Iraqi Kurds are expected to vote for independence in a referendum on Monday that neighboring countries and Western powers fear could break up the country and stir broader regional ethnic and sectarian conflict.

Iran halted flights to and from Kurdish regions in northern Iraq on Sunday in retaliation to a plan by the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to hold a referendum on independence. It also started wargames at the Kurdish border.

King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa has ratified and issued Law 35/2017 amending some provisions of Law 74/2006 on the Welfare, Rehabilitation and Employment of Disabled Persons.

Amazon announced the opening of a regional center in Bahrain for Internet services (cloud computing) as the first regional center in Bahrain to serve all the Middle East and Africa, during Amazon summit for web services held in Four Seasons Hotel.

An international research concluded that a key local Emirate organization called, “Arab Federation for Human Rights (ARABFHR)” has been bribing NGOs and individuals to influence the United Nations Human Rights Council stances and decisions.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, met the members of the American Jewish Committee on the sidelines of the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly in New York City.

Bahrain Forum for Human Rights (BFHR) said that 519 media materials and messages that incite or help to incite hatred were monitored in August through following what is published in four official Bahraini newspapers and accounts on social media outlets.

Unemployed citizens demanded to spend the financial savings of the unemployment insurance fund through establishing development projects to engage and employ unemployed citizens in order to put an end to unemployment, instead of the training programs that do not suit the unemployed specialties.

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz is expected to visit Russia, the RIA news agency cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying on Thursday.

Turkey, Iran and Iraq have agreed to consider counter-measures against Kurdish northern Iraq over a planned independence referendum, Turkey’s foreign ministry said on Thursday.

Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Massoud Barzani said on Friday that Iraq’s Kurds were ready “to pay any price for freedom”, rejecting international pressure to call off the referendum on independence planned for Monday in northern Iraq.

Iran will strengthen its missile capabilities and not seek any country’s permission, President Hassan Rouhani said on Friday rejecting demands from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Shaikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa presented his credentials to the Spanish King as the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Saudi Arabia will begin implementing a new bankruptcy law early next year as part of efforts to attract foreign investment and encourage private sector activity.

US presidential envoy to the coalition fighting insurgent group Islamic State said on Friday (September 23, 2017) that Kuwait would hold a conference on reconstruction in Iraq early next year.

An Iraqi Yazidi group backed by Turkish Kurds and Iranian-backed Iraqi Shi'ite paramilitary clashed on Friday near the border with Syria, a local security official said.

A Saudi cleric who said women should not drive because their brains shrink to a quarter the size of a man’s when they go shopping has been banned from preaching, state television said.

The United Arab Emirates said on Friday it considers that Iran violates both the “letter and spirit” of the 2015 nuclear deal agreed between the Islamic Republic and world powers.

Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, the largest opposition political group in Bahrain, expressed their deepest condolences over the occasion of Ashura, condemning the Bahraini authorities’ continued attacks on Ashura-related religious manifestations.

Dry Dock Prison administration’s banning of Ashura commemoration by detainees prompted angry chants of condemnation and a hunger strike.