Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrived in the United States on Saturday for a landmark official visit, his country’s state news agency reported, a day after Washington removed him from a terrorism blacklist.Sharaa, whose rebel forces ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad late last year, is due to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday.It’s the first such visit by a Syrian president since the country’s independence in 1946, according to analysts.The interim leader met Trump for the first time in Riyadh during the US president’s regional tour in May.Washington’s envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, said earlier this month that Sharaa would “hopefully” sign an agreement to join the international US-led alliance against the Islamic State (IS) group.The United States plans to establish a military base near Damascus “to coordinate humanitarian aid and observe developments between Syria and Israel,” a diplomatic source in Syria told AFP.The State Department’s decision Friday to remove Sharaa from the blacklist was widely expected.State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said Sharaa’s government had been meeting US demands including on working to find missing Americans and on eliminating any remaining chemical weapons.”These actions are being taken in recognition of the progress demonstrated by the Syrian leadership after the departure of Bashar al-Assad and more than 50 years of repression under the Assad regime,” Pigott said.The spokesman added that the US delisting would promote “regional security and stability as well as an inclusive, Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process.” The Syrian interior ministry announced on Saturday that it had carried out 61 raids and made 71 arrests in a “proactive campaign to neutralise the threat” of IS, according to the official SANA news agency.It said the raids targeted locations where IS sleeper cells remain, including Aleppo, Idlib, Hama, Homs, Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa and Damascus.After his arrival, Sharaa met with representatives from Syrian organizations in Washington, according to his country’s official media.The Syrian foreign minister posted a social media video, filmed before Sharaa’s departure, of him playing basketball with CENTCOM commander Brad Cooper and Kevin Lambert, the head of the international anti-IS operation in Iraq, alongside the caption “work hard, play harder.”- Transformation -Sharaa’s Washington trip comes after his landmark visit to the United Nations in September — his first time on US soil — where the ex-jihadist became the first Syrian president in decades to address the UN General Assembly in New York.On Thursday, Washington led a vote by the Security Council to remove UN sanctions against him.Formerly affiliated with Al-Qaeda, Sharaa’s group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), was delisted as a terrorist group by Washington as recently as July.Since taking power, Syria’s new leaders have sought to break from their violent past and present a moderate image more tolerable to ordinary Syrians and foreign powers.The White House visit “is further testament to the US commitment to the new Syria and a hugely symbolic moment for the country’s new leader, who thus marks another step in his astonishing transformation from militant leader to global statesman,” International Crisis Group US program director Michael Hanna said.Sharaa is expected to seek funds for Syria, which faces significant challenges in rebuilding after 13 years of civil war.In October, the World Bank put a “conservative best estimate” of the cost of rebuilding Syria at $216 billion. 

Cyndi Lauper, Outkast, the White Stripes and Soundgarden were among this year’s inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday, adding their names to the pantheon of music’s most esteemed and beloved acts.New Yorker Lauper, who burst onto the pop scene with colorful punk looks and infectious tunes like “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” “True Colors” and “Time After Time,” was inducted by “Pink Pony Club” singer Chappell Roan.Praising her “four-octave range” and unapologetic style, Roan thanked Lauper for being an icon for any artist who may be called “too much, too loud, too eccentric or all of the above — their honesty becomes their greatest strength.”To induct Detroit rock band The White Stripes — known for sports arena favorite “Seven Nation Army” and “Fell in Love with a Girl,” among others — singer Iggy Pop gave an exuberant speech peppered with curse words and his own screeching impressions of the band’s raucous sound.”The White Stripes music was coming from a foundation of love, not revolution,” Pop said.Singer-guitarist Jack White accepted on behalf of himself and drummer Meg White, who did not attend. He named a long list of industry heavies and bands before adding: “To the homeless and the powerless and the forgotten, we always say thank you.” Other inducted American performers included Atlanta’s hip-hop duo Outkast, who topped charts with “Hey Ya,” “Ms. Jackson” and “The Way You Move,” and Seattle’s grunge band Soundgarden, who had hits with “Black Hole Sun” and “Spoonman.”English singer Joe Cocker, who died in 2014, was inducted posthumously to honor his bluesy music, including “You Are So Beautiful,” his cover of the Beatles’ “With a Little Help from My Friends” and the Grammy-winning duet with Jennifer Warnes “Up Where We Belong.”Other inductees included arena rockers Bad Company, who sang “Can’t Get Enough,” and “The Twist” singer Chubby Checker.Groundbreaking New York hip-hop trio Salt-N-Pepa was honored with a Musical Influence Award for their hit songs “Let’s Talk About Sex,” “Push It” and “Shoop,” which celebrate women’s independence with playful sexuality in a male-dominated genre.”These three women are the bricklayers to the foundation that holds hip-hop together,” Grammy-winning singer Missy Elliott told the audience before introducing their performance. “They gave us their shoulders to stand on.”English session pianist Nicky Hopkins was honored with the Musical Excellence Award for his work with superstars including The Rolling Stones, The Who, David Bowie and The Beatles.”That song started off as a kind of slowish song, and then Nicky started playing this samba piano with this percussion, that’s like the hook of the song,” Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger said of Hopkins’s work on the song “Sympathy for the Devil.”Along with awards and heartfelt acceptance speeches, the event featured performances by Elton John; Bryan Adams; Olivia Rodrigo; Twenty One Pilots; Doja Cat; Tyler, the Creator; and many more.The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland, Ohio, now features an exhibit with artifacts and memorabilia from this year’s inductees.

Air travel in the United States could soon “slow to a trickle,” authorities warned Sunday as thousands more flights were cancelled or delayed and passengers faced chaos triggered by the federal government shutdown.Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the number of flights being snarled or cut would multiply if the funding impasse between Democrats and Republicans continues while Americans gear up to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday later this month.”It’s only going to get worse,” Duffy said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” a Sunday news talk show.”The two weeks before Thanksgiving, you’re going to see air travel be reduced to a trickle.” On Sunday morning, more than 1,330 cancellations were recorded for flights within the United States and to and from the US, according to data from FlightAware, a flight tracking platform. Airports that were particularly hard hit included the three New York City area airports, Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, and Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport.Duffy warned that many Americans planning to travel for the November 27 holiday “are not going to be able to get on an airplane, because there are not going to be that many flights that fly if this thing doesn’t open back up.”- ‘Massive disruption’ -Sunday marked the 40th day of the record shutdown and the third day of flights being reduced at airports nationwide, after the Trump administration ordered reductions to ease strain on air traffic controllers working without pay.”We’re going to see air traffic controllers, very few of them coming to work, which means you’ll have a few flights taking off and landing,” Duffy told Fox News Sunday.”You’re going to have massive disruption (and) a lot of angry Americans.”Duffy sought to blame Democrats for the high-stakes political standoff, but Senator Adam Schiff said Republicans were rejecting a “reasonable” compromise deal to end the shutdown.”And the result from the Senate Republicans was ‘no,’ from the House Republicans ‘we are staying on vacation,’ and from the president ‘I’m going out to play golf,’ and that’s where we are while people are hurting,” Schiff said.When asked whether Democrats would turn around and vote with Republicans, Schiff, a California Democrat, indicated that the issue of healthcare subsidies remained a sticking point in negotiations.”No, I certainly hope it isn’t going to happen if millions of people are going to retain their health coverage and not have to pay these exorbitant premium increases,” Schiff said on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.””We need to end this. We proposed something, I think very reasonable. It was a compromise. Certainly wasn’t everything I want, which is a permanent extension of the tax credits,” he said, urging Republicans to allow “more time to work on this and reopen the government.”