Afghanistan

NATO's defence ministers will meet on Wednesday and Thursday to discuss a range of issues, but forces in Afghanistan will top the agenda.

Air France expressed its "deepest sympathy and compassion at this human tragedy."

Trump met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and addressed U.S. troops, telling them that America was “substantially” reducing its military presence in the country.

After decades of conflict and instability, around 2.5 million Afghans have sought asylum overseas, many of them in Europe. But the war torn country is also a destination for refugees fleeing neighbouring states, including Pakistan and Iran.

"Unbeknownst to almost everyone, the major Taliban leaders ... were going to secretly meet with me at Camp David on Sunday," Trump tweeted.

The explosion came as a senior U.S. diplomat was visiting Kabul to brief Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on a draft peace accord reached with the insurgents that could see thousands of U.S. troops withdrawn from Afghanistan.

The 2010 winner, South African Jodi Bieber, acknowledges that the photojournalism industry is male-dominated.

In the first half of the year, foreign and government forces killed 717 civilians, while anti-government elements (including Taliban) caused 531 deaths, the UN said.

A Taliban attack on a government security compound in central Afghanistan on Sunday killed at least eight security personnel, six civilians and wounded more than 180, officials said, as rival Afghan groups met in Qatar to discuss peace.