Human rights organizations, activists and researchers called for radical change in international policies tackling human rights violations in Bahrain in an international conference held in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, entitled “Bahrain: 8 Years of Repression under International Silence”.

The Guardian reported that Bahrain has been found guilty by a UN body of arbitrarily detaining three relatives of a British-based human rights activist as a reprisal for his protest in London against the visit of the country’s king in 2017.

Bahrain on Friday rejected a UN call to release prominent activist Nabeel Rajab, saying he is serving a five-year sentence for “false” tweets “which do not fall within freedom of expression”.

The Interior Ministry issued a statement in response to the call made by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on January 4 regarding the “immediate and unconditional release” of Nabeel Rajab, who is serving a five-year sentence on charges of “releasing false news during wartime and publicly insulting brotherly states and the Ministry of Interior”.

A United Nations human rights watchdog has called on Bahrain to release three relatives of a prominent exiled activist, describing their detention as an unlawful act of reprisal over their family connection.

The United Nations human rights office called on Bahrain on Friday to release activist Nabeel Rajab, saying that the upholding of his five-year jail sentence by the top court this week showed "continued suppression of government critics".

A U.N. advance team arrived in Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah on Sunday to start monitoring a ceasefire and withdrawal of forces agreed by the Iranian-aligned Houthi group and Saudi-backed government forces, the United Nations said.

The head of a United Nations advance team tasked with monitoring a ceasefire between the Iranian-aligned Houthi group and Saudi-backed government forces in Yemen's Hodeidah has arrived in Yemen, U.N. and local officials said on Saturday.

The Bahraini Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the issuance of Security Council Resolution 2451 on the ceasefire in Yemen’s Hodeidah, and the dispatch of international observers to follow up what was agreed upon between Yemeni parties in Sweden.

Explosions rocked Yemen’s Red Sea city of Hodeidah for a second day on Wednesday despite a U.N.-mediated ceasefire meant to pave the way for peace negotiations to end nearly four-years of war.

Yemen’s warring parties blamed each other for violations of a U.N.-mediated ceasefire in Hodeidah meant to avert an all-out battle for a port city vital for emergency aid supplies and pave the way to peace negotiations.

The U.N. Security Council is considering a draft resolution that asks U.N. chief António Guterres to submit proposals by the end of the month on how to monitor a ceasefire agreed by Yemen’s warring parties for the key port city of Hodeidah, diplomats said on Monday.

At least 29 fighters, including 22 Huthi rebels, were killed on Saturday night in clashes and air strikes in Hodeida province, said a pro-government military source.

One of the killers of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was heard saying “I know how to cut” on the audio of the killing Turkey shared with U.S. and European officials, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday.

The United Nations proposed at initial talks between Yemen’s warring parties on Tuesday that they withdraw from the contested port city of Hodeidah, a lifeline for millions facing famine, and place it under the control of an interim entity.

Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) issued a new report entitled "Bahrain: Concerns of Further Death Penalties amid Disregard of Prisoners’ Torture Allegations”.

The U.N. special envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, arrived on Friday in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, witnesses said.

United Nations food chief David Beasley spotted a tiny foot sticking out from under a blanket in a hospital in Yemen that has been overwhelmed with malnourished children, so he tried to bring a smile to the face of the small patient.

Yemen’s Houthi movement said on Monday it was halting drone and missile attacks on Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and their Yemeni allies, responding to a demand from the United Nations.

Saudi Arabia is defying U.S. calls to mend ties with Qatar despite signs that pressure to end another regional crisis, the Yemen war, has had an impact on Riyadh since the killing of a prominent journalist.