The government came down hard on protests in 2011 when demonstrators, many from the Shi'ite majority, rose up to demand the downfall of Bahrain's monarchy in the Arab Spring.

MANAMA, Bahrain -- A Saudi-led military force crossed into Bahrain on Monday to prop up the monarchy against widening demonstrations that have sent waves of fear through Gulf states over the ...

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — A new group backed by Bahrain's crown prince says it hopes to bridge divides in a nation wracked by 16 months of unrest between the ruling Sunni monarchy and Shiite-led ...

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) -- Bahrain’s leaders banned public gatherings and sent tanks into the streets Thursday, intensifying a crackdown that killed five anti-government protesters, wounded more than 200 ...

Mourners chanted against the government and some even held aloft portraits of Bahrain's king defaced with an X - a possible signal that their anger could shift toward the monarchy itself.

Many among the majority Shiites claim the Sunni monarchy is not interested in reforms that would weaken its near monopoly on power. Bahrain’s most senior Shiite cleric, Sheik Isa Qassim, has ...

The appeal by Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa underscores the view of Bahrain’s Sunni monarchy that Shiite clerics should be held partly responsible for rising violence in the strategic Gulf nation ...

Bahrain, a Sunni Muslim-ruled monarchy with a restive Shi'ite population, has deep unease over Qatar's relations with Iran. Bahrain also has territorial disputes with Qatar.

Bahrain is an essential American ally, providing a base for the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, which protects the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and some 50% of the world’s oil production.

NPR's Kate Seelye reports on the changing state of Bahrain's national politics, as the Persian Gulf island takes careful baby steps toward reform. Eight women are running in this month's elections ...

Thousands of mourners called for the downfall of Bahrain's ruling monarchy as burials began Friday after a deadly assault on pro-reform protesters that has brought army tanks into the streets ...