The crushing of the protests, finally enforced with the help of troops provided by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, threw the spotlight on Bahrain’s close security alliance with the United States and Britain. It is home to the US Fifth Fleet. The other six defendants in Monday’s hearing were sentenced to terms of between five and fifteen years. Twenty activists were originally tried and convicted by military tribunals, some in absentia, but civilian retrials were later ordered Read more [...]

Political and religious divides between Sunnis and Shiites have relegated local Arab Spring protests to little more than a memory in Bahrain. But some are trying to bridge the differences. (21.12.2012)