British Prime Minister Theresa May urged the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar on Thursday to take steps to reduce tensions that have led the Arab world's biggest powers to cut ties with Qatar.

The 3 Gulf states (Saudi Arabia, the Emirates and Bahrain) boycotting Qatar responded to the comment issued by Zeid Ra'ad Al-Hussein, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, on June 14, 2017, saying that their decision to cut ties with Doha is “sovereign” and aims at protecting the national security from terrorism.

Former Prime Minister of the State of Qatar Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani said that the “accusations about special relations with Iran and funding terrorism surprized us”.

The death toll from a cholera outbreak is approaching 1,000 in Yemen, a war-devastated and impoverished country where "humanity is losing out to politics", a senior UN official said Thursday.

French President Emmanuel Macron was in Morocco on Wednesday on a 24-hour visit for talks on battling terrorism as well as the Libyan conflict and Qatar's dispute with its Gulf neighbours.

US Congressman James McGovern called to immediately and unconditionally release the prominent human rights defender Nabeel Rajab.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Thursday held talks in Kuwait to push mediation efforts aimed at resolving a standoff between a Saudi-led alliance and Qatar.

Turkey is not taking sides in a dispute between Qatar and its Gulf Arab neighbours, Turkey's foreign minister said on Thursday during a Gulf tour, according to Arabic media reports.

Reuters said that the Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told reporters in Cairo that the conditions set for Qatar were necessary for the national security of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE.

A $12 billion deal to buy U.S. F-15 fighter jets shows Qatar has deep-rooted support from Washington, a Qatari official said on Thursday, despite President Donald Trump's repeated accusations that Doha supports terrorism.

Turkey expects Saudi Arabia's King Salman to lead an effort to resolve the Qatar crisis, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday, adding that imposing sanctions and embargoes would not help remedy the situation.

Prominent Egyptian political parties on Thursday criticized President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's plan to transfer two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia and urged people to take to the streets in protest.

The Public Relations and Media Directorate at the Ministry of Education has announced a slight change in the honour list of top achievers in the Intermediate Education Certificate. It added that the mistake was monitored after reviewing the exam papers.

One crew member was wounded when Yemen's Houthis fired a missile at a United Arab Emirates ship in the Red Sea, the Saudi state news agency SPA reported on Thursday.

Egypt's parliament on Wednesday backed plans to hand over two uninhabited Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia under an agreement that has attracted widespread public criticism.

An Iranian navy vessel conducted an "unsafe and unprofessional" interaction with US ships by pointing a laser at an accompanying Marine Corps helicopter, the US Navy said Wednesday.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Thursday held talks in Kuwait to push mediation efforts aimed at resolving a standoff between a Saudi-led alliance and Qatar.

The First High Criminal Court ruled a 10-year prison verdict, in addition to the citizenship revocation, of 23-year-old defendant, after accusing him of joining the terrorist affiliation ISIS.

Bahrain Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa met with US Ambassador in Manama, William Roebuck

Bahrain's central bank said on Wednesday it was raising key interest rates by 25 basis points after the U.S. Federal Reserve hiked rates.