Aftermath of car bomb explosion in north Syrian town of Azaz

The massive blast hit a guest house as people were breaking their fast during Ramadan. High school students are reportedly among the casualties.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and first lady Asma al-Assad cast their votes at a polling station in the war-torn town of Douma just outside of Damascus. Voters flocked to polls across Syria for a presidential election in which few doubt Assad will extend his grip on power for a fourth term, in a war-battered country mired in economic crisis.

Diving into the pool at the Athens Olympic Aquatic Centre, Ibrahim Al Hussein is a natural. The swimmer is aiming for Tokyo this summer, a journey that has been far from simple. Originally from Syria, Ibrahim lost his leg and had a metal rod inserted into the other. Ever since, he's been on a mission to turn his life around.

In the ancient Syrian village of Maalula, whose residents still speak the language of Jesus, volunteers rake stones and scrub graffiti in preparation for the return of Christian pilgrims after years of war. Nestled among towering cliffs in the mountains north of Damascus, Maalula is one of the world's oldest Christian settlements.

Syrian weightlifter Maan Asaad and high jumper Majd Eddin Ghazal are preparing to participate in the Tokyo Olympics after a 2 year hiatus from competing internationally because of COVID-19. The lack of international participation has impacted Maan according to his brother and trainer, Qays.

Foreign paragliding pilots fly over Syria's war-scarred city of Homs, as part of a festival to showcase the safety of Syrian skies after years of civil war.

Afghan special forces patrol the streets of Herat as the Taliban press on with a series of offensives on cities, having seized control of much of rural Afghanistan since foreign forces began the last stage of their withdrawal in May.

Hurling a javelin, leaping over hurdles and sprinting beyond rows of tents to win gold, displaced children in the northwest of war-torn Syria stage their very own Olympics.

Two cars are seen destroyed in Kabul after the United States said it carried out an air strike on Sunday night in Kabul on an IS-prepared car bomb. The US military said it was "aware of reports of civilian casualties" from the strike, which came after an attack outside the airport late last week killed more than 100 people, including 13 American troops.

A report by Amnesty International contradicts some governments' views that Syria is now safe to return for refugees. Returnees have faced detainment, torture, disappearance, and sexual violence.

"I didn't know what a marathon was until today", says one of a group of Syrian orphans taking part in a race in the rebel-held northwestern city of Idlib. The event has been organised by an NGO in a bid to introduce children who have lost their parents in Syria's ongoing conflict to different kinds of sports. Nearly 500,000 people have died in the conflict since it started in 2011 with the brutal repression of peaceful demonstrations.

A giant puppet representing an uprooted Syrian child named Little Amal arrives at the port of Folkestone, in the United Kingdom, as she comes to the end of a journey across Europe that began in Turkey. The 3.5 metre-tall puppet created by Handspring Puppet Company is meant to focus attention on the urgent needs of young refugees.