Arab nations inch toward rehabilitating Syria’s Assad

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian President Bashar Assad is poised to be readmitted to the fold of Arab nations, a feat deemed unthinkable eight years ago as he forcefully crushed the uprising against his family’s rule.
Gulf Arab nations, once the main backers of rebels fighting Assad, are lining up to reopen their embassies in Syria, worried about leaving the country to regional rivals Iran and Turkey and missing out on lucrative post-war reconstructive projects.
Key border crossings with neighb