this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm james reynolds. our top stories: at the oscars, brad pitt takes home the best supporting actor award and laura dern wins best suporting actress. here in hollywood we are heading towards the big finish. eltonjohn wins heading towards the big finish. elton john wins and heading towards the big finish. eltonjohn wins and a director of parasite. millions are set to head back to work in china after the extended lunar new year break. but coronavirus restrictions mean, many businesses remain 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, showing us the sun as we've never been able to see it before — it's due to launch in

the next few minutes. the 92nd academy awards are coming to a close in los angeles. brad pitt was the amongst the first winners picking up the award for best supporting actorfor his role in once upon a time in hollywood. and laura dern has won best supporting actress — herfirst academy award. bong jon ho has just won best director for his film parasite. best picture is yet to come. live now to hollywood and our correspondent, peter bowes. a good night for parasite? bong joon—ho getting the biggest cheer of the night and earlier got west international film, the category that used to be known as the best foreign language film, —— best

international film. two of the key categories that it had nominations for and it could actually take best picture at the end of the night. we will get that award in a few minutes' time. it is getting exciting, helicopters are circling overhead. we are in the final moments of the oscars. we will come back to you later in the bulletin. eltonjohn won the song for the best song. look what we are about to show you. a rocket. this is real, this is about to happen. this is a solar orbiter and the launch of this orbiter is being organised by nasa, the us space agency. the launch is happening in a few seconds' time. the name gives it away. solar orbiter. it is towards

the sun. there is a reason for that, the scientists want to study the sun's weather patterns. they want to know what happens when the sun injects billions of matter particles affecting live here on earth. the spacecraft will be dispatch on an atlas rocket. gill six, five, four, three, two, one, zero. and liftoff. solar orbiter, an international collaboration to give us new energies and better understanding of our life—giving staff. —— star. understanding of our life-giving staff. -- star. the rocket itself will get towards the sun and get within 26 million miles of the sun's surface. that counts as close. closer than the planet mercury where temperatures are searing.

to survive, the probe will have to work from behind a large titanium shield. we will keep an eye on that rocket as it heads towards the sun. we can now speak to award winning journalist and producer kj matthews who's been covering and tweeting the oscars all evening. kj, how are you? what has been a highlight so far? the director bring john who just won for best director. you will not believe, that is the first timea not believe, that is the first time a film and filmmaker from south korea has won an oscar. they want it for best original screenplay. he has won it for best director, we will have to see if he wins best picture but they have been really stealing they have been really stealing the awards tonight. it is a

highlight of the night. he might as well have stayed on the podium! it is incredible to think that a director from south korea has the —— has had this effect, he did the film in korea. correct. when he goes up for his acceptance speech... 0h, kj, for his acceptance speech... oh, kj, are you still with us? people aren't that surprised but they are happy and elated to see a filmmaker put together such a well—written, well acted film, being honoured with the highest honourfrom film, being honoured with the highest honour from the academy awards. there has been plenty of criticism about the lack of diversity, just the fact that the director is not a white

man, is that in advance of what you would see it? it helps for sure but a lot of what you saw in the ceremony, it is a lot of windowdressing. presenters, the performers, tons of diversity tonight on stage. problem is there is a lack of diversity there is a lack of diversity the nominees. we have a british woman being nominated in supporting actors category and then you have the parasite director winning but is still not enough. people are saying the academy is still over 80% white males and that needs to change as well as the people at the studios that are making a decision before we see massive changes. however, iwill say that there has been an increase in the number of people of colour thing admitted to the academy. it is just a slow process. in the last second or two, we have just process. in the last second or two, we havejust seenjoaquin phoenix win best actor oscar.

he has been sweeping the awards all season long. tonight it was very predictable. laura dern winning the best supporting actress. joaquin phoenix winning for best actor. i think all of the categories we thought would win would win except we were not expecting parasite to win best director. that was a surprise but a welcome surprise. what you think of the quality of the films in this year's oscars? will it be remembered as a vintage year? i don't think it will be remembered as a vintage year. there was a lot of great films. 1917 was phenomenal. the irishman, a little bit long, but grateful to thejoker blew eve ryo ne but grateful to thejoker blew everyone away. and then you had parasite. good quality films but i would have loved to have seen more but i would have loved to have seen more diversity in terms of women being in the director category. they went evan any nominated and there were a lot of great films to choose from for top so i am hoping that in the future that will change because they were so many great films to choose from and i would really love to see a female be nominated in that

category. you are not the only one that thinks that. i don't know if you saw what natalie portman was wearing full stops she had a dress on, did you see it? she had all of the women who were not nominated in the best directing category on her cape. there was a lot of political statements on the red carpet. director spike lee also had a tuxedo blazer with the number 2a to honour the late toby plant. —— —— kobe bryant. i noticed best animated short. there was a lot of cheering for hair love. i loved that. the producer, filmmaker, for that film, brought attention to something called the crown act. it isa something called the crown act. it is a law here in california that prevents companies from discriminating on hairstyle and head texture. there has been a lot of talk about people getting kicked off sports teams 01’ getting kicked off sports teams or losing theirjobs because

they are wearing braids or dreadlocks or something so there is still a lot of discrimination out there and this films —— this film shines a spotlight of a lot of —— for a spotlight of a lot of —— for a lot of people who might not be aware. fantastic to talk to you, kj matthews. let's get some of the day's other news. the number of deaths to china's coronavirus has risen to more than 900 after the hardest hit province of hubei reported 91 new fidelity ‘s. monday is the first day back of work after the extended lunar holiday but there are extended travel restrictions still in place across the country. 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. xie xie. a note recording the temperature of the chef, the food packer and the delivery driver. in this case, thankfully, all fever free.

xie xie ni. 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. let's get some of the day's other news. 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 international support that would enable the country to overcome its challenges. heavily—armed police and soldiers in el salvador have forced their way into parliament, demanding the approval of a $109 million loan to better equip them. they entered the building as president nayib bukele was about to address lawmakers. on friday, he gave them seven

days to back his loan plan. sydney has been hit by its heaviest rain in 30 years, bringing flooding and travel chaos. about 100,000 properties have also been left without power. the authorities are warning of potentially life—threatening flash floods. but the rains have also put out many of the bushfires which have torn through new south wales in recent months. 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. renee zellweger has just won the best actress of award for her will —— for her role in the film judy. stay with us on bbc world news, still to come: more on the 92nd academy awards and who's taking home one, or more of the all important gold oscar statues. 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 world news, the latest headlines: at the oscars, brad pitt takes home the best supporting actor award — and laura dern wins best suporting actress for marriage story. millions are supposed to go back to work in china after the extended lunar new year break — but coronavirus restrictions mean, many businesses remain closed.

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 finah 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 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. so the oscars are currently underway in los angeles. live now to hollywood and our correspondent, peter bowes. peter, by my count, parasite has oscars, 1917 also has three, just one award to go with yellow yes, in the wintertime is the big one, best picture, we will be getting that hopefully in the next few moments. we havejust had best

actress, best actorjoaquin phoenix winning forjoker which eve ryo ne phoenix winning forjoker which everyone expected him to do and we also expected quite an emotional acceptance speech from him and we got that as well. he talked about using his voice for the voiceless, he talked about inequality and racism. he talked about being disconnected from the natural world and people fearing the idea of personal change be it was really all over the place what he was saying but it was certainly a heartfelt beach, he made a reference to his late brother. and he also talked about referring to himself how he had been a scoundrel at times, and how many of the people in that room had given him a second chance. let's bring an lindsay miller, heartfelt, certainly was? it was a tour de force of a speech. and we expected that from him. i felt like he really knew this was his moment to think that platform and say

what he wanted to say. do you think people take notice of what he says? i do, i think has much as people might write off the oscars asjust being silly hollywood, these are really influential people, and i think it does have an impact. if you do have a platform, this is the place to use it. and renee zellweger, winning forjudy. she was certainly the firm favourite in that category, and it is an extraordinary comeback story. people had written her off, she disappeared for several years and now she has bounced back. i think her stepping away was very much a personal choice of her own. she definitely has a calibre in hollywood to come back with a really strong performance like that and they do think that it is also telling that while the film did not receive a lot of nominations her performance really transcended the movie. for anyone who hasn't seen the film is a story ofjudy garland, herfinalfew film is a story ofjudy garland, her final few months of performances. and i think

what was really remarkable was the way she just becamejudy garland. she just seemed to channel her. it is hard to distinguish the rene from the judy. we are waiting for best picture, we are going to be getting it in the next few minutes. was asked about the fashions a few moments ago. i try to analyse but i'm sure you can makea try to analyse but i'm sure you can make a better stab at that with blue quite muted and subtle, we saw a lot of blacks and whites and pastel is. we didn't see a lot of bold colour. i think there were some real standout looks but i was a little surprised that nobody really went for a showstopping bold blue or hot pink. is the red carpet, it is referred to as the catwalk of the year? the fashion and the need for fashion and the need for fashion designers to get their gowns seen on fashion designers to get their gowns seen on that carpet, doesn't turn to dollars tomorrow? it may. this isjust

the big moment, the big combination, so when we are talking about speeches or dresses, everyone pulls out all the big stops at the oscars. we are coming up to best picture, they have been all over the place. this isn't a titanic year where one movie has run away with everything. certainly parasite has done well. best international film, parasite has done well. best internationalfilm, best director, but also 1917 getting a good slew of awards in those technical categories. a good slew of awards in those technical categorieslj a good slew of awards in those technical categories. i think the winsport parasite could bode well but i think it also might be a sign that the academy is looking to those as a consolation prize for best picture so i don't know what way it is going to go. we are going to know in the next few moments, appreciate your analysis. they are keeping us in suspense! but at least now i have the answer to the question about fashion. a year for muted and subtle colours, now i know that answer. elton john and subtle colours, now i know that answer. eltonjohn won an oscar? yes, we should mention

that. elton john oscar? yes, we should mention that. eltonjohn winning his second oscar for the song from rocketman. and i was a little surprised that that was the only nomination that rocketman had. it was out a few months ago, a great late summer movie and very often those films earlier in the year tend to get forgotten earlier in the year tend to get fo rg otte n a earlier in the year tend to get forgotten a little bit by the time we come to awards time, but only one nomination, one win for elton john. but only one nomination, one win for eltonjohn. he gave quite a rambling thank is dale a cce pta nce quite a rambling thank is dale acceptance speech, quite nice right at the very end where he referred to his two sons. your award for best speech of the night? you probably had to listen to 23 speeches so far?l managed to catch most of them. i thinkjoaquin phoenix, the one we referred to just now stopping you need to go back to it and analyse just what he was saying because he was typically deep and i think if we are looking for meaningful, heartfelt beaches, that is

probably the one copy i don't think there were any disasters. nobody fell down the stairs? no, so far, no announcing of the wrong film. which happened three years ago. exactly three yea rs three years ago. exactly three years ago, was that lala land 01’ was years ago, was that lala land or was it something else? moonlight? yeah, exactly. hopefully in the next two seconds, they still haven't got to it, but we are going to get the answer to that in. any surprises and any of the categories so far as we wait for best picture. no huge surprises. i think the fact that, parasite director getting best director in that category, was a surprise but maybe not if you consider the love that that seems to have been getting in the last few days, and i think the last few days, and i think the fact that this year has been shrouded in controversy to appoint because of the lack of

diversity, i think it is seen as quite a positive that parasite is doing so well, and it is an unusual film, it is a different film, it is not the kind of oscar film that you would think of the typical oscar voters going for, of course with subtitles and we could be talking in a few seconds time breaking a record, the first subtitles film getting best picture which would be rather nice, because times are changing quickly, and we talked earlier about streaming movies, non—streaming movies... and we have it! you've got it! you can say it, you are watching ahead of me. parasite! parasite has one! amazing, you are in hollywood but our satellite is perhaps working better than yours. it parasite has won. what is your insta nt parasite has won. what is your instant on the spot analysis? instead analysis is, wow!.

there will be a lot of people sharing because of this. 1917 seemed to have the momentum up until a couple of weeks ago but now this extraordinary, brave, some critics have said to me that this is a masterpiece, that this is a masterpiece, that it that this is a masterpiece, thatitis that this is a masterpiece, that it is perfect in terms of filmmaking. it has intrigued, it has suspense, it has drama, emotion, and a few cringing moments as well. it is a superb film. peter, you have been with us film. peter, you have been with us all night, it has been a pleasure. thank you to much for joining us. so parasite has been the big winner at the oscars in los angeles, it has won four oscars. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @jamesbbcnews. hello there. damaging gusts of wind cause major disruption and it looks like it is going to stay very windy throughout this week, with frequent showers an issue, some of them turning to snow across northern parts. because it is turning colder, you can see the first signs

of that with temperatures close to freezing so there will be some snow showers and icy stretches across the far north. showers into the south—west will merge together for longer spells of rain as we go through the day, some of those heavy with hail and thunder. snow showers across northern england, northern ireland and scotland, anywhere above 150 metres, and it is going to feel cold with gale force gusts of wind on exposed north coast. it's almost a repeat performance of the theme on tuesday, plenty of isobars and strong, gusty winds to look out for, and plenty of snow showers, so blizzard—like conditions in the north and more in the way of sunshine near the south, but cool for all with highs of 4—8 degrees.

this is bbc news, the headlines: at the oscars, joaquin phoenix wins the award for best actor in a leading role for thejoker and renee zellweger wins best actresss in a leading role forjudy. the korean—language drama parasite won best original screenplay, best original feature film and best director. 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, it's share of the popular vote appears similar to those of the two long dominant centrist parties.