In the coming week, the Arab League Summit marks Syria's return.

Japan hosts the G7 Heads of State Summit, and the UN discusses sanctions on North Korea.

It's May 18, 2023 in time for the world next week. I'm Bob McMahon.

And I'm Carly Ann Robbins.

Well, Carla, let's kick things off in the Middle East tomorrow.

Saudi Arabia hosts the annual Arab League Summit.

Now, this is a group that has been generously described as a boring talking shop.

However, a big development

is being noted, which is the return of Syria after more than a decade of its absence. The Arab League

is bringing Bashar al-Assad back into the fold. There is no manifest signs that he has changed

his posture or his regime's positions in any way,

but he's back. Can you tell us why?

So, Bob, you have kindly noted the League, which really takes a stand on anything, suspended Syria in 2011 when Assad began a brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters, students in the beginning, and that was the

opening stage in the Syrian Civil War, and now the League has invited Syria back, and it looks like

Assad is going to show up for Fridays at a state meeting agenda. And as the Economist magazine

summed it up so aptly, one of the 21st century's worst war criminals makes a comeback.

You know, just a reminder of Assad's many horrors and why this is such a terrible message of impunity.

His repeated use of poison gas against, you know, children, women, men, including chlorine and the nerve agent, Sarin.

I'm sure you remember those awful videos from Gouda.

Imprisening, torturing and murdering tens of thousands of his opponents.

And along with his Russian allies turning multiple cities in Syria into rubble.

And as recently as the February earthquake that hit both Turkey and Syria,

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