Iraq's central government said "an atmosphere of trust" marked talks held on Monday with the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region to resolve a conflict that triggered armed clashes in October.

The luxury Riyadh hotel used as a prison during Saudi Arabia's crackdown on corruption will reopen for business next month, according to a company employee and its website, suggesting authorities are close to settling the cases of many suspects.

Saudi Arabia began screening feature-length animated children's films this weekend in a makeshift theater, after a 35-year-old ban on cinemas was lifted in the conservative Islamic kingdom.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said that despite sending official invitations to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates to participate in PUIC conference held in Tehran, the Gulf states did not send delegates to represent them in this meeting.

The Bahraini Foreign Ministry condemned the twin terrorist attacks which targeted the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, leaving dozens of people killed and injured.

Bahrain’s top court on Monday upheld two-year prison sentence imposed last year by a lower tribunal on rights campaigner Nabeel Rajab over comments he was alleged to have made to journalists.

Bahrain’s Civil Aviation Affairs Authority (CAA) said it would take measures against the interception by two Qatari military aircraft of a UAE passenger plane en route to Bahrain.

The Bahraini Ministry of Foreign Affairs vehemently condemned on Monday (January 15, 2018) the interception by Qatari fighter jets of a civilian aircraft flying from the UAE to Bahrain.

Attorney General announced the conclusion of investigation into the formation of a terrorist group and detonation of several explosives, one of which led to the killing of policeman Salman Anjom, adding that five defendants were referred to the competent court.

The First High Criminal Court of Appeal in Bahrain did not accept the appeal of one of four defendants, accused of assembling and blocking a highway using Molotov cocktails.

Civil Defense team in Bahrain managed to extinguish a fire late on Saturday at the Imam Al-Rida funeral home in the Malikiya area, which caused damage to the whole place without any reported injuries.

A Qatari foreign ministry official quoted by Al Jazeera TV denied on Monday a charge by the United Arab Emirates that Qatari fighter planes had intercepted an Emirati civilian plane en route to Bahrain.

Bahrain's court of cassation on Monday confirmed a two-year jail sentence against prominent activist Nabeel Rajab, convicted for press statements critical of his government, a judicial source said.

The United Arab Emirates said on Monday that Qatari fighter jets intercepted an Emirati civilian aircraft during a routine flight to Bahrain, which Qatar denied, escalating a months-old feud between the Gulf Arab states.

The United Arab Emirates said on Sunday that an exiled member of Qatar's ruling family who had appeared in a video recording saying that he was being held against his will had left the UAE.

The Court of Cassation in Bahrain adjourned on Monday the sentencing hearing of youth Maher Al-Khabbaz who is on death row until January 29.

The Public Prosecution referred the extremist Mohammad Khalid to trial over case of insulting Imam Mahdi, based on “several complaints” raised by people. The court, however, did not order to detain him pending investigation.

The First High Appeals Court upheld a life prison term against 2 out of 5 suspects accused of causing blast, acquiring explosives without a license from the competent parties and damaging a bulldozer owned by the Interior Ministry, for a terrorist aim, bound them to pay together 250 BD for the damages and ordered the confiscation of seized items.

Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor has said he will pursue extradition for corruption suspects living abroad as part of a two-month-old crackdown that has already netted princes and tycoons.

A Bahraini court adjourned on Monday (January 15, 2018) the case of president of Bahrain Center for Human Rights and prominent human rights defender Nabeel Rajab until February 21, to issue its sentence.