this is bbc news, i'm ben brown. the headlines at 11:00: storm ciara batters the uk with heavy rain and strong winds, causing widespread flooding and leaving thousands of homes without power. i've been here 8.5 years and this is the worst, never had this weird four. a massive cloudburst and everything has all come down at the same time. the drains are blocked. much of the coast has been hit with roads left impassable, while travellers were left stranded, and there's further disruption to come. a fourth person in the uk has tested positive for coronavirus and is being treated at the royal free hospital in london. history in the making in ireland, as sinn fein gains huge support in the country's general election.

the red carpet is beginning to get busy ahead of tonight's academy awards — we'll be live from la later. and we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with journalist and campaigner lynn faulds wood, and the pollsterjoe twyman — stay with us for that. good evening. there's been widespread disruption to roads, railways and ports today, along with thousands of homes being left without electricity, after the most powerful storm so far this winter, battered the uk. storm ciara brought high winds, heavy rain and flooding, with some rivers

bursting their banks. winds in excess of 90 miles an hour led to power cuts right across england, and parts of south wales. simonjones reports. storm ciara unleashes herfull force, battering the entire country. this spot in the yorkshire dales is normally popular with walkers — not today. submerged. gale force winds and rain combining to cause chaos. in bainbridge, the rising water led to rising concerns. hundreds of thousands of homes in the uk were left without power and more than 250 flood warnings were issued. the power of the storm was also clear to see on the coast, from blackpool, to aberystwyth. in wales, there were gusts of more than 90 miles an hour. and in dover the highly unusual decision was taken to halt all ferries. it was just too dangerous to head to sea.

here on the coast at times the gusts of wind are so strong it's almost difficult to stay on your feet. add into that the lashing rain coming down too, it's hardly surprising that the advice is stay indoors if you can. what makes this bad weather unusual is that the whole country is feeling its effects. we reinforce what we say to people. just respect it, look at it, stay a safe distance from it. it is unusual to cover the whole country but the risk is the same whether you are in scotland, cornwall or kent, it's really, really dangerous. but this is the reality of what the emergency services were dealing with, a rescue at sea near hastings and making land safely wasn't always easy. this plane attempted a touch down at heathrow only to have to abort the landing seconds later. 0h, touch and go, touch and go! 0n the roads too the situation

wasn't much better. this lorry heading to dover didn't make it and trees kept coming down. in london, passing motorists had a lucky escape. while in bedfordshire a man was trapped for over an hour in his car under a tree. 0n the railways, many journeys were either delayed or cancelled, causing havoc at some of the country's largest stations. we went to king's cross to see what was happening. they wouldn't let us on the platform or anywhere near really so we thought.. we come here, see if we could get to birmingham or manchester and get a trans—pennine across to york but it seems even worse. even worse. and the warning is the stormy weather is here to stay. it's relatively fortunate that storm ciara hit on a sunday. however, there is further wet and windy weather to come as we go through monday and through the rest

of this week with some significant snow as well, so i do think we'll see some further disruption as people head back to work. it's clear, despite a destructive day, we're not out of the woods yet. the wind is continuing to howl around us and it has been raining very heavily. but that is not the end of it. in the coming days, we are expecting snow and ice imposes auckland, northern england and northern ireland. it is going to be a tricky time ahead. one of the areas worst affected by flooding has been the west yorkshire region of the calder valley. for many, storm ciara brought back memories of the devastating floods on boxing day, back in 2015. here's sharon barbour. sirens wail. across the calder valley, residents woke to the grim sound of the flood siren. and the noise of the gale force winds and torrential rain. storm ciara had arrived. i've been here eight and a half

years and this is the worst. never had this before. i'm feeling very sad right now. sad for the people that have been flooded yet again. sad that the barrier wasn't finished in time. you know, it's been a long old process. soon roads disappeared — some up to a metre under water. businesses and dozens of homes were flooded. in her wake, storm ciara has left a mess here in mytholmroyd. storm waters came through today, flooded the street as high as his car behind me. and now, thick with mud. but more than that, it's left a sense of devastation for so many here in the village — and anger. we're here again and we keep having near misses and we keep being flooded. and just the frustrations about being in the same position again. extreme weather, climate change, you know, people's lives and livelihoods being affected by it. i don't know how much more we can take. the good news is the river is receding tonight and the rain has eased a little. but a flood alert remains in place.

and as residents clear out and clean up after ciara, they'll be preparing for the next flood. sharon barbour for bbc news in the calder valley. richard galpin has been at euston station this evening and has this update on travel disruptions. what we know is that network rail is a saying that they now have to check all the lines in the affected areas because of course, as we know, trees have been falling on the lines. 0ther have been falling on the lines. other debris. they could be notjust debris but also damage to the lines and network rail is saying they are going to work through the night doing the assessments and if necessary carrying out repairs but of course we don't know for sure whether they will be able to do that by the morning. so it is possible that there will be some disruption in the morning. there is also talk of potential disruption on the lines between london and manchester and on some lines going up to scotland so i think the key message to get across is that people very much need to

check before they travel. in terms of flights, ba have told us there are far less cancellations that are going to take place tomorrow. dozens of flights were cancelled today but now it is down to about ten. and in terms of the ferries, again, we think they are going to resume again tomorrow but passengers do need to check before they travel. another person has tested positive for the coronavirus in england, bringing the total number of cases to four across the uk. a flight carrying more british nationals from china, arrived back at raf brize norton earlier today, with passengers being taken to a conference centre in milton keynes, for two weeks quarantine. here's our health editor, hugh pym. a bumpy ride but at least the 120 british passengers on this final evacuation flight from wuhan were a lot closer to home, touching down at raf brize norton in 0xfordshire.

a convoy of buses set off, similar to one which had taken others to a hospital on the wirral just over a week ago. this group were taken to a hotel and conference facility in milton keynes, block—booked by the nhs for their two—week quarantine. they'll be lent game consoles, tablets and mobile phones and have access to netflix. as they arrived there was news elsewhere of the fourth coronavirus case in this country. the latest patient who's tested positive for the virus in the uk is being treated here at the royal free hospital in north london at its specialist infectious diseases treatment unit. it has emerged that this case is linked to one announced last thursday — a man in brighton who contracted the virus on a visit to singapore. he had returned from asia and before developing symptoms he went to an alpine ski resort. it was announced yesterday that five britons staying there had been infected. it seems that while in france he had also met the man who is now at the

royal free hospital. the chinese ambassador in london, meanwhile, was seeking to reassure the british public. there's no reason to panic, the chinese government has adopted the most comprehensive, strict, conventional, control methods. the world health organization said it was hard to predict the future spread of the virus. the question remains as to whether we're in a lag phase and the rate of infection may pick up or whether we are seeing more what is the natural history of the disease, and it is way too soon to tell that. quarantining is a key part of attempts to stop the virus spreading in the uk. those who arrive today can only hope they are given the all clear after 1a days. hugh pym, bbc news. the number of people who've died from the coronavirus now stands more than at 900, surpassing the total for deaths during the sars

outbreak in 2003. official figures however suggest the death and infection rates may be slowing, though the next few days could be crucial, as a long extended holiday period comes to an end, and the country slowly returns to work. john sudworth, has more details from beijing. it's lantern festival, traditionally marked with a lavish tv gala. but this year, there's not an audience member in sight. the fear of contagion is everywhere, from the fever checkpoints... the masks on literally everybody‘s faces... and the careful monitoring of people's movements. in the almost impossible balancing act between containing an epidemic and getting its economy moving again, china is turning to its vast network of neighbourhood committees — the old tools of mass mobilisation.

but while workers may be trickling back to the cities, the continued uncertainty means all britons are still being advised to leave china. we're currently seeing numbers of infections double every four to five days. we don't know what implications that has. we have seen the chinese put in place local transport measures. some cities and towns have been closed down, so it is getting more difficult to leave china, if that is what people plan to do. so that is why we advise people to think about leaving. we know that the evacuation flight has got out of wuhan. are we confident now that most people who wanted to get out from the epicentre have managed to? we have not got everybody out, we know that. unfortunately, two people failed temperature checks early this morning.

they have had to go back into wuhan and we are in touch with them and we will try and support them to get them onto another country's flight. as usual, china's skylines have been lit up for lantern festival. but look closely. the streets below are empty. the virus looms large over almost every aspect of daily life. hello. meals come with their own reminder of china's health emergency. a note recording the temperature of the chef, the food packer and the delivery driver. in this case, thankfully, all fever free. but at a time of year all about new beginnings, there's also, perhaps, a glimmer of good news. official figures show the rate of increase in infections may be slowing. john sudworth, bbc news, beijing. there could be an historic shift of political power in the republic of ireland, with the nationalists of sinn fein set to make significant gains

in the general election. an exit poll suggests there's now a three way tie between all the main parties, including prime minister leo varadkar‘s fine gael. counting is continuing. emma vardy reports. radio: storm ciara lashed the country over the past few hours. as ireland took a battering from the weather, the established parties were rocked by a new storm. this breakthrough for sinn fein is unprecedented in the irish republic. once a much smaller player, now on a par with the two main parties who've dominated irish politics for a century. we need change, we need a new government. the best outcome is a government without fine gael and fianna fail so that's the first thing that i want to test. sinn fein's ultimate goal is to create a united ireland, breaking northern ireland away from british rule. its historical links to the ira caused controversy during the campaign, but the party appealed to voters with radical left—wing policies on health,

housing and pensions. the surge for sinn fein has changed the landscape of irish politics and it raises new questions for the uk about the likelihood of a border poll. but it's still unclear who will form the next government. leo varadkar‘s party, fine gael, and their opponents, fianna fail, had previously said they will not form an alliance with sinn fein. it seems that we have now a three party system, three parties all getting roughly the same number of votes, roughly the same number of seats, and that's going to make forming a government quite difficult. ireland's economy is the fastest growing in europe, but the high cost of living means many voters are not feeling the benefits. i think they're sick of the last couple of years and that things just haven't changed quick enough, hence the vote for sinn fein. a bit disappointing, really. sinn fein, not the kind of politics that a large number of people in ireland would favour.

tonight, counting continues, and tomorrow negotiations between the parties will be in full swing. ireland has reached an historic turning point, but with results so close, working out who will lead the country may take some time. emma vardy, bbc news, dublin. the headlines on bbc news: storm ciara batters the uk with heavy rain and strong winds, causing widespread flooding and leaving thousands of homes without power. a fourth person inthe uk has tested positive for coronavirus and is being treated at the royal free hospital in london history in the making in ireland, as sinn fein gains huge support, in the country's general election. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's katie.

hello and thanks forjoining us. in the premier league, sheffield united's remarkable season continues, as they kept their hopes alive of qualifying for europe next season. chris wilder's side came from behind to beat bournemouth 2—1 at bramall lane. the win moves sheffield united up to 5th and they're nowjust two points off the top four. bournemouth are 16th, only two points above the relegation zone. we have just rolled on and rolled onto the next game. we have got a bit of a break now, but we will go again and it has to be that way. we wa nt to again and it has to be that way. we want to achieve something this season. want to achieve something this season. we don't want to just take a foot off the gas and i won't allow that and the players understand that. celtic remain on track for a fourth consecutive domestic treble after beating clyde 3—nil to reach the scottish cup quarter finals. celtic will now face stjohnstone. hibernian, who also won today, have been drawn against championship side, inverness. rangers are away at hearts, while there's plenty to be decided in the other tie, with the winner of the replay between st mirren

and motherwell taking on either aberdeen or kilmarnock. in italy's serie a tonight, there was lots of drama in the milan derby. inter came from behind to beat asee milan 4—2. zlatan ibramhimovic put asee milan 2—nil up just before half time. that's his third goal since returning to milan but in the second half, inter fought back to equaliase, with two goals in two minutes, before they went in front. stefan de vry with the goal. then the former manchester united striker, romelu lukaku added a fourth goal in stoppage time. inter sit top of serie a on goal difference ahead of juventus. england beat south africa by two wickets injohannesburg to win the third one day international and see the series finish 1—all. england put south africa into bat and they set a target of 257. captain quinten de kock leading the way with 69 in reply, joe denley top scored with 66, but a flurry of late wickets saw

england's chase wobble a little although they did make it home with 6 overs to spare. moeen ali hitting the winning runs on his return to international cricket, after taking a break from the test arena. france are the ones who sit top of the six nations table, ahead of ireland on points difference. the french beat italy 35—22 today in paris. three first half tries for the home side, including this from gregory alldritt, helped them to a 13 point lead at the break. france secured a bonus point with two more tries in the second half. baptiste seran with a fantastic solo effort. italy, scored three tries but the loss was their 24th consecutive six nations defeat. ireland are top of the women's six nations after beating wales by 31 points to 12 to make it two wins out of two. scotland's game with england

was postponed due to bad weather. disappointment for great britain's women basketballers, as they've failed to qualify for the olympics this summer. gb finished their qualifying tournament in serbia without a single win. they lost 79—69 to spain today and that followed defeats against china and south korea. those three sides have instead secured their ticket to the tokyo games. i'm proud, we thought every game. we played hard together. we tried, we tried stopping some people look at us tried stopping some people look at us and they think that we should be here, and we are here, and we are going to be staying, regardless whether we have got a ticket or not. iam very whether we have got a ticket or not. i am very proud of our team. the olympic dream is also over for great britain's ice hockey team. despite this goal from matthew myers they lost 4—1 to hungary in nottingham. gb had to win to progress to the final qualifying competition for the 2022 winter games. and, neil robertson has won his second ranking title

in the space of three events after beating graeme dott10—8 at the world grand prix in cheltenham robertson, who won the european masters a fortnight ago, now has another trophy to add to his collection. he knocked in five centuries on his way to victory, including a tournament high break of 142. that's all of the sport. bye for now. katie, thank you, see you later. the 92nd annual 0sca rs ceremony gets under way in los angeles injust a couple of hours from now. world war one drama 1917, and from south korea, the film parasite, are the frontrunners for best picture. but much of the buildup has been dominated by criticism yet again, of the lack of diversity among the nominees. 0ur arts editor, will gompertz reports. margot robbie and charlize theron are fox news employees who bring

down their seedy ceo, a man who makes sexual harassment part of his job description. both are nominated for an oscar at tonight's academy awards, two years after the launch of the #metoo movement, which saw a new commission set up to look into bullying and abuse in hollywood. can you give me a sense of how you see the scale of the problem? the scale of the problem and the range of the problem, i think, is really enormous. i could pluck you out and move you to the front of the line, but i need to know that you're loyal. i need you to find a way to prove it. we have this history in an industry where people look the other way. what practical measures need to be put into place? we are going to put in place a report and response system. so our response system includes investigations and what we know is that independent investigations are the most important thing that you can offer. don't you tell me what i can't do!

harriet tubman wasn't one to put up with injustice and wrongdoing. if i'm free, my family should be too. i made up my mind, i'm going back. the 19th—century abolitionist is played by british actress cynthia erivo, whose performance could see her win a golden statue this evening. my mouth is dry and it could fall apart! to do so, she will have to beat renee zellweger‘s judy garland. your orders are to deliver a message calling off tomorrow morning's attack. sam mendes' first world war drama 1917 was the big winner at last week's baftas. to repeat the feat in hollywood, the british director will have to see off competition from todd phillips‘joker starring joaquin phoenix — who is hotly tipped to win best actor — and bong joon ho's parasite, a tale of south korean inequality which could become the first foreign language film to win best picture. we will find out if it does later tonight. will gompertz, bbc news, los angeles. peter bowes is in la for us.

what's the atmosphere like, peter? there's always a tremendous amount of at this stage on oscar's sunday. dampened a little bit by the weather, we have just dampened a little bit by the weather, we havejust had dampened a little bit by the weather, we have just had a tremendous downpour which is not very la but a huge amount of excitement, i think and big very la but a huge amount of excitement, ithink and big part because it is an egg mix of films as we have just been because it is an egg mix of films as we havejust been hearing, everything from 1917, sam mendes‘s' british film, and it seems like the second favourite at the moment is parasite, the film in a foreign language from south korea that would break records if it were to win in the best picture category. it is getting a lot of buzzjust being released in many countries around the world at the moment and people are discovering this story. i have had film critics described it as a masterpiece, as the perfect film, and with that kind of background i think it hasn't really hot contention that top prize. a lot of

criticism, peter, at the baftas and the lack of diversity. we are probably going to hear the same in the various acceptance speech is there? i think probably are, it is an issue. this is the 25th consecutive year that i have covered the oscar's stopping the first time in 1996. that year, the big issue was a lack of diversity there were demonstrations on the streets last year. five to 2015, oscar's so white became the hashtag that was created because of a lack of diversity that you. here we are in 2020 and it is still the same issue. it is notjust a problem for the oscars and other organisations that hand out awards but for the industry itself. lighting the script and for the casting directors to make sure that those costs are more diverse than they traditionally have been. you are absolutely right, i suspect we will hear a lot more about that

during the ceremony. what about 1917, a showcase for british acting talent. do you think that is going to do well? i think and is going to do well, it is in hot petition with parasite for the main prize, it has certainly been the favourite. it has got a lot of nominations and what we would call the scientific categories 01’ would call the scientific categories or the technical categories like editing and found and i think it will do particularly well there in terms of numbers. but it is great because it is an unpredictable year, we're not quite sure which way it is going to go. all right peter, we will talk to you later, thank you very much indeed. now it's time for a look at the weather. has been a really stormy day as we have been reporting the bulletin, let's have a look at the all—important let's have a look at the all—importa nt forecast. in let's have a look at the all—important forecast. in actual fa ct, all—important forecast. in actual fact, we saw gusts of wind in excess of 90 mild an hour. in excess of 60

mild an hour right up to over 90 mild an hour right up to over 90 mild an hour right up to over 90 mild an hour. it is also accompanied by some very heavy rain, that it's way steadily south and east and behind a trail of squally showers followed on. store shower or may have left our shores but it stays pretty windy behind, and the air is now from a cold source, to higher ground a falling of snow. for scotland, northern ireland and northern england there could be some icy stretches, first thing on monday morning. viewer showers across england and wales but some of those could merge together as we go through the day to longer spells of rain with some hail and under mixed in their. further north we continue to see some snow showers anywhere between 100 metres copy a called field for the day particularly when you factor in the gusts of wind. as we move out of monday into tuesday

it is almost a repeat performance. still the risk of further snow showers and blizzard—like conditions again into the far we could start to see several centimetres accumulating here and that could be an issue. as with some clear skies there will be some sunshine but a cool feel, 4—8d the overall highs copy as we move into wednesday, brief ridge of high pressure, just items down. in actual fa ct, pressure, just items down. in actual fact, wednesday likely to be the best day of the week. lighter winds, a little more sunshine coming through. just a few scattered showers into the far north and west. temperatures picking between li—9d, but with the later winds it might feel a little better. however those lighter winds could allow a light frost to form as we head into thursday. it is not expected to last, there is more wet and windy weather on its way on thursday, pushing its way across the country. so if you haven't already guessed,

it does look like it is going to stay very windy as we go through the week, a frequent rash of showers turning to snow on hills and noticeably colder. emma vardy, bbc news, dublin. hello. this is bbc news with ben brown. we'll be taking a look at tomorrow mornings papers in a moment, first the headlines. storm ciara batters the uk with heavy rain and strong winds, causing widespread flooding and leaving thousands of homes without power. i've been here 8.5 years

and this is the worst, never had this before. just a massive cloudburst and everything's all come down at the same time. the drains are blocked instantly. much of the coast has been hit with roads left impassable, while travellers were left stranded, and there's further disruption to come. a fourth person inthe uk has tested positive for coronavirus and is being treated at the royal free hospital in london history in the making in ireland, as sinn fein gains huge support, in the country's general election. parasite is the first korean film to get a nomination for the best picture. find out about our top cinema releases in the film