A blast occurred in the Afghanistan capital Kabul at around 15:00 local time Wednesday, sending thick smoke billowing from the scene before a temporary ceasefire with neighboring Pakistan went into effect later.
Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid termed the blast as oil tanker explosion, urging Kabul residents not to worry about it.
"An oil tanker exploded in the vicinity of Kabul city, causing a fire, and there is no need to worry," Mujahid said on social media, without providing further details.
A correspondent with China Media Group (CMG), who was a few kilometers from the site of the explosion, said a second explosion occurred just minutes later at the same location.
Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that at the request of the Afghan side, Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed on a temporary 48-hour ceasefire that would come into effect at 18:00 local time (13:00 GMT) to ease border tensions.
"During this period, both sides will make sincere efforts to find a positive solution to this complex but solvable issue through constructive dialogue," it said in a statement.
On the same day, Mujahid said on social media that at the request and insistence of the Pakistani side, a ceasefire between the two countries would take effect Wednesday. The Afghan government has instructed all its forces to observe the ceasefire as long as the other side does not launch any attacks.
The truce came after days of cross-border exchanges of fire between the two South Asian countries had killed dozens of people and wounded over 100 others.
Explosion rocks Kabul before ceasefire takes effect
The Global South Media Partners Mechanism Inauguration Meeting and the 13th Global Video Media Forum (VMF) opened Thursday in Xi'an, the provincial capital of Shaanxi in northwest China.
Themed "Building Consensus for Shared Benefits: Media's Role in Global Governance," the two-day event gathers hundreds of government officials, leaders of international organizations, and representatives of major media outlets across the Global South to exchange views on enhancing the voice of developing countries, promoting fairness and equity in international communication, and sharing compelling stories of peace and development.
"[Given] what is going on around the world now, we need to be together -- the developing countries especially. And China, they can do a lot of good things for the humanity, for our people, so we can cooperate together, we can share the success stories," said Abdelrahim Suleiman, director general of the Arab States Broadcasting Union.
The event also marks the official launch of the Global South Media Partners Mechanism, which aims to deepen collaboration among media outlets of the Global South, encouraging practical cooperation, content sharing, professional training and joint productions, as well as fostering dialog and research among participating media partners.
It also aims to amplify the collective voice of the Global South and unite media partners in contributing to building a community with a shared future for mankind.
"The official narrative that we have access to is the North narrative -- in the case of Mexico -- the U.S. narrative. So, to have something that can make balance, that can show a different world, a different history is very, very important," said Luis Hernandez Navarro, an editor of La Jornada, a Mexican newspaper.
A series of key outcomes have been unveiled at the event, including the inauguration of the Global South Media Training Base, the official launch of CGTN's three new FAST channels, and the release of the Blue Book on Global Public Opinion -- "The Global South's View of the World."
"It's a very good opportunity for the Global South media to work together. And they should improve the mechanism and they should have such kind of activity [for the] global media network and platforms to exchange ideas, and also exchange some programs around the globe," said Hamid Hamdard, deputy general manager of Afghanistan's STR News.
The VMF is an annual professional journalism forum launched by the CCTV Video News Agency (CCTV+) in 2011, focusing on the latest video content communication and innovation trends and providing a highly specialized and interactive platform for domestic and foreign media peers.
13th Global Video Media Forum opens in Xi'an
