welcome to bbc news — i'm james reynolds. our top stories: oscar fever grips hollywood — as cinema's biggest stars attend the 92nd academy awards ceremony. brad pitt has taken home one of the night's major awards — winning best supporting actor — in the quentin tarantino film ‘0nce upon a time in hollywood.‘ here in hollywood, the oscars are infull swing. here in hollywood, the oscars are in full swing. also the south korean film parasite picks up the top award. millions are supposed to go back to work in china after the extended lunar new year break. but severe restrictions due to the coronavirus outbreak means, many businesses remian closed. ireland's general election changes the country's political landscape with a surge in support for the left—wing republican party sinn fein.

the new solar orbiter space mission allowing scientists to see the sun we've never been able to see it before. the 92nd academy awards are underway in los angeles. the front runner with eleven nominations is the dark comic—book movie "joker." the korean—language drama "parasite," is seeking to enter the history books as the first foreign language film to win a best picture oscar. stars including brad pitt, charlize theron, leonardo dicaprio and scarlettjohansson are among the a—list nominees. and brad pitt has been amongst the first winners picking up the award for best supporting actorfor his role in once upon a time in hollywood. live now to hollywood and our correspondent, peter bowes.

brad pitt has one and also a first—ever oscar for south korea. south korea's parasite is the film, a tremendous amount of buzz for this film. it is one of the favourites to ta ke it is one of the favourites to take best picture at the end of the night. we've still got a couple of hours of the show. it has one for best original screenplay. that is one of the major categories. it's a good indicator the film is likely to do well later on. brad pitt has never won. his one for the best supporting actor category for once upona supporting actor category for once upon a time in hollywood, quentin tarantino's tribute to hollywood. a very popular —— popular character. he gave

quite a rousing acceptance speech. let me talk to lindsay millerfrom the speech. let me talk to lindsay miller from the website popsugar. a great night for him, he can bask in his win for the rest of the show. we talk about parasite, a lot of people expected it to win in the original screenplay. does it bode well? it could be a bit of a tossup. we were talking about about how the academy tends to be more older and traditional and i'm not sure they are ready to film —— vote for a film like parasite. animated feature film, toy story four. there seems to be no stopping this franchise. 25 years since the first film, there is a whole new generation of parents taking their kids to enjoy it. adapted screenplay which went

tojojo adapted screenplay which went to jojo rabbit, adapted screenplay which went tojojo rabbit, a quirky movie, not everybody‘s favourite. a little boy, his imaginary friend is adolf hitler and some people were hostile to this movie saying hitler can never be funny. it was divisive but it had its champions and picked up it had its champions and picked up the wind tonight. something we are looking for, that is the streaming films and we have to in the potential topline that could with the best picture. what is the irishman, three .5 hours long. it took me two nights to watch it. same. they didn't go to a cinema to watch that film and there is a sense that film and there is a sense that those streaming films are taking away from the theatrical experience. could that hold them back? they do require that streaming films have a short tactical release like you've said, there have been naysayers like steven spielberg you say these are tv movies, not films

that should be in contention here but we don't see any sign of that changing. and the other one is marriage story, also available on netflix. what you think its chances? i don't get some running for the best picture, it hasn't been in the conversation but i think laura dern has good odds tonight. we still have, as we've indicated, there is still the big awards to come. nine in contention in best picture. we will find out ina best picture. we will find out in a couple of hours. we will be coming back to you very shortly. azerbaijan's governing party says it believes it has won a snap parliamentary election which was called to speed up the reforms of president ilham aliyev. opponents accuse him of trying to consolidate his grip on power. the united nations secretary general, antonio guterres, has told african leaders that it's time to remove sudan from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

addressing the annual african union summit in addis ababa, mr guterres said the un would drum up he international support that would enable the country to overcome its challenges. india's top court has ruled that a quota system that reserves some governmentjobs for disadvantaged groups, is not a fundamental right. the scheme called ‘reservation‘ 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. the number of deaths from china's coronavirus epidemic has risen to more than 900 after the hardest—hit province of hubei reported 91 new fatalities. monday is the first day back at work for hundreds of millions of people after the extended lunar new year holiday, but there are severe travel restrictions still in place across the country. from beijing, john sudworth reports.

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. large crowds have held a vigilfor the victims of a mass shooting by a junior army officer in the thai city of nakhon ratchasima. at least twenty— nine people are now known to have died in the attack. 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. the political landscape in ireland has been transformed by a surge in support for the nationalist party, sinn fein, in the general election. initial results suggest the party's share of the vote matched that of its two centrist rivals, finuh gael and fianna foyle which have dominated irish politics for decades. both have ruled out working with sinn fein, because of its links with the ira. 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 thelandscape 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. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: does son as we've never been able to set before. nasa prepares to launch the new solar orbiter space mission.

there's mr mandela. 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 bbc news, the latest headlines: at the oscars, brad pitt takes on one of the night's major awards, winning best supporting actor for the awards, winning best supporting actorfor the quentin awards, winning best supporting actor for the quentin tarantino film once upon a time in hollywood. millions are supposed to go back to work in china after the extended lunar new year breaks, but coronavirus restrictions mean many businesses remain closed. in syria, more than 20 civilians are reported to have been killed in the north—western province of idlib, as government forces continue to recapture rebel held territory. the syrian observatory for human rights said people were killed in air raids across the region. over three million people are trapped in the region, the last rebel stronghold, following eight years of conflict. gareth barlow has more: a missile strike on syria's edlin province, as government forces supported by russia and iran continue to try to

reca ptu re iran continue to try to recapture the last sliver of rebel held territory. for their part, under the cover of darkness, the rebels continue to hit back. but rocket launchers on the back of 4x4s are no matches for the might of president assad's forces and russia's warplanes. translation: our valiant armed forces have managed, in the past few days, to make notable advances. the side advancing from eastern idlib met with forces from the southern side, regaining control of more than 600 square kilometres. since december, more than half a million civilians, the vast majority women and children, have fled their homes after the government launched its offensive. many have spent their years on the move, while their years on the move, while their friends their years on the move, while theirfriends and their years on the move, while their friends and families have been killed in the fighting.

translation: all the youth in the village have died. nobody is left. pa rents the village have died. nobody is left. parents and children, oi’ is left. parents and children, or buying. somebody feel our pain! the people have died! we fled with nothing but the clothes we were wearing. we have nothing, no shelter. we are scared of the planes and the airstrikes. find a solution, for god's sake. the people have died. meanwhile, turkey, which backs the syrian opposition and is hosting millions of refugees, has been amassing military armaments along its border. ankara clearly concerned about the scale of advance by syria's forces and the possible human and political impact of the government's campaign. let's go back to one of our main stories, the coronavirus in china. stephen mcdonald is in beijing. how is the return to

work after the lunar new year being organised? well, it is not like a normal return to work after a lunar new year, that's for sure. i mean, already, but spring festival break has been extended because of the health emergency, but many companies have told the staff to work from home, if they are able to do that. now, those who cannot have everybody working from home have been told by the government, for example in beijing, to at least try to make their working hours more flexible. this is all designed to reduce crowds in public places. another measure that has been taken, for example, is that normally cars in beijing have a restriction on how many days they can drive. every car, monday to friday, there is one day you are not allowed to drive because of a numberplate restriction. it is designed to reduce pollution and also traffic jams. that has reduce pollution and also trafficjams. that has been lifted at the moment, so people don't have to take public

transport. again, the fear is that by going on the underground train system or buses and the like, you can be touching things, you could be exposed to the virus by coming into co nta ct exposed to the virus by coming into contact with other passengers. and so while it is a return to work, and i can hear more cars rumbling out on the streets outside right now, it is certainly a far shot from what you would expect of a normal workday in a big city like beijing. our colleagues, john sudworth, in his report, use or half empty streets. when you look out of your window, in the same city, beijing, what do you see? well, like i say, more ca rs you see? well, like i say, more cars today but not many people. imean, cars today but not many people. i mean, most eocene content, if they can, to remain indoors. —— most seem content. people are afraid of being exposed to the virus. when you do move out of the building you have to have a temperature checks, sometimes on the way out, as well as on

the way in. if you are going into any sort of restaurant to buy takeaway food or something like that, again, a check. right across this country, people are very worried about the spread of the coronavirus and you can't move around without being aware of it. i mean, it is unusual, for example, to see a single person who does not have their face covered in a mask. stephen mcdonnell in beijing, thank you for joining mcdonnell in beijing, thank you forjoining us. it's the new space mission that will show us the sun as we've never been able to see it before. the spacecraft, called solar orbiter, is a european space agency—led mission. it's due to be launched from cape canaveral in florida in the next few hours. bbc science reporter laura foster explains. you will get to see images on unprecedented levels of detail. and it will be the first ever mission to get in and see and touch what is coming from the sun. solar orbiter is going to get the closest pictures of the sun but we have ever seen. it

is even going to allow us to see the north and south poles the sun. we've never seen them before, so this will be a com pletely before, so this will be a completely new thing. but it's not just about taking call photographs. this is all about measuring the sun's behaviour, as well. we've got a combination of telescopes which look at the surface of the sun and really see what is going on, and then a suite of instruments which measure the solar wind, which is what is thrown off the sun all the time. so the extended atmosphere, if you like, of the sun. it can be steady, it can be fast, it can be very eruptive. it will be looking at all those different sources and trying to understand where it comes from and how it propagates towards us on earth. the other great thing about it is because we are going so close we get to co— locate with some surfaces of the sun. usually when we look at the summit rotates underneath us, so we see summit rotates underneath us, so we see parts coming back. but solar orbiter will get to hover over one section and really see how it develops. because it is taking photographs of the sun and the

sun is really bright, solar orbiter is not going is close to the sun as other spacecraft. it is hanging a bit further back, 42 million kilometres away. and there it will lose that it will use telescopes to ta ke that it will use telescopes to take pictures through the heat shield, a heat shield which is partially made of bakes animal bones. it is also help solar orbiter withstand temperatures of up to 600 celsius. that is iiizdf. it is very important to keep solar orbiter and the instruments as clean as possible, and when there is dust on the lenses of the telescopes, when you exposed that to the summit effectively bakes those particles onto the lenses. once you start doing that you start using —— are losing science, so it is essential to keep those instruments as clean as possible. by measuring and capturing images at the same time, solar orbiter is really going to give us a good understanding of how the sun behaves, and how that can affect the technology we use here on earth. in today's world with all our technology, a coronal mass ejection happens on the sun and affects us here

on the sun and affects us here on earth. it is going to have an impact on things like satellites, global navigation, even televisions. exploring spaceis even televisions. exploring space is expensive but the things that can happen and the technology spinoffs from this mission, we don't know what those will be at. but they have beena those will be at. but they have been a lot of developments but will undoubtably have applications to us in everyday life in ten or 20 years time. in case you won't aware, the oscar awards are under way in los angeles. let's catch up with our correspondence, peter bowes. he is unfortunately not in the auditorium, he is on the street for us. peter, we have a winner in best supporting actress ? winner in best supporting actress? yes, that has gone to laura dern for her role in marriage story. marriage story is quite a gripping tale of a couple going through a divorce. laura dern plays one of the lawyers. i mean, it is an extraordinary performance, a very intense performance that she puts in in this film. a

very emotional acceptance speech. it seems as it is her birthday today as well, so a nice surprise in that respect. she seemed very happy with her wind. one of the other awards that we have had since we last spoke a few minutes ago, best documentary feature. that has gone to a film called american factory, a documentary which has been made by barack obama and michelle obama's production company. this was one of their big new projects since they left the white house. this is an extraordinary film. it is a fly on the wall documentary which follows the workers at a dayton, ohio, general motors factory, which closed down. a chinese company moved in, a glassmaking company, it was mostly american workers still but quite a significant crew of chinese workers as well. and the film is all about the cultural differences between the american and chinese workers. it is a fly on the

wall documentary, it is an extraordinary piece of filmmaking. very simple in its style, because they went in with no preconceived ideas and managed to tell the story of these two different cultures coming together to ultimately make a coming together to ultimately makea go coming together to ultimately make a go of a business after the closure of general motors. peter, how is the ceremony going without a host for the second year in a row? well, i am nota second year in a row? well, i am not a fan of it. screaming. somebody screaming in the street, they obviously don't like it either. this is sunset boulevard, you can expect anything. i think that i host, anything. i think that i host, a well—known comedian helps to show together and bring a bit more humanity to it. but so far it seems to be moving along ok. we will send you a name next year, peter, if they go back to wanting a host. and we will come back to you later in the bulletin. because of course, peter bowes will be starting out there all evening making

sure we get the results as they come in. i am on twitter. i'm @jamesbbcnews. stay with us. 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 rain as well, as the main front cleared away, which 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 and the wind direction is coming from the north—west, so much cooler sort of areas turning those showers to sleet and snow on 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's going to be a windy start to our monday morning. so we continue to see plenty of showers of snow in scotland, northern ireland and northern england. a rush of sharp showers merging togetherfor longer spells of rain, as we go through the day across england and wales. a cool feeling right across the country, temperatures ranging from 4—8 degrees. factor in the strength of the wind and it will feel noticeably colder. it's almost a repeat performance on tuesday, most of the sleet and snow showers will continue through scotland, northern ireland, northern england, fewer showers further south, but still a cool feeling, but with these blizzard conditions we could start to see several centimetres of snow accumulating, and there will be some drifting. again, another cold feeling today, 4—7. but we have not really seen any significant winter

weather so far. it is worth bearing in mind, 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 4—9. but with those light winds by day, that is going to lead to a chilly start to thursday morning, maybe 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's going to stay very windy indeed this week. frequent showers, snow on hills, and much colder.

this is bbc news, the headlines: at the 2020 oscars, brad pitt has taken home one of the night's major awards — winning best supporting actor — for the quentin tarantino film 'once upon a time in hollywood.‘ — many of cinema's biggest stars are attending the 92nd academy awards ceremony, in los angeles. millions of chinese citizens are due to go back to work, after the extended lunar new year break — but coronavirus restrictions mean, many businesses remian closed. the number of deaths from the epidemic has now risen to more than 900 after hubei province reported 91 new fatalities. ireland's general election has seen an unprecedented surge in support for the left—wing nationalist party, sinn fein. despite fielding far fewer candidates, its share of the popular vote appears similar to those of the two long dominant centrist parties.