BEIJING (Reuters) -Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has called on Pakistan and Afghanistan to further strengthen trilateral exchanges at all levels to build strategic mutual trust and deepen security cooperation, according to a statement from the ministry.

China told Afghanistan on Wednesday that Beijing was keen on exploring and mining minerals in Afghanistan and wanted Kabul to formally join its Belt and Road Initiative, the Afghan Taliban foreign ministry said.

Top diplomats from Pakistan, China, and Afghanistan have met in Kabul to boost political and economic cooperation

A passenger bus carrying Afghan returnees from Iran struck a motorcycle and a fuel truck, triggering a huge fire.

U.S. veterans of the war in Afghanistan are telling a commission reviewing decisions on the 20-year conflict that their experience was not only hell, but also confounding, demoralizing and at times humiliating.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Afghanistan on Wednesday for an official visit, according to a statement from his ministry.

Graham Platner, a 40-year-old Army and Marine veteran and oyster farmer, is the latest Democrat to jump into the contested Senate race in Maine.

The Taliban are starting their fifth year of ruling Afghanistan. They have silenced internal dissent, tightened their control over Afghan life, secured recognition from Russia as the country's official government,