this is bbc news, the headlines. india's expanded vaccination drive — offering all adults over the age of 18 a jab — has stalled with some states forced to close centres after running out of vaccines. the country is in the grips of record levels of covid—19 infections, reporting more than four—hundred—thousand cases in the last twenty—four—hours. the head of the us—led military mission in afghanistan has warned against attacks on foreign troops as they start to withdraw, saying they had the means to " respond forcefully. " the comments come after the taliban said they were no longer bound by an earlier commitment not to attack international forces. the british government is cutting its core funding to the united nations children s fund by 60%. unicef has warned the cut will have serious consequences , particularly for children affected by covid 19.

a campaign has been launched to raise money to build a memorial in st paul's cathedral to those who've died as a result of coronavirus. costing £2.3 million, it would be the first new structure of its kind inside st paul's for 150 years. charlotte wright reports. for centuries, st paul's cathedral has been a place to reflect on significant national events, which is why campaigners say it's a fitting site for this — a covid memorial. designed by an architect who himself lost his mother during the pandemic. there are now over 100,000 other families who will have gone through that same sense of dislocating anguish. and, for us, i think a memorial could not be more important. the plan is to the build the memorial here at the north door, the site

of a porch that was bombed during world war ii. and visitors will walk through to an area of reflection, where there will be a digital book of condolence and they can call up entries, including photos and epitaphs. more than 7,300 names have already been uploaded to the online book. it's a different way of doing memorials, but it's having a physical and an online memorial together, which is a really... it's a new thing for us, but we think it means that thousands and thousands of people can be remembered. 0rganisers are hoping to raise £2.3 million to pay for the structure and install it next year. they say this would be a monument for all, regardless of faith or background. charlotte wright, bbc news. now on bbc news, talking movies.

hello from los angeles and welcome to our talking movies 0scars review special. i'm tom brook. in today's programme, we are going to look back at hollywood's biggest night of the year. nomadland took the top prize and it was a good night for diversity. not quite as great as some might have hoped, and a very unusual 0scars ceremony in these pandemic times. i would like to thank my two boys, who are making me go out and work. laughter. so all credit should go to the academy of motion picture arts and sciences for mounting an in—person 0scar ceremony, despite the pandemic. and nomadland, an incredibly well observed portrait of itinerant people in the american west, emerged as the big win

of the night, taking home the top best picture prize. and chloe zhao, she made history by becoming the first woman of colour to win for best director and only the second woman in that category ever to do so. so news of nomadland's victories travelled rapidly around the world. watching the oscars ceremony for talking movies in london was emma jones. from the moment nomadland was first shown, 0scar watchers predicted this moment. the story of fern, played by frances mcdormand, who heals from her own tragedies by living life on the road in her van, spoke of freedom, new horizons and wide open skies. an alternative america to an audience suffering in a pandemic year. and it was made by chloe zhao, a chinese film—maker who becomes the second ever woman to be named best director. her win as an asian

woman is also historic. it is pretty fabulous to be a woman in 2021. frances mcdormand took the best actress award, her third, while nomadland which both chloe zhao and frances mcdormand co—produced, was also named best picture. but it is the directing victory that is the trophy for women in the film industry. 0nly kathryn bigelow�*s the hurt locker has won before. leaving bigelow has been a lonely role model. if this win helps more people like me get to live their dreams, i am so grateful for this. i have had a group dinner with kathryn bigelow once and i definitely fan girled big—time. chloe zhao was born in china, before coming to school here in the uk and then moving to the us to finish her studies. she says that she has always felt like a bit of an outsider and she certainly is brilliant at telling the stories of other outsiders and of different

kinds of communities. songs my brothers taught me, about a brother and sister living on a native american reservation, and a film about an injured rodeo cowboy were both micro—budget films. nomadland also offers up an altogether different version of the american dream. to me, that american dream isn't a glamorous, you know, achieving, winning big and become... have a gold aeroplane or something. that is not... i think the american dream is really... the american broken dream, almost. you know, they kept going, they keep going once their dreams are broken. that is the true american spirit. we not only accept the tyranny of the dollar, the tyranny - of the marketplace, we embrace it. - the film features many real nomads, rather than actors, nonprofessionals being another signature feature of chloe zhao's film—making. they report she brought her own van to immerse

herself in the lifestyle. it was very instinctive. she isjust... almost a chameleon, she takes on the people she is with, it seems like, based on her history and past life. yeah, it was amazing to watch. but chloe zhao's new film will be nothing like these. she was given marvel�*s eternals, starring angelina jolie as her next project and a $200 million budget to go with it. this is an extermination. women may have waited 11 years for another best director to come along, but 0scar night also delivered emerald fennell�*s victory for best original screenplay for promising young woman, a category a woman hasn't won in 13 years. the wait for the next female winners should never be as long again. when the oscar nominations were announced, the academy was applauded for fielding

the most diverse group of oscar nominees in history. more than 70 women scored nominations and nine people of colour were represented in the acting categories. women and people of colour did do well, but some commentators rather caustically remarked that the two top acting prizes were taken home by white people. well, let's take a look at all of this in a bit more detail. whoo! the finely wrought unpretentious minari, an immigrant story set in arkansas, certainly certainly brought diversity to 0scars night, when youn yuh—jung became south korea's first oscar—winning actress and only the second asian woman to win an acting 0scar. in minari, she played a quirky, doting grandmother, her relationship with her grandson providing audiences with some beautifully tender moments. her refreshingly unguarded personality backstage just after winning supporting actress she made it clear she is all for diversity.

i think it is very nice to understand each other and we should embarrass... embrace each other. laughter. just, we are equally human beings who have the same warm heart. black panther party. best supporting actor 0scar went to britain's daniel kaluuya for his role injudas and the black messiah, playing chairman of the illinois black panther party at hamilton, brought down by an fbi informant in 1969. it was a brilliant portrayal of the young black activist. i think more people are going to watch about the chairman's story. that is what this was about, telling the truth and getting it out there and making sure people see who this man was and what this man did and what he continues to do, the fact that i can even stand on the stage with the statues is because of what he did. another nod to diversity was kept a soul, which won

for best animated feature. it was a first pixar animation to have a black protagonist. a very touching story of a school music teacher trying to reunite his body with his soul. they don't care nothing about me. ma rainey�*s black bottom, violoa daivs starred as a singer, who didn't win, but the film picked up oscars for make—up, costume and hair styling. i think everybody benefits from diversity. everyone does. yes! and so, i think... also, i think everybody wants it, to be honest. i feel like that has been the thing. we was alljust having fun! of course, ma rainey�*s black bottom's leading man, the late chadwick boseman, who died from cancer last year, didn't, as was widely expected, win for best actor. the producers had positioned best actor of the last award, hoping to deliver a teary sendoff for the show for bozeman�*s posthumus win. instead it went to anthony hopkins, who rather awkwardly

wasn't there, but a few hours later he did appear by social media to accept his second oscar for playing a man suffering from dementia. suffering from dementia, in the father. that film also won for best adapted screenplay. so i am here in my homeland in wales and at 83 years of age i did not expect to get this walk, i really didn't, and... i am very grateful to the academy and thank you stop and i want to pay tribute to chadwick boseman, who was taken from us far too early. why you keep looking at me as if something is wrong, everything is fine! much praise went to sir anthony hopkins for his winning portrayal, but looking at the evening overall, there was a sense that the academy hadn't quite lived up to its promise of awarding more fully black performance. in terms of best actor and best actress, it did not.

we got a lot of really good nominees in there, we got a lot of really good wins, but i don't think it was the most inclusive that it could have been. the academy is actually doing a great deal to continue to push diversity. they are moving in the right direction, we know there has been progress in this country and hollywood but there has bit has been exceptionally slow. it was a great night for the danish at the oscars, four middle—aged teachers who engage in experiments with alcohol, won the best international feature film. a big victory for its director and co—writer, thomas vinterberg and the film's production team were still celebrating hours after the event. the 0scars when bought denmark a day of celebration. i feel like the whole country is standing celebrating us now at home, especially this year. it is overwhelming, actually, because not that many things have been happening in denmark throughout the last year because of the covid—19. now, finally, something positive is happening,

so i feel that at home the whole country is celebrating. 0ther 0scars handed out included best documentary feature going to my 0ctopus teacher, much like the trail of a south africa's love affair with the octopus. we went into the oscars believing that steven soderbergh, a film—maker was one of the producers of the oscars show, was going to reinvent the oscars ceremony and use the restrictions imposed by covid—19 to create something quite wondrous. well, it didn't quite work. the evening started on a promising note, with actor, director regina king strutting through union station, while theatrical credits appeared on the screen. steven soderbergh had said the oscars would unfold like a movie. he didn't totally deliver that way.

there was a nice intimate club atmosphere, but speeches dragged on. there was not much humour, although glenn close did do a little dance, which was quite funny. but there was no overarching concept that bound everything together that shone through. i think there are just some hindrances, just given the pandemic and what it has wreaked on hollywood and the precautions it obviously had to go into effect in order for it to even take place in person. i do think that they really successfully pulled off the whole no mask thing. i think it was really exciting for everyone watching, obviously, to see talent without masks, all dressed up, showing off their famous faces. and it kind of brought a sense of normalcy to the whole night. for those tuning in to watch the ceremony at home, there was a range of opinion. certainly some disappointment. it did seem rather not relevant any more tonight, unfortunately, but...

it used to feel relevant. that was a bit sad, really, to watch and... they were celebrating so much and it really didn't feel like we were celebrating current culture, really. it just felt a bit distant from the media and things i have seen over the past last year. i enjoyed it. it was good to see how they i transformed union station into an intimate atmosphere, j it had tables and the way they were sat in tears on top of each other. | when the ratings came in the day after the oscars, it was a disastrous showing. less than 10 million tuned in to watch the us, a low record last year for the last 0scars pulling in more than 23 million viewers. one of the problems is the potential audience for this year's 0scars ceremony shown on abc tv had little awareness of the crop of best picture nominees. the extent to which this is an asterisk year, i think they get a pass. it is amazingly pulled

off a show at all. i think it was incredibly logistically challenging and we shouldn't be too harsh on them. i think that the people at abc know full well that the movies that were in contention are what make ratings and the movies were not well known. the movie business is shaky. it is not sure where it is heading and there is this terrible precipice that could just... people... the exhibition could just disappear. and there could be no movies, and we could be watching everything on tv. i don't think that is going to happen, but that is the backdrop for a grimmer, sadder oscars and we have to pull out and recover and bring people back to the cinemas. and one day, very soon, take everyone you know into a theatre shoulder to shoulder in that dark space and watch every film that is represented here tonight. a big part of the traditional

0scars ceremony is the humongous red carpet. this year, there was a red carpet, but much more modest. but the organisers were keen on fashion. they issued a dress code instruction to nominees, that they should dress in a way that was inspirational and aspirational, whatever that means. but stylists did work with hollywood stars to get them to express themselves through fashion, as triston daily reports. at the oscars this year was a small step towards normalcy. some of hollywood's most recognisable faces walk the socially distanced red carpet. this year's 0scar fashion was really strong and i think that added on to the enthusiasm ofjust the public being excited to watch the red carpet before the ceremony. we saw a lot of the midriff trends happening

on the red carpet. anda day looked amazing in her gown and that dress, vera wang went to a welder to create because it is totally made out of metal. laurie thys, stylist to best actress nominee and best song songwriter has felt the pressure of working with clients through this pandemic. there are moments where i am dealing with them, . there are moments where i am a person, but it has been - a little bit of both. fittings via zoom and know i sending clothes in and making sure that things are there. trying to get a good gauge . and division and making sure the cameras in the right place so you can see _ everything, you know? it has been a bit of- a challenge in that way, but we are pushing through, so it is a good thing. - fashion photographers were also faced with the challenges of adjusting to working

in the midst of a pandemic. without red carpets for a good portion of award season, the fanfare in the form of endless flash photography and press yelling at stars names was missing. but in place of the carpet was a more intimate venue for celebrities to display fashion. we have been in all. these people's homes and in their backyards. i have had to bring gear. i would say it has made photographing a bit more intimate. the second you step into someone's home, everything is stripped down, you know? and i feel like there is a level of personal ability and connectivity that you get from being inside these people's homes, it is really cool. some agree there is an upside of seeing celebrities in their homes, but the red carpet is unmatched in terms of glamour. this award season, the oscars was able to set itself apart when it comes to spectacle. i think people are tired of zooms and these virtual events. in my opinion, we need physical award shows,

we need physicalfashion shows in orderfor these things to survive because fashion and film, they need to be seen in order to survive. well, with oscars 2021 behind us, where will we be one year hence? who will be the possible academy award winners in 2022? talking movies has been trying to find out. i thinkjennifer hudson has a good chance of getting the nomination for best actress in respect. she was hand—picked by aretha franklin herself to play her in the biopic and we have seen her do her magic in playing girls effie and her singing won her the oscar that year. it would be great to see her do a repeat and if she did that it would be the icing on the cake.

i really like anan diaz, who is coming off brilliantly in 2019 with knives out. you can see her may be in a year being best actress for her role in blonde, which is a fictionalised take on marilyn monroe, based on the novel by carol 0ates, i think it is going to be talked about a lot for best actress. one of my big picks i for best actor in 2022 was denzel washington. he is in 0scar's favourite, he has already won two . 0scars over the coursej of his illustrious career and in his next film - he is playing none other than the role of macbeth. you cannot ask for a better role than macbeth. - if the film is as good - as everybody hopes, i think denzel washington sounds really, really good chance. i think that in 2022, it is going to be 0scar isaacs's year. he has a role coming up in the card counter, a new movie that involves a gambler and a revenge plot.

it just sounds cutesy and fun, but also a meaty role and i just can't to see what 0scar isaac does with it. a huge contender for getting the oscar for best director at the 2022 academy awards is... for handyman. she is talking about social injustice and racial relations in america in the history of black americans in this country though horror. it would be awesome if she was recognised for that work. i think the best director next year, actually - someone who is really- in the conversation this year and that is director— chloe zhao, with her next film, internals, which really stepped up to the plate of directing - a hollywood blockbuster. it is a marvel film an early buzz on the film says - she really hits it out| of the park, but also stays true to who she is as a film—maker. . it is hard for me to imagine best picture going to anything other than westside story. you know, it is steven

spielberg's first musical. we are coming into a year where all i think people will want our big entertainment that reminds you of what movies can do, so it seems like a shoe in for best picture. for best picture in 2022. people will be engrossed by the cinematic magnitude of this film. it is starring 0scar isaacs and timothee chalamet. i think it is one of those stories that has been called unfilmable because it is so expensive, but overall i think this will be a fan favourite at the oscars. my pick for best picture i is actually a film i thought was going to win best picture this year and that the - film in the heights. it was delayed due to| the cpovid pandemic, but now it's finally being released this summer. millions of people are - clamouring to see this beloved musical by lin—manuel miranda brought to life _ by the directorjohn shue.

i think it could be the best pic. - what a strange year for the oscars, a very unusual ceremony, record low ratings, at least in the united states, and clearly there is a lot of thinking that needs to be done, but what does bring reassurance is that all eight pictures up for best picture all were very fine films. was very pleased that no nomadland win for best picture, but personally i would have liked to see that nomadland won. i would have liked to seen another film get the best price. so for me, tom brook, the rest of the talking movies team here at los angeles, new york and london, it is goodbye, as we leave you with the song that won for best original song at this years 0scars. # always fight for you # i always... for you # see it through...

# baby, you # always fight for you. # hello again. well, there probably aren't too many of you that escaped with a completely dry day today. it has been a day of sunshine and showers, but those showers have been really widespread. so, yes, although skies looked like these at times other times, we had the heavens open. this one quite an impressive shower, bringing a covering of hail to the roads and pavements of leek in stafordshire. you can see just how extensive today showers have been nationwide, really. and although they

are beginning to fade away now, there are still a few left over. the reason we've had so many showers during the day is because, over the last few days, we've had a lump of cold air move across the uk. that gets heated strongly by the may sun, which causes the air to rise, causes those showers to break out. we've got the same kind of mechanism with us for the forecast into sunday. now, right now, most of the showers have cleared out of the way, just one or two left over for scotland to take us into the first part of the night. it's another cold night, though, with clearing skies, light winds and widespread frost. temperatures getting down to about —2 —3 in the very coldest areas. so a cold start to the day sunday morning, but a lovely start with clear blue sky for many of you. through the day, though, showers will start to out initially across the northwest of the country. they will become very extensive for most areas as we head into the afternoon. probably some of the heavier showers across central and eastern england, eastern areas of scotland.

and those temperatures a bit disappointing, really, for the time of year. highs 11 to 1a degrees for most of you. and talking about disappointing weather, here comes your bank holiday. it's an area of low pressure coming in off the atlantic bringing wet weather, bringing windy weather, bringing fairly chilly weather as well. it may well start off bright across eastern areas of the uk, but outbreaks of rain quickly spreading from the west. might well be cold enough to have even a little bit of snow mixed in over the highest ground in scotland and northern england. and it's going to be pretty windy, pretty windy and pretty chilly for the time of year. temperatures doing well to get into double figures across england and wales. furhter north, scotland and northern ireland about seven to 9 degrees. maybe the far north of scotland is a place to be for the best of the weather. after that, it stays pretty showery i think for most areas, with a good low pressure coming in from the southwest. that's your latest weather.

this is bbc news. i'm maryam moshiri. our top stories: israelis hold a vigil for the 45 people who lost their lives in a stampede. sunday has been declared a national day of mourning. amid record levels of covid—19 infections, india's vaccine drive stalls, with some states forced to close centres as they run out ofjabs. as foreign troops begin their delayed withdrawal from afghanistan, a warning to the taliban against renewed attacks. the american actress and oscar winner 0lympia dukakis has died at the age of 89. and an icon of manhattan — the empire state building turns 90.