
Fire in building next to South Korea's main Buddhist Jogye temple in Seoul, Reuters witness says
There have been no news reports of people injured or dead.
(Reporting by Jack Kim and Josh Smith; Editing by Christopher Cushing)

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Star
a day ago
- The Star
Displaced Sudanese stream home from Egypt after army retakes Khartoum
CAIRO (Reuters) -Toting large suitcases and bags of belongings, the Sudanese families crowding into Cairo's main railway station hoped to be returning to relative stability after fleeing Sudan's civil war. They are among thousands of displaced Sudanese streaming back home from Egypt into territory retaken by the Sudanese armed forces from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary in Khartoum and its environs since the start of this year. "I miss every corner of Sudan, really. I'm very happy that I'm going back," one of the returnees, Malaz Atef, told Reuters. The families were waiting to board a free train to the southern Egyptian city of Aswan, from where they would take buses to the Sudanese capital Khartoum. A couple of young girls wore hats reading, "Thank you, Egypt" in Arabic. Over 4 million Sudanese fled to neighbouring countries -- including more than 1.5 million to Egypt -- after war broke out between the army and the RSF in April 2023, according to figures from the International Organisation for Migration, or IOM. Since the start of this year, over 190,000 people have crossed the border from Egypt into Sudan, more than five times the number who returned in all of 2024, an IOM report said earlier this month. Sudan's ambassador to Egypt, Emad el-Din Adawy, who visited the station on Monday, said the returns marked "an important stage for reconstruction and bringing back stability." Despite the relative calm in the capital, fighting between the RSF and the army is still raging in the central Kordofan region and al-Fashir in Darfur in the west. The war, triggered by a dispute over a transition to civilian rule between the army and the RSF, has displaced over 12 million people and pushed half the population into acute hunger, according to the United Nations. Some Sudanese in Egypt have complained of difficulty finding jobs and discrimination, and Egypt has deported thousands of refugees it says entered illegally. Thousands of others have fled onwards to Libya. The weekly trains from Cairo to help Sudanese to return home voluntarily have been financed by Sudanese businessmen, according to Adawy. The Sudanese who have gone back so far have mostly headed to Khartoum, as well as to Sennar and El Gezira states to the capital's south, according to the IOM. (Reporting by Sayed Sheasha; Writing by Alexander Dziadosz; Editing by Ros Russell)


The Star
a day ago
- The Star
Japanese traditional confectionery in peak production ahead of Bon holidays; Colourful offering to spirits of ancestors
A worker is making rakugan in Fukuchi, Fukuoka Prefecture. - The Japan News/ANN TOKYO: Rakugan, colorful Japanese traditional confectionary made from starch and sugar molded into various shapes, are in peak production at a confectionary shop in Fukuchi, Fukuoka Prefecture, as the mid-August Bon holidays approach. Rakugan are typically served as offerings at Buddhist altars during the Bon holidays, when the spirits of ancestors and deceased family members are believed to visit the world of living. Workers at the shop are busy using food colouring to decorate rakugan shaped like plum blossoms and chrysanthemum flowers and attaching them to the surface of cylinders, making towers covered with colorful flowers. - The Japan News/ANN

Barnama
a day ago
- Barnama
UN Warns Airdrops In Gaza 'Last Resort,' Pose Risks To Civilians On Ground
Humanitarian aid is airdropped over Gaza as seen from northern Gaza Strip July 27, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas HAMILTON (Canada), July 29 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- The United Nations (UN) on Monday cautioned that while humanitarian airdrops have resumed in the Gaza Strip, they remain a "last resort" and pose serious risks to civilians on the ground, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported. "While we welcome all efforts to provide aid to the people who desperately need it, UN agencies and partners remind us, airdrops are the last resort measure and carry risks for people on the ground," UN spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters at a news conference. He added that "injuries were reported on Sunday when packages fell on tents." bootstrap slideshow He said the UN is not directly involved in the ongoing airdrops, adding: "Obviously, we welcome any efforts to provide more aid, including airdrops." "You can't possibly get more aid in through airdrops than you can through road convoys," he said. On Israel's recent decision to simplify movement procedures for aid convoys, Haq said: "Out of 17 missions requiring coordination with the Israeli authorities, eight were facilitated, including the collection of fuel and supplies from Kerem Shalom, while three have been denied and two cancelled." "Four missions, including the uplift of food cargo, were impeded but accomplished," he said. Noting that Israel's "long-standing restrictions on the entry of aid have created an unpredictable environment with a lack of confidence by communities that aid will reach them," the spokesman said: "This has resulted in many of our convoys being offloaded directly by starving desperate people." "Yesterday, hungry people offloaded food supplies before they could reach their intended destination," he added.