Briefly

AFGHANISTAN

Govt says Pakistan border point retaken

Afghan security forces have retaken control of a major southern border crossing with Pakistan that the Taliban briefly captured, said a senior Afghan government official on Thursday, while the Taliban countered that they still held the town. The Taliban claimed they had captured the Spin Boldak-Chaman border crossing, the second-most important crossing on the border with Pakistan. Separately, an Afghan government negotiator on Thursday said the Taliban had offered a three-month cease-fire in exchange for the release of 7,000 insurgent prisoners.

ASEAN

Media cooperation urged for COVID-19

The 2021 ASEAN Media Partners Forum was held on Wednesday in Beijing, attended by ambassadors, officials and media practitioners from China and ASEAN countries. A joint statement said both sides should strengthen media cooperation to better cope with challenges posed by the pandemic. A partnership was initiated between the China Media Group and media from countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Under the partnership, the CMG and its ASEAN counterparts are expected to enhance cooperation on areas such as exchanges of news material and program coproduction.

SOUTH AMERICA

10,000 species in Amazon put at risk

More than 10,000 species of plants and animals are at high risk of extinction due to the destruction of the Amazon rainforest－35 percent of which has already been deforested or degraded, according to the draft of a landmark scientific report published on Wednesday. Produced by the Science Panel for the Amazon, the report brings together research on the world's largest rainforest from 200 scientists from across the globe. According to the report, the soil and vegetation of the Amazon hold about 200 billion tons of carbon, more than five times the world's annual CO2 emissions.

Agencies - China Daily