Saudi Arabia has released three people swept up in the latest wave of arrests in a crackdown on free expression, London-based Saudi rights group ALQST said on Thursday, but several more remain in detention.

Saudi Arabia's vice minister of defense visited Oman on Monday and met with ruler Sultan Qaboos, Omani state news agency ONA reported, following a deal to end a power struggle in the south of Yemen.

A ruling by a U.S. judge granting bond on Friday to a former Twitter employee accused of spying for Saudi Arabia was stayed after U.S. prosecutors said they appealed the decision.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has pursued landmark reforms since coming to power, but his rise has been accompanied by "deepening repression and abusive practices", Human Rights Watch said Monday.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Friday agreed that the initial public offering of state oil giant Aramco will be announced on Sunday, five sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF), a press freedom organization, has filed a petition with the judiciary to remove a huge banner in Paris promoting tourism in Saudi Arabia, which it called "an affront to human dignity" after the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Saudi Arabia has eased travel restrictions on women but observers say loopholes still allow male relatives to curtail their movements and, in the worst cases, leave them marooned in prison-like shelters.

Saudi Arabia's crown prince warned in an interview broadcast on Sunday that oil prices could spike to "unimaginably high numbers" if the world doesn't come together to deter Iran, but said he preferred a political solution to a military one.

Saudi Arabia has sent messages to Iran's president through the leaders of other countries, an Iranian government spokesman said on Monday, at a time of heightened tensions between the regional rivals.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have looked inseparable on the world stage, working together to project power in the Middle East and beyond, and courting U.S. President Donald Trump to counter common foe Iran.

Saudi Arabia has allowed adult women to travel without permission and granted them more control over family matters, further eroding a heavily criticized male guardianship system at a time of heightened scrutiny over its human rights record.

Iran is prepared for dialogue if Saudi Arabia is also ready, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

The U.S. House of Representatives backed resolutions on Wednesday to block the sale of precision-guided munitions to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, sending them to the White House, where President Donald Trump has promised a veto.

Saudi Arabia allowed shops to work during daily prayers times after approving a decision to allow them remain open for 24 hours.

The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Republican chairman, Senator Jim Risch, introduced legislation on Wednesday punishing Saudi Arabia over human rights abuses and criticizing Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, but not halting weapons sales.

Global media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said on Wednesday it had visited Saudi Arabia to seek freedom for 30 jailed journalists amid sustained Western criticism of Riyadh following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

A sister of the crown prince of Saudi Arabia went on trial Tuesday in a French court over the alleged beating of a workman who was carrying out repairs in her ultra-luxury Paris apartment.

The king of Saudi Arabia's daughter is a "caring, humble" person who is the victim of false allegations that she ordered a bodyguard to beat up a workman in her luxury flat in Paris, the princess' lawyer said.

British Prime Minister Theresa May will meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Saturday to discuss the need for de-escalation in the Gulf after tensions rose because of a U.S.-Iran dispute over the country's nuclear deal, May's spokeswoman said.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held discussions on Monday with Saudi Arabia's King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on ensuring stability in energy markets and freedom of navigation, Saudi Arabia's ambassador designate to Washington said.