Qatar has been providing 31 Bahraini citizens with accommodation in a quarantine hotel in Doha after they arrived in the country on a Qatar Airways flight from Iran.

The foreign ministers of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt will hold a joint meeting in Manama today (Sunday).

Bahraini authorities released a former Agence France-Presse photographer on Thursday after holding him for more than 24 hours because of his work for AFP, the French news agency reported.

Bahrain is to put on trial 11 people accused of attempting to murder a police officer and being part of a "terrorist" group, prosecutors said on Wednesday.

Bahrain's struggling carrier Gulf Air said on Wednesday it reduced losses by 62% last year as a result of the company's restructuring.

Bahraini security forces launched a manhunt on Saturday after a reported 20 prisoners broke out of a jail on the island of Muharraq, site of the Gulf state's main airport.

A Bahraini court on Thursday jailed 19 Shias for attacks against police in the kingdom, including five for life sentences, a judicial source said.

Bahrain has charged four US journalists with taking part in an illegal gathering but they were planning to leave the country after being released, their lawyer said.

Bahraini authorities have arrested four foreigners, including journalists, during protests marking the fifth anniversary of a Shia-led uprising in the kingdom, police said.

Police in Bahrain used tear gas to disperse protesters demonstrating over Saudi Arabia's execution of a prominent Shia cleric, witnesses said.