welcome to newsday, i'm steve lai. us presidentjoe biden has pardoned his son hunter ahead of his sentencing for firearms and tax offences. the president said his son had been selectively and unfairly prosecuted and argued that raw politics had led to a miscarriage ofjustice. also to try to break him. in a statement, president biden said he had committed not to interfere with thejustice department's decision—making, saying: president biden continues... and ends by saying.

there's also been a statement in response from hunter biden, let me bring you some of that. he says: and adds... ina in a post on his truth social platform donald trump called the pardon and abuse and miscarriage ofjustice. mix johnson told me more about his reaction. , . ., reaction. president-elect and hunter biden _ reaction. president-elect and hunter biden it _ reaction. president-elect and hunter biden it has _ reaction. president-elect and hunter biden it has been - reaction. president-elect and i hunter biden it has been heated war of word since the biden family and mrtrump

war of word since the biden family and mr trump over these convictions. and donald trump has spoken out making comparisons to rioters —— rioters who stormed the us capitol on january rioters who stormed the us capitol onjanuary six, rioters who stormed the us capitol on january six, 2021. he capitol onjanuary six, 2021. he said on truth social does the pardon given byjoe to hunter include the january six hostages who have now been imprisoned for years, he says such an abuse and miscarriage ofjustice. that is prime president—elect trump but it is important to note there have been divisions among democratic politicians as to the decision of the president to pardon his son. including the governor of colorado jarrod polis, son. including the governor of coloradojarrod polis, who has written on x, while as a father i understand joe biden �*s natural desire to part help a son by pardoning him as one of his justifications son by pardoning him as one of hisjustifications for son by pardoning him as one of his justifications for doing so i am disappointed he put his

family ahead of the country. this is a bad precedent that could be abused by later president and will sadly tarnish his reputation. while president biden made a very clear on numerous occasions earlier this year that pardoning his son isjust something he would not consider, rathera something he would not consider, rather a dramatic u—turn in the past few hours. sarah krissof, former us federal prosecutor gave me her take. people saying that hunter wouldn't have been prosecuted if he was not his son? there is a lot of truth in that, these were cases types, of crimes that really are not usually charged. it is very unusual to charge someone for that gun offence essentially lying and buying as they call it in the atf and federal agencies, lying on a form about your drug use status in order to buy a weapon. that is a very unusual case to charge and

prosecute. similarly with the tax crimes they were unusual case to pursue, these are types of cases usually resolved with some kind of civil settlement with the irs not a criminal prosecution. if you are saying it is an unusual thing to prosecute the fact the pardon has been made does this set a dangerous precedent? it is not unusual to see at the end of a president's term, pardons to those close to them. this is not an uncommon thing, it happens. we know president biden had said over and over again he would not do this, but i had surmised a few months ago, this was likely going to happen. he put his family first and i am not surprised by that, despite the statements he made publicly he was not going to do this.

kash patel, who donald trump plans to nominate as his fbi director, has promised to find and prosecute what he calls deep—state conspirators in the government and media. there's obviously a concern over the prospect of legal retribution against trump's opponents — do you think joe biden might issue more pardons, protectively, to try and prevent that? it is very difficult to predict where the doj will go to that even under whoever takes the helm eventually, i don't really see the preventative pardons, unless there are certain particular people whojoe biden thinks will be in the crosshairs. it's hard to imagine he will issue these all—encompassing pardons at this point in his presidency. but there is a concern i think, on both sides here, of the political aisle, about the politicisation of the doj and the use

of it to go after folks for political reasons, not proportionate reasons. are those fears justified given what we have seen play out? what i am concerned about really is the destabilisation of the us as people do not have faith that these institutions, these law—enforcement institutions that are long storied, will protect them, bring cases fairly and justly and without fear or favour. that leads to really a broader destabilisation of the us. i think it is important for donald trump, important for him, i don't he will do that, but important for him to try to restore some sort of faith in these institutions and belief that while imperfect

they are the best that we have, and they filled with lots of people who are trying to do the right thing. let's take you down the road then about what the trump presidency could look like. we know from the past how he likes to do things, is there a concern a realistic concern that the rule of law in america would be challenged somewhat? yes, i do think there he has put forth the names of a lot of folks to run law—enforcement agencies, that ijust — do not have that background to do it. they are local folks who are going to be taking on the federal agencies that are run very differently to local organisations. i think, there are to be sure, a few of donald trump's nominees that i think are qualified and will do a very good job the supervisor at

the us attorney's office todd blanche, who is an excellent attorney and i think very highly of him, but there are others that do give me pause, about their ability to really run these organisations. stay up—to—date with more on the story by following our live page on the bbc website. all the reactions coming in. thousands of protesters are on the streets in georgia for a fourth night in response to the government suspending talks tojoin the european union. the latest protests come after georgia's prime minister seemed to contradict the very comments that sparked the demonstrations. he denied that his government is suspending moves to join the european union. 0ur 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 accused of assaulting protesters.

you must have seen videos of the brutal way in which the police have treated some of the protesters in the last few days. what is your reaction to that? an investigation will happen against this kind of incidents, but also, in this case, it's important to have a clear position with regard to the violence from both sides. the protesters accuse the government of selling out to russia, which the authorities deny. neither side shows any sign of backing down. steve rosenberg, bbc news, tbilisi. iamjoined by i am joined by a ceo at a georgian ceo pushing for reforms in georgia. salome i understand you were down on the streets in georgia what was that like and what with the protesters saying?-

that like and what with the protesters saying? thank you for our protesters saying? thank you for your interest, _ protesters saying? thank you for your interest, the - protesters saying? thank you for your interest, the protest | for your interest, the protest situation in georgia is very intense. lots of protesters on the streets it's been horrible here. what is the most important part of it as the government is trying to target journalists especially, ten were beaten and suspended. so i think we are trying to cover our the deeds and they do not want the world to see what they are doing. because after the most brutal night in georgia and afterjournalists covered and after journalists covered these and afterjournalists covered these clashes with our police, and the demonstrators, a lot of people in georgia, came and they expressed their support to they expressed their support to the demonstrators. so i think thatis the demonstrators. so i think that is why they are so terrified ofjournalists. and

also people they are sometimes respected with the children, they are using violence and it is a very harsh response to demonstrators because there are some demonstrators using these firebombs but you cannot like, it is really a very harsh response from the government. tell us how strong the sentiment is with protest as it has gone on for four nights, sentiment is with protest as it has gone on forfour nights, do you expect these protests to continue. i you expect these protests to continue-— you expect these protests to continue. . ~ , , continue. i thank the protests will continue _ continue. i thank the protests will continue especially - continue. i thank the protests will continue especially now, | will continue especially now, the georgia government is trying to hide their pro— russia responsible so many years and now when they drop the negotiations it is for people that they are really trying to change the situation with europe. i think demonstrations will continue and the government will also

continue violence to disperse them. the attention on georgia should be from the west from the western news agencies because the georgian government supporters, even the most of the supporters are pro—eu. what the supporters are pro—eu. what the government is doing they are trying even now to somehow hide their intentions, they are saying it is only temporary. after several years we would have very good relations with the eu. but you are lying. i think that may be for now, georgia will be, the government could not treat georgian people. i thank the protest will continue and i think it will continue and i think it will be, the reactions will be

taken. ., ~' , . will be, the reactions will be taken. ., ~ , . ., taken. thank you very much for our taken. thank you very much for your time- _ taken. thank you very much for your time. ceo _ taken. thank you very much for your time. ceo at _ taken. thank you very much for your time. ceo at the - taken. thank you very much for your time. ceo at the liberty i your time. ceo at the liberty institute a georgian ngo. 0ur institute a georgian ngo. our next story. it follows shortly. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

you're live with bbc news. syria's president, bashar al—assad, is turning to his allies, iran and russia, for aid after opposition fighters took control of large parts of the country. on sunday, mr assad welcomed iran's foreign minister to the syrian capital, damascus. in his first public appearance since the rebels' offensive began, the president welcomed iran's support. russia, mr assad's other major ally, is carrying out 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 had 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 regime. the rebels continued theiradvance, but here the city is coming to terms with a new normal. early signs that daily life goes on as before. and for those driven out by previous battles, a chance to return. 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 the 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 and his dependence on foreign powers to prop it up. russia and iran are trying to bring the situation back under control, but consumed by their own conflicts. the front lines of syria's civil war have been redrawn and nobody knows what comes next.

matthew sussex from the strategic and defence studies centre at the australia national university in canberra gave me his assessment of the current situation. it has taken assad, and us by a significant amount of surprise. this conflict had been more or less frozen for three orfour years, and the swiftness with which the rebel alliance has managed to capture aleppo is something that would certainly give assad pause as well as his military. and given that he has had to rely on iranian support, and russian airpower, in the past, and both those countries now have their own problems they have to deal with. it might be quite difficult for assad to be able to roll back and dislodge this new incursion outside of idlib province. the un agency for palestinian refugees says it's halting aid

deliveries through kerem shalom, the main crossing between israel and gaza. the head of unrwa, philippe lazzarini, said the decision had been taken because two convoys had recently been held up by armed gangs. he added that obstacles by israeli authorities and israel's ongoing siege are also making humanitarian operations impossible. israel says only a small amount of aid into gaza last month was coordinated by unrwa. under a law passed by the israeli parliament in october, israel's civil servants must cut contact with the organisation in less than a month's time. local media and medical staff

saying dead bodies and injured on the injured filled the corridors of the hospital. exit polls in romania is election predict a pro—eu centrist party has secured most of the vote, there was a surgeon support for far right parties but not enough unseat the incumbent social democrats and liberals, comes a week after the first round of the present tune election which saw the far right pro— russian candidate secure a shock victory. norway has suspended its controversial plans to conduct a deep sea mining and its waters, had previously hoped to open its arctic seabed to mining for critical metals, next year arguing it did not want to rely on china for minerals essential for energy technology. the head of greenpeace norway said it was a crucial victory claiming deep sea mining has a large impact on deep sea ecosystems. the chief executive of the

lantus is stepping down the fourth biggest car maker said it had accepted the resignation. last week it was announced boxall would close its van making plant in luton putting 1500 jobs at risk. far after two years of discussions, attempts to secure the world's to secure the world's first—ever global treaty to limit plastic production, in an effort to stop it polluting the planet, have collapsed in south korea. the world currently makes far more plastic than it can recycle, with much of it ending up in the oceans. at a week of talks, delegates from nearly 200 nations around the world could not agree on a unanimous declaration, with mostly oil—producing nations wanting to focus on waste, rather than production. it comes two years after countries agreed that a global treaty was needed to tackle the issue of plastic pollution, particularly the impacts on the marine environment — and this should be completed within two years given the urgency of the issue. the chair of the talks says: "unresolved issues remain challenging "and additional time will be needed to address them

effectively". 0ur 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 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 rather than addressing the issue of plastic pollution risks undermining the global progress and exacerbating economic inequalities. 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. and before we go.

the top story the us president joe biden and his son hunter. 0ur live pages up and running on this for more updates, he issued an official pardon was son was set to face sentencing this month on federal felony gun and tax convictions. the president—elect donald trump has called the pardon and abuse and miscarriage ofjustice. thanks for your company on bbc news. goodbye for now. hello. meteorologically speaking, sunday was the first day of winter. now, there were a number of showers around, but it was a pretty mild day. indeed, across wales, we had temperatures of 15.4 celsius recorded at both hawarden, in flintshire, and also in cardiff — those temperatures way above the december average. and those mild weather conditions were brought to us by these southwesterly winds, which are still across a good part of the country. however, look at this band of rain sinking south across scotland.

behind that, we start to see the winds turn more to a northerly direction, and it's those northerly winds that, through monday, are going to push this zone of colder air southwards. so, it will feel much colder as we go through the day, across northern areas in particular. so, the rain starts today — southern scotland, pushes southwards across northern england, reaches north wales and the midlands through the afternoon. brighter conditions follow, but it will be gusty around irish sea and north sea coasts, gusts of around a0 or 50mph. temperatures in england and wales about 8—11 degrees celsius, so still relatively mild. through the afternoon, it turns colder for scotland and northern ireland — temperatures here around 4—6 degrees. and then, that cold air surges southwards — monday night, a much colder night than we've been used to, with a widespread frost. so, a frosty and cold start to your day on tuesday, but with plenty of sunshine for most areas. however, band of rain is going to move in off the atlantic, so it turns wet in northern ireland, and eventually, the rain reaches western scotland as well. temperatures really struggle —

4—7 degrees — it is going to be a chilly day on tuesday for most. then tuesday night, the rain starts to turn to snow. now, that's especially the case in scotland, and especially for eastern areas. we could have some accumulations of snow, potentially bringing some localised disruption. but, ultimately, the snow will turn back to rain as milder air works its way in. and as we head through wednesday, that milder weather pushes in from the west, we'll have a lot of low cloud, some mist and fog. quite a murky looking day, perhaps turning a bit brighter as we head into the afternoon for some. but it's another day with struggling temperatures, particularly for central and eastern areas. starts to turn a bit milder in the west. and then thursday and friday, areas of low pressure on the way could bring some very strong gusts of wind, but certainly will be bringing some pretty wet weather our way.

the chief executive of stellantis the chief executive of stella ntis steps the chief executive of stellantis steps down with immediate effect. and — a challenging time for australia's live music industry. we'll have more on what's been going on. hello, and a warm welcome to business today. let's begin in the auto sector and the shock resignation of carlos tava res, and the shock resignation of carlos tavares, the ceo of

stellantis. declining sales has seen their shares lose 40% of their value this year. stellantis is the parent company of some of the world's most recognised brands, including vauxhall and jeep. what didn't go wrong, i guess, is another way to put it — carlos tava res has is another way to put it — carlos tavares has been saddled with a lot of difficult complexities at his sprawling business. it's a global business. it's a global business straddling two huge markets in the united states and in europe. and in the united states in particular, things kind of had gone off the rails. sales are way down. the inventories are way bloated. products have been late. the brand values have been damaged a bit. and incentives are soaring. so they have a lot of fixing to do in the united states. and i think the board just got tired of waiting. they said earlier this fall, actually, that they were going to replace him and that he

would step down. that was already agreed to.