The FIFA Congress was held on Thursday (May 11, 2017) in Bahrain with the participation of Israeli Football Union amid popular Bahraini rejection.

Two Bahraini citizens were killed and a third injured in a road accident in Dammam in eastern Saudi Arabia.

Gulf Air said that one of its planes heading to Riyadh had to divert to Bahrain due to inclement weather conditions and severe turbulence.

King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa ratified and issued three laws for 2017 after they had been approved by the Shura and Representatives councils.

The percentage of traffic violations in Bahrain’s major streets decreased by 75% in the period between December 2016 and April 2017, with expectations to decrease more in coming months.

The Council of Representatives approved in its Tuesday (May 9, 2017) session a proposal to impose a fixed 10 Bahraini Dinar fee (paid once), for the extension of sewage network.

History and International Relations Professor at the Lebanese University, Jamal Wakim, said that “there is an American effort and pressure to normalize relations between Arabs and Israel,” believing that part inventing an enemy called “Iran” and the Shiism subject, come to justify and cover these normalization processes.

Bahraini authorities denied an entry visa to a Human Rights Watch researcher. HRW said that this move proves that “Bahrain has yet again shown its intolerance of human rights advocates,” according to Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.

A Human Rights Watch staffer said Wednesday he was barred from entering Bahrain for the annual Fifa congress in the Gulf state, which restricts access to foreign activists and journalists.

Two civilians will be tried on terrorism charges in a Bahrain military court for the first time under new amendments issued in March that have drawn sharp condemnation from rights groups.

A governmental source (The call center) confirmed that the military judiciary will try two civilians accused by the government of “committing terrorist crimes”.

UK-based daily The Guardian said reported that “MPs and rights groups have reacted with dismay over the use of a secretive £1bn government aid and security fund to pay for a Royal Marines band to play in Bahrain for the Queen Elizabeth’s 90th birthday, despite the country’s dire human rights record.”

The British Daily Mail newspaper said that Bahrain has referred its first civilian case to a military court following a constitutional amendment approved by the king last month, according to Amnesty International.

A Human Rights Watch activist said Wednesday that Bahrain has barred him from entering the tiny island nation for the annual FIFA congress as the kingdom continues a wide-scale crackdown on dissent.

A German website that the Bahraini authorities have barred German reporter from entering the country to attend the FIFA Congress without mentioning any apparent justification.

Human Rights Watch Israel and Palestine Director Omar Shakir said that the Bahraini authorities prevented him from entering the country as he was intending to take part in pressuring on FIFA Congress.

Bahrain News Agency (BNA) said that Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa conducted a phone call on (May 9, 2017) with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar.

Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) said that “the US Congress recently reached on deal on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 appropriations act. Included is the Senate committee report, which mandates that the US Department of State will have to submit an updated assessment report on the Bahraini government’s implementation of the recommendations in the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI). The 2017 report is due within 45 days of passing.”

Amnesty International described referring Sayed Fadhel Abbas to military courts as “serious blow for justice” in Bahrain, indicating that there are fears of him being subjected to torture.

Bahraini authorities banned Tuesday (May 9, 2017) 4 opposition activists from travelling; a step that had caused vast criticism by the Human Rights Council this month.