A UAE court sentenced a British academic to life in prison on charges of spying for the British government on Wednesday, in a move Britain said would have serious diplomatic consequences for relations between the old allies.

Bahrainis head to the polls Saturday, but experts have questioned the value of a parliamentary election in which dissolved opposition groups have been banned from taking part.

The Elections Executive Committee announced that voters can cast their ballots on Saturday (November 24), either in the polling stations in their respective constituencies or in the general electoral centers.

Minister of State for Housing Affairs and Minister of State for Services announced yesterday that one engineering office and six companies have been excluded from the Ministry’s current and future tenders, Kuwait News Agency reported.

Human rights activist Ibtisam Al-Saegh said that she received phone calls from citizens who were threatened by security bodies that summoned them to cancel their housing requests, if they don’t participate in the coming elections.

More than 70 members of Ireland’s Dáil Éireann (TDs) expressed serious concern over Bahrain’s suppression of civil and political society ahead of the Kingdom’s parliamentary elections in a letter to TD Simon Coveney.

Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the U.S. House of Representatives’ intelligence panel, on Tuesday called for an end of U.S. support to Saudi Arabia.

Andrea Delmastro, Member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, expressed his concerns regarding the restrictive political environment in Bahrain ahead of the upcoming elections for the Council of Representatives of Bahrain’s National Assembly in a letter addressed to Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. The elections are due to be held on Saturday 24 November.

The polls for the parliamentary elections organized by the Bahraini authorities in 29 embassies, consulates and diplomatic missions have closed in a number of countries around the world, according to the Ministry of Justice.

The Bahraini Minister of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments, Chairman of the Higher Committee for Elections, Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa, said that the number of voters in the polling stations outside Bahrain reached more than three thousand and 334 until 9 pm on Tuesday (November 20, 2018).

Leading Democrats in Congress called on Tuesday for cuts in U.S. support for Saudi Arabia and criticized President Donald Trump for failing to take action against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who the CIA believes ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch accused Saudi Arabia on Tuesday of subjecting several activists including some female human rights defenders detained since May to torture and sexual harassment.

Amid international uproar over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, some members of Saudi Arabia’s ruling family are agitating to prevent Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman from becoming king, three sources close to the royal court said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Tuesday it was “shameful” that U.S. President Donald Trump had pledged support for Saudi Arabia despite the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in its consulate.

A US team has trained a number of members of the General Department of Criminal Investigation and Evidence in Bahrain on how to investigate a terrorist crime scene. It is expected that members of the FBI's Academy were the ones who gave the training.

Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally, said on Tuesday there is strong bipartisan support in Congress for serious sanctions against Saudi Arabia, “including appropriate members of the royal family.”

President Donald Trump vowed on Tuesday to remain a “steadfast partner” of Saudi Arabia despite saying that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman may have known about the plan to murder dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi last month.

The upcoming parliamentary elections in Bahrain, scheduled for November 24, 2018, are occurring in a repressive political environment that is not conducive to free elections, Human Rights Watch said in a statement.

The Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco) General Manager of Private Projects, Khalid Al-Sabbagh, said the company will establish a private company to manage and develop its fuel stations with a capital of BD 250,000, wholly owned by Bapco, as part of a project for privatizing the fuel service stations sector of the company.

Bahrain’s Third Criminal Minor Court acquitted two defendants accused of running a brothel and promoting engagement in debauchery, and ordered returning the swimming pool to its owner for lack of evidence and since the video circulated about the incident does not contain anything of the alleged promotion of immorality.