Hunter Biden, Syria, Panama Canal and space junk
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Today, Joe Biden pardons his son, Hunter. Heavy fighting flares up after years of stalemate in Syria. Pressure mounts on Panama to move ahead with a massive dam project. But residents aren't happy. And how space junk is littering our skies. It's Monday, December 2nd. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes every weekday.

I'm Tara Oaks in Liverpool. When you hear LSEC data and analytics, what do you think of? Comprehensive data you can trust. Exclusive access to Reuters news. Industry-leading analytics and unique insights. Discover new possibilities with LSEC data and analytics. U.S. President Joe Biden says he's pardoned his son, Hunter.

He had pledged to stay out of legal proceedings against a younger Biden, who pleaded guilty to tax violations and was convicted on firearms-related charges. The president said in a statement that "no reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter's case can reach any other conclusion that Hunter was singled out only because he is my son."

Russian and Syrian jets have carried out airstrikes on rebel-held Idlib in northwestern Syria, as Syria's President Bashar al-Assad vows to crush the insurgents, who reignited fighting by sweeping into the city of Aleppo.

Maya Jibaili is our bureau chief for Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. We were surprised to see a coalition of fighters opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that include former al-Qaeda fighters and a range of other forces managed to actually reach Aleppo city. Those front lines had been essentially frozen for years and there hadn't really been much movement militarily.

Since, you know, 2020, there was a deal essentially between Turkey and Russia to keep those front lines frozen. And so it was really surprising for everyone to see these rebels be able to sweep through and to see essentially the Syrian army pull back and not really put up much resistance, according to the sources that we've been speaking to on the ground. So what does this mean for President Assad?

It's a very difficult moment for him, really, because of several factors. In part, because for years he had been hoping that he would be able to retake that rebel enclave in the north. So he wanted to be able to complete his control over Syrian territory. And he's also under increasing pressure because he's a member of these pro-Iran regional network across the region that is opposed to Israel. And Israel for the last year has been systematically chipping away at that network.

And now he's facing this rebel offensive in the north. What does this mean for the wider region? We still have a lot of questions. We're scrambling to try to determine how this fits into the other dynamics that we're seeing. And I was just speaking to somebody earlier, a Syrian source with very good knowledge of what's playing out on the ground and closer to the opposition. He's reflecting the kind of broader perspective among anti-Assad Syrians of a lot of joy, essentially, to have been able to push back Assad's forces.

He's also very wary and saying that things can change at any moment if there are Iranian and Russian and other pro-Assad forces that come in and support Assad to be able to push back this offensive, then it will have been a very short-lived moment for the opposition. A fourth night of violence on the streets of Georgian capital Tbilisi as masked protesters launch fireworks at riot police spraying water cannon.

Tensions there have been rising since October's elections But the crisis has deepened over the last few days After Thursday's announcement that the government would freeze EU talks for four years Countries negotiating a global treaty to curb plastic pollution have failed to reach agreement More than 100 nations wanted to cap production But a handful of oil producers were prepared only to target plastic waste Dozens are feared killed after a stampede during a soccer match in southeast Guinea

Local media report that the stampede happened after a fight broke out among spectators during the match on Sunday afternoon, following a disputed decision by the referee.

Now over to markets, and France's government is at risk of collapse over a budget fight with the far-right National Rally Party. Carmel Crimmins has more. Yes, it's crunch time in Paris. The National Rally is saying it'll likely back a no-confidence motion in Prime Minister Michel Barnier's government, unless there's what they describe as a last-minute miracle. The party wants Barnier to drop some of his budget cuts, and they've given him until today to do so, or else risk them toppling the government.

The political drama and concerns about France's finances are spooking investors. The euro is falling, and on the bond market, French borrowing costs have jumped. In fact, at one point today, French borrowing costs were actually higher than Greece's. So we'll have to see how this all plays out. And if you're interested in bonds, I talked to a major player in the bond market, Rick Reeder, on the latest episode of my podcast, Reuters Econ World.

Rick is the Chief Investment Officer for Fixed Income at BlackRock, and we talk all about inflation and the outlook for prices under President-elect Donald Trump. You can catch that episode on the Reuters app or wherever you listen to your podcasts. 14,000 ships pass through the Panama Canal each year, a shortcut through the jungle for Asian goods bound for the US's East Coast and Europe.

But a severe drought this year means low water and fewer vessels passing through. That's put greater pressure on Panama to implement a huge dam project along the Rio Indio. It would secure fresh water for the canal's lock system, even as climate change promises more uncertainty. But there's a catch.

More than 2,000 people live, farm and fish in the river valley that would be submerged by the proposed dam. Mariana Paraga visited one of the towns threatened by the project. It's a $1.6 billion project that includes the dam and

and the construction of our water reservoir would fill the canal during dry season. So it would secure more vessel passage during dry season and also will provide water, fresh water for the people. So it is a multi-purpose reservoir and it means and it will need the relocation of hundreds of families that live surrounding that area. So how are those families that live in the area planning to adjust to the project?

The project for relocating the people hasn't started. But in general, the situation we have found in Tres Hermanas, this community we visited, is a situation of mostly rejection. People don't want to be moved because they want to continue being farmers. And the chances that they're going to continue being farmers in another place are very rare. The farmers are making the point that they don't want to live in slums.

And they are using this wording because other previous relocations have ended up in this situation where farmers cannot continue being farmers because they're relocated to a place, these massive neighborhoods, where they need to change their way of living. And they actually have a very good quality of life. If you visit the communities and see how they're living there, they are not dependent on subsidies from the government. So that's what they want to keep. ♪

Trouble is brewing overhead. In the 1,200 miles above Earth, thousands of satellites operate, along with around 120 million pieces of floating debris. Multiple parties have now warned that low Earth orbit is becoming dangerously overcrowded.

Nivedita Bhattacharjee writes about the business of space from Bangalore and is here to tell us more about the risks. If a communication satellite goes off, then it takes down comms for God knows how many people here on Earth. If it's a defence satellite, in this geopolitical world, we understand what the implications could be. But also, and the congestion...

people fear are becoming an increasing threat to even astronauts. And that's why the industry is sitting up and saying, you know what, we need to act on it. So who's actually in charge of managing the traffic jam? Right now, there is no central

enforceable space traffic management system. And also, again, coming back to the geopolitics, because satellites are often dual use, which means they're used for defense as well as for civilian purposes, it's also very tricky and difficult to make all countries come to terms. The United Nations has had a recent meeting where they pulled in stakeholders from government and private industries to say, what do we do? How do we solve for this? And tell us how Starlink features Starlink.

here. Starlink, owned by SpaceX, it is the largest satellite. They run the largest satellite constellations operating in this low Earth orbit. Starlink has been proactive. Industry experts say that they have very good anti-collision system maneuvers and has engaged with some space traffic management discussion.

But I don't think they have come out officially to say that, hey, you know, let us make this formal. And that a lot of industry players, at least the ones that I spoke to, do think that that would be crucial simply because they're the biggest operators, they're owned by the richest man on earth. To stay ahead in fast-moving markets, you need to transform quality data into tailored, practical and valuable intelligence.

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Just time now for our recommended read, which today is all about Japanese sake. UNESCO is set to list the ancient brewing technique as intangible cultural heritage this week, and one brewer is hoping it'll become as popular as sushi. There's a link to find out more in the pod description. And for more on any of the stories from today, check out Reuters.com or the Reuters app. We'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show.