a row over france's budget sparks fears of political chaos, as the opposition threatens to topple the government. hello, i'm lucy hockings. welcome to bbc news now, three hours of fast—moving news, interviews and reaction. 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, covering a decade, despite previously saying he would not interfere with the justice department's decisions. this was the president speaking injune this year. 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. in issuing the "full and unconditional pardon" joe biden addressed why he had made the decision in a statement. he said that... he went on to say that... he also said... let's go live to washington, where we can speak to andrew feinberg, white house correspondent for the independent. good to see you. so much reaction coming in, do this

pardon. take us through it. republicans are unhappy with this as one would expect. are you are seeing a lot of displeasure from some democrats. president biden, four months and months, said he would not do this, that there was not any consideration of a pardon for hunter biden. that this was not being discussed, that it was an option, that he was not going to use this unilateral power that a president has, to absolve his son of any consequences for his crimes, for which he was either tried and convicted or pled guilty. he has reversed that decision. and people on both sides of the aisle are quite dismayed, particularly when you look at what is going to happen injanuary. donald trump is going to come in, and a lot of democrats are concerned that he is going to use this one pardon of hunter biden, tojustify pardoning hundreds and hundreds

of convicted criminals, rioters, who sacked the capitol in 2021 in that futile attempt to keep joe in 2021 in that futile attempt to keepjoe biden from being sworn in. so, you're going to see a lot of anger about this. it is going to continue. you can expect donald trump, who took to truth social to comment on this, to make whatjoe biden did last night, part of the mythology behind why he will use the pardon power pretty aggressively, to reward his friends and supporters, when he returns to office injanuary. is it the pardon itself that people are critical of, or the fact that the president has made this u—turn, because he said he wasn't going to do it? it is mostly the second one. even among republicans, you have some grudging admission that, yeah, this isjoe biden�*s

son, and he expected this. it was not unexpected if you look atjoe biden�*s relationship with his son, hunter, his only surviving son, his elder son, beau, died of brain cancer in 2015, but republicans are holding this up as an example of what they describe as a two—tiered system ofjustice. but there is a lot of sympathy for the position that the president was put in, and a lot of the anger you are seeing among democrats is the fact that he broke his word. that he said, no, no, this is not happening. the white house press secretary and other spokesperson said this was not going to happen at the top of the month and hejust going to happen at the top of the month and he just went ahead and did it. and in doing so, he has torched the credibility of his own spokespeople, and to some extent his own, over his

remaining weeks in office. because he simply went back on his word, in an explicit way, in a very public way. andrew feinberg, white house correspondent for the independent, thank you. meanwhile president biden is heading to angola on his first and only visit to africa as president. he's expected to highlight a us loan to help build a new 1,300—kilometre railway that will connect angola's atlantic coast to zambia's copperbelt and the democratic republic of congo's cobalt mines. the project is seen as a direct challenge to china's it dominance in the region's mining and infrastructure. syria's president, bashar al—assad, has welcomed support from iran and russia in the fight against the rebels who have now taken control of the second—largest city, aleppo. russia has carried out "a series of air strikes" in support of government troops. it's reported that 12 people were killed when a hospital was hit. another strike inside the north—western city of idlib killed eight civilians and wounded more than 50. warplanes also struck rural

parts of idlib and hama, where the group leading the rebel offensive has recently taken control. the surprise offensive by opposition forces, which began on wednesday, marks the most significant fighting in syria's civil war in recent years. applet russia has sent us this update from neighbouring lebanon. update from neighbouring lebanon-— update from neighbouring lebanon. ., q lebanon. -- barbara plett asher has sent this. _ 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, south—west 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 insurgents 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: | returned to| aleppo after it was liberated, after we were driven out. i came back to experience this joy, 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 knows what comes next. let's go live to aleppo, where we can speak to khaled al khateb. he's a member of the white helmets — a humanitarian organisation which have been runnning rescue operations in opposition—controlled areas of syria since the start of the civil war. very good to have you with us, how are you, and what is happening in aleppo at the moment?— happening in aleppo at the moment? ., ., ~ , ., ., moment? hello, thank you for havin: moment? hello, thank you for having me- — moment? hello, thank you for having me. so, _ moment? hello, thank you for having me. so, to _ moment? hello, thank you for having me. so, to the - moment? hello, thank you for| having me. so, to the situation in aleppo city, there are air

strikes striking the city. the city, with many air strikes striking civilian areas and our team once again, they entered aleppo, after they were the turing machine was destroying, they started striking the civilians and the situation is horrific. our teams are still reaching and trying to confirm and support the civilians there, and the situation, it has been like, very tough, with essential services, as of this morning, people going to the bakers to medical services, and

also for water and electricity, and our teams are still doing their best to operate there. it must be incredibly frightening for everyone there at the moment. it must be also dangerous. is actual bombing of aleppo intensify?— aleppo intensify? actually, toda , aleppo intensify? actually, today. the _ aleppo intensify? actually, today, the aircraft - aleppo intensify? actually, today, the aircraft are - aleppo intensify? actually, today, the aircraft are still| today, the aircraft are still on the city. there are still some bombardments, in different areas, and there is, like, i come from the city, they are right now, there are things like the syrian regime may targets against them, as like

they did, under the civil war. this is the country right now. for those that are injured at the moment, with this bombing thatis the moment, with this bombing that is taking place, is there somewhere to take them, is there a hospital that is up and running and fully operating? actually, the medicalfacility, our team are transferring the wounded and injured and the casualties from aleppo city to the medicalfacilities, and it is very dangerous. it is very tough. the road is still dangerous, it is still under attack, and that means that the task of our team is much harder. task of our team is much harder-— harder. and the people desperately _ harder. and the people desperately trying - harder. and the people desperately trying to i harder. and the people . desperately trying to leave harder. and the people - desperately trying to leave the city, even though they might feel that it is dangerous to get out on this rose? actually,

it is severely — get out on this rose? actually, it is severely dangerous - get out on this rose? actually, it is severely dangerous for - it is severely dangerous for anyone in the city to go out of their homes, because there are still air strikes targeting areas. we have shared some information for people to stay at their homes. because as i mentioned, the air strikes are still pounding the cities, and we ask people to stay away from gatherings there. khaled al khateb of the white helmets, thank you. president assad blaming the united states and other western countries for this rebel offensive. he has been holding a phone conversation with the iranian president as well, and accused western nations of trying to redraw the map of the middle east. we will keep you

across all of these developments coming to us from syria at a very dangerous point in the civil war. coming up... we'll be live in paris, where the french prime minister michel barnierfaces a crucal budget vote. if rejected, it could lead to the collapse of his minority government. more chaos in terms of french politics. we are live from there in a moment, stay with us.

georgian authorities say 21 police officers have been injured in pro—eu demonstrations on sunday. the unrest was triggered by the prime minister's announcement on thursday that he would suspend georgia's bid tojoin the eu. on sunday, he rowed back on those comments. steve rosenberg sent this report from the capital tbilisi. 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 i 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 these 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. the uk government has released figures saying that the number of migrants crossing the

channel in small boats since the labour government came to power is, has increased by 20,000. we have more on this story and about half—an—hour. also here in the uk, 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 the cooking programme last week after a bbc news investigation revealed gregg wallace stepped aside from presenting the cooking allegations of inappropriate sexual comments and behaviour, which he denies. noor nanji reports. in the newspaper, i can see the complaints coming from a handful of middle—class women of a certain age, just from celebrity masterchef. this isn't right. gregg wallace in an instagram video yesterday, hitting back at his critics. the presenter has been under pressure after bbc news revealed a string of misconduct allegations against him. we spoke to gemma —

not her real name — who worked with wallace. she says he made her and her colleagues feel uneasy. working with gregg was tricky. he was constantly making sexually inappropriate jokes and comments. his behaviour was unacceptable in any kind of workplace. he's posted this video today. what do you make of that? i was mortified when i saw it this morning, because it's so dismissive of the people that have come forward, especially the younger girls, um, and about their experiences. i don't know what class and age have to do with it. our investigation heard from 13 people across a range of ages who worked across five different shows. they include... a masterchef worker in 2005 who says wallace said sexually explicit things on set. kirsty wark, who says wallace used sexualised language on celebrity masterchef in 2011.

two workers on impossible celebrities in 2018, who raised a formal complaint about wallace's behaviour. a worker on big weekends in 2019, who says wallace asked her the logistics of how she had sex as a lesbian. two workers on eat well for less in 2019, who say wallace came out topless in front of them. a worker on masterchef in 2019 who says wallace stared at her chest and asked for a massage. we've heard allegations right up to 2022, and more claims have since emerged, including from the presenter kirstie allsopp, who said he made inappropriate remarks. gregg, who i'd never met before, was there with his partner. i think she was a new partner at the time. and i'd been chatting to her and she left the room, and he made a reference to something they did in bed. but then he came out this morning and said this gregg wallace remains one

of the most recognisable faces on tv, and for now, he is still on our screens, with the remaining episodes of this season's masterchef still due to go out. noor nanji, bbc news. speaking on bbc radio 4's today programme this morning, labour mp rupa huq said airings of masterchef should be paused while the investigation is ongoing. there is an argument for pausing, while this investigation takes its course, and maybe not airing it tonight. i mean, it could be massively triggering for the women involved. in fact, any woman involved in any type of similar incident. so i think out of sensitivity because otherwise, i mean, i know you're saying that he's, um, he's stopped presenting, but to the casual viewer, there's not going to be any difference if it's on tv tonight. it looks like sort of he got away with it. and i think the bbc should send a strong signal that this sort of behaviour.

i mean, we need to let the investigation do its work. but at the same time, if he's being dangled on our screens when all this is going on, ijust think at the moment maybe pause it. 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. if the budget is rejected, it could lead to the collapse of the government within days. let's speak to our correspondent in paris, hugh schofield. what do some of these politicians have issue with, when it comes to the budget? it is a complicated bit of legislation. there are two

texts, the social security budget and the main budget. what we can say for certain is that marine le pen has been chivvying away at michel barnier, to get them to take away measures that she says are unacceptable mainly taxes for the middle class and the poor, and he is giving way, he has removed a higher tax it was going to put on electricity for example and we have heard this morning that he has also removed a measure, that would have made it necessary for people to pay a little bit more for medicines. he is going to diminish the reimbursement on a number of key medicines. that was a demand of hers. so, right down to the wire, there is negotiation going on. it is not impossible that he would have to deal with marine le pen in the next hour, because he only has about one are left there which means she does not come

out and she calls her troops back at the last minute, but it is very tense. and if she decides that he hasn't given enough, then as you said in your introduction, the possibility of her, in effect, toppling the government, becomes very real. reminders of the make-up _ becomes very real. reminders of the make-up of _ becomes very real. reminders of the make-up of the _ becomes very real. reminders of the make-up of the minority - the make—up of the minority government that barnier leads. it is... it is... which is,

about more than a third of the parliament. get back to the weather now... hello again. we've had some rain, some showers around through this morning, but one thing that all of us will notice as we go through today is how much colder it's going to turn. we've had a few rainbows spotted by our weather watchers this morning. that one was from york earlier on today. that's because we've had some showers, as i said. it's the cold air that's moving southward at the moment across the uk. the arctic air is going to mean the temperatures taking a big drop compared to where they were yesterday and 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 out behind that, as well. we still have that northerly wind bringing in some showers, which could turn wintry over the higher ground of scotland. temperatures here four or five celsius. further south temperatures will drop away as the afternoon goes on, so about eight or nine degrees later on. tonight, the area of rain will continue to clear away and, with a rather brisk northerly wind, we will continue to see a few showers coming in around those north sea coasts, but for many of us, with clear skies, it's going to turn quite cold. there will be a frost around tonight, as well. temperatures could be as low as —6 or —7 degrees in northern areas of scotland. throughout tuesday, for most of us, a fine start to the day. we mightjust see one or two mist and fog patches, a bit of cloud. a few showers clinging to cumbria, into lancashire, as well, but for most a dry day with some sunshine. we've got some rain that's going to spread its way into northern ireland, into western scotland. it's going to bump into the colder air so we could see some snow on that leading edge.

another chilly day for many of us with those highs about four to seven degrees. tuesday night, as that rain continues to move in, there will be a bit of snow across the higher ground of scotland, perhaps some fleeting snow across northern areas of england, as well. we could see about one to three centimetres of snow over the higher ground of northern scotland overnight into wednesday morning. that is something to keep an eye on. as we go through wednesday that weather system just fizzles away, really. into wednesday and thursday we've got low pressure moving in, so a return to some milder conditions, but wetter and windier conditions for many of us on wednesday and thursday. we'll keep a close eye on that one. temperatures, though, about 11 or 12 celsius. it will turn colder again as we go into the weekend, as the weather quietens down from the wet and windy weather for the end of the week. bye— bye.

this is bbc news. the headlines: syria's president calls for support from his allies after rebel groups storm the country's second largest city. the german chancellor makes a suprise visit to ukraine, pledging nearly $700 million in millitary equipment for kyiv. the prime minister of guinea calls for calm after a crush at a football match leaves dozens of people dead. do countries have a legal duty to fight climate change? that's the question facing the un's top court as they kick of a landmark case.

hello, i'm lucy hockings. syria's president, bashar al—assad, has blamed the united states and other western countries for a rebel offensive that has reignited the civil war. in a telephone call to his iranian counterpart he accused western nations of trying to redraw the map of the middle east. the rebels seized aleppo, the country's second city, in a surprise attack last week. with me is mina al lami, jihadist media specialist for bbc monitoring. great to have you with us. it is such a complicated picture. help us understand he is control —— who is controlling different parts of syria. the s rian different parts of syria. the syrian government - different parts of syria. tue: syrian government obviously controls large parts of the country. they managed to take

large parts of the country away from the raffles in the