Putin was indicted by the ICC … so why not the butcher of Damascus? | Simon Tisdall

The return to the Arab fold of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad is deeply shameful, and that shame should be shared by the US and its allies

The grotesque rehabilitation of Bashar al-Assad's regime - Syria's criminal president has been cordially invited to this week's Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia - makes sense to cynical Arab governments. They hope to reduce Damascus's dependence on Iran, encourage refugees to return, halt state-sponsored drug rackets and cash in on reconstruction.

But from a human perspective, their decision is utterly shameful. More than 300,000 civilians have died since Assad turned his guns on Syria's 2011 Arab spring pro-democracy uprising. About 14 million people, half Syria's population, have fled their homes. Most who remain are short of food. Then came February's earthquakes.