Iraqi forces have captured Islamic State’s last stronghold in northern Iraq, the military said on Thursday, leaving the militant group holed up in pockets of land by the Syrian border, across which its self-proclaimed “caliphate” once stretched.

Turkey, Iran and Iraq will jointly decide on closing the flow of oil from northern Iraq, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan was quoted as saying on Thursday, a retaliatory move after the Kurdish region voted for independence.

Saudi authorities said on Wednesday they had arrested 22 people, including a Qatari national, for using social media to spread dissent.

The Bahraini security authorities continued on Thursday (October 5, 2017) their campaign against citizens and arrested 4 over political reasons.

The Assistant General Manager in Al-Mahd Company for Security and Safety Ahmad Kambar said that Muharraq municipality is refraining from paying its financial dues since 2015.

Female detainees in Bahrain have today declared they will go on an open strike after the authorities built an extra barrier to prevent imprisoned women embracing family members on visits.

A New York synagogue will be the first Jewish congregation to visit an Arab country in the Persian Gulf during its upcoming mission to Bahrain.

A number of unemployed and dismissed people complained about the delay in paying the unemployment benefits after more than 6 months on submitting their applications to the Ministry of Labour and Social Development.

The Board of Directors of Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company (Mumtalakat) announced on Tuesday (October 3, 2017) its approval to distribute profits of BD 20 million to the National Budget, for the very first time since it was established over 10 years ago.

A Federal Court of Appeal in the United Arab Emirates sentenced on Wednesday (October 4, 2017) two Bahrainis, Abbas Ahmad Marzooq (37 years) and Ali Hassan Al-Hinni (37 years), to 3 years in prison and 500.000 Dirham fine (approximately 50.000 BD), over circulating video footages via social media outlets.

The United States will soon decide whether to keep open a Taliban office in Qatar as America steps up its Afghan war effort, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Tuesday, adding he was looking at who represents the increasingly fractious insurgency.

Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Tuesday called for a "joint administration" of Kirkuk and other areas claimed by both his government and the autonomous Kurdish region, provided that Baghdad has ultimate authority in such an arrangement.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif made an appeal for greater regional cooperation on Tuesday after returning to Tehran from a two-day visit to Oman and Qatar.

Family of Fadhel Abbas, former Secretary General of the Unitary National Democratic Assemblage (Al-Wahdawi party), said that the authorities in Jaw Central Prison refused to transfer him to hospital despite his health deterioration, social media outlets reported.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Tehran on Wednesday to discuss a possible joint response against a Kurdish vote in favour of secession in Iraq, a result with both Turkey and Iran fiercely oppose.

U.S. Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said on Tuesday Iran was fundamentally in compliance with its nuclear deal, as President Donald Trump's administration weighs whether the 2015 deal serves U.S. security interests.

The Supreme Court of Appeal handed down a suspect out of 6 suspects, whose ages range between 15 and 24 years, 5-year jail term instead of 10 years, for being convicted along with others of burning tires in Amman Street and putting a hoax bomb.

Activists on social media outlets said that the security authorities arrested two children from Diraz and presented them to the Public Prosecution that decided to arrest them for 7 days pending investigation.

The Bahraini security authorities launched a vast campaign, arresting 8 citizens in less than 48 hours, activists affirmed.

The Supreme Court of Appeal upheld a 3-year jail verdict against a suspect accused of assembling, committing riots, acquiring and hurling Molotov in Bani Jamra. The court, however, acquitted him of the charge of attacking a policeman.