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Image copyrightEPAImage captionKabul was just one of several places to be targeted in the latest violence
A wave of attacks across Afghanistan has left more than 25 people dead, most of them soldiers, officials say.
In the worst incident, Taliban militants stormed an army post in the western province of Farah, killing 22 soldiers.
A suicide attack in the capital Kabul left at least three security officers dead.
There has been a surge in militant attacks in recent months and the army is often targeted.
Some analysts see it as a response to a new, more aggressive strategy announced by US President Donald Trump last year, which committed the US army to an open-ended conflict, with the focus on "killing terrorists"
Early on Saturday, Taliban forces mounted an overnight attack on a base in Farah.
Weapons were seized and the Afghan military said the Taliban had incurred a "lot of casualties".
In Kabul, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives in an area dotted with key diplomatic buildings.
Media captionTaliban 'threaten 70% of Afghanistan' BBC investigation finds.
"I was driving nearby when I heard a big explosion, the windows of my car were smashed. I saw several wounded people on the street near me," a witness told Afghan channel Tolonews TV.
Jihadist group Islamic State said it carried out the attack, Reuters reported.
There were further suicide attacks in Helmand province in the south, leaving two army members dead, and others, including women and children, injured.
The Taliban control large swathes of Afghanistan - but IS militants hold sway in a much smaller number of districts.
However, both groups have demonstrated their ability to hit targets across the country.
They have often come into conflict with each other, too.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionThe ICRC launched an internal review after reports of misconduct at aid agencies
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says 21 members of staff have left their jobs for sexual misconduct in the last three years.
The ICRC's director-general, Yves Daccord, said the individuals had paid for "sexual services" and had resigned or were dismissed from the aid agency.
Mr Daccord said on Friday that it was "a difficult but important day".
The revelations come as the aid sector has been hit by numerous allegations of sex abuse and exploitation by workers.
Mr Daccord said that it was the recent reports of sexual misconduct from humanitarian agencies that had spurred the Geneva-based ICRC to conduct an internal review.
Its code of conduct has explicitly forbidden the purchase of sexual services since 2006.
Friday's statement follows reports that Plan International, a children's aid agency, confirmed six cases of sexual abuse and child exploitation by staff or associates.
"I have instructed my teams to scour the data we do have on sexual misconduct, and I can tell you that since 2015 we've identified 21 staff members who were either dismissed for paying for sexual services or resigned during an internal enquiry," Mr Daccord said.
Two other staff members who were suspected of sexual misconduct did not have their contracts renewed, Mr Daccord said, adding that he was "deeply saddened to report these numbers".
He said that the ICRC, which has 17,000 members of staff worldwide, was concerned that incidents that should have been reported were not, or were not properly handled.
"This behaviour is a betrayal of the people and the communities we are there to serve," Mr Daccord said. "It is against human dignity and we should have been more vigilant in preventing this."
The ICRC statement promises that all future allegations will be acted upon firmly and consistently, and that any employee found to have violated the ICRC's code of conduct will be held accountable.
Image copyrightREUTERSImage captionThe Eastern Ghouta has seen one of fiercest assaults of the Syrian war over the past week
Syrian government forces have killed more than 500 civilians during a week of intense bombardment of a rebel enclave near Damascus, activists say.
The victims in the Eastern Ghouta include 121 children, says the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based group monitoring the conflict.
Syrian government forces backed by Russia have been pounding the area since last Sunday.
The UN Security Council is struggling to agree on a ceasefire resolution.
A vote has been delayed several times since Thursday, and is now due to be held later on Saturday.
How bad is the situation in the Eastern Ghouta?
On Saturday, the Syrian Observatory said at least 29 civilians were killed, including 17 in the main town, Douma - bringing the total to over 500 for the week.
The group said the strikes were being carried out by both Syrian and Russian planes - although Russia denies direct involvement.
Media caption"At least in heaven there's food": The children caught up in Eastern Ghouta air strikes
Barrel bombs and shell fire have been dropped on the area, where some 393,000 people remain trapped.
Aid groups report several hospitals being put out of action since Sunday.
The Syrian government has denied targeting civilians and said it is trying to liberate the Eastern Ghouta from "terrorists" - a term it has used to describe both jihadist militants and the mainstream rebel groups that dominate the enclave.
The plight of civilians in the area has alarmed world leaders. Conditions there have been described as "hell on earth" by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
Why has a ceasefire proved elusive so far?
The Security Council has been debating a resolution calling for a 30-day calm to allow for aid deliveries.
But Russia wants changes. Under current draft, any ceasefire would not apply to the Islamic State group, or the Nusra Front - formerly al-Qaeda's official affiliate in Syria.
Moscow says it must go further and exclude other groups "co-operating with them" and which have shelled Damascus.
Media captionEastern Ghouta resident: "Missiles are dropping like rain"
These could include the two biggest rebel groups in Eastern Ghouta - Jaish al-Islam and Faylaq al-Rahman. Faylaq al-Rahman has in the past fought alongside the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an alliance of factions led by the Nusra Front.
Western diplomats have accused Russia of stalling for time.
They suspect that Moscow wants to give Syria time to deal a final blow to forces defending the enclave on the edge of Damascus.
On Friday evening US President Donald Trump pointed the finger of blame firmly at Syria and its allies, Russia and Iran, for the humanitarian crisis.
Ecuador's foreign minister said: "On the issue of mediation, I have to say very honestly that it has not been successful because two parties are needed to mediate. Ecuador is willing, but not necessarily the other party".
She said her country would "continue looking for mechanisms" to end the stalemate.
Last December, Mr Assange was granted Ecuadorean citizenship in a move which the country hoped could give him immunity in the UK.
But the UK does not recognise Mr Assange as a diplomatic agent and continues to insist he should "face justice".
There is no extradition treaty between the UK and Ecuador so he cannot be arrested inside the embassy.
Mr Assange breached bail conditions when he sought refuge at the Ecuadorean embassy six years ago.
Previously, Mr Assange has justified his decision to break bail conditions arguing if he faced the Swedish authorities he would be extradited to the US over the publication of classified documents.
Image copyrightEPAImage captionIt was not immediately clear who was behind the blasts
Three bombs have exploded in Sittwe, the capital of Myanmar's restive Rakhine province, police say.
A police officer was slightly injured in the blasts. It was unclear who was behind them, police said.
One of the bombs went off near the home of a local official. The others went off near a court and a record office.
More than half a million mainly Muslim Rohingya from Rakhine fled the destruction of their homes last year in what the UN called ethnic cleansing.
Villages where Rohingya had lived were burned and several thousand people were killed in retaliation after Rohingya militants staged a series of attacks on police outposts.
The military in Myanmar (Burma) says it is fighting militants and denies targeting civilians.
There has also been tension between the authorities and ethnic Rakhine Buddhists after seven people were killed last month when police opened fire on a crowd trying to seize a local government office.
An ethnic Rakhine rebel group in the state vowed retaliation for the deaths of the protesters, AFP news agency reports.
Police spokesman Colonel Myo Thu Soe told Reuters news agency three other unexploded hand-made bombs had been found in the city.
Sittwe is about 100km (60 miles) south of where most of the violence against Rohingya has taken place.
Media captionWho is burning down Rohingya villages?
Most of Sittwe's Rohingya population left their homes after religious violence in 2012. More than 100,000 people are still living in internment camps outside the city.
Image copyrightEPAImage captionMs Demafelis's sister cried over her casket upon its arrival in Manila last week
Police have arrested the employer of a Filipina maid found dead in a freezer in Kuwait after a weeks-long manhunt.
Joanna Demafelis, 29, was found frozen in her employers' apartment more than a year after she was reported missing.
Nader Essam Assaf was arrested in Lebanon on suspicion of murder, the Philippines department of foreign affairs said on Friday.
Ms Demafelis's death prompted outrage in the Philippines and a ban on Filipinos travelling to work in Kuwait.
Mr Assaf, a Lebanese national, was arrested in his home country, the Philippines department of foreign affairs said in a statement.
His Syrian wife Mona, who is also a suspect, remains on the run, and is believed to be in Syria, it added.
Both suspects were the subject of an international manhunt aided by Interpol.
Philippines foreign secretary Alan Peter Cayetano welcomed the news, calling it a "critical first step in our quest for justice for Joanna".
How was Ms Demafelis's death discovered?
Her body was found this month with apparent signs of torture, Philippine officials said, in an apartment that had apparently been abandoned for at least a year.
In the aftermath of the discovery, Philippine authorities say they facilitated the return of more than 1,000 "distressed overseas Filipino workers" in Kuwait, most of whom had worked as household servants.
The country's department of foreign affairs estimate that some 252,000 of its citizens are living and working there.
Kuwaiti authorities, meanwhile, have vowed to do everything possible to see justice is done.
Mr Cayetano said he expected Kuwaiti authorities to request the extradition of Mr Assaf from Lebanon, to stand trial in Kuwait.
Image copyrightEPAImage captionMr Manafort insists he is innocent
Ex-Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort secretly paid unnamed former senior European politicians to lobby for Ukraine's previous pro-Russia government, a new indictment filed by special counsel Robert Mueller says.
Mr Manafort paid over €2m ($2.5m; £1.8m) to the ex-politicians, it says.
He has maintained his innocence in the face of Mr Mueller's investigations.
Mr Trump's ex-deputy campaign manager, Rick Gates, has admitted conspiracy and lying to investigators in a plea deal.
Mr Mueller is investigating claims of Russian political meddling in the US.
There are no allegations that either man colluded with Russia to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election, which is the main thrust of the justice department investigation.
What are the latest allegations against Mr Manafort?
He faces new charges of conspiracy, money-laundering, failing to register as an agent for a foreign actor and making false statements.
His alleged payments to former senior European politicians were made in 2012 and 2013, the new indictment says.
He is also alleged to have created a group called the Hapsburg Group to give the former politicians' lobbying efforts the appearance of independent analysis.
The alleged group was managed by a former senior European politician named only as "Foreign Politician A" in the indictment.
The alleged paid lobbying was part of Mr Manafort's work for the Ukrainian government, a pro-Russian party, the Party of Regions, and its leader Viktor Yanukovych, who was president between 2010 and 2014, the indictment says.
Mr Manafort's work for Ukrainian pro-Russian political parties is said to have continued after Mr Yanukovych was overthrown and fled to Russia in 2014 following anti-government protests.
The indictment says Mr Manafort did not register as an agent of a foreign principal for this work as required by law.
He is also alleged to have hidden millions of dollars made from his Ukraine work in offshore accounts.
What does Mr Gates say?
The new indictment was filed after Rick Gates pledged to co-operate in "any and all matters" with the Mueller inquiry.
Mr Gates, 45, is named in the new Manafort indictment as having worked to hide Ukraine income from the US authorities.
In a court appearance, Mr Gates admitted charges of conspiracy and lying to investigators.
Image copyrightEPAImage captionRick Gates said he had "had a change of heart" after his initial not-guilty plea
He had previously had been indicted on more serious criminal counts, including bank fraud and money laundering.
In a letter to family and friends, Mr Gates said he had "had a change of heart" after his initial not-guilty plea, according to ABC News.
He reportedly said he was ready to accept "public humiliation" to avoid inflicting prolonged pain on his children.
"The reality of how long this legal process will likely take, the cost, and the circus-like atmosphere of an anticipated trial are too much," he reportedly wrote. "I will better serve my family moving forward by exiting this process."
Sentencing guidelines for him suggest a prison term of between 57 and 71 months. He could have faced decades in prison under the more serious charges.
How did Mr Manafort respond to the plea deal?
The man who resigned as Trump campaign chairman in August 2016 after five months amid questions over his business dealings maintains his innocence.
He did not comment immediately on the new indictment brought against himself but did respond to Mr Gates's plea deal, insisting he was innocent.
"I had hoped and expected my business colleague would have had the strength to continue the battle to prove our innocence," he said in a statement.
"For reasons yet to surface he chose to do otherwise. This does not alter my commitment to defend myself against the untrue piled up charges contained in the indictments against me."
Mr Manafort has worked on several Republican presidential campaigns, beginning with Gerald Ford's in 1976.
How many people has Mr Mueller charged?
Nineteen people - including Mr Manafort and Mr Gates - have been indicted by the special counsel:
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