Bahraini activists called on supporters to hold pro-reform protests on Wednesday as a state of emergency imposed during a March crackdown on demonstrators was being lifted, one day after the king called for dialogue.

Shiites, who form a majority in the Sunni-ruled kingdom, began demonstrations on February 14 but were crushed by security forces the following month.

More than 3,000 police were deployed in and around the Holy City on Wednesday as Israelis marked Jerusalem Day to remember when they seized its Arab eastern sector 44 years ago, during the Six Day War.

"We have deployed extra police, border guards and civil guard volunteers, particularly in the eastern part of the city and in and around the Old City to maintain public order during the ceremonies," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told Agence France Presse.

Iranian lawmakers on Wednesday denounced President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad being a caretaker of the oil ministry and sent the report of this "violation" of the constitution to the judiciary, state television website reported.

It said Ahmadinejad violated the law by "not appointing a caretaker for the oil ministry and his maintaining (himself) as a caretaker," the website said.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe on Wednesday demanded "more ambitious and bolder" action from Syria after President Bashar Assad decreed a general amnesty for political prisoners.

"I fear that it might already be too late," Juppe told France Culture radio after the Syrian leader announced the amnesty following two months of deadly anti-government protests.

The Sanaa headquarters of dissident General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar was hit by two shells late on Tuesday during clashes between government forces and fighters loyal to Yemen's most powerful tribal leader, a source close to the general said.

"Two shells hit the headquarters of the First Armored Division," commanded by General Mohsen, the source said.

Libya Tuesday accused NATO of killing 718 civilians and wounding 4,067 in 10 weeks of air strikes, as African efforts for a truce stalled and Italy said Moammar Gadhafi's regime is "finished."

The toll of dead and injured was given at a news conference in Tripoli by government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim, who also warned the departure of Gadhafi would be a "worst case scenario" for Libya.

Three civilians were shot dead on Tuesday by Syrian security forces at Rastan in the center of the country and in the southern region of Daraa, a rights activist said on condition of anonymity.

"Ibrahim Salhum was killed today at Rastan" near the city of Homs, as the military attempted to quell anti-regime protest there for the third straight day, the activist said.

China voiced support on Tuesday for Syria's stability and said a U.N. Security Council resolution on the nation was unlikely to ease tensions there.

Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mekdad is currently in Beijing and is slated to hold talks with Chinese Foreign Ministry Yang Jiechi, ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told journalists.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday decreed a general amnesty for Muslim Brotherhood members and political prisoners after two months of deadly anti-regime protests, the official SANA news agency reported.

"President Assad has by decree issued an amnesty on all crimes committed before May 31, 2011," it reported. "The amnesty applies to all political prisoners as well as to the Muslim Brotherhood."

Iran is "optimistic" about boosting ties with Egypt, Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi was reported as saying Tuesday after Cairo expelled an Iranian diplomat on suspicion of spying.

"We are optimistic about the future of ties between the two countries," Salehi was quoted as saying by state television's website