Pope condemns alleged chemical attack in Syria

Pope Francis, seemingly in a good overall condition, has made his first public appearance since having intestinal surgery last week. The church leader stressed the importance of accessible and free healthcare for all.

The disappearance of Razan Zaitouneh and her colleagues has been one of the greatest mysteries of the Syrian war — until today. DW's investigative unit hunted clues across six countries to track down the perpetrators.

Those targeted include an armed group that killed a Kurdish politician and eight individuals tied to the Syrian government and President Bashar Assad.

Limited electricity supply is hampering Syria's industrial revivial, as manufacturing grinds to a halt at 6pm in the former economic hub of Aleppo.

Pope Francis met Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whose right-wing, anti-immigrant policies clash with Francis' call for countries to welcome refugees. Francis discussed refugees and anti-Semitism in Budapest.

"Here, in this place, the name of God was dishonored," Pope Francis said at a Holocaust memorial in Bratislava. During World War II, Slovakia was governed by a Nazi puppet regime, headed by Catholic priest Jozef Tiso.

The Syrian province of Idlib, one of the last remaining rebel strongholds in the country's north, is experiencing a new wave of Covid-19 infections, driven by the more contagious Delta variant. This comes as the regime intensifies bombings in the region, putting local hospitals under even greater pressure. We take a closer look.

The upsurge in violence in Syria combined with its plummeting economy are making life increasingly bleak for civilians, United Nations investigators say.

Russian President Vladimir Putin condemns the presence of foreign troops in Syria at talks in Moscow with the war-torn country's President Bashar al-Assad. Russia has been a key ally of the Assad regime throughout the Syrian conflict, which erupted in 2011 with the repression of anti-government protests. Russia's military intervention in 2015 helped turn the tide of the war in Assad's favour.

Archbishop Stefan Hesse was on leave after being accused of neglecting his duty in a report on sexual abuse at the diocese of Cologne.

A new Syrian-Jordanian deal on energy for Lebanon is being seen by some as another step towards the international rehabilitation of the brutal Assad regime.

In its first report on the Syrian war death toll since 2014, the UN said at least 350,209 people have died in the decade-long conflict. But admitted the real toll is likely to be much higher.