excitement here. dampened by a bit of a dreary drizzly damp sunday afternoon. i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore, the headlines: oscar fever grips hollywood as the stars arrive for the 92nd academy there will be adrenaline in the stars making their way down the awards ceremony. red carpet. an eclectic mix of nine films vying for the top fries. —— prize. there is we awards ceremony. are nine hours away here in parasite which has picked up a hollywood we are nine hours away here in hollywood from the academy awards. tremendous amount of buzz over could the korean—language drama the last few days, the south parasite make history as the first korean film. let's get more non—english language movie to win best picture? i'm lewis vaughanjones in london. from the runners and riders. also in the programme:

millions are supposed to go back to work in china after the extended lunar new year break. but with severe restrictions still in place, how long before a return to normality? chanting prayers for the 29 people killed in thailand's mass shooting 00:01:12,947 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 as thousands attend a vigil. margot robbie and charlize theron are fox news employees who bring down their seedy ceo, a man who makes sexual harassment part of hisjob 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 i9th—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. that is the big question at the moment. will parasite surprise a lot of people and come through and win best picture?

certainly a lot of people are rooting for it. that is right. you just said it. it is a big question. it will make history asa question. it will make history as a first foreign—language film to win best picture but it is up against some really strong contenders. the likes of 1917, for instance. it has tough competition. 1917, as i mentioned, was the big winner at the baftas, the british building —— reddish film academy awards last weekend. the british director could win his second oxcart role —— second oscar for that film. also make joker is second oscar for that film. also makejoker is in there, joaquin phoenix is tipped to win best actor. there is martin scorsese's the irishman, some people's favourite. some people say it is too long and meandering and wooden changes that make wouldn't choose it was up and then quentin tarantino's marsh to hollywood.

once upona tarantino's marsh to hollywood. once upon a time in hollywood. and hollywood loves talking to itself. —— homage. and hollywood loves talking to itself. -- homage. and there is some suggestion that aside from best picture, the other categories could be quite predictable. there is already anticipation that renee zellweger will win best actress and of course joaquin zellweger will win best actress and of coursejoaquin phoenix for best actor. and brad pitt for best actor. and brad pitt for best actor. and brad pitt for best supporting actor for once upona for best supporting actor for once upon a time in hollywood. red pit has won an oscar before for producing role. —— brad pitt. he gives a tremendous a cce pta nce pitt. he gives a tremendous acceptance speech, if you have seen any of his other award wins at other shows recently, he really entertains and that could, it can sometimes get a bit dreary in the middle, but if he wins that will give it a lift. he is a popular guy about town. that will be a win that a

lot of people here i think are rooting for, brad pitt. and something that has come up in the oscars in previous years, the oscars in previous years, the lack of diversity. the oscars are so white. it seems this year is no exception. and it is not just this year is no exception. and it is notjust a problem for the organisations like the academy that handout the this is an industrywide issue that frankly doesn't seem to improve the year on year. it is 25 yea rs the year on year. it is 25 years since i covered my first oscars, that was 1996. the big issue that year, they were even demonstrations in the streets, was a lack of diversity. things over the years it didn't really get much better. 2015, the hashtag oscars so white emerged. there was a problem five years later and here we are, 2020. it is still the thing we are talking about. the academy themselves have changed some of their rules and brought in more female voters and more people from ethnic minorities as well but it is still an

organisation dominated by older white men. well, peter bowes, you will be watching all the excitement for when the oscars ceremony picks up in half—an—hour's time. lots more on the oscars later in the programme and after that we'll be bringing you the results. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. hundreds of millions of people are supposed to be heading back to work in china after the extended new year festivities. but the coronavirus is continuing to spread. there were 91 new deaths reported in the last 2a hours alone. many people will have to stay at home as there are still strict measures in place to try to keep the outbreak under control, including quarantine and limits on movement. jon sudworth reports 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. also making news today, initial results from ireland's general election suggest sinn fein's share of the popular vote has matched that of its two biggest rivals, fine gael and fianna fail. during the campaign, both parties ruled out governing with sinn fein because of its links with the now disbanded paramilitary group, the ira. sinn fein's leader, mary lou macdonald, said it would be undemocratic to rule it out of consideration. swiss voters have backed a new law banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. it's a major boost for the country's lgbt community who had argued that switzerland lagged far behind other european countries on gay rights.

india's top court has ruled that a quota system that reserves some government jobs for disadvantaged groups, is not a fundamental right. the scheme, called "reservatio," gives people from lower castes and other minorities opportunities they might not otherwise get. this ruling overturns a previous decision that found the state had a duty to help these people. nasa and the european space agency are gearing up to send a new probe toward the sun to take a unique look at its blazing poles. the solar orbiter is due to launch in about four hours time from cape canaveral, florida, setting off on its 10—year voyage to deepen our understanding of the sun and how it shapes the space weather that impacts technology back on earth. now to what must be one of the highest four—legged races in the world. it takes place at 4,000 metres above sea level in the ecuadorian andes. the jockeys are children

as young as four years old and as you can see they ride llamas! this year's winners were dayana riding himeto. let's get more now on our top story. china returns to work after the lunar new year holidays amid the corona virus crisis. xi chen is an assistant professor of health policy at yale school of public health. he told me how post—holiday travel could be a significant moment in understanding the spread of coronavirus. around 300 million people, workers. there are two subgroups. . one is urban, travelling. the other is bigger numbers included in this bit of

it is from rural to urban. i am watching for any significant rise in the suspected or confirmed cases. especially from rural to urban because we know that for the chinese healthcare system, the bottleneck or the weaker point in the rural care system, if people were quarantined in good conditions and got diagnosed in rural areas, we should be of less concern because it is already a very long, extended holiday. so that should have passed the incubation time period was up but if they were not having a timely diagnosis, maybe there is cross infection among them. professor, obviously, as you say, the concern is the rural areas. there is just no sense of the numbers, the healthcare is not in place. how do you think chinese handling this crisis though, there has been some

criticism about how some of these measures, putting a lockdown on people's travel and quarantine around wuhan for instance, was somewhat draconian. allan you are right. in the beginning, the local government was very in the beginning, the local government was very slow in the beginning, the local government was very slow in response. “— government was very slow in response. —— you are right. response. -- you are right. the government was taking it very ha rd government was taking it very hard measures in order to curb the wide spread of this virus. so the lockdown in many cities ranged from having more than 50 million people being affected. now even after this extended long—term holiday, the people in the epicentre, the hubei province, they are not allowed to move for so they are cut off from any traffic. people other parts of china can gradually work but the chinese government is really still concerned about the spreading in other regions in china. they implement something called a mandatory quarantine or sometimes it is a

self isolation, in order to have those workers have two more weeks at home before they are at work. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: could parasite make history at the oscars? the korean language that i about class and inequality is nominated for best picture. we are live in los angeles. there there mr nelson mandela, a free man, taking his first steps into a new south africa. iran's spiritual leader ayatollah khomeini has said he's passed a death sentence on salman rushdie, the british author of a book which many muslims say is blasphemous. the people of haiti have flocked to church to give

thanks for the ousting of their former president, 'ba by doc' duvalier. because of his considerable value as a stallion, shergar was kept in a special, secure box in the stud farm's central block. shergar was driven away in a horse box the thieves had brought with them. there stepped down from the plane a figure in mourning. elizabeth ii, queen of this realm and of all her other realms and territories. head of the commonwealth, defender of the faith. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore. i'm lewis vaughan—jones in london. our top stories. oscar fever grips hollywood, as the stars arrive for the 92nd academy awards ceremony, the film industry's biggest night of the year. millions are supposed to go

back to work in china after the extended lunar new year break. but many factories and workplaces remain closed. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the sheer force of storm ciara is splashed across the front pages of the german newspaper frankfurter allgemeine zeitung. it shows the crashing waves at the english port of newhaven. the uk has suffered gusts of over 140km/h and heavy rain and flooding. the storm is also causing traffic disruption in germany where it has a different name, storm sabine. the front page of the international edition of new york times features a story about an international water dispute on the river nile. egypt is sparring with ethiopia over a giant dam being built 2,000 miles upriver. egypt fears the dam will cut into its water supplies.

the straits times from singapore reports on government's efforts to secure essential food supplies in the country, as it prepares to handle the coronavirus situation. the move follows panic buying on friday after the warning level was raised. supermarket shelves across the city state have now been restocked with necessities. following a mass shooting in thailand, a vigil has been held for the victims in the city of nakhon ratchisima, who died when a gunman killed at least 29 people. richard galpin reports. chanting. just a few hours after the gunman was shot dead by the security forces, thousands of people gathered here in the heart of nakhon ratchasima city for a vigil in memory of all those killed. the buddhist monks leading

prayers as the people of this city absorb the enormity of what's happened — a mass shooting of unprecedented scale in this country. and before finally filing away to head home, they laid flowers and wrote messages, pledging never to forget those whose lives have been cut short. in the aftermath of the attack, the police have been gathering forensic evidence, including from these cars next to the shopping mall targeted by the gunman. who was this man — sergeant major jakrapanth thomma. he'd armed himself not only with rifles stolen from his barracks, but also a machinegun. his motive, according to one official, was apparently a personal problem over the sale of a house.

how will those now mourning the loss of loved ones ever come to terms with what has happened here in the city this weekend? richard galpin, bbc news. let's get more now from the thousands of people who have been stuck on a cruise ship in hong kong forfour days. they have been allowed to disembark after coronavirus have been allowed to disembark after coro navi rus tests have been allowed to disembark after coronavirus tests came back negative. these are some of the thousands of passengers who are now being allowed off the ship. how was it, sir? clearly a difficult time for the past four days. they have not been able to leave the ship. now we see the passengers are coming out. the reason is, even though they were about a0 people on board who said they had fever and flulike symptoms, they have all been tested and it turns out nobody has the novel coronavirus. so you can see they are making their way

to the taxis and going onto their homes, whatever that may be. the reason people were concerned is because there was a cruise involving the same ship, last month, and eight people tested positive for the new coronavirus. that was the concern. but the authorities in hong kong tonight say there is no cause for alarm. as you can see, there is lots of media attention, especially local camera crews, talking to people about what it was like to be confined to this ship. two of them, hinsley and charlotte, we have been speaking them to the last four days. charlotte, you are finally... finally on the ground! how does that feel? much better than on the ship. most of the facilities were closed. most of the time we needed to just stay in our room. what will you do now? where will you go? i am so happy to now go home, sleep good and tomorrow, to work. of course, in contrast, there is another ship in japan off

course, in contrast, there is another ship injapan off the coast there were many people have tested positive for the coronavirus. but in terms of the people who have been stuck on the ship you're in hong kong, good news tonight, they are now going home to their families. that was nick beake. as you know, one of the most talked—about films this year is parasite, the funny but dark satire on the issue of class in south korea. the big question is, could it become the first foreign language movie to win the oscar for best film? jean lee is a korea expert from washington and explains the pull of this film. jean lee is a korea expert in washington and explains people of this film. simply put, it is still filmmaking. you start with script that is so clever, so comics, even as it is dark, and so richly layered. you know, i watched it again last night, because i watched the first day that it came out in washington, dc, becausei didn't know how long it would be in the theatres, and there is still so much nuance that i can get from that. some of those lines, they stick with you. then there is the plot. interviewers all over the

place. it just keeps interviewers all over the place. itjust keeps you on edge and maintains that energy throughout. —— it just edge and maintains that energy throughout. —— itjust veers all over the place. and i have to say, the visual element, just breathtakingly shot, not only showing the beauty of some of the scenarios, but it is in equal parts revolting. you just see there is a visual spectacle, it is a feast. just simply the filmmaking itself, it is such a sleeper hit. such a surprise, not only for me, somebody who watches south korean film, but foreseen a files around the world, looking to see if it can stage an upset. —— cinephiles around the world. so this is a moment a bit more widely for asian cinema, over the last couple of yea rs ? cinema, over the last couple of years? absolutely. it is very rare to see asians on the big screen, particularly in movies that are celebrated or honoured at the oscars. something that came to mind was slum dog millionaire, a british film shotin millionaire, a british film shot in asia, of course, i think it was about ten years

ago, and it did very well at the oscars. but we have not seen a foreign language film shotin seen a foreign language film shot in asia reaching this level. certainly it is a big moment for asia. for south korea, i wanted to mention that south korea is making 100 years of filmmaking, so it could not come at a better moment to celebrate the impact that south korean pop culture has had globally. i have to say, ijust wa nted globally. i have to say, ijust wanted to mention one more thing. it used to be that south korean filmmakers were under pressure to produce pretty movies, or movies that show off the best of south korea. so if you have a film that attacked social issues like this it is also a milestone moment for south korea in its development, its evolution in filmmaking. well, good luck to all those nominees at the oscars. very closely watched indeed. meanwhile, you've been watching newsday. i'm shara njit meanwhile, you've been watching newsday. i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore. and i am lewis vaughan—jones in london. stay with us, because we will have plenty more coverage of the oscar awards and the hours to

come here on bbc news. we will bring you all the winners and all the losers, which is frankly sometimes just as entertaining, isn't it. anyway, stay with us here newsday. hello there. storm ciara may well be leaving the shores of the uk as we speak, but not without leaving a lasting impression. just take a look at the gusts of wind that we had on sunday, in excess of 90 miles an hour for some areas. and there was a spell of very heavy flooding rains as well, as the main front cleared away, and left a trail of showers in its wake. so, yes, storm ciara moves off into the near continent now, but behind it, plenty of isobars remain under wind direction coming from the

north—west, so much cooler source of areas turning those showers to sleet and snow to the higher ground of scotland at the moment, with a frequent rush of showers through scotland, northern england and northern ireland, and temperatures close to freezing, there could be icy stretches around first thing in the morning. showers of rain further south will be few and far between, but nevertheless it is going to be a windy start to our monday morning, and a political one as well. so we continue to see plenty of showers of snow in scotland, northern ireland and northern england. a rush of sharp showers merging together for longer spells of rain, as we go through the day across england and wales. a cool feeling right across the country, temperatures ranging from a— eight. factor in the strength of the wind and it will feel noticeably colder. it is almost a repeat performance on tuesday, most of the sleet and snow showers will continue through scotland, northern ireland, northern england, you are showers further south, but still a cool feeling, but with these blizzard conditions we could start to see several centimetres of snow accumulating, and they will be

some drifting. —— fewer showers further south. again, another cold feeling today, a—7. but we have not really seen any significant winter weather so far. it is worth bearing in mind across northern hills could start to see some significant accumulations. until we get towards wednesday, and hopefully the isobars will open up and we will see some lighter winds developing and fewer showers around. a greater chance of seeing more sunshine for wednesday. a better day with those lighter winds. temperatures of similar values, ranging a—9. but with those light winds by day, that is going to lead to a chilly start to thursday morning, may a touch of frost around. it won't last very long, as we see another area of low pressure moving in during thursday, bringing in yet more wet and windy weather across the country. so if you haven't got the message already, it does look as though it is going to stay very windy indeed this week. frequent showers, snow on hills, but much colder.

this is bbc world news. our top story: hollywood is gearing up for the oscars — the 92nd academy awards ceremony. the film industry's biggest night of the year will take place in los angeles. the korean—language drama parasite, directected by bong joon—ho, could make history as the first non—english language movie to win best picture. millions of people are preparing to return to work in china after an extended lunar new year break, imposed in an effort to stop the spread of coronavirus —but many workplaces will remain closed. and this video is trending on bbc.com. ireland's political landscape has been transformed by a surge in support for the left—wing republican party, sinn fein — over its two centrist rivals. that's all. stay with bbc world news.

now on bbc news, stephen sackur speaks