• First Syrian presidential US visit since 1946.
• Trump–Sharaa White House meeting set for Monday.
• US hopes Syria joins coalition against Daesh.

WASHINGTON: 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.

US envoy to Syria Tom Barrack said earlier this month that Sharaa would “hopefully” sign an agreement to join the international US-led alliance against Daesh.

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.”

Transformation

Sharaa’s Washington trip comes after his landmark visit to the United Nations in September — his first time on US soil — where he 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 brutal civil war.

In October, the World Bank put a “conservative best estimate” of the cost of rebuilding Syria at $216 billion.

Russia carried out one of its largest overnight attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, killing at least six people and leaving vast areas without electricity, water, and heating.

According to reports, the strikes targeted both residential and industrial areas, hitting 25 sites across Kyiv and other cities.

Ukrainian authorities said Moscow deployed over 450 drones and 45 missiles in the assault. Several major power facilities were damaged, causing emergency blackouts in multiple regions.

Energy company DTEK confirmed that electricity was cut to parts of Kyiv and the northern city of Kharkiv.

President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that in Dnipro, a Russian drone hit a residential building, killing three people, while one person died in Kharkiv.

“Russian strikes once again targeted civilian life,” said Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga. “Communities were left without power, water, and heating. Critical infrastructure and railway networks were damaged.”

In Kharkiv, the mayor reported severe electricity shortages, while local authorities said water supplies were also disrupted.

Kremenchuk, in the Poltava region, experienced interruptions to electricity, water, and partial heating following the attacks.

Restoration Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said train services nationwide were disrupted due to damage at locomotive depots.

“We are working to eliminate the consequences across the country, focusing on restoring heat, electricity, and water as quickly as possible,” stated Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.

State-owned energy company Naftogaz said this assault marks the ninth major attack on gas infrastructure since early October.

Experts warned that sustained strikes could lead to heating shortages as winter approaches.

The Kyiv School of Economics estimated that half of Ukraine’s natural gas production has already been shut down.

Energy analyst Oleksandr Kharchenko warned that if Kyiv’s two main power and heating plants remain offline for more than three days in temperatures below minus ten degrees Celsius, the capital could face a “technological disaster.”

Russia’s Defence Ministry claimed responsibility, stating that its forces targeted “enterprises of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex and gas and energy facilities that support their operation.”

Meanwhile, Ukraine has intensified its own drone strikes on Russian oil depots and refineries in recent months in an effort to cut off Moscow’s vital energy exports.

On Friday evening, drone attacks on energy infrastructure in Russia’s southern Volgograd region caused temporary power outages there, according to regional governor Andrei Botcharov.

• 185kph winds, 230kph gusts, could hit Aurora province Sunday night.
• Eastern Visayas reporting early power outages as conditions worsen.
• Over 300 domestic and international flights cancelled nationwide.

The Philippines evacuated over 100,000 residents across its eastern and northern regions as Fung-wong intensified on Sunday into a super typhoon ahead of its expected arrival later in the day, threatening to unleash torrential rains, destructive winds, and storm surges.

Storm alert signals have been hoisted across large parts of the Philippines, with Signal No. 5, the highest warning, raised over southeastern Luzon, including Catanduanes and coastal areas of Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur, while Metro Manila and surrounding areas are under Signal No. 3.

Packing sustained winds of 185kph (11mph) and gusts of up to 230 kph, Super Typhoon Fung-wong, locally known as Uwan, is forecast to make landfall in Aurora province in central Luzon Sunday night at the earliest.

Parts of Eastern Visayas were already experiencing power outages.

Some images shared by the Philippine Coast Guard in Camarines Sur showed evacuees carrying bags and personal belongings as they transferred from long, narrow passenger boats to waiting trucks during preemptive evacuation operations.

300 flights cancelled

More than 300 domestic and international flights have been cancelled, according to the civil aviation regulator.

A video shared by ABS-CBN News on X showed stormy conditions in Catanduanes province, with an overcast sky, tree branches swaying violently in the wind, and strong rain visibly falling and pounding the area, its intensity audible.

Fung-wong approached the Philippines just days after the country was battered by Typhoon Kalmaegi, which killed 204 people and left a trail of destruction before slamming into Vietnam, where it claimed five more lives and devastated coastal communities.

In the fishing village of Vung Cheo in central Vietnam, fishing vessels were seen piled up in wrecks along the main road on Saturday, where hundreds of lobster farms had been washed away or damaged.