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)
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.
Pieces of Dubai chocolate with gold leaf are pictured at Abu Khaled Sweets oriental pastry shop in Berlin's Wedding district on November 14, 2024. (AFP)
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Germany Goes Nuts for Viral 'Dubai Chocolate’
Pieces of Dubai chocolate with gold leaf are pictured at Abu Khaled Sweets oriental pastry shop in Berlin's Wedding district on November 14, 2024. (AFP)
When Ali Fakhro lays out a row of pistachio-filled chocolate bars in the morning at his bakery in Berlin, he knows they will be gone in a matter of hours.
Inspired by the viral success of the crunchy delicacy known as "Dubai chocolate", Fakhro, 32, hunted down a recipe and began making his own version two months ago.
"On the first day I made 20 bars, but they went fast. The next day, I made 50 -- all gone too," he said.
So-called Dubai chocolate was invented in 2021 by British-Egyptian entrepreneur Sarah Hamouda, who is based in Dubai.
The chunky treat consists of a blocky, hand-decorated chocolate bar with various quirky fillings -- the signature flavor being a rich pistachio cream.
The treat went viral when TikTok food influencer Maria Vehera posted a video of herself eating a bar in her car, which has since been viewed more than 100 million times.
The real thing is only available to local customers in limited quantities, but the trend has led to an explosion of copycat versions of the chocolate around the world.
Shop owner Ali Fakhro prepares Dubai chocolate at his Abu Khaled Sweets oriental pastry shop in Berlin's Wedding district on November 14, 2024. (AFP)
- Queueing in the cold -
Fakhro, who runs Abu Khaled Sweets in Berlin, experimented "several times" with different recipes before finally landing on the right ingredient to give the pistachio cream its famous crunch -- a finely shredded Middle Eastern pastry known as kataif.
Germans have been scrambling to get their hands on the chocolate with bars selling for over 100 euros ($104) on the internet.
Last week, a 31-year-old man was caught by customs attempting to smuggle 45 kilograms of the sweet treat into Germany from Switzerland.
When Swiss manufacturer Lindt launched its own version of the Dubai chocolate in Germany this month, customers queued for hours in the cold to get their hands on a bar.
At up to 20 euros per bar, the delicacy is far more expensive than your average chocolate bar -- but that didn't seem to be putting anyone off.
"I waited 10 hours. I've been here since midnight just to taste this chocolate," 18-year-old student Leon Faehnle told AFP outside a Lindt shop in Stuttgart.
Customers line-up in front of a branch of chocolate producer Lindt before the sale of 100 Dubai Chocolate bars starts in Stuttgart, southern Germany, on November 15, 2024. (AFP)
- 'Easy money' -
Lindt launched the chocolate in Germany with 1,000 numbered bars in 10 shops, a spokesman for the group told AFP, and is planning a similar launch in Austria on November 30.
Dubai chocolate has also been a hit in France, with a version by chocolatier Jeremy Bockel on show at the Salon du Chocolat in Paris earlier this month.
Yannick Burkhard, 21, queued for three hours in Stuttgart to get his hands on the chocolate -- but is not planning to eat any of it himself. Instead, he will sell it on the internet.
"I would never pay that much for this. It's quick and easy money," he said with a smile.
"This bar cost 15 euros, but it can sell for almost 100 euros... There are lots of offers on eBay, up to 300 euros," said a customer who gave his name only as Lucas, 24.
Faehnle had a more wholesome plan for his bars as he exited the shop in Stuttgart beaming with pride at his purchase.
"Now I'm going to go home and share them with my grandparents," he said.
