France has shown no concrete signs of reducing or suspending weapons sales to a Saudi-led coalition despite warnings that some of its weapons could be used in the war in Yemen, sources aware of the issue said on Friday.

The United States welcomed reports that four U.S.-funded cranes operated by the United Nations World Food Programme were unloading supplies in Yemen’s Houthi-controlled Hodeidah port.

Candidate in Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry elections called for an investigation into the Whatsapp voice recording, in which a female Asian national asks a company owner to vote for a specific electoral block in exchange for financial facilitations and support.

Southern Governorate Police Directorate has arrested a number of persons suspected of selling and having possession of intoxicating materials, clearing stands of street vendors, in addition to arresting a number of violators of residence law in the Ras Zuwaid area.

The number of memberships entitled to vote in the 29th elections of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and industry reached 35 thousand represented by 81,000 votes, which is about 8 times more than the memberships in previous elections. The number of memberships in the chamber reached 55 thousand, while the number of inactivated memberships reached 20 thousand, chairperson of the elections committee said.

Aluminum Bahrain (Alba) company said that its total sales reached 857.8 million BD ($2.3 Billion) in 2017, versus 669.8 million BD ($1.8 billion) in 2016. Meanwhile, the total sales for the fourth quarter stood at 252.7 million BD ($672.2 million), versus 181.6 million BD ($483.0 million) for the same period in 2016, due to the increase in London’s Metal Exchange.

The West must ensure the Iran 2015 nuclear deal succeeds before trying to negotiate other issues, a senior Iranian official said in a rare public suggestion Tehran could discuss matters such as its regional activities or missile program with world powers.

France will encourage its firms to do business in Iran despite uncertainty over a landmark 2015 nuclear deal putting the business environment in “limbo”, a senior French finance official said on Thursday.

Iran severely condemned the claim raised by Bahrain’s Interior Ministry on Iran’s role in an oil pipeline blast last year, calling on Manama to stop raising worn-out claims, bringing up old and ineffective scenarios and to establish dialogue with people.

Iran rejected an accusation by Bahrain that it was involved in an oil pipeline bombing in the Sunni-ruled kingdom, accusing its rival of making "false claims".

Air India said on Wednesday it plans to begin direct flights to Israel and has proposed they pass through Saudi airspace, a route so far off-limits to Israel-bound commercial planes.

The Saudi Arabian government has begun to award contracts for the development of a huge business zone in the northwest of the country, asking local construction companies to build five palaces there, sources close to the matter told Reuters.

Bahraini authorities have arrested four members of cell behind a bomb attack on an oil pipeline, the interior ministry said on Wednesday, adding two of the group had been trained in Iran, an adversary of the Gulf Arab state

Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) Governor Rashid Al-Miraj said that the bank is currently studying the operational environment of digital currencies to put appropriate regulatory restrictions and controls, indicating that the study needs 9 months, during which the risks and control mechanisms will be studied.

Oil Minister Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa announced an approach to review the petrol prices periodically, after finding a suitable mechanism to distribute subsidies to citizens, stressing on the necessity to conform to delivering the subsidies to citizens in a way that matches their income.

5 MPs demanded forming a committee to investigate Council of Ministers Assistant Undersecretary Ibrahim Al-Dosari's ownership of Al-Rim Center property in Riffa.

Council of Minister Assistant Undersecretary Ibrahim Al Dosari described Minister of the Royal Court for Follow up Affairs Ahmed bin Ateyatalla Al Khalifa as a “dog”, as shown in leaked conversations.

Bahraini House of Representatives agreed to refer to the Cabinet the recommendations of the Parliamentary Inquiry Committee on the phenomenon of informal employment (free visa).

Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company has acquired technology giant Lenovo's office campus in the United States.

Former Bahraini leader in the ISIS organization was shown in a video recording posted by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, in which he revealed the organization’s relation to Turkey and secret and public agreements with the authorities of regional countries.