♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... woman: a law partner rediscovers her grandmother's artistry and creates a trust to keep the craft alive. a raymond james financial advisor gets to know you, your passions and the way you enrich your community. life well planned. nicole: at bdo i feel like a true individual, people value me for me, ey care about what i want, my needs, my career path, i matter here. announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news" >> this is bbc world news

america. republicans and some democrats criticize joe biden's decision to issue a presidential pardon for his son hunter. georgia's president speaks to the bbc as mass anti-government protests enter a fifth night. >> wee see on the streets that the georgian population wants nothing else and nothing more than its independence and its european path. >> syria's president blames the u.s. and everies tissue others for a rebel takeover of aleppo that has reignited the country's civil war. a very warm welcome to world news america. president joe biden is facing sharp criticism from beth sides of the aisle after issuing an official pardon don for his son hunter who was facing almost center prison time in. june, hunter biden was convicted of firearms offenses becoming

the first child of a sitting president to be convicted of a crime. in september he pleaded guilty to tax violations. president biden previously said he wouldn't pardon his son, but on sunday he reversed that decision saying hunter has been unfairly targeted for political reasons. jess parker joins us with the latest. thanks for being with us. tell us about the reactions we're seng to this news. >> there's been quite a bit of reaction to this political bombshell announced last night. some of it from republicans highly critical and you'd probably expect that. let's bring you a bit of reaction. republican house speaker mike johnson on social media said that trust in our justice system has been almost irrep rahably damaged by the bidens and they use and abuse of it but some democrats aren't impressed either. they're on the record as saying so, among them colorado senator michael bennett saying on twitter, x, that president biden's decision put personal

feelings ahead of duty and erodes fth this the justice system is fair for all. retiring senator joemanchin said it maybe should have been balanced out by also pardoning donald trump. mr. trump gave reaction, linking it to people imprisoned after the january 6 riots. and why that's quite interesting is he's talked about potentially pardoning people who were imprisoned for that. and i think for democrats, the fear is that whatoe biden has done and the action he's taken here could put their arguments against that perspective -- prospect happening on shakier moral ground. >> what is the white house saying in defense then of this dismition. >> i was listening to a discussion between reporters and joe biden's press secretary on air force one as they were heading to angola and it was audiocassette yard for -- awkward for the press secretary. she's on record saying ts

wasn't going to happen this pardon wouldn't be issue. but she talked through the statement, echoed joe biden's feeling that he put in his statement last night that he thinks his son has been singled out because he is the son of joe biden, a belief that there could be more of this to come and that's perhaps why this par ton stretches over such a wide period of time. and his press secretary, white house press secretary also talk about how mr. biden had really wrestled with this decision. she was keen tome fa size that. think on some level, people are going to have some sympathy that an 82-year-old man whose only surviving son was potentially facing jail, a son who has had addiction issue, wanted to spare him that. but on the other hand it does open him and his party up to allegations and accusations of double standards. >> jess parker, our correspondent followinthe latest on this. thanks, yes, sir. and neil served as u.s. solicitor general in the obama administration. he shared his thoughts on the pardon. the special counsel who

prosecuted both cases against hunter biden, david weiss, said there was none and never has been evidence that the president's son was treated up fairly. what do you think of that? >> well, look. i'm not a fan of using pardons this way. but i do think what happened yesterday is the understandable act of a father to his sole surviving son and i do think it's the case that these types of crimes don't normally get jail time, it was the result of the extraordinary scrutiny put on hunter biden and the charges relate to a really difficult time in hunter biden's life, one in which he was addicted to drugs and i think the most important thing is that hunter biden accepted responsibility, he's been sober for over five year his statement yesterday makes it clear he's turned his life around and wants to dedicate his life to doing the right thing. so you know, people can criticize the pardon but i do think all of those things

together make this the kind of pardon within the zone of what pardons are. at best they're act of mercy under our constitution and that's what i understood the president's statement yesterday to be about. >> this pardon is different because it's so broad. it protects hunter biden from ever facing federal charns over any of the crime he is could have possibly committed over the last tech kade. is there a precedent for that? >> certainly we've had broad pardons in the past and i suspect we will see some in the future. and i think that the reason for that is that the president biden was worried, i suspect, about some of the people who have been nominated to come into the administration and some of the things they have said about law enforcement and who they want to target and how they want to target, you know, given that you can understand why a father would take his sole surviving son and try to protectthat. he can be criticized, i'm not saying it's above criticism, but i think it's the kind of thing we have seen pardons like

this in the past. >> some of that criticism has come from democrats as well. we saw the democrat senator gary peters write, quote, this was an improper use of power, it erodes trust in our government and emboldens every os to bend justice to suit their interests. does that concern you that we could see others, quote, bend justice to suit their interests? >> yeah, i've always been critical of that. and i worry about it. but when we hear these critics, particularly, you know, president-elect trump and others, i think it's important to ask, you know, what were they doing in 2020? i don't want to hear criticism from people who are responsible for pardons or not criticizing those 2020 pardons, remember steve bannon the president's close ally, trump gave him a pardon even though he defrauded millions of dollars. republican congressman rick renzi, guilty of extortion and bribeberry ry got a pardon. shalom weiss got a pardon,

elliot brody, former republican national committee chairman got a pardon, randy duke cunningham, i could go on and on. that's, i think, the most important point. i'm not wild about the use of the pardon power in any of these cases. i'd like to see it youd for what it was traditionally known for, which is the unknown person who suffered an injustice and the president learns about. >> we have about 30 seconds left. do you think we'll see donald trump use the pardon powers to pardon those who were quicked for their roles in the storming of the capitol on january 6? he indicate head would. >> yeah, i mean, the president-elect has said he's going to do that so i take him at his word. i think he's going to do that regardless of whether hunter biden was par conditioned or not. so this criticism that oh, biden has those opposed, no door to this, no. i mean it's no different than, you know, certainly the other pardon we was seen like some of the ones i named and others. and the idea that donald trump takes his norms from what

democratic presidents do, i think is a laughable concept. >> now amid the fallout from his son's par ton, president biden arrived in angola for his first and only trip to africa as president. during he three-day visit he's due to highlight a u.s. loan for new railway that stretches more than 1,300 clommers to 835 miles. it will connect mines in neighboring african countries to the angolan port city. the project is seen as a direct challenge to china's dominance of the region's infrastructure. in georgia, thousands are protesting in the capital for a fifth night in a row. they are clashing are rye yet police slowing -- throwing fireworks at officers who are armed with tear gas and water cannons. protesters are furious about what they see as the government's increasing ties to russia, a country that holds 40% of their land.

they say recent legislation i similar to russian legislation to stifle free press and dissidence. the president of georgia supports the opposition and the protesters, she says the current parliament is illegitimate and has vowed to stay in her job when he term ends in keusm weeks. i spoke to her earlier. madam president you're calling on western countries to back what you're calling a national movement in your country, referring to the protesters on the street. what exactly is it that you're asking the e.u. and the u.s. to do? >> well, the same thing they have been doing for now more than 30 years since the independence of georgia which is to support us in our path toward european integration, euro-atlantic integration which is enshrined in our constitution

and has been supported by our partners but also by the georgian population more than 80% of them, all over this year, whatever was happening, including ing on paying of territories, that determination has never flinched. and today also, we see on the streets that the georgian population wants nothing else and nothing more than its independence and its european path. that's what the people on the streets are very calmly, very peacefully demanding. our votes back, our european future back. >> madam president, your prime minister said, quote he is committed to european integration -- go ahead. >> it's not my prime minister. he's that the knot the prime min sthoafer georgian population because he elections wer rigged. the elections have not been recognized by any of the democratic countries.

>> nonetheless he has said, quote, we are continuing on our path to the european dream. he says he is reflecting the wishes of people who as you have said the majority of which in georgia do want to see more european integration. what do you think of that? >> well, i think what the georgian population thinks that nobody believes that, that it's no longer a dream that people understand, believing after the russian law, after the russian elections that we've had, and after the statement by the prime minister once elected when he said he was gipg to suspend the past accession, nobody believes he's sudnly turn around saying that he still wants the european future. what it is true is that the very vast majority of the georgian population, more than 80%, has

wanted once and will want in the future to stay on this european path. this one rule, one man party. >> you call these russian elections, you're accusing the curren prime minister you say he's not the prime minister of ties to the kremlin. that's something he denied. in fact the former russian president, dmitry medvedev, called you in the past a puppet president and said on telegram that georgia was moving rapidly along the path to the dark abyss and it would end badly. what do you think of that? >> i think that that's exactly the proof of the current one-part rule and the kremlin is that each time they move further away from the european pass and closer to the russians, they will re-seve compliments and lately this statement of the prime minister saying that he was going to suspend path toward

europe, by mr. putin -- >> what about the comparison to what we saw in ukraine? what about the comparison to protests? >> russian propaganda which we do not have to get in. russian propaganda that everything has to be revolution. that everything has to be prepared by the west. there's nothing of that kind. there's a very calm, very peaceful population that wants to have its voice heard, that its will is to go toward europe and that has been the case for centuries for georgia will not accept that foreign power, deters it from its destiny which is the european -- >> you said the peaceful movement, madam president. i want to ask you about this. this is something that the prime minister, again, you said this is not your prime minister, has criticized. he said, quote, despite the

heavy, systematic violence applied yesterday by the violent groups and foreign obstructors, police acted as a higher standard an american and european ones, he's referring to criticism and he said successfully protected -- >> why did he -- why do you want me to comment on the words to the prime minister. you have pictures. and you have the reactions of the partners and you have the reactions of amnesty international. why should i be the president of the country commenting on a prime minister that like in any dictatorship is trying to justify the use of repression and use of force against a peaceful population? i don't understand your questions. i'm not going to continue on that path. >> i just wanted to ask you about his accusation of foreign terference, what your response to that would be? >> i do not respond to the accusation of a prime minister talking the words that should be the words in the -- in pew

tonight's mouth and medvedev's mouth. i'm going to talk to you about what the georgian population wants, about its demands of new elections because the last elections were rigged, because there was interference by russia in these elections as there was in moldova, thraz is today in remania and that's something that is happen, and will be happening in other countries if it's in the stopped here, if we're not supported, and if there's no understanding by the western partners of what is happening. if you want to understand you're not going towns by listening to the prime minister or to the so-called prime minister or by trying to have me comment his words. there are many measures all around the televisions of the world where you can see exactly what is happening on the streets of our capital tonight.

>> and these protesters have been out in force every night are. you confident that they will be able to change this decision to suspend these e.u. accession talks? >> well i'm confident tt it is what the georgian population wants. and georgia is a country that has been resilient for centuries to all the empires that were trying to subdue it. and it has come very small country, very difficult region, it has come to this day. so i don't think that the small group of people that is now trying to take georgia away from what it has gained in the first independence, in the second independence, will succeed. so i don't know how that will be done but i'm sure that the will of the people will finally overcome. >> moving to some other news now.

syria's president al-assad said the u.s. is behind an offensive that reignited the country's civil war. he claims washington and its allies want to rraw the map of the middle east. syria and russia are bombarding positions, this was the aftermath of a russian strike on a hospital. the syrian army says it's killed hundreds of rebels while rebel groups and independent observers say many of the dead are civilians. rebel groups seized alepp poe, syria's -- aleppo, syria's second city, in a surprise attack last week. kurdish troops are reportedly moving out of aleppo along with kurdish civilians. here's our international editor, jeremy bowen. disblat the weekend only a couple of days after starting their offensive, rebel fighters were posing and celebrating at aleppo's ancient citadel. during years war the sit del was an impreion national regime fortress. these men took it almost without

a fight. back in january, 2017, i was in aleppo in the days after the assad regime recaptured the east of the city from rebels who had held it since the war in aleppo started in 2012. there was massive destruction from russian and regime air strikes. this was all a huge victory for the regime but in the years that followed, the war gradually froze but never ended. once again, president al-assad is beleaguered. he had an emergency meeting in damascus with the iranian foreign minister. asset survival will -- assad's survival will depend on his allies who are worrying about their own futures. in aleppo, h.d.s. fighterer pulling down portraits of assad, their enemy. they're considered terrorists by his regime and by the u.n., the u.s., the u. conform and the

e.u. because their roots are are in alikentucky da. mina follows aldie kentucky da from bbc. she sees them being repelled by extremist religious rhetoric. >> they have been trying to portray themselves as a thacialist rebel group, trying to shape their -- shake off their jihadist past and prove they don't have any lasting links with al qaeda or jihadist groups and they are simply after toppling the government of bashir al-assad. >> meanwhile, israel launched a wave of air striengs southe lebanon on monday evening hours after the lebanese militant group fire twd mortars at an army post. the attack was the first by hezbollah since a ceasefire went into effect last week. as israel's army chief visited troops monday, the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu accused him of what he called a

grave violation of the ceasefire. they said reehl has repeat think violated the ceasefire since it was agreed to last week. the u.n.'s new relief chief, tom fletcher, says the sudanese region of darfur is facing famine and people are being used as pawns in the conflict. human rights groups are describing recent ethnic based massacres as possible genocide. few journalists have been able to visit darfur, which is mainly controlled by the rapid support forces since the war began. our chief international correspondent is traveling with the u.n. team. her report begins in a refugee camp in chad on the border. >> a people dispossessed. and displaced. the people of darfur. this is an informal refugee camp in chad just across the boarder from sudan. the women wait.

to reck register to receive food for their families. praying someone will help. >> we used to get food from our farms. farm and the animals ate our't crops, we were left with nothing. >> people who escaped the specter of famine, the hor recovers war. >> when we were fleeing our young brothers were killed. some were too young to walk. our elders escaping with us were killed. yes. within our family, they killed my uncles, my aunties, all the men in our family. >> they killed people. they robbed people. they take their food. they take your belongings. they take everything. >> they don't know if their husbands and fathers are alive or dead. >> in all my years of reporting i have never seen a crowd as big

as this. everyone we meet here says they come from elle jenina just across the border and everyone has a story of the horrors of the war, a story of a massacre. of a frenzy of killing of days so dark, it's regarded as the worst atrocity in sudan's brutal civil war. then there's a rush. word spreads. u.n. food is being delivered. there's also not enough of it. crossing this border into sudan, not enough attention to this crisis. this is darfur, a place which has seen all the worst of the worst. ethnic cleansing. starvation. rape. it happened here too -- it happened here two decades ago, it's happening again and getting worse. >> we're traveling to elle

jenina with the first high-level team to enter darfur, across this land controlled by the paramilitary, locked in battle with sudan's government. this is what the women fled. blackened houses. blasted shops. you can still taste the smoke. the r.s.f. accused of terrorizing nonarab communities. they deny it was their deed. >> i know that the situation is very, very hard. very tough. i know that sometimes you must feel that the world has forgotten you. >> more people pushed from place to place. they need everything but this war. >> we've suffered so much when this war started some people supported the army, some supported the r.s.f. but we, the displaced are neutral. >> what can you do to protect people? >> we've got to do much better. ultimately it's about getting a

peace process going, putting the international pressure on the parties. that's not easy but we've got to. >> it's also about food. and delivering much more. to prevent famine from spreading, to prevent people from dying. bbc news, darfur. >> just before we go, president-elect donald trump has tapped warren stevens for one of the most coveted and visible diplomatic post, ambassador to the united kingdom. mr. trump called warren, who tuned the financial services fund stevens inc., one noafs successful businessmen in the country. the president-elect said warren is thrilled to be representing the u.s.a. to one of america's most cherished and beloved allies. thank you for watching world news america. stay with bbc announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... financial services firm, raymond james.

announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovlefoundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ announcer: get the free pbs app now and stream the best of pbs.

wow, you get to watch all your favorite stuf it's to die for. now you won't miss a thing. this is the way. xfinity internet. made for streaming.