

The country’s Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate, AFAD, says more than 131 forest fires have erupted in the past week.

But Agriculture and Forestry Minister, Ibrahim Yumaklı, said most had been brought under control.

He said the current situation doesn’t warrant an international appeal for assistance but advised caution through the weekend.

“We are in a critical period and must remain vigilant until Sunday. Our teams will respond day and night to any incidents,” he said.

Yumaklı said around 69 wildfires had so far been contained but there are five active blazes in the provinces of Izmir, Aydın, Manisa, Karabuk and Bolu.

Firefighters are tackling the fires on land and from the air, with dozens of aircraft and hundreds of vehicles aiding in the emergency response.

Thousands of people have been evacuated from the affected areas, but there have been no reports of any casualties.

Authorities blame low humidity, strong winds and high temperatures as exacerbating factors.

Meanwhile authorities detained four people in the central province of Bolu in connection to the fires, two of whom were placed under arrest and the other two released on probation.

Manchester United and Fulham kicked off the 2024-25 Premier League season on Friday, and United won 1-0 at Old Trafford on a late goal by Joshua Zirkzee.

In a bit of scheduling coincidence, the owners of the two clubs will square off again Saturday on the other kind of football field, as the Glazer family’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers visit the Jacksonville Jaguars, owned by Shahid Khan, in an NFL preseason game.

The Glazers and Khan are among nine American ownership groups of Premier League teams, which will have a full slate of games this weekend. The list includes newly promoted Ipswich Town, which is owned by American financial firms ORG, Bright Path Sports Partners and Avenue Sports. They are all chasing Manchester City, which has finished atop the EPL standings for four straight years.

The second division Championship also has nine teams controlled by Americans after Mark Attanasio recently increased his stake in Norwich City through his Norfolk Holdings, which first took a stake in the team in 2022 and will now own 85%.

Americans have invested heavily in English football teams over the past two decades, starting with Malcolm Glazer’s leveraged buyout in 2005 that valued Man United at £790 million ($1.4 billion at the time). Stan Kroenke started buying shares of Arsenal in 2007 and took full control in 2011 at a $1.2 billion valuation.

Man United ranked on top of Sportico’s global soccer team valuations at $6.2 billion, while Arsenal was eighth at $3.91 billion.

In 2010, John Henry’s Fenway Sports Group bought Liverpool for £300 million ($476 million at the time). FSG built a strong performer on and off the field, including three Champions League finals appearances in five years. The value is up more than tenfold to $5.11 billion and fourth overall.

Attanasio also owns MLB’s Milwaukee Brewers and follows a string of U.S. sports team owners to invest in the UK. They are attracted by the global reach of the clubs, but most of them want to see more restrictions on player spending, akin to the major leagues in North America. The lack of salary caps can trigger massive losses as teams spend in a fight to avoid relegation or gain promotion to the Premier League. At the top of the financial table, teams compete for a Champions League spot and to field the best squads to advance in European tournaments.

Only five English Premier League teams out of 20 made money after player trading during the 2022-23 season. The aggregate loss before taxes and finance costs was £530 million ($684 million based on current exchange rates), according to company filings. The NFL’s pre-tax profit: $4.6 billion.

Khan’s team investments offer a window into the economic structure of different sports leagues. In 2011, he spent $770 million to buy the Jaguars. The club turns a hefty profit each season that can top $100 million in a good year, and the Jags are now worth nearly $5 billion.

Two years after buying Jacksonville, Khan bought EPL club Fulham for more than $200 million. Fulham was relegated to the Championship the following season, where it has spent six of 11 seasons under Khan. He has piled up $500 million in operating losses in the London club, and the team is likely worth one-tenth of the Jaguars.

The lousy economic model that exists across European soccer explains why Manchester United and Real Madrid are the only soccer teams to crack the top 30 among the world’s most valuable sports franchises, which skews heavily toward the NFL with its strict salary cap and $400 million-a-year TV checks, along with a few NBA and MLB teams mixed in.

Americans can’t kick their UK soccer habit, though. Brit Steve Parish runs Crystal Palace, but American John Textor owns the largest stake at 45%, and private equity titans Josh Harris and David Blitzer each own 18%.

Textor wants his own UK club to control and has entered exclusive talks to buy Everton from Farhad Moshiri after a pair of failed attempts to buy the club by American firms 777 and Friedkin Group. Everton lost $107 million during the 2022-23 season, its sixth straight year of losses that totaled $623 million, based on current exchange rates. The club escaped relegation on the last day of the 2022-23 season and finished 15th last year. Yet still, there’s a Yank who wants to purchase it.