Bahrain Sentences 4 Shiite Protesters to Death - AP

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/04/28/world/middleeast/AP-ML-Bahrain.html?_r=1&hp

Faced with an unprecedented political unrest, Bahrain's king declared martial law and invited troops from Saudi Arabia and other Sunni-ruled Gulf countries to help quell Shiite dissent after weeks of street marches and bloody clashes in the kingdom's capital, Manama.
For the Sunni Arabs rulers around the Gulf, Bahrain also is seen as a critical showdown with Shiite powerhouse Iran. Arab leaders fear that any serious political gains by Bahrain's Shiites — about 70 percent of the population — could open the door for greater influence by the Islamic Republic even though there is no history of close bonds between Iran and Bahraini Shiites.