this is bbc news. the headlines: british mps have, for a second time, overwhelmingly rejected the brexit deal negotiated with the eu. it's despite theresa may securing last—minute changes on the issue welcome to bbc news — of the irish border. broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories. by a huge margin, for a second time, the british parliament rejects the prime minister's brexit deal. mps will now vote on whether or not the australian cleric, cardinal george pell, has been sentenced to 6 years the eu should leave without any in jail for child sex offences — the most senior clergyman ever to be agreement, if that is a no, they will ask the eu for more negotiating convicted of such a crime. time, twin effect delay brexit. ——2, it was a clear relationship of trust with the victims and you breached in effect delay brexit. in australia, cardinal pell has been that trust and abused your position sentenced to six years in prison for sexually abusing two choir boys to facilitate this offending. in melbourne in the 1990s. in his summing up chiefjudge peter kidd told the 77—year—old he "may the boeing 737 max not live to be released is temporarily banned from european airspace, and many other countries, from prison" because of his age and health issues. the boeing 737 max is temporarily after 2 fatal accidents in 5 months. banned from european airspace, and many other countries, after two fatal accidents actress felicity huffman is among a0 in five months. the us federal aviation authority people charged in a scam has said it will not to help wealthy americans cheat their way into ivy league universities.

the uk government has suffered another massive defeat in the house of commons, over the terms on which the uk should leave the european union. parliament again voted to reject the agreement the prime minister has spent more than 2 years negotiating — this time by a majority of 149. with just over 2 weeks before the date officially scheduled for brexit, mps will now vote on whether the uk should leave the eu without any agreement. if it's a no to that, as expected, they'll vote on whether to ask the eu for more negotiating time — in effect, to delay brexit. this from our political editor laura kuenssberg. division, clear the lobby! this is what a political disaster looks and sounds like —

mps hurrying 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. 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 its 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. while 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 now 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's 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. in australia, cardinal pell has been sentenced to six years in prison after his conviction for sexually abusing two choir boys in melbourne in the 1990s. in his summing up, chiefjudge peter kidd told the 77—year—old he "may not live to be released from prison" because of his age and health issues. the case has rocked

the catholic church where, as vatican treasurer, george pell was one of its highest—ranked officials. 0ur correspondent hywel griffith is at the court in melbourne. it is hard to overstate the reverence in which george pell used to be held here in australia. he was the highest ranking catholic in the country and became one of the highest ranking catholics in the world but now his fall from grace is complete and he is due to be taken to prison to commence a six—year prison term. the offences relate to his time here as archbishop of melbourne when after one of his first masses in charge he came across two choirboys in the back of the cathedral, inflicting sexual abuse upon them, described in some detail in the court. the cardinal did not flinch as descriptions were given and nor did he respond as the six—year sentence was handed down. the chiefjustice said he was not

judging the catholic church but he was reflecting the gravity of the offence and the impact it had on young lives. the argument of your counsel that this offending was committed by you george pell the man and not by you, george pell the archbishop, must be roundly rejected. i do so without hesitation. your obvious status as archbishop cast a powerful shadow over this offending. not only do i consider that you offended in breach of your relationship of trust and in abuse of your power and authority, i would characterise these breaches and abuses as grave. despite there being no grooming, i have still found that you made a reasoned and deliberate decision to engage in this inexcusable conduct of the first episode. you had time to reflect on your behaviour as you offended yet you failed to desist. that was the chiefjudge there.

now the moral standing of the catholic church world wide has been shredded by this series of sex abuse scandals. in australia it is fair to say that there is a lot of support for cardinal pell, isn't there? absolutely. a minority but a vocal minority who refused to accept the verdict of the jury which was reached back in december and since details of the case were made public a fortnight ago have been forthright in their defence of cardinal pell. figures as eminent as former prime ministerjohn howard who wrote a character reference in support of cardinal pell. we also saw people in court there to support him today. there were glances from cardinal pell towards them although he was not obviously able to speak to them directly. cardinal pell has maintained his innocence. he may now have an opportunity to take his case

forward because there is an appeal here to take place injune. there are several grounds of appeal. one is that the verdict of the jury was unreasonable depending entirely on the word of one complainant. speaking to some people who understand the local law system here in the state of victoria they say that that appeal has potentially grounds for success. let's get some of the day's other news. thousands of protestors in algeria have again taken to the streets — despite the decision by the ailing president, abdelaziz bouteflika, to withdraw his candidacy for a fifth term in office. protesters are accusing the president of a ploy to prolong his 20—year rule. the 82—year—old postponed presidential elections that were originally scheduled for next month, though no new date for the election was set. nine women in sudan accused of taking part in protests against the government of president 0mar al—bashir have had their sentences of flogging overturned.

the appeal court ordered their immediate release. there have been weeks of protests, originally against the rising cost of living but now also focussed on removing the president from power. a spokesman for the taliban has told the bbc that there's been progress on two major issues at the latest round of afghan peace talks between the united states and the taliban. suhail shaheen said the two sides have agreed to discuss the withdrawal of foreign troops from afghanistan. further negotiations will also take place on how to prevent terror attacks against other countries being launched from afghan territory. the us—backed syrian democratic forces say three thousand islamic state fighters and their families surrendered on tuesday in their last small syrian enclave of baghouz. they've been subjected to three days of air strikes and artillery fire, with interludes to allow them to surrender. the sdf says that once everyone who wants to capitulate has done so a final assault will be launched against the few hundred fighters still thought to be in baghouz. ramzan karmali has more.

the syrian defence forces bombing baghouz — is‘s last enclave in syria. for three days in a row now, the town has been subjected to air strikes and artillery fire, in an attempt to get the last remaining is fighters to surrender. it's a far cry for is, who once ruled an area of 88,000 square kilometres. that was roughly a third of iraq and syria. five years later and all that is left is baghouz, just half a square kilometre. is‘s black flag still flutters in town, but only just. earlier this week, the bbc gained access to baghouz and saw first hand the squalid conditions the caliphate have been forced to live in. with the intense bombing of the area, for the syrian defence forces, it comes as no surprise that so many is fighters are giving up. translation: they are surrendering during the day. during the night, there is no movement because coalition planes are there and are hitting any movement.

surrendering during the day means that we can see if there is movement for is or civilians to surrender themselves. but within baghouz, is fighters remain defiant. translation: what is our guilt? what is our crime? why are we bombed by planes? why do all the nations of the unbelieving world come together to fight us? or willing tomorrow we will be in paradise and they will be held. —— in health. thousands of families of fighters have also fled. many of them have ended up in a camp in north—eastern syria, al—hol. it was designed to hold 20,000, but now is sheltering 66,000. conditions there have been described as dire by the united nations. the six—hour journey to the camp has also claimed lives. according to the world health organization, 106 mainly infants have died en route to al—hol since december. ramzan karmali, bbc news.

stay with us on bbc news, still to come: water shortages and power cuts deepen the crisis in venezuela as the us considers more sanctions. the numbers of dead and wounded defied belief, this the worst terrorist atrocity on european soil in modern times. in less than 2a hours, then, the soviet union lost an elderly, sick leader and replaced him with a dynamic figure 20 years his junior. 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. the latest headlines: the british parliament overwhelmingly rejects the prime minister's brexit dealfor a second time. cardinal george pell has been sentenced to a total of six years in prison for child sex offences in australia. american officials are insisting that boeing 737 max eight aeroplanes

is still safe to fly, despite two accidents in the last five months. there has been a second fatal accident involving the 737 max eight in no more than five months. this plane was just allowed back into manchester this afternoon. but this ultramodern boeing 737 max 8, arriving from marrakesh, has now been grounded. uk aviation regulators say none of this model can arrive or leave uk airports until they're convinced it's safe. mid—flight, there was an unusual announcement. we were told while we were in the air that they'd actually grounded it. i was apprehensive. really? you're bound to be, aren't you? i was aware that it was involved in two fatal crashes, but that didn't sway my mind. but this flight made it most of the way to birmingham, before being turned back, just like another flight into gatwick. sunday's crash was the second

involving a boeing 737 max 8 injust five months. today, oliver vick, a un worker, described by his family as an inspirational man with a zest for life, now confirmed as one of at least nine british people on board. the uk's civil aviation regulator has now suspended all flights in and out of uk airports on the 737 max. boeing's latest short—haul model has a modified, automatic flight control system. it is supposed to dip the plane's nose if it is at risk of stalling. but in the case of the crash in october off indonesia, incorrect data, collected by a sensor on the aircraft, caused it to nosedive shortly after take—off. america's aviation regulator says the plane is being modified to make the anti—stall system safer.

the training and manuals for pilots will also be improved. but this british pilot who has trained on the 737 max says he wouldn't be confident flying one today. we've changed his voice because he's not authorised by his airline to talk to us. i'm somewhat apprehensive about the similarities between the lion air crash and the current ethiopian crash. i'd have my reservations and doubt in getting into and operating the 737 max today. boeing said it has full confidence in the safety of this plane, but now after european regulators followed the british decision, the aircraft has been grounded the world over. and aviation chiefs in america, the home of boeing, are under pressure to follow suit. tom burridge, bbc news. authorities in the united states have arrested dozens of people, accusing them of involvement in a scam to help the american actress felicity huffman is among more than a0 people charged. she starred in the hit tv series desperate housewives

and is married to actor, william h macy. prosecutors claim the scheme targeted top—flight institutions including yale, stanford, and georgetown. margaret chin is associate professor of sociology at hunter college in new york. professor, very good to talk to you. there has been cheating before, you surprised at this, are you surprised that the scale particularly? thank you having me on. yes, iam surprised at the scale. there had been cheating scandals before but they were minor, so much about foreign students being able to access sat tests, but this is more than just cheating on the exam, it is bribery to a different scale, photo shopped pictures, things that i have never heard of. things i think most people had never heard of. we should say that these allegations at the moment. what you understand may have been going on here? i think it is parents who desperately wanted their children to get into college, a kind of scaling

up get into college, a kind of scaling up what they wanted to do or how they were going to get their kids into college and being able to access into college and being able to a ccess resources into college and being able to access resources a re into college and being able to access resources are legally to get their kids into college is what's going on. and it has to be says there are many ways to skin this test, and there? specifically what i think is going on in what people should point out, and what i think is really important to point out is that the sat and the actu test is that the sat and the actu test is that we pointed out in this particular story, they are tests that every single college minded stu d e nts that every single college minded students will need to take and have to ta ke students will need to take and have to take to apply to college. —— scam. in the united states. and since our control basically by these two companies, it a monopoly and moreover, there seems to be many ways where parents, college co nsulta nts ways where parents, college consultants and students can scan this test. —— is a monopoly. which i

believe are, they do not look, these test do not look quite as secure as they are supposed to be since eve ryo ne they are supposed to be since everyone is supposed to take them. it is being pointed out that there are black parents sitting injail convicted of rather less than these allegations involved, there is a sense that because the kids who may have been involved in this white, they are being treated rather differently by the media. yes, that's true. so in the united states, there was a case where black pa rents states, there was a case where black parents just used a different address to send elementary school children or high school children to a better elementary school middle school or high school, and these pa rents were school or high school, and these parents were indicted and put in jail. meanwhile, these parents are actually bribing people, actually doing things that are lying, that are immoraland doing things that are lying, that

are immoral and unethical, cheating on, i guess, donations. all kinds of things to get their children into these colleges, and i think people feel that they are unfair. moreover, there was a case in the united states with a school down south, and in that particular school, it was mostly black children and these black children got into elite colleges, but it was mostly done by fa ke colleges, but it was mostly done by fake transcripts, fake sas, fake stories that the school put together to make their stories more compelling for them to get into the elite colleges. —— essays. and when it was found out, all of these students's pictures were plastered over the newspapers, people were not protective of them at all. in fact, their pictures were shown as common because they were black, i think they were shown to show that these people are not capable and they are

u nworthy of people are not capable and they are unworthy of going to these schools. meanwhile, today, as we can see, eve ryo ne meanwhile, today, as we can see, everyone is very protective of these children, and in both cases, they are children. in this particular case that we are talking about today, they all, almost all i believe, did not read the whole complaint i have to admit, almost all white children. professor, thank you very much indeed for that. we should point out that a lot of this is allegations, there will be court cases to decide how much of this is proven or not. thank you very much. thank you. the united states has announced that it is pulling its remaining diplomatic staff out of venezuela and is preparing to impose further sanctions in the next few days. the venezuelan government has asked schools and businesses to remain closed for a second day since widespread blackouts began on thursday. will grant has the latest from caracas. it's been another chaotic day in venezuela's political crisis. schools have been closed, there's been looting in other cities, and whether or not

it was incompetence or sabotage that caused it, most venezuelans are furious at president nicolas maduro for the vast blackout that is still affecting many public services. first, no electricity, now no water — all in one of the most resource—rich countries in the world. after several days without power, many venezuelans are now coping with no water supply, forcing some of the poorest to drink from the foul, polluted river that runs through caracas. tensions are understandably rising. translation: we need water. it's vital, we're human beings. they're offering us a tanker, but that'll only quench our thirst for a moment. when the tanker finally arrives, the government official onsite insists everything is fine. translation: this revolution keeps its word to the people. the issue with the water supply is related to the blackout,

which was carried out by the opposition. this is another sporadic protest, cutting off the main avenues of caracas, this time not over the lack of electricity, but the lack of water. it's just another sign of a city and a country in terminal decline. margarita and osmel know all about venuzuela in decline. both are engineers who teach at the university, reduced to gathering rain water and run—off from the national park. in their cramped apartment, every available space is taken up with utensils for water. each drop is precious and conserved. the family of four hasn't been able to wash their clothes for days, so in the brief moments that water does return, it's all hands to the pump. translation: i'm frustrated, exhausted, angry, sad.

i feel impotent in the face of what is happening. when the electricity cut out on thursday, i felt total panic. these are the families behind venuzuela's angry politics. so much of the country's vast oil wealth has gone down the drain in corruption and theft, with most venezualans left watching as their basic services crumble around them. will grant, bbc news, caracas. before we go, just a reminder for anyone confused by brexit, one commentator on twitter commenting that british politics at the moment is pretty much what mordor politics must have been like just before the ringgit went into the lava. you can find more information about exit, such as why on earth the uk is living, on our website.

—— leaving. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter. i'm @bbcmikeembley. thanks for watching. hello there. very windy overnight. it's still going to be very windy during the day on wednesday. sunshine and blustery showers. we're still feeling the effects of storm gareth. this was earlier on, that belt of cloud brought the rain. behind that, we're 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 winds has been, affecting western scotland, northern ireland, increasingly now running over the irish sea. by the time we get to the early morning, into the rush—hour time, the winds still very strong in western scotland and northern ireland. not as strong, though — 50—60mph. strongest winds over the irish sea into north—west england, into pennine areas, leeds and sheffield, 65 mph. there'll be some continued disruption. it will be windy everywhere

early in the morning, and gales widely. we'll also have streams of showers, one in north—eastern scotland, one into western scotland, over the irish sea into the midlands. for much of the day, southern parts of england and wales and eastern england will be dry with some sunshine. the winds gradually easing down through the afternoon. eventually, some cloud and some rain arrives in northern ireland. shouldn't be quite as chilly — temperatures 11 or 12 degrees on wednesday afternoon. the winds continue to ease through the evening, but we introduce more cloud, we introduce rain to many parts of the country overnight, and the main concern is the amount of rain. the continued rain in upland areas of north—west england, over the pennines and the cumbrian fells, could lead to some flooding issues over the next few days. mild enough, temperatures 5—7 degrees, because it's windy and it's wet. now, the worst of the rain will probably be overnight and first thing in the morning. that weather front will take the heaviest of the rain away, and then we've got this secondary cold front that's moving its way southwards and taking patchy rain

across wales and into southern england. then still a strong to gale—force north—westerly wind will bring down sunshine and showers, most of the showers in the north—west of scotland, where it's a little bit chillier, temperatures 8 or 9 degrees. further south, could get up as high as 11 or 12. now, as one band of rain moves through, so we look to the atlantic again. this is where everything is coming from. very mobile situation, another set of weather fronts arriving overnight, the winds picking up in time for friday. so some more strong—to—gale—force mainly westerly winds. most of the rain will be across scotland and northern ireland. as that rain pushes down into england and wales, it tends to peter out. south—east may well be dry, and quite warm, actually — temperatures of 1a or 15 degrees. chillierfurther north, increasingly wintry showers in scotland.