live from washington. this is bbc news. president biden has pardoned his sentencing this month on gun crime and tax convictions.

protestors take to the streets once more in georgia, as the prime minister denies suspending syria's president meets the iranian foreign minister in damascus, welcoming support against a rebel offensive that's taken large parts of the country. hello. i'm helena humphrey. joe biden has pardoned his son ahead of sentencing for gun crime and tax offences. ahead of sentencing for gun crime e beenl offences. ahead of sentencing for gun crime e been unfairly 5s. ahead of sentencing for gun crime e been unfairly prosecuted he had been unfairly prosecuted and argued that politics had led to miscarriage of led to a miscarriage of justice. the president released took off as i said i would i took off as i said i would not interfere with thejustice department �*s decision and i have kept my word even as i have kept my word even as i have watched my son being selectively and unfairly prosecuted, it is clear hunter

was treated differently, the charges on his cases

was treated differently, the charges on hir for;es was treated differently, the charges on hir for political me and jamie for political sport i maintained my sobriety despite all of this i have maintained my sobriety for five years because of my deep faith possible to rebuild our lives if we never take for granted mercy we been afforded. i will never take the clemency i have been given today for granted and will devote the life i have two help those still sick and suffering. a reminder of that breaking news we are bringing you president biden pardoning his son to hunter despite previously saying he would not

give him clemency, hunter biden convicted earlier this year of a gun and lying about his drug use as well as tax evasion. president biden describing his sons prosecution is unfair and due to pressure from his political opponents, he said he hoped americans would understand how as a father and president, he wrote, he made such a decision. we will bring you more on that story as we get it later in the programme, turning now to georgia. thousands of protesters are on the streets of georgia for a fourth night, in response to the government suspending talks tojoin the european union. these are the live pictures from the capital tblisi where demonstrators are outside parliament. it is the early hours of the morning there. demonstrators still outside parliament. some protesters threw fireworks towards police officers crouching behind shields. the latest protests come after georgia's prime minister seemed to contradict the very comments that sparked this week's demonstrations. he denied that his government is suspending moves to join

the european union. our russia editor, steve rosenberg is in tbilisi and spoke to the prime minister. he sent this report. fireworks explode. in tbilisi, now, every night is fireworks night. a fourth night of protests outside parliament, while inside, police try to keep protesters at bay. a brolly helps at moments like these. so the police right now are firing streams of water from inside the parliament, and going the other way, fireworks hurled by the protesters. it is the most surreal stand—off. the crowds are huge. so is the disappointment that the government here has frozen accession talks with the eu. but people are still hoping. every single day, there is more and more people coming. and it gives me hope that this government will finally go away.

no sign of that. earlier, the head of the government praised the police and condemned the protests. many of the protesters have said to me that by suspending until the end of 2028 georgia's bid tojoin the european union, you have stolen, your government has stolen their european dream, their european future. people feel betrayed. can you understand that? the response is very clear. so, we have not suspended anything related to the european integration. it'sjust a lie. and there are the opposition leaders, there are the media outlets linked with the opposition, who are just lying to these people. you suspended this until 2028. no, it's not true, it's not true. really? here's what he said three days ago. translation: today, we have decided - not to put the issue of opening negotiations with the european union on the agenda until the end

of 2028. we also refuse any budgetary grants from the european union until the end of 2028. it was that announcement that sparked the protests and violence. here, a makeshift firework gun fires at police, while police officers have been while police officers have been accused of assaulting accused of assaulting protesters. protesters. you must have seen videos you must have seen videos of the brutal way in of the brutal way in which the police have treated which the police have treated some of the protesters some of the protesters in the last few days. in the last few days. what is your reaction to that? what is your reaction to that? an investigation will happen an investigation will happen against this kind of incidents, against this kind of incidents, but also, in this case, but also, in this case, it's important to have a clear it's important to have a clear position with regard to position with regard to the violence from both sides. the violence from both sides. the protesters accuse the protesters accuse the government the government of selling out to russia, of selling out to russia, which the authorities deny. which the authorities deny. neither side shows any neither side shows any sign of backing down. sign of backing down. steve rosenberg, steve rosenberg, bbc news, tbilisi. bbc news, tbilisi. for more, i spoke to for more, i spoke to

stephenjones, the director stephenjones, the director of the georgian studies program of the georgian studies program at the davis centre at harvard at the davis centre at harvard university. university. i asked him what he makes of i asked him what he makes of the political situation the political situation unfolding right now in georgia? unfolding right now in georgia? right now what is emerging are right now what is emerging are two governments, you have the two governments, you have the government of the government of the georgian dream which is claiming legitimacy based on the 26 october elections and you have another government emerging which is circling around the woman and dealing with her the opposition parties who are also claiming to be legitimate, the reason for their legitimacy is the legitimacy of the october 26 elections, you have two divided, two groups divided, contesting for the sovereignty of the country of georgia. that's a very difficult situation and one hopes that does not end with violence although my sense is one side

will have to given, otherwise they will be forcibly removed. let's talk more about that polarisation how far

intensive airstrikes on opposition forces — this is the aftermath of a strike on the rebel—held city of idlib. the syrian defence ministry said dozens of rival fighters had been killed. monitors say civilian casualties have also been reported, including in aleppo, which has fallen to the rebels. the syrian army says it's preparing a counteroffensive. barbara plett usher has more, and a warning — her report contains images of children in distress. they are alive. rescued from

the wreckage moments after the bombs struck. footage posted by the syrian civil defence group, the white helmets, shows the aftermath of an attack on the rebel stronghold of idlib, southwest of aleppo. the regime is fighting back. thousands of people have been displaced, fleeing aleppo and areas around idlib. their lives suddenly upended by this escalation in syria's civil war. translation: we are following the battle news and god willing | the regime will fall. we count night and day to return as the kids are tired and shocked. we left and came here in our clothes and nothing else. the speedy capture of aleppo took everyone by surprise. a devastating blow to the assad regime. the rebels continue their advance,

but here the city is coming to terms with a new normal. some are fearful of the anti—government rebels, but so far people continue with their daily lives. and for those driven out by previous battles, a chance to come home. translation: i returned to aleppo after it was liberated, after we were driven out. i came back to experience thisjoy, to witness its greatness, its old neighbourhoods cleaned up after being desecrated by the assad regime and its collaborators. it isn't clear if the insurgents can hold on to the territory captured, but they have exposed the weakness of bashar al—assad's rule. this is the first sighting of him since the fall of aleppo, meeting iran's foreign minister — a crucial ally along with russia. both consumed by their own conflicts but trying to bring the situation back under control. the front lines of syria's civil war have been redrawn and no one have been redrawn and no one knows what comes next. barbara plett usher, knows what comes next. bbc news, beirut. for more, i spoke to wafa for more, i spoke to wafa mustafa, senior communications mustafa, senior communications

and advocacy lead at the ngo and advocacy lead at the ngo the syria campaign. the syria campaign. thank you very much for being thank you very much for being with us on bbc news.- with us on bbc news.- thank you very much for being thank you very much for being with us on bbc news. today we with us on bbc news. today we heard risk _ with us on bbc news. today we heard risk -- — heard risk _ with us on bbc news. today we heard risk -- — with us on bbc news. today we heard risk -- reports _ with us on bbc news. today we heard risk -- reports of- heard risk —— reports of multiple airstrikes across with us on bbc news. today we heard risk -- reports _ with us on bbc news. today we heard risk -- reports of- heard risk —— reports of multiple airstrikes across syria reportedly targeting syria reportedly targeting rebel is. what are you seeing rebel is. what are you seeing in terms of that immediate in terms of that immediate impact on civilians? let me impact on civilians? let me start by saying _ start by saying _ impact on civilians? let me start by saying these - impact on civilians? let me impact on civilians? let me start by saying these - impact on civilians? let me start by saying these are i start by saying these are i start by saying these are airstrikes targeted many civilians and unfortunately the start by saying these are airstrikes targeted many civilians and unfortunately the casualties we have heard of and that we know of, are for casualties we have heard of and that we know of, are for civilians, whether we are civilians, whether we are talking about targeting talking about targeting civilians in residential areas civilians in residential areas and urgent lube or even aleppo city. let's start by saying rebel expected the regime sooner or later to target civilians as reaction, and a and who, in 2016,

response that we have been unfortunately seeing for years. we are talking about a devastated healthcare system, and overwhelmed number of hospitals, whether in idlib or aleppo. families had to flee

of aleppo, who, in 2016, has been heavily bombed by the bashar al—assad regime and his allies. we are talking about doctors in idlib, have been for years talking about the doctors in idlib, have been for years talking about the devastated healthcare system. devastated healthcare system. they have been talking about they have been talking about the hospitals and the lack of the hospitals and the lack of medical staff, they have been medical staff, they have been talking about the lack of talking about the lack of medicines, they have been medicines, they have been talking about how they cannot talking about how they cannot deal unfortunately with the deal unfortunately with the overwhelming number of victims every single day. there is a overwhelming number of victims every single day. there is a huge, urgent need for emergency huge, urgent need for emergency response, whether by the un response, whether by the un agencies or by medical agencies or by medical

agencies. this is again another agencies. this is again another moment to say the failure of moment to say the failure of the international community in the international community in the international community in the past years is showing that the international community in the past years is showing that the past years is showing that the lack of real political the past years is showing that the lack of real political change, the real lack of action change, the real lack of action is leading to wards more is leading to wards more killing, and been for killing, and unfortunately suffering, and more fearful syrians who many of them today

saying claims about him have been made by "a handful of middle—class women of a certain age". his lawyers previously said the allegations are false. 13 women have complained about him to a bbc news investigation. figures show more than 20,000 migrants have arrived in the uk by crossing the channel in small boats since sir keir starmer became prime minister. he said ministers had inherited an utter mess in the home office. it comes after the pm announced a major overhaul of the immigration system and accused the conservatives of running "a one—nation experiment in open borders". former world snooker

champion terry griffiths has died at age of 77 after a long battle with dementia. from south wales, he came through the qualifying rounds to win the 1979 crucible title as a qualifier, and also won the masters and the uk championship to complete the sport's illustrious triple crown. you're live with bbc news. votes are still being counted in ireland's general election , with more than half the parliamentary seats now filled. centre—right parties fianna fail and fine gael seem most likely to form a coalition government for the second time. this election saw 59.7% of the electorate cast a ballot — the lowest figure in more than a century. our caitriona perry has more from dublin. some of the seats are still outstanding, but it looks at this point like the two biggest outgoing government parties, fianna fail and fine gael, will buck the global trend for incumbent government parties and will actually be returned to power.

not so the case for the junior government partner, the green party, which has been almost wiped out, keeping only one of its 12 seats. fianna fail will return to dail eireann, the highest part, the biggest party with the highest number of seats, it looks at this point, and it will seek to build a coalition with fine gael. now, it's not going to make the numbers for a majority. they're going to need some support in that. and the big success stories of this weekend have been the smaller left—leaning parties — the social democrats and the labour party. fianna fail and fine gael may look to them to help them build a coalition, or indeed they may look to the support of a number of independents. now, on the other hand, sinn fein also has had a successful weekend and the leader, mary lou mcdonald, has pledged herself to build a left coalition government. she'll also be courting those smaller parties and, indeed, the independents. however, the maths make it a much more difficult route to government for her than for fianna fail and fine gael. and the other point to note is there had

been an expectation — perhaps there could have been a rise in far—right or anti—immigrant sentiment, but the candidates that ran on those platforms have had an unsuccessful time of things. now, the one thing all parties do agree on is that the next stage, the horse trading, the discussions to try and build a government — well, that's not going to happen any time soon, and it's unlikely that there will be a government in place this side of christmas. coutinho perry. let's go back to that breaking news we are following president biden pardoning his son hunter after previously saying he would not give him clean the sea. hunter biden was convicted this year of illegally buying a gun and lying about his drug use and tax evasion. you can see on your screen a qr code you can scan that and get more details and we will continue to bring you more on that story as we get it. let's turn to some

other news around the world. dozens of people have been killed in a crash following a football match in southern guinea. police fired tear gas at the visiting team fans after they threw stones and invaded they threw stones and invaded the pitch. the clashes came after the in the final minutes of the game. pro—eu —— exit polls in romania's parliamentary election predict pro—eu centrist parties have secured most of the votes. there was a surge in support forfar—right parties, but not enough to unseat incumbent social democrats and liberals. it comes a week after the first round of the presidential election in which the far—right pro—russian candidate calin georgescu secured a shock victory. the chief executive of car manufacturer stellantis, is stepping down with immediate effect. the world's fourth biggest car maker, which owns brands including chrysler, vauxhall and fiat said it had accepted the resignation of carlos tava res. last week it was announced that vauxhall would close its van—making plant in luton,

putting 1,100 jobs at risk. ukraine's president volodymyr zelensky says an invitation tojoin nato is necessary for the country's survival, but it must apply to all of its territory. mr zelensky has been holding talks in kyiv with the new head of the european council, antonio costa, and the eu's chief diplomat kaja kallas. at a news conference, mr zelensky also pushed for eu leaders to convince the us president—elect donald trump to work together for ukrainian security. antonio costa said the eu had stood by ukraine since the first day of the war and would continue to give kyiv its "unwavering" support. rewarding the aggressor would be a threat to the entire international community. find be a threat to the entire international community. and we must be clear— international community. and we must be clear - _ international community. and we must be clear - that _ international community. and we must be clear - that the - international community. and we must be clear - that the use - international community. and we must be clear - that the use of l must be clear — that the use of nuclear traps is unacceptable. this can never be put into

question. this can never be put into question-— question. talks aimed at negotiating _ question. talks aimed at negotiating a _ question. talks aimed at negotiating a global- question. talks aimed at i negotiating a global treaty question. talks aimed at - negotiating a global treaty to reduce plastic pollution has failed. the negotiators from 175 countries, meeting in south korea, were unable to reach agreement on key issues, including reducing the amount of plastic produced in the first place. our environment correspondent jonah fisher has more. this was supposed to be the moment the world came together to tackle its addiction to plastic. but after two years of talks, the last week of it in south korea, there was no sign of a global plastics treaty. a few critical issues still prevent us from reaching a comprehensive agreement. the key one, whether we need to reduce the amount of plastic we make. this year, the world made 430 million tonnes of plastic and that figure could triple by 2016 — member 2060.

just 9% of it ends up being recycled, with the rest going to landfill, being burnt or dumped at sea. plastic is mostly made from fossil fuels and at the talks it was oil—producing countries who blocked any attempt to put cutting production in the treaty. there should be no problem with producing plastics, because the problem is the pollution, not the plastics. attempting to phase out plastic and material risks undermining the global progress and exacerbating economic inequality. those who wanted action were left wondering if there was time to move ahead without the oil producers. high ambition countries need to step up and prevent a minority of groups from holding the rest of the world hostage, from achieving the type of agreement that we all know we need to. the only way to end plastic pollution is to reduce plastic production.

this could have been a turning point for plastic pollution. it is nowjust another missed opportunity. jonah fisher, bbc news. before we go returning to that breaking news which we have been bringing you, president biden pardoning his son hunter despite previously saying he would not give him clemency. hunter biden convicted earlier this year of illegally buying a gun and lying about his drug use as well as tax evasion, president biden describing his son �*s prosecution is unfair and due to pressure from his political opponents he said he hoped americans would understand how as a father and a president he had made such a decision. there is been a statement from hunter biden we can bring you some of that he said in it i have a dated and taken responsibility for my mistakes during the darkest days of my addiction and those mistakes have been exploited to publicly humiliate me for political support.

publicly humiliate me for politicalsupport. he publicly humiliate me for political support. he said despite that he had maintained sobriety for more than five years due to his faith in the support of his family and friends. he said during that time he squandered many opportunities and advantages but he said he will never take for granted the mercy that he had been afforded and he said that had been af