The U.N. human rights chief said Wednesday that Ethiopia's yearlong war has been marked by "extreme brutality" as a joint investigation into alleged atrocities faulted all sides for committing abuses, but avoided saying who was the most to blame.

The investigation was hampered by authorities' intimidation and restrictions and didn't visit some of the war's worst-affected locations.

Two U.S. congresswomen renewed demands Tuesday for U.S. Customs and Border Protection to provide a formal apology and release records in connection with the January 2020 detainment of 200 Iranian Americans at the U.S.-Canada border.

Reps. Pramila Jayapal and Suzan DelBene, both of Washington state, sent a letter to the federal agency, requesting a public apology and renunciation of the hourslong detainment of travelers with links to Iran as they crossed the border from Canada into Washington in the days following a U.S. drone strike that killed a top Iranian general.

Upon arrival at Dubai's international airport, travelers can pick up a free guide to the city's top attractions and events. Curiously, the cover of this month's "Time Out-DXB" beckons visitors to Saudi Arabia. Emblazoned with an image of the kingdom's ancient Diriyah fort near the Saudi capital, it reads: "Welcome to Arabia. A Journey You've Never Imagined".

The landlocked, once ultraconservative capital of Riyadh is pitching itself as a city of concerts, movie theaters, world class sporting events and deal-making; a city where revamped cultural heritage sites wait to be discovered, distinguishing Saudi Arabia from other Gulf Arab capitals defined by sprawling malls and high-rise hotels.

While pandemic style saw people put on pajamas and their hair up in a bun, 2021 is more about mascara and lip liners — and makeup sales in the multi-billion-dollar Mideast market are beginning to improve.

For women in the region — and particularly the Gulf Arab states — makeup is one of their biggest spends, offering an opportunity for expression even to those who cover their hair and part of their face with black veils.

Palestinian families have rejected an offer that would have delayed their eviction by Jewish settlers in a tense Jerusalem neighborhood, where protests and clashes helped ignite the 11-day Gaza war in May.

The four families in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood near the Old City said their decision springs from "our belief in the justice of our cause and our right to our homes and our homeland." They said that rather than submit to an "unjust agreement" they would rely on the "Palestinian street" to raise international awareness of their plight.

The head of the U.N. atomic watchdog has compared his agency's efforts to monitor Iran's nuclear program to flying through dense clouds, warning that the situation can't continue for much longer.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has been unable to access surveillance footage of Iranian nuclear sites, or online enrichment monitors and electronic seals since February.

More than three weeks after Iraqis voted in parliament elections, pro-Iran Shiite militias that emerged as the biggest losers are still rejecting the outcome of the vote, thrusting the country into uncertainty and political crisis.

Militia supporters have pitched tents near the entrance to Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone in an ongoing sit-in, threatening violence unless their grievances are addressed.

Israeli air strikes hit positions held by the Syrian government and its pro-Iranian allies near Damascus overnight, a war monitor said on Wednesday.

It was the second Israeli attack to target areas near the capital in four days.

One of the Arab world's most famous singers, Sabah Fakhri, who has entertained generations with traditional songs and preserved extinct forms of Arabic music, has died, Syria's government said Tuesday. He was 88.

It was not immediately clear what caused Fakhri's passing.

A televised remark by a game show host turned Cabinet minister in Lebanon about the war in Yemen has taken the country's crisis with Saudi Arabia to new depths.

Anger over George Kordahi's comments led to steps by Gulf Arab countries that further isolate Lebanon and threaten to split its new coalition government, tasked with halting the country's economic meltdown.