pledging nearly $700 million in military equipment. hello, you're watching bbc news. i'm catherine byaruhanga. we start in the us where president biden has been criticised by leading republicans for pardoning his son, hunter, who was due to face sentencing this month on federal gun and tax convictions. the president gave him a full and unconditional pardon, covering a decade, despite previously saying he would not interfere with the justice department's decisions. i'm extremely proud of my son hunter. he has overcome an addiction. he is one of the brightest, most decent men i know, and i am satisfied that i'm not going to do anything. i said i'd abide by thejury decision. i will do that and i will not pardon him. the president described the prosecution of his son as unfair, and a result of pressure from his political opponents.

hunter biden said mistakes he made in his darkest days of addiction had been exploited to humiliate his family. donald trump has called the pardon an abuse and a miscarriage ofjustice. daniel lippman is politico's white house reporter — he explained why president biden took this decision to pardon his son now. the white house and biden himself had been insistent for years that he would never intervene. but his kind of duties as a father has out—ridden that and he did not want his son to go to jail in these two cases, one a gun charge, one a tax evasion charge. and so i think that it will be interesting to see the reaction from republicans and democrats. he is a lame duck president. and so he was going to have to do this one way or another, in the eyes of family members. but this is shocking news in washington at the end of his term.

they have previously said they would respect the jury's verdict and that this is not a kangaroo court, that they would that the prosecutors, including david weiss, who was appointed by former president trump, they had to prove evidence. and so you can say it's selective prosecution, but no—one is saying that hunter biden did not commit these crimes. and so what basically he's saying is he's echoing arguments that president trump has made, that the charges against trump and trump associates are politically motivated. and so both sides are kind of resorting to what they consider political lawfare against their opponents. and so i think that biden, he did not want to face the next few years having his son languish in prison when he had the ultimate power to make those charges go away. and so, you know, in his statement, he said that he was wiping away any charges and any crimes that his son had done, you know, to december 1st. and so he could have

committed a crime last week and it still would have been washed away. daniel lippman of politico there. scott lucas is professor of american politics at university college dublin. he gave me his view on the use of presidential pardons. i don't think it will have a big effect on the legacy but i think in terms of the immediate issues, as an analyst, i disagree with the intervention on legal grounds. i don't think you should ever step in over the course of justice. and i disagree with it politically because i think it will give donald trump leeway for far more serious abuses of the pardon power when he comes into office next month. and his previous abuses of that pardon power during his first term. but as a person, as a father

of two adult children, i understand why biden did it, i understand why at the end of the day he felt he was protecting his son from basically years of harassment, including by the trumpists. a bad political and legal action. but one that as a person i have some sympathy for. and what do you think this means for the americanjudicial system if you have both recent democrat and republican presidents saying that it has been politicised? this has gone on for decades. i can remember bill clinton pardoning one of his daughters over serious financial issues when he left office in 2001. i can certainly remember some controversy over george bush, george w bush's patterns. this has really been exacerbated by trump.

the fact is that donald trump not only pardoned people who might have had some justification for having sentences commuted, he pardoned people who had committed serious financial crimes and he pardoned those people who were with him, alongside him, both in his cooperation with russia and in his attempt to overturn the 2020 election. and, in fact, i think we are going to see within a few weeks that trump will go as far as to pardon people who were not only involved in that invasion of the capitol onjanuary 6th, 2021, but including some of those who planned that attempt. do you think there are examples of positive pardons, just briefly? absolutely. i think, for example, that you had sentences commuted by barack 0bama, for example, for non—violent offences, for drug possession in particular. i think barack 0bama's pardoning of chelsea manning, the whistle—blower who revealed the abuses of american power in iraq and afghanistan, that can be justified as well. so, yes, the pardon does have its place but not when it is distorted

for personal reasons, not when it is distorted, especially the way trump has done it to cover his own tracks and his own, let's say, chequered criminal and presidential past. syria's president, bashar al assad, has welcomed support from iran and russia in the fight against the surprise rebel offensive in the north of the country. the rebels have taken control of syria's second—largest city, aleppo. the national army says it's preparing a counter—offensive. 0ur correspondent in lina sinjab has been watching the latest developments from neighbouring lebanon. government and russian backed air strikes are still continuing in aleppo and in the north in rebel—controlled idlib, leaving many civilian casualties. 0vernight the number of civilian casualties was nearly 25 people who have been killed in air strikes. residents inside aleppo that we have spoken

to said they have faced no harm or threat from the rebels that are worried about the air strikes because the government are conducting air strikes against where rebels are available. but it is basically mainly civilians who are there. this is coming at a time where there is diplomacy going behind the scene. president assad is leaning on the support from russia and iran and vowing to defeat what he describes as terrorists. and the iranian foreign minister arrives in turkey and is probably meeting with his turkish counterpart as we are speaking at the moment. lina, just tell us more about those diplomatic efforts. of course, there are still those ongoing syria talks as well. tell us about the scope for negotiations at the moment. well, basically, this whole move is seen as backed by turkey who has been inviting assad for years to

talk to find solutions for the refugees, to secure the borders, to address the kurdish presence on the border with turkey. something they have been very worried about. but assad has been ignoring all these calls. it seems the table has changed and assad is trying to find a way to talk to the turks while actually pounding civilians with air strikes, trying to deter the rebels. but apparently also this kind of operation is to force assad into talks and bring assad back to peace, a road he ignored for years, but also to limit iran's presence and influence inside syria. lina sinjab in beirut there. earlier i spoke to ismail alabdullah, a volunteer with the white helmets, a syrian—led humanitarian group on what he's witnessed on the ground. i have been in aleppo city for 2h hours and

now i am in the north countryside of idlib. just as we are talking now, the assad regime and russia committed a horrible massacre in one of the idp camps in the north of idlib killing seven civilians and injuring ten others, including children. another air strike hit idlib city and there is a massacre also, more than five people were killed including children and injuring many people and destruction. they destroyed many civilian buildings. in aleppo city the same strategy, the same thing, they targeted yesterday the university hospital in aleppo and now they targeted a neighbourhood. we are hearing from our warning system that they will attack aleppo

right now and attack idlib and they are once again attacking the residential areas in north—west syria. yesterday there were 2a or 25 civilians killed including ten children and injuring more than 125. the same strategy, the same thing, the civilians paying the price of the fight. people are fleeing to survive from this horrible circumstance. the air strikes only target the civilians in idlib city and in aleppo city. many casualties killed yesterday in aleppo. and the day before yesterday in one of the areas that were crowded with people in aleppo, more than 15 people in one strike were killed. 0ur teams are now in aleppo city, operating in aleppo city, trying to open the roads, trying to help people

to evacuate aleppo city. 0n the other hand, in the countryside of aleppo and idlib, ourteams are there to remove ordinance and open the road. sorry to interrupt you. we have limited time with you. we are seeing images of bombed—out buildings. tell us how easy it is to rescue people from these buildings and do you have the resources you need at the moment? to be honest, what is happening is beyond our capacity because now with new areas that we have access to and the assad regime and russia bombing everywhere, bombing everywhere, notjust in one place, idlib city under attack. every second there is a warning that a neighbourhood in aleppo or idlib will be targeted, and the countryside around aleppo and idlib.

the horrible images coming from everywhere. that was ismail alabdullah of the white helmets in syria. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

here are live with bbc news. the masterchef presenter, gregg wallace, has been criticised for saying the complaints about his alleged misconduct have come from a "handful of middle—class women of a certain age". gregg wallace stepped aside from presenting masterchef last week after a bbc news investigation revealed allegations of inappropriate sexual comments and behaviour, which he denies. here's our culture correspondent, noor nanji. the comments by gregg wallace over the weekend that the allegations came from a handful of

middle—class women of a certain age have provoked a very big response. some of his accusers have criticised his response. one said, "the comment showed he clearly hasn't learned his lesson." while another said, "he wrongly seems to be saying he is the victim of classism." wallace has also posted on social media screenshots of supportive messages from people who say they have worked with him or been contestants with him in the past. and wallace's lawyers have in an official statement said gregg wallace strongly denies that he engages in sexually harassing behaviour. but all of this does put more pressure on the bbc. over the weekend it was reported that in 2017, an allegation was made notjust to banijay uk, the production company that makes the programme, but the allegation was also passed at the bbc. and also the banijay uk investigation is looking at masterchef and its spin offs.

the bbc news investigation into gregg wallace has identified complaints about his behaviour on programmes that were not masterchef made for the bbc and other broadcasters, so people are keen to see what kind of action is being taken to look at those because gregg wallace is a household name here in the uk, and has been for the last two decades. and people are very keen to see that the investigation into his alleged behaviour, behaviour he denies, but that the investigation is both proper and fair. that was the bbc�*s lizo mzimba. president biden is on his way to angola on his first and only visit to africa as president. he'll highlight a us loan to build a railway linking an angolan port to mineral rich zones. here is our senior africa correspondent anne soy who's in nairobi. things have changed a great deal since 20 years ago when china came in a big way through its belt and road initiative, investing a lot in infrastructure development in

railroad, ports, and now the us hasjustjoined railroad, ports, and now the us has justjoined that bandwagon, has just joined that bandwagon, investing has justjoined that bandwagon, investing in the first infrastructure of its kind in the region, that will be the highlight of president biden�*s visit to angola. he chose angola because of this ambitious project which he will be highlighting during his visit there. we be highlighting during his visit there.— visit there. we talk a lot about prison _ visit there. we talk a lot about prison trump, - visit there. we talk a lotj about prison trump, the incoming president trump, just looking back at his first term in office, what could african leaders, what could africans expect from a fresh trump presidency?— expect from a fresh trump presidency? expect from a fresh trump residen ? ~ , ., presidency? when it comes to trump policy. _ presidency? when it comes to trump policy, lots _ presidency? when it comes to trump policy, lots of - presidency? when it comes to trump policy, lots of it - presidency? when it comes to trump policy, lots of it is - trump policy, lots of it is unpredictable, isn't it? we are waiting to see any articulation from his government, but looking at his first term, his office unveiled what they called at the us africa policy, which was mainly countering china, it was strongly worded,

but on the ground very little was seen as a result of that, and when you look at the transition from president biden to president trump, perhaps there is a confluence here with this investment in the lobito corridor because it connects the heart of africa reaching resources such as cobalt and lithium at this corridor will be able to transport those to the atlantic and to europe and america, and perhaps there is a confluence there in terms of policy as well as countering china. ., ., , ., china. countering china, you mention that. _ china. countering china, you mention that. why _ china. countering china, you mention that. why do - china. countering china, you mention that. why do you i china. countering china, you i mention that. why do you think president biden has decided to continue and go ahead with this trip that was post about a month ago because of a hurricane in the us. he has chosen to go ahead with it. why is he choosing to do that when he is just about to leave office? , �* he isjust about to leave office? , �* . ' ., ., office? they couldn't afford to lose africa- —

office? they couldn't afford to lose africa. he _ office? they couldn't afford to lose africa. he made - office? they couldn't afford to lose africa. he made this - lose africa. he made this promise two years ago when he hosted heads of state from african countries in washington. he said that the us is all in on africa. we saw high—profile visits to africa and he had promised that he would himself visit the continent, and so it has been a long time coming so it was essential from that perspective for him to fulfil that promise before leaving office. we just want to show you these recent images that have come in from cape verde in africa, that's joe from cape verde in africa, that'sjoe biden landing on the island nation as he begins this three—day trip that will see him visit cape verde and then on to angola. he is expected there to meet with the country's prime minister in cape verde but he willjust be there for a few hours, we believe, before he then heads on to luanda. cape verde is a key ally of the united states

in the region and the two countries have worked together to combat drug trafficking that comes in from latin america through the island nation and onto the united states. as we were hearing from anne soy earlier, a key focus for biden because my trip to the region is to counter the influence of china as well as russia which has invested heavily in the region. we will continue to follow that visit. as i say, this is a three—day tour, this is president biden landing in cape verde before he then goes on to angola. the german chancellor, 0laf scholz, is making an unexpected visit to the ukrainian capital, kyiv. mr scholz said he wanted to use this opportunity to express solidarity with ukraine and promise extra military aid worth more than 630 million euros. germany is currently the biggest european supplier of defence equipment to kyiv.

0ur diplomatic correspondent paul adams is in kyiv. i spoke with him earlier and asked him what we may expect from this military package. we don't know what the package includes and we won't know probably until later on in the day. i think it is unlikely that it includes any reference to the taurus long—range missile. ukraine has been asking germany for that missile for a long time. it may be hoped after the britain and the us, and france gave the go—ahead to use the atacms and storm shadow missiles that 0laf scholz would follow suit but the chancellor has had reservations on that and regards that as an escalation and so far we have seen no indication that he's willing to budge on it. chancellor scholz had

a phone conversation with russia president vladimir putin last month, and ukraine has spoken out against that conversation. do you think that will come up in these discussions? but also crucially the possibility of talks between russia and ukraine going forward? i think it is fair to say that chancellor scholz has a mixed reputation here in ukraine. as you mentioned in the introduction, germany is by far the largest european provider of military assistance to ukraine. 0utstripping all of its european partners by a very substantial amount. something in the region of 17 billion euros so far, and this additional package that he's bringing him today. but, for a number of reasons, the ukrainians regard chancellor scholz as a slightly problematic figure. we have mentioned the taurus missiles already. he is also among those who are vocally opposed to the idea of ukrainejoining nato, his argument being that that is not possible

while the country is at war. he is not alone in that view. president biden has essentially the same view. but it is another sticking point. and then the phone call that you mentioned between chancellor scholz and vladimir putin last month. president zelensky made it pretty clear he was unhappy with that. he said that chancellor scholz had opened a pandora's box and this was precisely what mr putin wanted, to be able to knock off one western leader after another in private phone conversations and that somehow this week and the that somehow this weakened the sense of european solidarity in opposition to russia. i think it is bound to come up, as will the prospect of negotiations, because with donald trump arriving in the white house injanuary, there is a general expectation that we may be heading into a period of negotiations at some point next year. that was the bbc�*s paul adams

in kyiv. let's get some of the day's other news today. plans to draw up a global agreement on limiting plastic waste have failed, after a group of oil—producing nations, including saudi arabia, pushed back against proposed limits on production. those countries argued the focus should be on managing waste instead. the world wide fund for nature described it as a huge blow. romania's governing social democrats are set to win sunday's parliamentary elections. but results show the far right secured big gains, deepening uncertainty in the future direction for the country. in a separate development, the constitutional court is due to validate or annul the result of the first round of the presidential election. france's parliament is facing a crucial budget vote on monday which could potentially trigger a no—confidence vote in the prime minister, michel barnier. mr barnier lacks a majority and his social security budget is widely opposed within parliament.

marine le pen of the national rally — the party with the most seats in parliament — is trying to force the government into making concessions. georgian authorities say 21 police officers have been injured during the fourth night of pro—eu demonstrations on sunday. protesters threw objects at the parliament buildings. police responded with water cannon and tear gas. georgian media reported demonstrations in other cities. the invest was triggered by the prime minister's announcement on thursday that he would suspend george's bid to join the thursday that he would suspend george's bid tojoin the eu. on sunday, he rowed back on those comments. the protesters a re the protesters are challenging the result of the disputed parliamentary election.

the oxford university press has announced its word of the year which is a word or expression that reflects the mood, ethos, or preoccupations of the year. this year's word is — brain rot. it's an inability to think clearly caused by excessive consumption of low—quality online content. its use has surged recently, particularly on tiktok. you're watching bbc news. hello again. we have had some rain and showers around three this morning but one thing that all of us will notice as we go through today is how much colder it is going to turn. we have had a few rainbows spotted by weather watchers this morning. that one was from york earlier today because we have had some showers. but it's the cold air that is moving southward at the moment across the uk. the arctic air is going to mean the temperatures are taking a big drop compared to where they were yesterday over the weekend. you can see this

band of rain during this afternoon across north wales into northern england, eastern england, some sunny spells ahead of that and some sunshine coming up behind that as well but we still have that northerly winds bringing in some showers which could turn wintry over the high ground of scotland, temperatures here for five celsius. further south, temperatures will drop away as the afternoon goes on, eight 9 degrees later on. tonight the area of rain will continue clearing away and with a rather brisk northerly wind we will continue to see some showers coming in around the north sea coasts. for many of us with clear skies it will turn quite cold. there will be a foster around tonight, temperatures as low as —60 minus seven celsius in northern areas of scotland. throughout tuesday, for most of us a fine start to the day, we might see one or two mist or fog patches, bit of cloud, some showers in cumbria, lancashire, but for most dry day with some sunshine, but you will notice we have some rain that will spread into northern ireland into western scotland and it will bump into the cold air so

we could see some snow on the leading edge. another chilly day for many of us with those highs around 4—7 c. tuesday night as the rain continues to move in, they will be some snow across the high ground of scotland, perhaps fleeting snow across northern areas of england but we could see 1—3 centimetres of snow over higher ground of northern scotland overnight into wednesday morning. that is something to keep an eye on. as we go through wednesday the weather system fizzles away, and into wednesday and thursday we have low pressure moving in. a return to some milder conditions but wetter and windier conditions for many of us. a wednesday and thursday. we will keep a close eye on that one, temperatures about 11 or 12 celsius. it will turn colder again as we go into the weekend, as the weather quietens down and the wet and windy weather for the end of the week. bye—bye.

this is bbc news, the headlines: presidentjoe biden grants a controversial pardon to his son hunter, sparking outrage among leading republicans. masterchef presenter gregg wallace faces a backlash after calling his accusers "middle—class women of a certain age". as the counting continues after ireland's election, early results suggest fianna fol could be poised to lead a coalition. and there's plans to double

the speed at which unsafe cladding is being removed from tower blocks, as a result of the grenfell fire. the final seats in the irish general election are expected to be filled later today. only a small number of seats separate the three major parties, with fianna fail and fine gael best placed to form a coalition government. 0ur chief presenter caitriona perry is in dublin with the latest. it's this little bit of mixed fortunes for the government parties, though. fianna fail on course to come back as the biggest party in the dail. it's actually built on its level of support, although the minister for health has lost his seat. but the fianna fail leader, at this point in time looks most likely to be the taoiseach, to be the prime minister in the next government. the other current government coalition partner, fine gael, has had a good turnout as well. it's held on to all

of its seats. some of its candidates had retired and have been