The story of the Virgin Mary is what gives meaning to Christmas. And now, Chester Zoo has a nativity story of its own - and a dragon's tale that promises to turn the traditional concepts of the birds and the bees on its head.

Love hurts - really bad, for some unlucky crickets, anyway.

Over the last decade human outbreaks of the deadly Ebola virus in Africa have been repeatedly linked to gorilla and chimpanzee deaths in nearby forests. Hotly debated has been whether these wild ape deaths were isolated incidents or part of a massive die-off.

"With weak surveillance and grinding poverty, Africa is being declared the new frontier in the fight against bird flu, but some of its states should be able to control the disease," a top animal health expert said.

A record 28 pandas have survived so far this year after being born using artificial insemination techniques, state media reported Tuesday.