Syria's Assad in Saudi Arabia to attend Arab League summit for 1st time in over decade

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has arrived in Saudi Arabia to take part in an Arab League summit upon an official invitation from King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the first such participation since foreign-backed militancy began in the country more than a decade ago. Assad arrived at King Abdulaziz International Airport in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah on Thursday to attend the 32nd regular session of the 22-member bloc the following day, Syrian state television reported. The Syrian presidency said in a statement on May 10 that the 57-year-old leader had received an invitation to the May 19 Arab summit in Saudi Arabia.