In brief: Chinese survey finds increase in pandas

Beijing – Wild giant pandas in China are doing better.

According to a census by China’s State Forestry Administration, the panda population has grown by 268 to a total of 1,864 since the last survey ending in 2003.

Nearly three-quarters of the pandas live in the southwestern province of Sichuan. The remaining pandas were found in the neighboring Shaanxi and Gansu provinces.

China began surveying its giant pandas in the 1970s. The latest census began in 2011 and took three years to complete.

The administration said China has set up 27 new preservation areas for giant pandas, contributing to the growth in their numbers.

Afghan leaders to visit White House

Washington – Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah are to visit the White House next month, and Ghani has accepted an invitation to speak to a joint meeting of Congress at a time when the Obama administration is weighing whether to slow the pace of U.S. troop withdrawals from the country.

The White House said Friday that Ghani and Abdullah will visit March 24.

It’s the leaders’ first visit since they formed a unity government after an election to replace former President Hamid Karzai, whose relations with the U.S. grew increasingly strained. Abdullah’s post is similar to that of a prime minister.

Ghani will address Congress on March 25. Karzai appeared before a joint meeting of Congress on June 15, 2004.

Nuclear negotiations with Iran progress

Washington – Nuclear negotiations with Iran have reached a “far more advanced stage” than ever before, a senior administration official said Friday, expressing hope that negotiators may be able to conclude a partial agreement by the end of March.

While “there are still gaps” between Iran, the United States and the five other world powers involved in the negotiations, the official said, “obviously negotiations have advanced substantially.”

The administration official’s comments came in a conference call with reporters. The official declined to be identified, citing ground rules often invoked by the administration.

Diplomats have been negotiating for about a year, seeking a deal that would ease sanctions on Iran’s economy if it agrees to restrict its nuclear activities.

They have been seeking to complete a so-called framework agreement by the end of March, and then to negotiate all the details by the end of June.