Briefly

GERMANY

Zoo Berlin announces names for panda twins

Zoo Berlin announced the names of its baby panda twins on Friday: Meng Hao (beautiful dreams) and Meng Tian (sweet dreams), following the Chinese tradition of incorporating elements from their mother's name, Meng Meng. The sisters, born on Aug 22, also received German nicknames: Leni, honoring Marlene Dietrich, the iconic actress born in Schoeneberg, and Lotti, which playfully references Charlottenburg, a nearby district.

UNITED KINGDOM

Storm Darragh causes power cuts, 2 deaths

Tens of thousands of homes across the United Kingdom were left without power on Saturday and two people were killed after Storm Darragh hit the country with strong winds and caused pre-Christmas travel disruption. Darragh is also expected to bring heavy rain through the weekend, with the UK's Environment Agency issuing dozens of flood warnings.

Xinhua - Agencies