Bahrain King Calls for Dialogue from July 1

Bahrain's King Hamad called on Tuesday for a national dialogue to begin on July 1, as the authorities readied to lift a state of emergency enacted during a crackdown on demonstrators, BNA state news agency said.

"I appeal to the executive and legislature to convene a dialogue of national consensus," the king was quoted as telling a group of journalists.

He called for "all necessary steps to prepare for a serious dialogue, comprehensive and without preconditions,” adding that it should "start from July 1."

The call came on the eve of the expected lifting of emergency rule imposed in mid-March to end a month-long uprising led by Shiite protesters that rocked the tiny Sunni-ruled Gulf state.