Kuwaiti opposition figures proposed electoral reforms and a pardon for dissidents in recent meetings with the prince who has since become the new emir, they said, seeking to improve stormy ties with the government that have sometimes flared into unrest.

Kuwait's Emir Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah passed away after a struggle with disease and heart problems. Kuwaiti media cut off their broadcast and began airing recitations from the Holy Qur'an for a while before his death was officially announced.

Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, Bahrain's largest opposition political group, expressed condolences over the death of Kuwait's Emir, revealing his efforts to release its Secretary-General Sheikh Ali Salman after his arrest in December 2014.

Saudi Arabia's cabinet approved an agreement with Chevron Saudi Arabia (SAC) regarding the Neutral Zone between the kingdom and Kuwait, the state news agency said late on Tuesday.

An explosion near the Jraischan border crossing between Iraq and Kuwaiti on Monday evening targeted a convoy carrying equipment for U.S. forces, three Iraqi security forces told Reuters.

Kuwait will partially resume commercial flights from August, but does not expect to reach full capacity until a year later, the civil aviation authority said, as its aviation sector gradually recovers from a suspension sparked by the COVID-19 crisis.

The number of novel coronavirus cases in the six Gulf Arab states has doubled in a month to more than 400,000, as the region's two biggest economies this week fully lifted curfews imposed to combat the infection.

An Amnesty International study of 11 Covid-19 contact tracing apps from Europe, the Middle East and North Africa found identified apps from Bahrain, Kuwait and Norway as the most dangerous to users' privacy, according to the Sc Magazine website.

The Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC) six Arab monarchies have approved Kuwait's proposal for a common network for food supply safety.

Saudi Arabia placed its capital Riyadh and other big cities under a 24-hour curfew on Monday, locking down much of the population as the largest Gulf Arab country expanded efforts to stem the spread of the new coronavirus.

Saudi Arabia will impose a nationwide curfew starting on Monday after reporting a jump of almost a quarter in coronavirus cases, while the United Arab Emirates will suspend all passenger flights as of Wednesday, state media reported.

Kuwait will halt all commercial flights to and from the Gulf Arab state starting Friday and until further notice, with the exception of cargo flights, state news agency KUNA said on Wednesday.

In the absence of the Bahraini authorities' role in alleviating the suffering of their nationals stranded in Iran's city of Mashhad, popular calls have been launched in Kuwait to support Bahrainis and provide them with their basic needs and food.

Saudi Arabia's decision to close its land border (including the border with Bahrain via the King Fahd Causeway) is to come into effect on Saturday (March 7, 2020) night. Its decision comes within a series of precautionary measures taken by the Kingdom to counter the Coronavirus.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and Kuwait decided to suspend the travel of all GCC citizens using the Identity Card until further notice, due to coronavirus outbreak.

Iraq on Wednesday banned public gatherings and barred entry by travelers from Kuwait and Bahrain because of the spread of the new coronavirus, prohibiting travel to or from a total of nine countries.

Kuwait and Bahrain confirmed on Monday their first novel coronavirus cases, health ministries in the two Gulf states announced, adding all had come from Iran.

Kuwait Airways suspended all flights to Iran starting on Thursday on the advice of the Kuwaiti health ministry and civil aviation authority amid fears about a coronavirus outbreak in the country.

On Wednesday, the Kuwaiti parliament approved the divided zone agreement with Saudi Arabia by 55 votes and rejected 7 votes.

The appointment of Dr. Ghadeer Asiri as Minister of Social Affairs in Kuwait has sparked widespread controversy among activists in Kuwait and Bahrain over her views on the events in Bahrain in 2011 and the intervention of the Peninsula Shield Force.