Arab leaders meet to address conflicts and 'terror'

Arab leaders are set to meet in Jordan today for their annual summit with no expected breakthrough on resolving conflicts or "terrorism" in the region.
Saudi Arabia's King Salman is among 22 leaders attending the Arab League for the meeting in Sweimeh on the Dead Sea coast from 0900 GMT.
UN chief Antonio Guterres and his special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, are also expected to be present.
The leaders are set to discuss the wars in Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen, the fight against "terrorism" and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to Jordan's information minister.
"I think this summit won't be any different from the previous Arab summits," said Oraib al-Rantawi, head of the Al-Quds Centre for Political Studies.

"The Arab (political) system is weak, divided and has been plagued by defects for years," he said.

"No breakthrough is expected."
The 22-member bloc has struggled to resolve any of the conflicts that started after the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings, including Syria's devastating six-year war.
Arab League chief Ahmed Abul Gheit on Monday called on Arab leaders to play "a more active role" in finding a solution to the war, describing it as "the worst crisis in the region's recent history".
Syria's President Bashar al-Assad has not been invited to the summit since 2011, when the brutal repression of anti-government protests led to armed conflict involving world powers.

Saudi Arabia supports the Syrian opposition, while the Gulf heavyweight's main regional rival Iran backs the Assad regime.
Today, Guterres called on Arab leaders to set aside their differences to confront Syria's war, which is estimated to have killed more than 320,00 people and displaced millions.
"Arab unity is a very important element in order to allow this region to be stabilised and for... The Syrian refugees to find again a future that corresponds to their aspirations," he said.
Member states are also expected to discuss the battle against the Islamic State group, which they describe as "terrorist". The group is facing US-backed offensives in Syria and neighbouring Iraq.

Also on the agenda is the Yemen conflict, which escalated in 2015 with the military intervention of a Saudi-led coalition in support of embattled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.