you are watching bbc news. our top story: cardinal george pell has been sentenced to six years in prison by a judge in melbourne. this follows his conviction in december for sexually abusing two choir boys. he is the most senior clergyman ever to be convicted i'm kasia madera in westminster. of child sex offences. british mps have for a second another overwhelming rejection time overwhelmingly of theresa may's brexit deal by parliament. rejected the brexit deal negotiated with the eu. it is despite theresa may securing last—minute changes on the issue of the irish border. and this video is trending on bbc.com. india and all of europe have closed their airspace to the boeing the ayes to the right, 242. the noes 737 max following sunday's fatal crash of an ethiopian airlines jet. theyjoin a long list of countries to the left, 391. mps voted it down despite last—minute changes that have suspended the plane. on the contentious issue of the irish border. so what now? that's all, stay two options from the prime minister. a vote on whether to leave the eu without a deal. if that is rejected, another vote on extending with bbc world news. the brexit process. these are unenviable choices, but thanks to the decision that the house has made this evening, they are choices that must now be faced. now on bbc news, we head to parliament, where it has been

i'm rico hizon in singapore. also in the programme: he is the most senior catholic worldwide to be convicted of child sex offences. a judge tells 77—year—old cardinal pell, you may not live to be released from prison. this is the scene live from the court house in melbourne. india and all of europe close their airspace to the boeing 737 max, following sunday's fatal crash of an ethiopian airlines jet. it is 7:00am in singapore and midnight here in london, where the uk government has suffered another massive defeat in the house of commons over its deal to leave the european union. mps voted by a majority of 149 to reject the agreement that prime minister theresa may has taken two years to negotiate with the eu. with just over two weeks to go before the date schedule for brexit, mps will return to parliament and,

over the next two days, decide whether brexit happens without a deal or is extended beyond the exit date of 29 march. our political editor laura kuenssberg reports. division, clear the lobby! this is what a political disaster looks and sounds like. mps hurring here and there, piling through westminster‘s corridors, walking through a lobby to say no. for a second time, the prime minister has lost her deal, another chunk of authority, and maybe her way. the ayes to the right, 242. the noes to the left, 391. the prime minister onlyjust

hanging onto her voice, hanging on in office right now. i profoundly regret the decision that this house has taken tonight. i continue to believe that by far the best outcome is that the united kingdom leaves the european union in an orderly fashion, with a deal, and that the deal we've negotiated is the best, and indeed the only, deal available. exasperated, the prime minister will allow mps to vote tomorrow as they wish to rule out leaving the eu without a formal arrangement. if they do, then on thursday, they could vote to delay departure. but tonight it is the prime minister asking, "then what?" and this house will have to answer that question — does it wish to revoke article 50? does it want to hold a second referendum? jeering. or does it want to leave with a deal, but not this deal?

these are unenviable choices, but thanks to the decision that the house has made this evening, they are choices that must now be faced. labour voted against. and now, if it was down to them, they would fight for a general election. the prime minister has run down the clock, and the clock has been run out on her. maybe it's time instead we had a general election, and people can choose who their government should be. forget the next few weeks — what happens in the circus tomorrow, when mps can vote to say they won't let us leave without a deal? if you take the possibility of walking away off the table, you actually end up in a counter—productive situation, where you'll get offered terms you can't accept. so, just from appeal negotiating point of view, it wouldn't be a sensible thing to do. if parliament does dismantle the strategy, it makes her position very difficult, and it is a conversation the cabinet will want to have with the prime minister about how long

she wants to go on for. i supported the government this evening, not because i thought the amended agreement was perfect, it was far from it, but it was a step in the right direction. the prime minister still does not want to junk her deal, but the biggest problem was the cabinet's top lawyer didn't believe the new legal promises from the eu on the deal made an enormous difference. will the deal get over the line? we'll wait and see, laura. the tweaks to the most controversial part, the backstop. his raised eyebrow about whether it will get over the line. is it enough for your colleagues? because his verdict emerged just as ministers were leaving. but the attorney—general said the new arrangements would reduce the risk of getting stuck in the backstop. he concluded that the risk remains unchanged, that ultimately there could be circumstances where there would be no internationally lawful means for the uk to leave the backstop on its own. in my view... jeering.

and the opposition even laughing at some points at how he tried to present the deal as new. ..the question for the house is whether, in the light of these improvements, as a political judgement, the house should 110w enter into those arrangements. perhaps it would never have been enough for tory eurosceptics, who all along have had the power to block theresa may. could this deal ever work for them? 52% of the voters voted to leave, but in the house of commons, probably 500 out of 650 mps supported remain. and this disconnect is actually quite troubling for our politics, because the house of commons is ignoring the majority of the british people. she has not been able to hold back the forces that resist her deal. but ministers tonight say, despite the defeat, the political toll, you guessed it — theresa may will try again. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster.

they say a week is a long time in politics and at the moment things are changing on a daily basis. later on wednesday, we expect mps to vote on wednesday, we expect mps to vote on whether to have a no deal brexit. that is likely to be rejected, so on thursday we are expecting mps to vote on whether to delay the brexit deadline. at the moment, things are changing at such a quick speed that it is really fascinating time here, and we keep talking about this historic period of british politics, but it really is. things are changing so quickly, and we are really counting down to 29 march, the date that at the moment is set to be the date of brexit. any time now, we are expecting cardinal george pell to be sentenced after his conviction for sexually abusing two choir boys in melbourne in the 1990s. in his summing up, thejudge has just told the 77—year—old you may not live to be released from prison. the case has rocked the catholic church where, as vatican treasurer, he was one

of its highest—ranked officials. let's take a look at what is happening there now. i convicted and sentenced you to two yea rs i convicted and sentenced you to two years and six months in prison. 0n charge two, being sexual penetration againstj, i convicted and sentenced you to four years in prison. 0n charge three, being the indecent

a cts a ct charge three, being the indecent acts act against], i convicted and sentenced you to two years and six months in prison. 0n charge four, being the indecent act against] where you touched your own genitals in the presence of], i convicted and sentenced you to seven months in prison. 0n charge five, being the indecent act against] during the second episode, i convicted and sentenced you to 18 months in prison and. idirect sentenced you to 18 months in prison and. i direct that the sentence of four years imposed on charge two is the basic sentence. ifurther direct that 12 months of the sentence imposed on charge one, four months of the sentence imposed on charge three, two months of the sentence imposed on charge four, and six months of the sentence imposed on charge five, are to be served cumulatively upon charge two and upon each other. this means that i sentence you to a total effective sentence you to a total effective sentence of six years' imprisonment. i set sentence of six years' imprisonment. iseta sentence of six years' imprisonment. i set a non— parole period of three yea rs i set a non— parole period of three years and eight months. that means you will become eligible to apply for parole after serving this non— pa role for parole after serving this non— parole period. your release on pa role parole period. your release on parole will be a matter entirely for

the parole board. i declare that... i declare the 14 days' imprisonment you have already served in presentence detention as time reckoned as already having been served on the sentences that i have imposed. you can be seated, thanks, cardinal pell. and we just heard cardinal pell. and we just heard cardinal pell. and we just heard cardinal pell has been sentenced by the chiefjudge, peter kidd, live earlierfrom the chiefjudge, peter kidd, live earlier from the melbourne county court. let's get more on this from our correspondent in australia, phil mercer, whojoins us from sydney. so what has been the sentence for cardinal george pell on the various charges? well, george pell was convicted in december of five offences, and as we have just heard from the chiefjudge, judge peter kidd, he has handed down a range of sentences for those offences. and in

total, george pell has been sentenced to six years in prison. george pell, six year prison sentence handed down by thejudge in melbourne. and as we have just heard, the cardinal will serve a non— parole period of three years and eight months. so that means he will spend the best part of four yea rs will spend the best part of four years behind bars. and we had previously the judge telling george pell that he had displayed a callous indifference to his victims, and that he had behaved with breathtaking arrogance. and it was a fairly damning summing up of the case by thejudge. it fairly damning summing up of the case by the judge. it took him fairly damning summing up of the case by thejudge. it took him more than an hourto case by thejudge. it took him more than an hour to wade through all the various sentencing submissions, the upshot of all of this, rico, is that george pell is off to prison starting a six year term. but it is

worth noting, as well, that george pell‘s legal team has started an appeal against these convictions, and that appeal is expected to be heard in court in earlyjune. and that appeal is expected to be heard in court in early june. and before this sentencing, a lot of legal analysts were predicting that george pell could face a maximum sentence of about 50 years. so we have seen a major reduction here in the prison sentence ofjust six yea rs. the prison sentence ofjust six years. well, i don't necessarily think that's right, rico. if you look at the finer details of the court'sjudgement in look at the finer details of the court's judgement in relation to those five offences, each of those five crimes did carry a maximum sentence of ten years in prison. it was highly unlikely, i think, that all of those offences were to be lumped together. i would imagine that many australians will be quite surprised by this sentence. they had been lots of talk of perhaps george

pell being convicted of two, three, maybe four years. but he has been sentenced to six years. worth noting as well that the judge in the matter, peter kidd, did say that cardinal george pell should not be a scapegoat for the failings of the apparent failings of the catholic church, which is of course facing a global child—abuse crisis. but the judge also saying that he was taking george pell‘s age and ill—health into consideration. but, as you said earlier, rico, thejudge also into consideration. but, as you said earlier, rico, the judge also said that george pell might not live to see his sentence through, given that he is 77 years of age. chiefjudge peter kidd handing out the sentence on cardinal george pell, six years in prison. thank you so much for your update from sydney, the bbc‘s phil mercer you are watching newsday on the bbc.

kim jong—un. now freed, siti aisyah talks to the bbc. the numbers of dead and wounded defied belief, this the worst terrorist atrocity on european soil in modern times. in less than 24 hours, then, the soviet union lost an elderly, sick leader and replaced him with a dynamic figure 20 years hisjunior. we heard these gunshots in the gym. then he came out through a fire exit and started firing at our huts, and, god, we were all petrified. james earl ray, aged 41, sentenced to 99 years and due for parole when he's 90, travelled from memphis jail to nashville state prison in an 8—car convoy. paul, what's it feel like to be married at last? it feels fine, thank you. what are you going to do now? is it going to change your life much, do you think? i don't know, really. i've never been married before.

this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. our top story: cardinal george pell has been sentenced to a total of six years in prison for the sexual abuse of two choir boys in australia. british mps have for a second time overwhelmingly rejected the brexit deal negotiated with the eu. it is despite theresa may securing last—minute changes on the issue of the irish border. it's been an historic day here at westminster and we are looking forward to what will happen later on wednesday where mps will be voting on whether to have no deal brexit and if that fails to pass, they will be voting on whether to delay brexit. a lot of legalities and technicalities. a little earlier, i spoke to barrister sam fowles, who

is also an adviser to certain government groups, advising the british parliament on what their legal stance is. that's the key thing, this is a purely political declaration. whatever mps said tomorrow about no deal, the uk will leave the eu by operation of international law on the 29th of march unless the eu 27 unanimously agreed to extend that date. the eu 27 have been very clear after tonight's vote, saying they are not going to do that unless they are not going to do that unless they are givena are not going to do that unless they are given a real reason. if all you are given a real reason. if all you are going to do is kick the can down the road as you've done the last two yea rs, the road as you've done the last two years, the eu 27 is not going to vote for that extension. how would that reason look like being in your opinion given that we are here now and so close to the actual deadline? we would have to offer them some sort of change from our stance so

far, whether that is abandoning theresa may's red lines, a general election or perhaps the people's vote is being called. any of these things would give a genuine reason to extend. if however the eu see us as simply trying to, different mps trying to preserve their careers, it unlikely you will get an unanimous agreement to extend the deadline. unlikely you will get an unanimous agreement to extend the deadlinem that case, what we left with? what is the situation we go forward with? the vote is going to be important tomorrow for a political political perspective but we are going to have to change our approach to these negotiations and offer the eu are com pletely negotiations and offer the eu are completely different approach to what we've taken so far. some concrete steps that we are going to ta ke concrete steps that we are going to take over the next three months or six months or however long that extension is going to be for, that

will make that extension a meaningful use of time. in terms of the fact that 0k, we are talking about a boat here tomorrow and the vote on wednesday and the possibility of a meaningful votes number three, legally, is possibility of a meaningful votes numberthree, legally, is that something that is possible, which can happen? in terms of the workings, the machinations of westminster. parliament can have votes on whatever it wants. the two things that are going to make the difference our statutes and changes in eu law. parliament can pass statutes which —— stats you —— statutes which —— stats you —— statutes which —— stats you —— statutes which compel the government to change. but ultimately, the way britain leads the eu and the terms on which we do our going to be a matter of eu law so that required getting the agreement of other eu member states. good brussels have done more to avoid this situation

that we are in now? i think everyone could have done more to avoid this situation. from the perspective of brussels, there are two halves they have to weigh up. the harm of the eu leaving —— the uk living without a deal but the other is the uncertainty created by continuing to search for a deal that isn't there andi search for a deal that isn't there and i think we are getting to the point where the balance of those harms is tipping and brussels is saying, would try to find a deal and it's just not looking likely that we are going to get to that so we're thinking about cutting our losses in terms of the continued uncertainty that the search for a deal creates. if the attorney general, his advice had gone the other way, would we be ina had gone the other way, would we be in a slightly different position? politically we would be. had his advice on the other day, it would have been wrong. the attorney general is absolutely right to say the changes that theresa may secured

we re the changes that theresa may secured were in fact cosmetic and didn't add anything significant in terms of the international law standpoint from where we were back injanuary. it will probably have been a worse position for the uk because we might have gone ahead and voted on something without understanding the correct legal position. that was kasia talking to sam fowles from the foreign policy centre earlier in westminster. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. the european union and india have become the latest to suspend all operations of the boeing 737 max — joining a long list of countries. an ethiopian airlines plane crashed on sunday claiming the lives of all 157 passengers on board — the second fatal accident involving the jet in less than five months. american officials insist the aircraft is still safe to fly. well our business correspondent samira hussain is at

the boeing headquarters in chicago, and gave us more on the fallout. there is a lot of pressure on boeing and the company is of course scrambling to try and avert a full—blown crisis. scrambling to try and avert a full-blown crisis. the federal aviation authority, the regulatory body that oversees aircrafts in this country, they have again just reiterated their confidence in these planes and said they do not see any reason to ban them from american skies. that said, there is a growing number of us lawmakers that want to follow what other countries have done on to ground these planes until they can find out exactly what went wrong. absolutely, a lot of pressure right now on the us fa ground these planes, especially from politicians on capitol hill. this is uncharted territory for boeing. it is meant to

be the compa ny‘s territory for boeing. it is meant to be the company's cash cow, with 4500 of the models set be delivered. absolutely, so many orders for this plane and in fact, boeing was meant to release another aircraft this week which they have delayed and it is unclear when the aircraft will also be released so there is a lot of issues and a lot of concern, even from an investor standpoint, if you look at the way the share price has traded, for two consecutive trade —— days, it's fallen by more than 6%, a real sign that investors are worried about the road forward for this plane maker. apart from the us faa saying these are 737 max eight planes are here worthy, boeing said they would be mandating a software upgrade and training changes by

april. yes, they are going to be making some changes and that is really stemming from the crash with lion airfrom 0ctober. we really stemming from the crash with lion air from october. we still don't know what happened with this most don't know what happened with this m ost rece nt don't know what happened with this most recent crash as there are several levels of officials are investigating what happened. and that was samira hussain outsider boeing headquarters in chicago, the major aircraft manufacturer and its programme of delivering the max eight planes. but also in london, what will happen next after this brexit deal was voted down yet again in the uk parliament? it's incredible, isn't it. we are here talking about the rejection of the

meaningful votes. theresa may didn't win that, managed to win a few more mps over to her side. she had that rejected by three figures and now we are ina rejected by three figures and now we are in a situation where later on wednesday, mps will vote on whether to have no deal brexit and is such a huge divisive issue here in this country that normally when it comes to these big votes, mps tend to get whipped along party lines but it is very different here with brexit and theresa may knows just how divisive that is. this is being described as a free vote, a vote of conscience. mps voting the way they feel they should vote. regardless, we are expecting that could possibly be rejected by dvd is, on thursday, will have yet another vote. don't say much doesn't happen in british politics in a short space of time? delaying brexit. but that does get

accepted, we then had to find out what kind of delay, we got the issue of the parliamentary elections coming up in may. how long will this delay be? the european union would like to know what we would do so a lot of questions when it comes to brexit as usual. indeed, uncharted territory to brexit over the next two weeks or more. what about the option of a referendum and general elections. jeremy corbyn, the leader of the 0pposition has been calling on theresa may to call a general election but he hasn't been talking about a second referendum. the opposition party changed their sta nce opposition party changed their stance relatively recently to back a second referendum but today, we didn't hear much about that so we're

certainly in uncharted territories. we will be here with newsday at westminster on wednesday as well. hello there. very windy overnight. it still going to be very windy during the day on wednesday. sunshine and blustery showers. we are still feeling the effects of storm gareth. this was early wrong, that belt of cloud brought the rain and behind that, seeing frequent showers around the centre of the storm and just on the southern flank of that curl of cloud, this is where the strongest swathe of wins has been affecting western scotland and northern ireland. increasingly running over the irish sea. by the time we get to the early morning, the rush—hour time, the winds are very strong in western scotland and northern ireland. not as strong, 50-60 northern ireland. not as strong, 50—60 miles per hour. strongest winds over the north sea into england and the pennine areas, leads

in sheffield, 65 miles per hour with continued disruption. windy everywhere in the morning and gales widely. also streams of showers, one in north—eastern scotland and went to western scotland and over the irish sea into the midlands. much of the day, southern parts of england and wales in eastern england will be dry with some sunshine, the winds gradually easing down through the afternoon and eventually, some cloud and rain arrives in northern ireland. it should be quite as chile, temperatures 11— 12 degrees on wednesday afternoon. the winds continued through the evening and we introduce more cloud and rain into many parts of the country overnight in the main concern is the amount of rain, the continued rain in upland areas of north—west england over the pennines and the cumbrian fels could lead to some flooding issues over the next few days. mild enough, temperatures 5—7d. it's windy and it's wet. the worst of the rain will probably be overnight and in the morning, that weather front taking the heaviest of the rain away and forgot the secondary cold front

moving its way southwards and taking patchy rain across wales and into southern england and still strong to gale force north—westerly wind will bring down sunshine and showers. mostly showers in the north—west of scotla nd mostly showers in the north—west of scotland were its a little chillier, eight or nine degrees and further site could dash south could get as high as 11 or 12. as one band of rain moves through, we would look to the atlantic again. this is where everything is coming from, are very mobile situation, another set of weather fronts arriving not, mobile situation, another set of weatherfronts arriving not, the wind picking up in time for friday ‘s strong to gale force mainly westerly winds, most of the rain across scotland and northern ireland as the rain pushes into england and wales, it tends to peter out. the southeast might be dry and quite warm actually. to riches of 14 or 15 degrees. julia further north. increasingly wintry showers in scotland.