South Korean Zoo Welcomes Giant Panda Twins 

Giant Panda Ai Bao holds her baby panda with mouth after giving birth to twin at Everland amusement park in Yongin, South Korea, July 11, 2023. (Samsung C&T/Yonhap via Reuters)
Giant Panda Ai Bao holds her baby panda with mouth after giving birth to twin at Everland amusement park in Yongin, South Korea, July 11, 2023. (Samsung C&T/Yonhap via Reuters)
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South Korean Zoo Welcomes Giant Panda Twins 

Giant Panda Ai Bao holds her baby panda with mouth after giving birth to twin at Everland amusement park in Yongin, South Korea, July 11, 2023. (Samsung C&T/Yonhap via Reuters)
Giant Panda Ai Bao holds her baby panda with mouth after giving birth to twin at Everland amusement park in Yongin, South Korea, July 11, 2023. (Samsung C&T/Yonhap via Reuters)

A South Korean zoo said on Tuesday it had recently welcomed the first giant panda twins to be born in the country.

The twins, both female, were born at the Everland theme park near the capital Seoul on Friday, the zoo announced in a video on its YouTube channel.

"This feels like a great opportunity to call for better protection and preservation of pandas, which have become a symbol for endangered species," Donghee Chung, the head of the zoo, said.

The first twin weighed 180 grams (6.35 oz) and the second, which arrived nearly two hours later, weighed 140 grams.

Between 40% to 50% of panda births result in twins, Chung said.

China has been sending its black and white ambassadors abroad in a sign of goodwill since the 1950s as part of what is known as "panda diplomacy".

The birth of the twins comes nearly three years after Fu Bao, the first panda to be born in South Korea, came into the world with the same parents Ai Bao and Le Bao.

"Compared to when Fu Bao was born, there are two of them this time and I think (the parents) must be twice as happy," zoo keeper Cherwon Kang said.

The mother Ai Bao's labour has been smoother than during her first pregnancy, Kang said, adding that he felt moved by the way she handled the delivery and on the display of motherly love.

Fu Bao is due to be returned to China by July next year at the latest, the zoo said.



Elderly Man Dies as Wildfires Rage in Türkiye, Forcing Evacuations and Road Closures

A drone view shows burnt trees and destroyed houses in the aftermath of a wildfire in Seferihisar near Izmir, Türkiye, June 30, 2025. REUTERS/Ufuk Erdem
A drone view shows burnt trees and destroyed houses in the aftermath of a wildfire in Seferihisar near Izmir, Türkiye, June 30, 2025. REUTERS/Ufuk Erdem
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Elderly Man Dies as Wildfires Rage in Türkiye, Forcing Evacuations and Road Closures

A drone view shows burnt trees and destroyed houses in the aftermath of a wildfire in Seferihisar near Izmir, Türkiye, June 30, 2025. REUTERS/Ufuk Erdem
A drone view shows burnt trees and destroyed houses in the aftermath of a wildfire in Seferihisar near Izmir, Türkiye, June 30, 2025. REUTERS/Ufuk Erdem

Firefighters on Thursday discovered the body of an elderly man after extinguishing a wildfire near a village in western Türkiye, while crews elsewhere continued to battle another blaze that closed a highway and forced some residents to be evacuated from their homes.

The 81-year-old-man died from smoke inhalation in a village near the town of Odemis, Suleyman Elban, the governor for Izmir province, said. His death marks the first fatality in a series of wildfires across the country that have forced thousands to flee.

A total of 37 other villagers were safely evacuated by security forces and emergency teams, Elban said, Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, hundreds of firefighters, supported by aircraft and helicopters, were deployed to extinguish a wildfire blazing in the Aegean coastal town of Cesme, a tourism hotspot some 192 kilometers (120 miles) west of Odemis.

That wildfire, which began on Wednesday, forced the evacuation of three neighborhoods and closed roads. Television footage of the blaze showed flames burning through dried vegetation on both sides of a road.

Elban said the wildfires in Izmir province are believed to have been sparked by electrical lines, which ignited dry grass and spread rapidly due to wind.

In the past week, Türkiye has battled hundreds of fires across the country that were fueled by fierce winds, scorching heat and low humidity.

The fires — most of which were brought under control — damaged or destroyed around 200 homes, the majority in İzmir, the Interior Ministry said. Dozens of barns were also destroyed.

As firefighting crews battled the blazes, Türkiye's parliament adopted the country’s first climate law late Wednesday, in a move aimed at reaching net-zero emissions by 2053.

The legislation includes measures to establish a carbon market board to oversee efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emission. It also imposes fines on companies that fail to comply with the requirements.

The U.K.-based environmental advocacy group ClientEarth on Thursday welcomed the law’s symbolic importance but said it has several shortcomings.

“The law lacks ambitious, science-based targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the medium-term and offers no commitment to phasing out fossil fuels,” the group said.