And farmers in the uk warn that a no deal brexit will cause severe disruption. Cardinal george pell, the most senior catholic found guilty of sexually abusing children, has failed in his legal attempt to quash his conviction. An appeal Court Hearing in australia has rejected his argument that the verdict was unfair. The former vatican treasurer was jailed in march, for six years, for abusing two boys in a melbourne cathedral in the 1990s. Chrissie foster is the mother of two girls who were raped by another catholic priest. She campaigns on behalf of the victims of Sexual Violence and was in court when the appeal was dismissed. It has been upheld, this rape of a child of two children. Its. It doesnt happen often. You know, it just always gets overturned. All the appeals, half of them usually win. Its a hard climb to get a conviction in the first place. Hardly anyone comes forward and this has been an outstanding example of justice and. Just amazed. The bbcs phil mercer was in court and has the latest. Well, as it stands he has to serve a minimum sentence of three years and eight months that would take him through into his early 80s. The big unknown in all of this, of course, mike, is whether george pells defence team will take their case to the highest court in the land, australias high courts in canberra, whether they will be allowed to, whether there are grounds for another appeal in this court case. And thejudgement handed down here, in the Victorian Court of appeal, and thejudgement handed down here, at the Victorian Court of appeal, was a split decision by the three judges but two of those judges did say that they agreed with the prosecutions assertion that the victim this case, the surviving victim in this case, was a very credible witness. And in the words of the courts, the witness was clearly not a liar, was not a fantasist, and was a witness of truth. So those words there from the chiefjustice anne ferguson, really getting to the heart of why Cardinal George pells appeal has been dismissed here in australia this morning. Give us more on the background to this case, could you . Cardinal george pell once upon a time it was one of the most powerful catholic figures in the world. He was a close adviser to pope francis. And this case here today was one of the most eagerly awaited legal decisions we have seen in australia for quite some time. Last december, a jury convicted george pell of abusing two choirboys, aged 13, in a cathedral here in melbourne, in the late 1990s, when george pell was the archbishop of melbourne. In march, george pell was jailed for six years. Injune, there was a two day appeal. And now we find ourselves here today with the court of appeal in victoria dismissing george pells appeal so he will be heading back to continue that prison sentence that was handed down in march. Wildfires raging in the amazon rainforest have hit a Record Number this year, with over seventy thousand detected so far by brazils Space Research centre, as concerns grow over right wing president Jair Bolsonaros environmental policy. The surge marks an 83 increase over the same period last year, and is the highest since records began in 2013. Earlier this week president bolsonaro fired the head of the Agency Monitoring amazon deforestation. Ricardo galvao told reporters why he thought he lost his job. Translation there are various reasons and one is the president s own attitude. He has this blundering attitude, he does not like being pestered and does not like being contradicted. Anna prusa, an associate of the brazil institute, at the Wilson Center told us just how important an issue it is. It is quite serious. As you mentioned, weve seen that wildfires are up 83 compared to last year, and this is a problem notjust because the forest fires obviously cause air pollution but because it is indicative of the fact that deforestation itself has increased dramatically since last year. Tell me if this is unfair, there is a sense that the president is notjust turning a blind eye to this but is encouraging it . He has certainly expressed in his words and through policies that deforestation is not one of his concerns, and he has expressed that as well about Climate Change and the need for action on this front. I think what this has created is a sense that the government is not going to enforce its policies and regulations, and so those who are engaged in illegal deforestation, feel they are not going to be caught, they are not going to be punished and this emboldens them to continue these activities. What is to be done about this, if anything . It is really quite challenging. Theres been a lot of talk recently in the International Community about what could be done and theres been talk within the brazil as well, within the government, within the private sector, within civil society. I think there is broad recognition that deforestation is resulting in these forest fires it is a serious problem. The challenge is how do you build the consensus to actually tackle the problem when brazil is facing many critical domestic issues of its own right now. The concern must be that we are reaching some kind of Tipping Point . Yes, scientists have found through Extensive Research and modelling that, if we reach 20 , 25 deforestation and the amazon is at 18 , once we hit 20 , 25 , could create the cycle that deforestation itself produces less rain and that leads to amazon on becoming drier, trees dying, and this creates the self reinforcing cycle that could actually cause deforestation to worsen. To be clear, the president disappears the data and he sacked the man in charge of the Agency Monitoring it. Is there any doubt about the data . No, brazil has excellent scientists and some of the best technology in the world and they have been monitoring through satellite for years and the data is widely respected and it is unfortunate that the data presented simply does not match with what the president is prioritising. This is what we think is behind his dismissal of the data but brazils science is truly exceptional and they have been stressing for years that this is critical and needs to happen now, notjust for the worlds climate but also for brazil. Brazil is incredibly dependent on the amazon. It will have an impact on brazils economy and country. Lets get some of the days other news President Trump has tweeted that he is postponing a meeting with the danish Prime Minister because shes not interested in discussing the sale of greenland to the United States. The president had already described the president s suggestion as absurd, and said she hoped he wasnt being serious. Around a hundred people stranded for nearly 3 weeks on a migrant rescue boat in the mediterranean have docked at the italian port of lampedusa. The Italian Government had refused to allow those on board to disembark but an italian prosecutor intervened. As part of the order, the ship, run by the Spanish Charity open arms, will be seized. The Trump Administration has approved a potential 8 billion sale of f 16 Fighter Aircraft to taiwan. The sale would involve sixty six warplanes the largest such transaction in decades. The proposed deal has been sent to congress for its consideration. In syrian pro Government Forces have taken a strategic town in idlib province. Its five years since the government controlled it. Rebel forces are also reported to have lost their last territory in the neighbouring province of hama. Jon ironmonger has this report. This renewed push into idlib by Government Forces is a big moment in the syria conflict, which has plagued the country and its people for nine years. Rebel fighters affiliated to alqaeda have withdrawn p rovince oh hama, after heavy bombardment. They have described it as a regrouping. Syrian airstrikes continued on tuesday, including in the town benin, where members of the White Helmets have been searching through the rubble. Tens of thousands of people have fled the region in recent months. Many too stay behind, some tragically. Last year, a deal struck between pro assad russia and turkey, which supports some of the rebel groups, was supposed to create a buffer zone to protect civilians in idlib and limit a major offensive. However bombardments have escalated in recent months, hundreds of civilians have been killed, and the key turkish Observation Point has been encircled. Khan sheikun is a critical battleground in the civil war and was the sight of a notorious chemical weapons attack in 2017. It lies in the southern tip of idlib province, the last stronghold of rebel or jihadist fighters in syria. Now almost entirely surrounded by russia back forces, recapturing the town is a priority for president assad, because it sits on the m5 road, which is the countrys main supply route between damascus and aleppo. Triggered by the brutal repression of Anti Government protests in 2011, more than 370,000 people have died in syrias civil war. Un peace talks have failed to stem the bloodshed and, without a solution, without a political solution, 3 Million People are relying on humanitarian assistance. Syrian who live there really have been displaced multiple times. The average family had to run away five or even ten times to survive, if htey were lucky. And yet, for the last 100 days, that has been on a daily basis, airstrikes, ground offensives happening around places which are really schools, clinics, markets, residential areas, which should not have been happening. Turkey has issued a stern warning to syria not to play with fire, after one of its military convoys was hit by an airstrike, but the Syrian Regime has been making sweeping gain since russia joined the conflict in 2015 and, on the cusp of recapturing khan sheikun, president assad will be keen to press his advantage. Jon ironmonger, bbc news. The European Union has categorically rejected british demands to re open neogiations on its brexit deal. Officials say london isnt proposing any realistic alternatives. Prime minister Boris Johnson is to meet the german chancellor Angela Merkel on wednesday. He had written to european leaders, claiming the so called backstop in the deal, intended to prevent the return of a hard border in ireland, is anti democratic and must be replaced. But hed failed to specify other options. I think there is a real sense that something needs to be done with this backstop. We cant get it through parliament as it is so im going to go at it very, very, um, with a lot of umph, as you would expect, and i will be making some progress in the course of the next few weeks. But, clearly, one thing that slightly, i think, complicates the picture, is that our eu friends still clearly think that there is a possibility that parliament will block brexit and as long as they think there is a possibility that parliament will block brexit, they are unlikely to be minded to make the concessions that we need so its going to take a bit of patience. Throughout this week across bbc news, were looking at the issues facing farmers in the uk and brexit is of course a key one. The uks farming unions have warned that leaving the European Union without a deal will cause severe disruption. The government minister responsible, george eustice, says the government will support the sector through what he called short term turbulence. Gareth barlow reports. Brexit has brought uncertainty to agriculture, but nowhere more so than here on the irish border. Come on, come on 0wen martins family have farmed dairy cattle in south armagh, on the very edge of northern ireland, for nearly 100 years. You wouldnt think there was a border. Manys the time you cross the border and you dont realise it. No deal is chaos, its going to be. Nobody seems to know what we can do. Staff, you can hold on, but the milk has to. 0ur tanks are full every other day. Second day, with a hard border, wed have to throw it out. Thats our livelihood. So what do you need to see . Whats the best possible outcome . A deal and a transition period. Hundreds of thousands of animals and millions of litres of milk cross the irish border every year. Its somewhere around here but theres nothing to show exactly where it is. For the businesses and for the people on both sides, its practically invisible. Unlike here, between sweden and norway, where you simply cant miss the border. This crossing from an eu country into a non eu country is not only a physical barrier, but also impacts the decisions made by the norwegian government and their farmers. Norway isnt in the eu, but it is a key trading partner, a situation the uk will be keen to replicate. The countrys Agricultural Policy is focused on guaranteeing food prices and supporting norwegian farmers. One of the Biggest Challenges forfarmers like bjorn is competing against the size of the European Union. We feel that its always in favour of the eu because we are not able to compete on the eu market. There is a strong support for agriculture in norway by the consumer and by the government and parliament. And the best paying market is right here outside my barn door. Back in the uk, farming unions have called on the government to strike a deal with the eu and do more to support british farmers. Weve spent three years planning for a no deal brexit. Were going to do everything we can to make sure that the border flow continues and we are also going to put in place support for sectors like sheep that may be affected through that short term turbulence. Confidence in westminster, but even amongst farmers who support brexit, there are calls for clarity. I probably would vote the same way. The problem is, weve let politicians take over and do it and thats where the problems arise. It doesnt matter what happens come the 31st of october, we just need to know whats going to happen. Thats. Its just knowing. This uncertainty has been the biggest challenge. Forfarmers, dealing with brexit is like dealing with the weather. The question being asked across the sector whats coming next . Gareth barlow, bbc news. Stay with us on bbc world news, still to come in sioux city iowa, us president ial candidates explain their policies to native american leaders. Washington, the worlds most political city, is today assessing the Political Health of the worlds most powerful man. Indeed i did have a relationship with ms lewinsky that was not appropriate. In fact, it was wrong. In south africa, 97 people have been killed today, in one of the worst days of violence between rival black groups. Over the past ten days, 500 have died. Chanting czechoslovakia must be free czechoslovakia must be free chanting czechoslovakia must be free russia is observing a national day of mourning for the 118 submariners who died on board the kursk. We are all with them now, within our hearts. The pope has celebrated mass before a congregation of more than 2. 5 Million People in his hometown of krakow. Stay with us, stay with us, chanted this ocean of humanity. Well, well, joked the pope, so you want me to desert rome . This is bbc world news. The latest headlines australias court of appeal has dismissed Cardinal George pells appeal against his conviction for sexually abusing children. He is the most senior catholic official to be found guilty of the crime. A Record Number of wildfires have raged across the amazon this year with 70,000 already detected. Concern is growing over brazilian president Jair Bolsonaros environment policy. Candidates for the next years president ial election in the us have been speaking at a special native American Forum in sioux city iowa. Its a 2 day event, bringing indigenous communities from across the country to see what policies the president ial hopefuls are proposing. Mark trahunt is editor of Indian Country today. Mark, i know you are from the shoshone bannock tribes of idaho and you were the moderator for this frank lamere native american president ial forum. You had a lot of candidates there. What were your takeaway is . It was an extraordinary opportunity for the first time to bring candidates at this stage, this many candidates at this stage, this many candidates to talk about issues that often dont get discussed in american politics ranging from the role of tribal governments to trees to the relationship between tribes in the United States government. You talk about tribal governments, do Something Like 500 of them, arent there . More than 500, but a very small population base, because it is so small that is less than 1 of the population. Its sad, something that regularly comes up in political discourse. And there has been chronic underfunding of healthcare, of roads, how hopeful are you that any that is going to be fixed . think the conversation was really goodin think the conversation was really good in that people talked about practical ways to move the needle and to actually fix some of these problems. Indian health, for example, if you compare to the rest of the health system, is actually inexpensive. So if you could spend what is spent elsewhere, you could goa what is spent elsewhere, you could go a long way to fixing some of these issues. That only applies if any of these democrats are elected. What response are you getting from the republicans . The republicans didnt participate in this forum which had ten democrats and one independent. The independent was a native american and get candidate with the name mark childs. Native american and get candidate with the name mark childs. A lot of people have been thinking about elizabeth warrens frame of indigenous american ancestry, she was mocked for that, even by President Trump. She apologised for it, and more importantly she brought forward a number of policy changes. She was endorsed by deb holland, one of the first two native american women to be elected to congress and the entire history of the United States. Together they are working on legislative proposals to help improve the lives of native american citizens. Briefly if you can, if you have year of President Trump on this, what would you say to him . There is a long history of republicans working with tribes. Richard nixon was one of the really remarkable president s when it came to native American Indians and alaskan natives, so perhaps he should go back to that, bringing back this idea of government to Government Relations like professional relations and their is opportunity for republicans. Thank you very much for talking to us. The new boss at Virgin Galactic says the company will begin taking people into space on commercial flights by the end of 2020. The project hasnt been without its problems in 2014 a pilot died after crashing during a test flight, and there have been question marks over the projects environmental impact. The bbcs marc cieslak travelled to spaceport in new mexico, and sent this report. 20 miles past the town of truth or consequences in the new mexico desert, we find find spaceport america. We are here to get a rare glimpse inside that. It bills itself as the worlds very first purpose built commercial spaceport and its home to Virgin Galactic, sir Richard Bransons company, which is hoping to send fee paying customers to space. Fire, fire eventually, five spacecraft will reside in the hangar and its here passengers will receive three days training before blasting off into the upper atmosphere. Virgins tickets cost £200,000 for a 90 minute flight. So far, 600 people have signed up. But at a time of increased concerns about the environment, is it responsible to send wealthy people to space for fun . We actually dont have a very big rocket motor in the back, and so the per person co2 emissions is, for the average flight, around that of a Business Class flight from new york to the uk. There is an awareness of our planet documented scientifically with astronauts they come back changed, with a greater realisation of the fragility of our ecosystem and ecosphere. The irony of this idea isnt lost on space experts, though. The fact that they have to go that far into space above the planet to have that emotion of feeling protective over the world that they live in is sort of ridiculous. But you have to put it into perspective of the fact that space travel is very limited in how much it actually contributes to co2 emissions, comparison to aircraft it is a tiny fraction of what aircraft put out there. Virgin galactic is part of a new space race. Amazons founder and ceo jeff bezoss blue 0rigin and tesla boss elon musks space x also have plans to take fee paying customers into space. The race is on. Space could be about to get a lot more crowded for those that can afford the price of a ticket, that is. Marc cieslak, bbc news. Talking of stars, you should know thatis talking of stars, you should know that is a new exhibition about the british pop star exhibition has opened. It studies his rise to fame from bosco to one of the worlds biggest performers busker. Lets take you to an outdoor movie experience gone wrong in denver colorado. Movie goers were expecting to watch a film under the stars from the comfort of a blow up mattress. But as you can see, the weather had a different idea, with an afternoon storm sending more than 150 mattresses flying through the park before anyone had a chance to lie in them and get stuck into their popcorn. Thanks for watching. Hello there. It looks like were going to see a return to some summery weather finally. High pressure establishing itself over the near continent will send southerly winds our way and well tap into that warmth, which will be building over the continent. Today, though, it looks like we still have some weather fronts, weather systems to contend with, which will bring wet and windy weather, mainly to the north and the west if the uk. You can see this deep area of low pressure slowly making inroads as the day wears on. But we start, for many of us, with higher pressure, plenty of sunshine around this morning. One or two showers will develop ahead of this rain band for Northern England into wales and the midlands, the odd heavier one but it turns wet and windy for northern ireland, much of northern and western scotland. Gusts of wind 50, maybe 55mph in exposure and a breezy day further south and east. But better chance of seeing sunshine here with 22 or 23 degrees being the high. During wednesday night, that weather front moves southwards and eastwards, tending to fizzle out as it does so. But patchy rain across central portions of the uk with blustery showers following on behind, generally a clear and a dry night across the south and east. You can see double figure values for all starting thursday morning. So, warmer than its been the last few nights. So, weve got a north south divide on thursday. Low pressure to the north, High Pressure building to the south. That weak weather front will continue to fizzle out but well see further fronts pushing to northern ireland, parts of scotland and Northern England through the day thanks to that area of low pressure anchored to the north of scotland. It will be quite windy here, but further south and east, again, better chance of seeing lighter winds and more sunshine. And well start to tap into the warmth on the near continent, 2a, maybe 25 degrees, but the high teens further north. Now, this area of High Pressure really starts to establish itself over the near continent. Southerly winds dig in and start to push those weather fronts to the north of the uk. So, therell be a gradual process on friday where we will see the clouds thinning and breaking and the rain diverted towards the north of scotland. Elsewhere, variable cloud, but some good spells of sunshine and were really tapping into the warmth over the near continent with temperatures in the high 20s celsius in the south and east, even the low 20s further north. Into the start of the weekend, it looks like those weather fronts will be away from the uk. So most places should be dry with variable cloud. Plenty of sunshine. Winds coming to the south or the south east. A much warmer day for all. The low to mid 20s celsius in the north, perhaps high 20s in the south east side, so its certainly warming up across the board with temperatures probably best across the south east. It looks like this fine spell will last, for many of us, into next week. This is bbc news. The headlines Cardinal George pell, the most senior catholic cleric to be found guilty of child sexual abuse, has lost an appeal in australia against his convictions. The former vatican treasurer was jailed for six years in march for abusing two choir boys in a cathedral in melbourne in the 1990s. A Record Number of wildfires have raged across the amazon this year 70,000 have already been detected and concern is growing over the environment policies of brazils president jair bolsonaro. The surge is an 83 per cent increase on last years figures. Pro Government Forces in syria are poised to complete their recapture of a key rebel stronghold after five years, following the withdrawal of jihadist and rebel fighters. Activists say that syrian and russian air strikes have continued to hit other towns in idlib, the last major rebel stronghold in syria