of being infected by the new coronavirus, while authorities in beijing have banned large social gatherings to control the outbreak. the number of deaths from the epidemic has jumped to over 700 — surpassing the toll from the sars outbreak two decades ago. two key witnesses in donald trump's impeachment have been removed from their government posts. lieutena nt—colonel alexander vindman has been sacked from his white housejob. the us ambassador to the european union, gordon sondland issued a statement saying he was being recalled from his post. democrat candidates trying to be the one to take on president trump will debate each other in new hampshire. on tuesday, supporters there will get to choose which one they support. all eyes are on pete buttigieg and senator bernie sanders. they are both leading in their most recent opinion polls.

the tv presenter phillip schofield has revealed he's gay. he's been married for almost 27 years and has two daughters. he decided to go public on social media, as well as being interviewed on the itv show this morning. the presenter says his sexuality had "become an issue in his head" and he "needed to be honest with himself." here's our lgbt correspondent, ben hunte. live on morning television, phillip schofield is used to sitting and listening to other people, but, today, he became the story. first, a statement read by his co—host. "with the strength and support of my wife and my daughters, "i've been coming to terms with the fact that i am gay." every person i tell, it gets a little lighter and a little lighter, but, at the same time, you know, i have made this decision, which is essential for me and essential for my head. support flooded social media. ant and dec said: dermot o'leary said

he "sends his love". philip schofield began his career at children's bbc. he quickly became a household name. he starred asjoseph in the west end and he remains one of the most recognisable faces on british tv, presenting several programmes like dancing on ice and this morning, filmed at television centre. some people are questioning why this matters. well, this is an important moment for lgbt people. for someone as famous as philip schofield to come out and immediately receive such support from his colleagues here and elsewhere shows the amount of progress that has been made injust a few decades. however, not everyone‘s coming—out experience will be as positive. the lg bt foundation in manchester says older people face particular challenges. they have memories of a time when being lgbt wasn't spoken about, or a time when homosexuality was illegal, for example, so i think there's the culture that has now changed, thankfully, but there is kind of the hangover from that and the stigma that

people still feel around it. so why did he decide that this was the right time? i was getting to the point where i knew i wasn't honest with myself. i was getting to the point where i didn't like myself very much because i wasn't being honest with myself. and, so, you know, when is the right time? when is the right time to do it? a very personal announcement and campaigners hope that this moment may help others struggling to come to terms with their own identities. now on bbc news, in a special edition, talking movies reports from hollywood previewing the 92nd annual academy awards.

hello from the soon—to—open academy museum in los angeles, a globalfilm hub celebrating the art and science of cinema. i'm tom brook and welcome to our special programme previewing the 92nd annual academy awards. we recently went on a tour of the museum, which is priming itself for an unveiling later this year, after several delays. so to a brief overview of the oscars race. headlines this year, very close best director and best picture contest. nobody is quite sure which film will win. will it be the irishman or once upon a time in hollywood? or will the south korean picture parasite triumph, or will it be the british war epic 1917? i think right now the race is pretty divided between 1917 and parasite, but i have hope parasite will win.

i think time and time again the parasite crew and directors and actors have been hollywood popular royalty during this race, so i think it will prevail, but certainly there is so much support for 1917 and i think it is really the front runner right now. what may help 1917 capture the crown is it breathtaking cinematography, designed to immerse audiences. it looks as if the movie is one continuous unbroken shot, although there are hidden edits. this technical achievement could help bring britain's14—time oscar nominee cinematographer roger deakins his second trophy. we had to rehearse months and months before we shot because we had to rehearse before the sets were built, because everything had to be designed to the shot and there's a danger doing all that that everything becomes very mechanical. so i'm kind of glad i don't feel the film feels mechanical, it feels quite organic, even though there was so much prep and thought put into it.

in the eyes of many, the academy has brought shame upon itself for not being sufficiently inclusive, with 19 of the 20 acting nominees being white. and once again, no female filmmaker was nominated for best director. i think the huge push on the academy to increase the diversity of its membership has been very successful and very pointed, but the kind of old boys network of hollywood is so entrenched. after all, let's not forget the oscars were invented to salute themselves, you know, and that network is very deep and old. the academy is a movie industry spectacle, but it's also a television ceremony, and there is massive pressure to increase ratings. a downward trend was temporarily arrested last year. the decision not to have a host may have actually helped halt the ratings slide, so expect the same format this year. as an institution, the oscars is struggling to stay culturally relevant.

i mean, yes and no, people still care about the oscars. i can attest to that, the day after oscar stories always performed very well on our site, but there is less respect or interest in watching a whole 3, 3.5 hours and more tuning in the next morning, the monday after, to see what won, what lost, what people should be paying attention to board next year and what they might have missed the year before. as far as caring about the pomp i don't think the same interest exists as much as it used to. when you review this year's list of nominated films, it appears academy members may be guilty once again, critics say, of gender bias. the charges made of pictures with themes traditionally thought of as masculine, such as war, violence and organised crime

win more oscars. well, is this true? emma jones has been finding out. last man standing. the saying, "may the best man win", seems particular the appropriate at this year's oscars. war, cars, old school mafia and tara ntino. this year's best picture list it seems to play to so—called traditional male interests. i'm working on a novel, it is a story of my life and my sisters. there is also one film about four 19th—century heroines based on one of the most popular books of all time. six—times nominated little women is up for best picture too, but its director, greta gerwig, isn't in the all—male best director category. and parasite, bong joon—ho. nice, you did it. thank you so much. congratulations. and finally...

two yea rs after #metoo, and five years after #oscarssowhite, the oscars still seem to reward so—called male tales, films either made by men or films that pursue the interior life of men. cynthia erivo may have a best actress and best original song nomination for harriet. theme — emancipation, but the film itself is ignored. can you be more sensitive? what do you want from me? to scream and cry like you? so other box office hits by other female directors, like lulu wang's the farewell — family. and hustlers — strippers. a beautiful day in the neighbourhood — kindness — gets a nomination for tom hanks. why don't you get along with the boys? you are sexy but too much work. i have a whole list. will other women come forward? bombshell, directed by a man, theme — sexual harassment

in the workplace — is awarded only in acting categories. sweetheart, this is an island of safety and truth. sometimes we look for the oscars to reflect our times and be a gauge of what's going on in the wider cultural scale. this year it looks like it's about ageing, the end of an era, it looks like it's very much about men being preoccupied with politics and war and we live in bogus times, you've got trump and boris johnson. ——blokeish times. you're back to these very masculine people leading in their sort of politics, and may be the films we're choosing are reflected those times. we've got orders to cross here. that is the german frontline. hold back! but perhaps nominations are also more reflective of the actual age and priorities of academy voters, which, in 2012, was 63, and even now is 72% male. the press reported twice as many women as men were coming to early academy screenings of little women, but the public box office tells

a different story. i'm so sick of people saying love is just all women are fit for, i'm so sick of it! generations of readers have loved little women, the story of the march sisters, and this particular film adaptation has been rewarded with six oscar nominations. and having made more than $100 million at the box office, surely some of these are going to the film too? i've had guy friends see it, we had a new york premiere with a friend not in showbusiness, doesn't see a lot of movies, and i looked over and he was fully weeping, and he's a good test for me because he has no reason to lie or anything. this is a movie that's not as much about female empowerment and struggles of being a woman at the time and today, but also it's about the pursuit of artistry, and ifeel...

i don't want to personalise this but i dad have the little women with growing up with my sister and her friends basically. that should be more ok. the little women cast is represented in the oscar acting category masoe is scarlett johannson twice. in the british baftas, margot robbie and johannson were both nominated twice. that left no places in the awards for actresses from more diverse films, such as hustlers and the farewell. although these films have been commissioned, they still aren't being recognised, and the one woman who won a directing oscar, kathryn bigelow for the hurt locker, made a film about war. i believe because kathryn bigelow is the only woman to win best director, and it being a film about war means we have a lot of work to do. i think obviously she deserved that nomination and that win, but we have to really consider other stories about women and girls and all the other people who live on this planet,

everything isn't about war, everything isn't about disaster, some of the most beautiful stories come from the heart and they're about human connection and positivity and other things that aren't considered by the academy at this point. what the academy considers important is increasingly at odds with the demographic going to the movies. when they come to consider best picture, there is at least one choice left that's a middle way familiar to both genders — netflix‘s marriage story, about divorce. let's look a little more closely at the oscar—nominated south korean picture parasite from director bong joon—ho, a personal favourite. it could have a big night at the academy awards. it's certainly the favourite to win for best international feature. it's a dark comedy thriller in which a poor family in seoul insinuates itself into the lives of an extremely rich family,

with all kinds of unexpected consequences. it's a story of class warfare cowritten and directed by 50—year—old modern master of south korean cinema, bong joon—ho. translation: we currently live in an era of capitalism, i think it's inevitable to tell stories about the rich and poor, notjust me, but directors all over the world. bong joon—ho has a very accomplished track record stop his first film, a dark comedy of errors, barking dogs never bite, was released in 2000. he followed it up with a critically acclaimed crime drama, memories of a murder. and were arriving three years after that was his first big commercial success, the monster movie the host. other hits have included his first english language which film, snowpiercer, set on board a train in a dystopian future where passengers are rigidly divided by class, and then there's the celebrated ija, a fantasy involving a young girl and a genetically engineered pig.

critics see parasite in keeping with his body of work. i would say that thematically it fits in with what he's really devoted his career to, which is this idea of individuals who are just in danger of or about to be crushed by these giant, impassive systems, you know? he's always been really interested in the ideas of capitalism but also in, like, large systems and the ways in which individuals are lost in them. this story has really resonated powerfully with audiences around the world. in what way is it making an impact with people? translation: i don't think it is necessarily because of the universal story. i think it is really because of the amazing charm that our actors have,

their gestures, physicality they express, and i think that is why it has become so popular. some people have complained that the film is excessively violent, particularly at the end. what is your response to that? so, the violence is, you know, part of a big tragedy that happens in the end, and if i explain further it will spoil the film so i would like to refrain. parasite has been on a winning streak from the time it came out of the gate to win the palm d'or, the prime prize at cannes in may. it's now going to hollywood's most coveted trophy, best picture. it has certainly come to the forefront of the race, and i also think that the industry loves it. you know, when you see bong joon—ho and his actors at these awards shows, take a standing ovation. everyone wants to meet him. i think itjust shows how much this film has kind of swept up hollywood. whatever happens at the oscars, parasite will definitely have an afterlife.

a version of it in black and white has already emerged and a parasite television film series is going to be produced by the american cable and satellite network hbo. parasite is becoming much more than a critically acclaimed arthouse film from south korea. it is a box office phenomenon, a multimedia spectacle and a possible oscars night sensation. one academy award category where women do dominate this year is in the best documentary feature race, where four out of the five films up for an oscar were directed or codirected by a woman. tristen daly has been looking at one of them, called american factory. it is the first film released by former president barack obama and michelle obama's production company. our town, where we live, dayton, ohio, has lost so much. people have lost theirjobs. because of that, they have lost their homes, their sense of being part of the community,

part of the middle class. it was this sense of empathy for fellow citizens afflicted by the 2008 economic downturn that drove codirectors steven bognar and julie richert to make the netflix documentary, american factory. in the wake of the recession, a factory which served as a gm plant, shutdown. it had previously employed thousands in ohio, leaving many without the means to support themselves. for a year and half, i didn't have anything. we lost our home, we lost our vehicle. american factory picks up in 2015 when hope arrives to the heartland of america in an unexpected way. a chinese billionaire came along and bought a gm plant that had been abandoned by general motors. he bought it. we were all very excited and we thought, well. this has never happened in our hometown. we are not even sure if it has happened in the us. there was so much hope.

they were so much excitement for jobs finally coming back to our little town, and then it got really complicated. when i started out fuyao i was thankful, i was blessed, i wasjust on my knees thanking god that i had something. this former factory for american cars was transformed into a leading windshield manufacturer called fga, or fuyao glass america. though the workers were first happy to have employment, obstacles abound. the chief among them seemed to be the culture clash of a chinese company attempting to manage an american workforce, which culminates in a vote on whether or not to form a workers union. the chinese billionaire chairman of fga prefers not to have unions interfering with the profitability of his business. here in los angeles, american factory faces stiff competition in the academy awards documentary category. however, one thing it does have going for it is its topicality,

which might help netflix win an oscar trophy. american factory resonates as a deeply relatable story for us citizens, as it deals with complicated relations between the united states and china. it has way more topicality than we ever thought when we were making the film. because of course we have a new president who started a war, a trade war, with china. and ourfilm takes place partly in china and partly here. so people look to us, look to ourfilm, to say, like, how can we understand globalisation? how can we understand what is going on for our working class? the conditions are not favourable. this documentary is bringing oscar voters, many of whom live privileged lives, a vivid portrait of working—class america. this is partly due to the fact that the filmmakers got incredible access, not only documenting personal struggles of the american worker but also private corporate meetings among higher—ups. despite the culture clash that takes shape

between the managers and the workers in the american factory, the filmmakers hope that viewers and oscar voters see a bigger picture. well, i think it reveals that there are different managerial styles between the americans under chinese, but i think it also reveals something about and about power. —— capitalism and power. and that no matter what economic system you are coming from, workers are always going to get squeezed by the machine. nothing in america has changed in terms of working people working hard. what's changed in america was rich people deciding they wanted to rewrite the rules to take advantage of people. it's time to stick my neck out and try to predict which films and individuals will be going home with the top oscar prizes. in the acting race, there is a clear favourite, but that is not so in other categories.

the screenplay categories are the hardest to figure out. my guess is the best adapted screenplay will go to steven zaillian for his work on the irishman. but in a year when women were shut out of the best director race, most notably greta gerwig, the academy may be inclined to compensate by giving her the adapted screenplay prize. best original screenplay will probably go to two—time oscar winner quentin tarantino, but don't be surprised if filmmaker bong joon—ho steals that prize from him for his work on parasite — a film that is very popular with academy members. with the best animated feature, many think toy story 4 will pick up the oscar. we never give up on the americanjourney. to me that would be un—american. best documentary feature, well, the oscar for that could go to american factory — the story of a chinese multinational which takes over an abandoned car plant in ohio. best international feature,

almost everyone is putting —— predicting. that bong joon—ho's south korean hits parasite will take that trophy, having picked up just about every pre—oscar award, it will be very surprising if it doesn't win. the race in the best director category is a little uncertain, with the conventional wisdom is that the prize will go to britain's sam mendes for his very accomplished world war i epic 1917. but that trophy might also go to quentin tarantino or bong joon—ho. it's a close contest. can you tell me a little more about what's going on? because part of what we are going to do together is telling your story. best supporting actress, well, it will be laura dern's turn to win an oscarfor playing a tough divorce lawyer in marriage story. she is the definite favourite. you hitch up and down burbank boulevard all day

until somebody says they are driving to chatsworth? so is brad pitt supporting actor category, is expected to take home an oscar for his portrayal of a stuntman in once upon a time in hollywood. # somewhere over the rainbow... in the top acting categories for actress in a leading role, that prize has to go to rene zellweger for her spellbinding portrayal of judy garland. when did you become convinced that you had got it right? that you had actually made it work? that never happened! that never happened. no, just keep trying and trying and trying, that's all. laughs and best actor, well, joaquin phoenix is expected to take home that trophy for playing the dc comics villain in the film joker. and finally, the best picture category. 1917 is probably going to walk away with the oscar top award, but don't be surprised parasite

could very well steal a crown. well, that brings a special oscar's preview addition of talking movies to a close. we hope you have enjoyed the show. please remember you can always reach us online at bbc.com/talking movies, and you can find us online on facebook and twitter. from me, tom brook, and the rest of the talking movies production team here in los angeles, it is goodbye as we leave you with the oscar—nominated song from toy story 4. i want you to meet forky! he's a spork. yes, i know. # i can't let you, i can't let you i can't let you throw yourself # away i can't let you (i can't let you) # i can't let you (i can't let you) i can't let you throw yourself

away # don't you wanna see the sun come up each morning? # don't you wanna see the sun go down each day? hello there. we've got some very strong winds indeed coming our way this weekend. all courtesy of storm ciara, which will arrive on sunday. that's when we are going to see the strongest winds, with met office warnings already in force. these could yet be updated through the weekend so make sure you stay in touch with the forecast over the course of the weekend. now, storm ciara itself will develop under an incredibly strong jet stream, one of the strongest atlanticjet streams i've seen, with the winds in the jet stream 250 miles an hour. that is what will make this intense area of low pressure on sunday, which is storm ciara. before we get there, over the next few hours, we will see the winds pick up as well. it will become quite blowy. a band of rain pushes east in intensity, followed by some blustery showers across western areas. because it has been quite a windy start on saturday

morning. temperatures between 4—8 celsius. the rest of saturday, there'll be a fair bit of sunshine for a time, especially across england and wales, but further north across ireland and scotland, the cloud will thicken through the afternoon. outbreaks of rain and hill snow in scotland and strong gusts of wind. northern ireland and scotland. they could reach up to 70 miles an hour. strong enough to cause some disruption. from there it becomes very windy overnight as well across england and wales. a band of rain pushes its way in. storm ciara doesn't really start arriving until later on sunday. let's take a look at ciara, here it is under pressure charts. you can see how tightly packed the isobars are on this weather system, always a sign of strong winds. the strongest winds will come along in two batches, but really, it is going to be windy on sunday, pretty much across the whole of the uk, with gusts for most of us in the range of something like 60—80 miles an hour. we are going to see some impacts, some disruptive weather, on sunday. the strongest winds for scotland, along through the afternoon, certainly on the southern flank of this area of low pressure.

that is where we will see the sign of strong winds. notice how that comes through, especially through the central belt, late in the day on sunday. that could cause problems. further south for england and wales we have got a cold front that is going to be bringing a squally band of heavy rain through, and that is ahead of this band of rain where we will get the strongest wind gust. with gusts of 60—80 miles an hour, and the strongest winds potentially lasting some 6—9 hours, the risk of impact just increases. transport disruption is to be expected. whether on roads, rails, at airports or even the ferries, we could see significant problems on sunday.

welcome to bbc news — i'm james reynolds. our top stories: growing anger in china: quarantine squads detain people suspected of having the coronavirus, as the death toll continues to rise. president trump fires two senior officials who testified against him at his impeachment trial. democrat presidential candidates hold their latest debate in new hampshire ahead of a key vote on who should take on donald trump in november. and heating things up in antarctica, as scientists record its hottest ever temperature. the chinese authorities

are struggling to control