Bashar al-Assad Sets Date For 'National Dialogue'

The Guardian reports:

Syrian authorities have set a date for a "national dialogue" with goverment opponents beginning on 10 July, but activists dismissed the prospect as pointless while a crackdown continues.

The move came as scores of opposition members met in Damascus, apparently with the government's sanction, for the first such summit inSyria for decades.

Around 150 intellectuals and opposition figures gathered at the Semiramis hotel. Proceedings opened with the national anthem and an homage to those who have died in the three-month uprising across the country in an effort to end more than 40 years of rule by the Assad family.

TV channels close to the government aired footage of pro-Assad rallies, waving flags and pictures of the president, outside the hotel. But many opponents, particularly those based abroad, criticised the gathering for going ahead while the government attacks its opponents, at least 1,500 of whom have been killed, according to activists.