Human Rights Watch accused the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday of arbitrarily detaining at least 2,400 Afghan asylum seekers in "miserable" accommodation for more than a year, pending resettlement elsewhere.

The rights group said that between 2,400 and 2,700 Afghans evacuated to the UAE following the Taliban takeover of Kabul in August 2021 remain "arbitrarily detained" in makeshift refugee housing with limited freedom of movement and scarce access to legal counsel.

His medical studies in Syria keep Mohammed Shasho busy enough but whenever he can he also pores over German vocabulary and grammar points in hopes of a move to Europe.

Like many youngsters in the war-ravaged country, he dreams of joining the almost one million Syrians already in Germany to advance his education and perhaps find work there.

"German is very difficult to learn, especially because it is not taught by native speakers in Syria," said the 23-year-old who regularly studies German textbooks and video tutorials.

He has dressed celebrity royalty around the world from Beyonce and Deepika Padukone to Zendaya and Cardi B but for years few of Mohammed Ashi's clients knew he was Saudi Arabia's first big-name designer.

"In the 90s I was the only designer from Saudi. But I never said I was Saudi. I wanted the clothes to be out front, not me," Ashi told AFP in a rare interview at his Paris studio.

Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro is in hot water over allegations he tried to illegally import millions of dollars' worth of jewelry given to him and his wife by Saudi Arabia.

The scandal has triggered multiple investigations, potentially complicating life for Bolsonaro -- who is expected to return soon to Brazil from the United States, where the far-right ex-army captain has been living since just before his leftist successor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, took office on January 1.

Here is a look at what we know about the case.

Where did the jewels come from?

Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold talks with Syria's leader Bashar al-Assad in Moscow on Wednesday, the Kremlin said, as relations between Middle East states undergo a realignment.

Russia has been one of Syria's few allies during its years of war and political isolation.

"Topical issues of further development of Russian-Syrian cooperation in the political, trade, economic and humanitarian spheres, as well as prospects for a comprehensive settlement of the situation in and around Syria will be discussed," the Kremlin said in a statement on Tuesday.

Two Saudi airlines will purchase 78 Boeing 787 Dreamliner planes under agreements announced Tuesday in a giant order that underlines Saudi Arabia's goal to remake itself as a global aviation hub.

The order by state-owned carrier Saudia and brand new startup Riyadh Air -- a deal which could reach as many as 121 planes with options -- constitutes the fifth largest by commercial value in Boeing's history.

The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas warned Israel on Tuesday it would react to any possible "violations" at a flashpoint holy site in Jerusalem during the upcoming Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, issued the warning less than two weeks before the start of Ramadan and amid an escalation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict under Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The European Parliament is pushing to stop former members from lobbying legislators for six months after leaving office, in response to a bribery scandal that has rocked the EU.

Parliamentary sources said the plan was agreed by senior MEPs on Monday as part of the legislature's bid to clamp down on possible corruption.

The move comes as the parliament grapples with the fallout from the scandal involving the alleged bribery of members said to have been paid to push the interests of Qatar and Morocco.

Saudi Arabia and Iran's surprise rapprochement is no "magic wand" for Yemen, analysts say, warning there are no easy solutions for the complex conflict in the Arab world's poorest country.

The move to restore diplomatic ties has raised hopes of an easing in tensions across the region and especially in Yemen, where the heavyweight rivals have been fighting what amounts to a proxy war.

Six months ago this week, Mahsa Amini was arrested for allegedly flouting Iran's strict dress code for women. Within days she was dead, sparking the country's biggest protests in years.

The 22-year ethnic Kurd became a household name inside Iran, a rallying point for demands for change. Around the world, she became a hero for women's rights campaigners and a symbol for Western opponents of the Islamic republic.

Amini was visiting the capital Tehran with her brother and cousins when she was arrested as they were leaving a metro station in the city centre last September.