The United States has signed a new, updated defense accord with the United Arab Emirates that could allow Washington to send more troops and equipment there, the Pentagon said on Tuesday, in the latest sign of deepening ties with the close Gulf ally.

King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa received a phone call from the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.

A leading Bahraini human rights activist was denied bail on Tuesday on charges of writing an editorial critical of the government, a pro-opposition rights group reported.

On December 17, 2012, Al-Wefaq Secretary General Sheikh Ali Salman addressed the authorities in a tweet, deeming them responsible for the assaults against properties of opposition members.

Detainee Fadhel Abbas' family reiterated their demands to allow them visit their son, expressing fear over his safety, especially that he has been held since over 225 days; i.e. more than 7 and a half months. The family further stated that they couldn’t visit their son even for one time, noting that the last time they saw him was on his arrest day, on September 2016.

A number of Bahraini labourers protested on Monday (May 15, 2017) before the Ministry of Labour, demanding that they get paid their wages that have been reportedly delayed for over the past four months.

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) said that it documented 14 peaceful protests in 12 villages in Bahrain, noting that 3 protests were oppressed by police.

The National Institution of Human Rights (NIHR) President Said Al-Faihani received United Nations (UN) Officer in Charge of the Middle East and West Asia Division Darko Mocibob in the presence of UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative Amin El-Sharkawi.

The Sixth High Court of Appeals upheld 3-year jail term against a 16-year-old child over putting hoax bomb, and ordered the confiscation of seized items.

Amnesty International launched on Monday (May 15, 2017) an appeal to release detainee Nizar Al-Qari, indicating that he is being tortured while in detention.

President of Bahrain Center for Human Rights and prominent human rights activist Nabeel Rajab is supposed to appear today (May 16, 2017) before the court in a case related to television interviews over which the authorities accuse of disseminating “false information”.

In light of Bahrain's economy recently taking a hit from low oil prices, Bahrain economy expert said that the situation represents a challenge, but also an opportunity, clarifying that it would help “really push through economic reforms”.

Local Bahraini newspaper Akhbar Al-Khaleej said that there is a huge wave of promotions that included more than 40 judges, adding that these promotions will enter into force after the next Official Gazette issue is published.

The Bahraini National Democratic Movement Forces organized a hunger strike event in solidarity with the Palestinian prisoners, under the name of “Freedom and Dignity Strike” on Saturday (May 13, 2017) in Wa’ad Society in Umm Al Hassam. Progressive Democratic Tribune, Bahrain democratic youth society, Bahraini Society Against Normalization with Zionist Enemy and the Unitary National Democratic Assemblage delivered speeches with voicing solidarity with the Palestinian prisoners who are on hunger strike.

Residents of Bilad Al-Qadeem staged a protest on Sunday (May 14, 2017) after they were excluded from the housing projects that the Housing Ministry started to distribute among people, who submitted housing requests in different governorates.

Bahrain's First High Criminal Court presided over by judge Hamad bin Salman Al Khalifa and memberships of judges Dia’a Al-Huraidi and Jamal Awad and Abdullah Mohammad Hassan as a secretariat set June 15, 2017 as a date to issue its verdict in the case of the 23-year-old Bahraini charged with joining the terrorist ISIS organization, having possession of arms, disseminating false news and acting as a link between ISIS affiliates inside.

The Director-General of the Muharraq Governorate Police announced the arrest of two suspects for stealing cars and damaging them in various governorates using similar modus operandi.

Sayed Abbas Shubar, Head of Religious Freedoms Unit in Bahrain SALAM for Human Rights, said that no one knows the destiny of the prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh Abdulzahraa Al-Karbabadi since he was arrested on April 28 in a house raid carried out by forces affiliated to the Ministry of Interior.

The United States is close to completing a series of arms deals for Saudi Arabia totaling more than $100 billion, a senior White House official said on Friday, a week ahead of President Donald Trump's planned visit to Riyadh.

Cholera has killed at least 115 people in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, the local Saba news agency said, after authorities on Sunday declared a state of emergency over the outbreak and called for international help to avert disaster.