The National Zoo in Washington DC says that its adult female panda has had twins.

The first cub was born on Saturday at 5.35pm local time, and the zoo said that a second cub was born at 10.07pm. Both cubs appear to be healthy.

If the cubs survive, they will be the 17-year-old panda’s third and fourth surviving offspring. Mei Xiang’s first cub, Tai Shan, was born in 2005 and returned to China in 2010. Her second cub, Bao Bao, is two years old and still lives at the zoo.

Missing cats in mistaken identity

A cat reported stolen in Stanford Road, Colchester, was found safe and well following an investigation by officers.

Enquiries established that the missing cat, called Oscar, was found by a couple who thought he was their own cat who had gone missing from a road nearby. The couple were seen on local CCTV to stop their car to pick up Oscar.

Officers went to see the couple and found that Oscar looked almost identical to their own cat. A vet checked a microchip and confirmed the cat they had found was Oscar.

Model husbands get better sex life

Model husbands who carry out a fair share of childcare duties are likely to be rewarded with better marital relations, research has shown.

US sociologists who studied more than 900 heterosexual married couples found that those who split child caring equally reported more satisfaction with their sex lives and relationships.

When women were mostly or wholly responsible for childcare, the quality of relationships and sex was lowest for both parties.

30,000 knots to welcome Pope

Artists in Philadelphia have collected more than 30,000 knots representing life’s daily struggles for an exhibit honouring the Pope.

The knots will be housed in a grotto next to the city’s Roman Catholic cathedral. Pope Francis will celebrate Mass at the basilica on September 26 during his two-day visit.

The installation is inspired by one of the Pontiff’s favourite paintings, Mary, Undoer of Knots (above). It shows Mary untangling a long ribbon – a symbol for smoothing life’s difficulties.

At a recent public event, people wrote their burdens on strips of cloth and then knotted them. Organisers expect the grotto to open on September 3.

Idaho dogs do act of kindness

Among the images of destruction that have come from the wildfires tearing up the west is one showing an act of kindness by a family of dogs in Idaho.

The photo, taken in wildfire-ravaged Kamiah by Louis Armstrong, shows a sheep dog and two puppies standing guard at the body of a fawn.

Armstrong was checking out his family’s 300 acres after the wildfire ripped through the area when he noticed his neighbour’s dogs protecting the body and snapped the photo.

He says he checked on them throughout the day and they stayed until dark, warding off people and potential predators.

The group of fires near Kamiah in northern Idaho has destroyed 42 homes.