♪ hi. welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. i'm robyn curnow. coming up on cnn, have passport, will travel. europe may throw its doors open to americans eager for a summer get getaway, but you must be vaccinated. long lines and low oxygen as india's hospitals struggle to keep up with the dizzying case of infections. and history made in hollywood. a big night for asian women at the oscars.

>> announcer: live from cnn center, this is "cnn newsroom." with robyn curnow. with begin with good news for americans who have been dreaming of a european holiday after more than a year of covid restrictions. the european commission president tells "the new york times" that fully vaccinated americans will be able to visit eu countries this summer. there's also good news for european economies that have felt the financial sting of travel bans. here's richard quest with more. richard. >> reporter: the eu and u.s. have been working on a deal for some time. now the europeans have accepted in principle that since americans are being vaccinated with one of three vaccines, all of which have been approved by the european regulator, then there's no reason why citizens shouldn't have unconditional access to the european union. there are logistical problems which involve recognizing the

vaccination certificates being issued in united states. the eu is using or moving towards a digital green pass whereas americans are being given little white cards. so how to ensure those cards are valid and not forgeries at the border, that will be a big question. as for the united kingdom, it won't be part of any deal with the eu because the uk is not a member of the european union. however, it will be astonishing if the united kingdom didn't have its own deal in place before long. richard quest, cnn, new york. >> so much of the eu decision is said to be based on the increasing number of americans getting vaccinated and most experts agree vaccinations are one of the biggest factors in getting life back to normal. white house senior adviser andy slavitt explained to cnn's pam brown how that would happen much faster for those who are fully

vaccinated. take a listen. >> the key to getting back to life that we used to know is vaccination, and so far we have more than half of adult americans that have done their vaccine shots. that's great, but that also means that we have near half of americans that still haven't done that yet. so i think we're increasingly going to see a world where people who have been vaccinated are going to enjoy a lot of freedoms. they're going to feel like they can take on a lot of activities with low risk. they can reunite with families and the cases are going to continue to be there for people who haven't been vaccinated yet. whether it's traveling to europe or seeing your family and friends without having to worry, vaccination's the key. >> according to the centers for disease control and prevention, nearly 95 million people in the u.s. are now fully vaccinated. that's more than a quarter of the population and nearly 140 million people have had at least one dose. but thet story is very differen in india, which has just broken the global record for new daily cases for a fifth consecutive day.

health authorities reported nearly 353,000 new cases on monday. hospitals are overwhelmed, and the government is planning to set up more than 500 new oxygen generation plants just to meet with the rising demand. anna coren is tracking these developments. she joins us now from hong kong with this desperate situation playing out in india. hi, anna. >> reporter: hi, robyn. as you say, another global record for a fifth consecutive day. according to the health experts, these official numbers are a massive undercount as to what the real toll actually is. the crematoriums are overflowing. the fires have been burning. the acute shortage of oxygen is being felt right around the country, particularly in delhi, the capital, which is supposed to have the best health system around the country. we spoke to a doctor there who in his 50 years of practicing medicine has never seen anything quite like this. he said we have patients die,

yes, of disease, but not from a lack of oxygen. as you mentioned, the prime minister, na ren da modi, tweeted overnight saying overnight, these oxygen plants will be set up aaround the country, but people are saying how long will that take? the people of india need help right now. volunteers roll out canisters of oxygen to victims of covid desperate for air. but this is no hospital. it's a sikh temple on the outskirts of new delhi where aid workers are treating people in the back seats of cars since medical centers in the capital are too overwhelmed to take in new patients. >> people who are not getting beds or oxygen and are dying in government hospitals, for them, it is a great help. they are getting oxygen. it's a great help for the people struggling to breathe. >> reporter: it's life and death for some. conditions aren't much better

inside hospitals. in some places with two to three patients to a bed and little room for standing. outside another hospital, people are treated in cars and ambulances as they hope and wait to be admitted. prime minister narendra modi says this second wave of the virus has shaken the nation. the government has deployed military planes and trains to bring in more oxygen from around the country and overseas. the uk now promising to send ventilators and other medical equipment. the eu and the u.s. say they will help too. but that's little comfort to those infected right now. for days, india has had the highest number of new delhi cases in the world, causing critical shortages and forcing some people to turn to more immediate means to help loved ones. >> translator: my father is 70 years old. last night i purchased an oxygen cylinder on the black market, and it's already empty. oxygen cylinders aren't even available on the black market

now. >> reporter: dwindling resources and a scramble to replenish them. until then, the anguish of families trying to help the sick and dying is one thing in india there is too much of. now, we know that individuals, private citizens, hospitals are taking to social media, pleading for help, pleading for oxygen supplies, medical supplies. interestingly, the government of narendra modi has contacted twitter to censor some of the tweets that have gone out, tweets from lawmakers and journalists, filmmakers who have been highly critical of his government's mishandling of this second wave. the government used an emergency order, and interestingly, twitter complied, removing some of these tweets. i mean you would have to think that with a national emergency on an epic scale, the catastrophe that is unfolding in

india, the fact that they are targeting twitter, trying to censor people's criticism is just extraordinary. >> as people continue to die. anna coren in hong kong, thank you. so kindergarten and primary schools in france are set to reopen in the coming hours with officials saying the country's covid situation is improving. but a nationwide overnight curfew will stay in place until at least mid-may. germany likely won't lift coronavirus restrictions until the end of next month since its seven-day average of new cases continues to climb. chance la angela merkel will hold a vaccine rollout meeting today. and italy is starting a gradual easing of restrictions as well in areas with low infection rates. students can return to classes and outdoor activities will be allowed. and an impromptu movement is rising in uruguay to help with the food crisis made worse by the pandemic. more and more people are relying on a network of volunteer kitchens as rafael romo now reports.

>> reporter: while one group cuts vegetables on one side, the other group gets the pork ready. it's mid-afternoon in uruguay's capital, and there is no time to waste. at this soup kitchen, hundreds of meals must be ready by dinnertime. they call it the people's pot. it's a group of volunteers with a noble mission, feeding those who have fallen on hard times due to the covid-19 pandemic. andrea is one of the volunteers working to feed the hungry. >> translator: we're in a food crisis, one of the biggest ones we've had in the history of uruguay. >> reporter: she was recently in their shoes. she says she was left with a little more than the equivalent of 20 u.s. dollars when a bag of diapers in uruguay costs $13. it wasn't only diapers. i also had to pay the bills and other things. the first help i got came from a

place like this, she says. this is not the only people's pot in montvy deo. according to a recent study, there are nearly 700 around the country feeding at one point as many as 55,000 people. more than 60% of these soup kitchens didn't get any state funding and depend on donations and the work of volunteers. at one point, this individual was one of those standing in line outside, waiting for a warm meal. we're here because there aren't any jobs, he said. as dinnertime approaches, the line outside gets longer. every day there's a people's pot. hundreds of people show up, rain or shine, and we have to cook hundreds of meals. it's something we didn't see before the pandemic, the soup kitchen coordinator says. uruguay is in an unusual situation. the world bank says it stands out in latin america for its

high income per capita and low level of inequality and poverty. but the pandemic has pushed into poverty many who were previously in the lower middle class. people who now depend on the good will of many groups of volunteers who have made it their mission to see that in these hard times, no one goes to bed on an empty stomach. rafael romo, cnn. the film industry has been through a dramatic shift due to the pandemic, but as the saying goes, the show must go on, and the producers of the oscars just proved they could pull off an awards show despite all the challenges in the pandemic era. ♪ there were a lot of great moments, and history was made at sunday's big event. the biggest winner of the night was "nomadland," and the film won several awards including best picture. >> we thank the academy, and we thank our brilliant fellow

nominees. >> "nomadland" tells the story of a van-dwelling woman who roams the american west. it's only the second film directed by woman in oscars history to win for best picture. the film's director, chloe zhao, also won for best director. she's the first asian woman to win that category in oscars history. the star of "nomadland," frances mcdormand, also won for best actress for her celebrated performance. and then in another historic win, yeun yew young became the first korean actress to win an actress for the film minari. and anthony hopkins won best actor for his role in the father. at 83, he's now the oldest oscar winner ever. for more, we'll bring in will ripley in hong kong. >> reporter: hi, robyn. >> hi, will. it's really been a big night, hasn't it? >> reporter: especially, robyn, a big night for movies that premiered on streaming services. to think about where we are today, when most people who used to go to the movie theaters are

now watching movies' first run at home in their pajamas, 15 of the 23 statuettes went to movies exclusively on streaming services or simultaneously released. you had "nomadland," which was a hulu project, and the director chloe zhao. this was incredible content that was put out in a brand-new way. she's the first asian woman, second woman ever to win for best director. and yet this film not being talked about in chinese state media. they're silent. and the hashtag #oscar also censored because there was a controversy that chloe zhao in one interview she game back in 2013, she was accused of insulting china. she called china a place where there are lies everywhere. but in fact her acceptance speech praised her upbringing in china. it would have been a very proud moment if people in the mainland were able to see it, but the oscars broadcast banned in mainland china and also for the first time in more than half a century, it did not air here in

hong kong. an act of self-censorship, some say, by this territory's leading tv broadcaster. now, a big also night for the minari co-star youn yuh-jung. she's the first korean actress to win an oscar. she won for best supporting actress. it's a fame that's receiving a lot of praise in her home country, but it also comes at a time that this issue of asians in the united states is really at the forefront. the minari film is about south korean immigrants trying to make their way in the united states back in 1980. but just last week, you had a hate crimes bill to try to fight violence against asian-americans that passed almost unanimously in the united states senate. so this kind of representation for asians at a time that there is violence happening against them because of what the world is suffering right now, robyn, it really is a poignant moment for so many people in this part of the world. >> will ripley, thanks so much,

live in hong kong. still to come, russia is indicating that vladimir putin and joe biden may have a potential sit-down in june as tensions rise between the two countries. plus more than 80 people are dead from a fire in a baghdad hospital, and iraq's prime minister says some government officials are under investigation over this tragedy. all of that next. you're watching cnn. >> tech: every customer has their own safelite story. this couple loves camping adventures and their suv is always there with them. so when their windshshield got a chip, they wanted it fixed fast. they drove to safelite autoglass for a guaranteed, same-day, in-shop repair. we repaired the chip before it could crack. and with their insurance, it was no cost to them. >> woman: really? >> tech: that's service you can trust, when you need it most. ♪ pop rock music ♪ >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪

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(vo) the subaru outback. dog tested. dog approved. iraqis are searching for answers after more than 80 people died in a hospital fire in baghdad. there's growing anger after footage from inside the hospital captured the chaos, revealing that the fire alarm wasn't working properly and the emergency response was delayed. iraq's prime minister has suspended the country's health minister and the governor of baghdad and says they will face questioning. officials believe the fire started when oxygen tanks exploded. hospital workers quickly began evacuating patients, many of whom were being treated for covid. arwa damon has more. >> reporter: the person filming cries out in horror. there is the sound of another blast from within the inferno.

a woman screams. it's baghdad's infectious diseases hospital, filled with covid-19 patients and their family members. this individual was inside caring for his mother. he was urging her to try to eat something. i couldn't save her, he sobs. we tried to evacuate my mom, but once we reached the door, we were blown away by one of the blasts, he remembers. the pain still so raw, so incomprehensible. he's at the baghdad morgue waiting for her charred remains along with the others whose loved ones either suffocated to death or were burnt, some beyond recognition. his father's anger seeps through his sorrow. when tragedies happen, government officials always give bogus reasons. they always try to justify their devilish ways, he says.

as seen in this cctv video, the explosion believed to be an oxygen tank that blew came from inside one of the rooms. people start to run. someone -- it looks like a patient, an elderly man -- is pulled out. the flames appear to be getting larger. a man arrived with a handheld fire extinguisher. but with no fireproofing, it was not enough. that blast led to a series of others. the fire alarm was faulty. it was half an hour before the civil defense says it got a call. by the time they responded, so many were dead, so many were wounded. residents in the area had taken it upon themselves to try to help, breaking through windows to save those inside. back in february, we filmed at this hospital in the intensive care unit. we spoke to doctors and family members about people's reluctance to come to hospitals, about the lack of faith in iraq's health care systems, who have yet to recover from

sanctions dating back to the saddam hussein era. and then nonstop war and rampant corruption. this, this is what all that has led to. this individual stares at his hands cut up from breaking glass to let in some air. his aunt and grandmother perished inside. he could not save them. no one could imagine this could happen, he says. but tragically, iraq has a way of delivering the unimaginable and with it, unimaginable pain. arwa damon, cnn, istanbul. indonesia is officially pronouncing the 53 crew members onboard a sunken submarine as dead. the missing vessel was found broken into several parts about two mile from its last known location in the bali strait. search teams found the sub's wreckage on the sea floor at a depth which the crew could not have survived. a navy official says the crew are not to blame for the disaster. he blamed a natural or everyone

environmental factor but did not provide further details. palestinians celebrated on sunday night after police barriers at the center of nightly clashes in jerusalem came down. people filled the streets waving flags and gathered in celebration outside the damascus gate in jerusalem. the area had been a scene of clashes as palestinians say police tried to prevent them from holding their usual ramadan evening gatherings outside the gate. at a time of heightened tensions between the u.s. and russia, we are now hearing that the presidents joe biden and vladimir putin may sit down to a meeting as soon as the summer as fred pleitgen now has the details from moscow. fred. >> reporter: a senior aide to the kremlin, he went on russian state tv on sunday and there he said that june is a possible date for a summit between president biden and russian president vladimir putin. now, the way that ushikov put it, he said that june is being talked about and there are even specific dates being talked about as well. however, he does say of course

there are still many things that need to be worked out. we did reach out to the biden administration and they so far have not given any sort of update on the matter. the russians for their part are also saying that so far, there are no meetings on a working level to try and hash out what these two leaders would be talking about and about what progress could be made. however, all this does sound quite plausible as president biden will indeed be in europe in june. he's going to attend the g7 summit in the united kingdom. he's then set to go to the nato summit in brussels. so in and around that time is where a meeting between president biden and vladimir putin could then take place. now, all this of course comes during a period of heightened tensions between the u.s. and russia. you had the biden administration hitting the russians with some really tough sanctions for the election meddling in 2020. also of course for the solarwinds hack. the russians for their part retaliating and banning an array of top u.s. officials. then you had the russians,

though, this week withdraw some of their forces from the border with ukraine. that eased some tensions and also alexei navalny, the opposition politician, he was able to see some independent doctors as well. nevertheless the tensions between the u.s. and russia do remain high. fred pleitgen, cnn, moscow. the withdrawal of american troops from afghanistan is under way. the commander of the u.s.-led mission says the official notification to withdraw will be this saturday. but general austin scott miller says troop movements have already begun in local areas. president joe biden has promised to get troops out of afghanistan by september 11th, putting an end to america's longest war. but many are warning the taliban will seize on a u.s. exit and could launch a bid to topple the central government. and the 2020 olympic games are approaching fast but not everyone in japan thinks they're a good idea as the country declares their third state of emergency due to a surge in cases. also what it means for

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welcome back. it is 29 minutes past the hour. i'm robyn curnow live from cnn world news headquarters here in atlanta. so after more than a year of the covid pandemic, america's health care workers are running on empty. there's no other way to say it. a new poll from "the washington post" and the kaiser family foundation lays out some troubling signs. i want you to have a look at this. roughly 3 in 10 health care workers say they've weighed up leaving the profession.

more than half are burned out, and about 6 in 10 say stress from the pandemic has harmed their mental health. to talk about that, i want to bring in dr. mona massoud, an outpatient psychiatrist and the finder of the physician support line. doctor, thank you very much for joining us. what kind of pressure are frontline health workers under at the moment? >> frontline workers, physicians, nurses, everyone on the actual front lines of covid as well as kind of behind the scenes in our clinics and outpatient settings are all under a tremendous amount of pressure being called heroes and being expected to kind of fight a battle or a war that they felt like they never were adequately prepared for. and even a year out from the start of this pandemic, it feels

very much like a never-ending trauma. >> and how is that being exhibited there? >> so, i mean, as part of the physician support line, we take a lot of calls from physicians who are experiencing whether we want to call it burn out or moral injury about the work that they are doing. and the experience is very jarring. we'll have calls -- we had a call from an icu physician, intensive care physician, who just got off of doing a back-to-back 24 to 48 hour shift. he had to cover for somebody that couldn't make it because they got sick. and he just got off that shift and called us from the drive home from the hospital, still feeling kind of the effects of the mask that he was wearing throughout his very long shift. and as he's talking to us about how he can't process all the

trauma and death that he witnessed in his last shift, he pauses and there's a catch in his breath. and we asked him, what are you seeing? and he's -- he's talking, and he's talking about that he's seeing people not wearing masks, people who are hanging out, who are having -- you know, acting as though everything is normal, and it's very jarring and very disheartening, and it's hard for people to work like that, to know that everything that they're giving is -- you know, it feels very isolating. >> so how are they going to get through the next year of this, and do you think that there is a huge amount of people who are deciding that they just don't want to be a doctor anymore, they don't want to be a nurse, that the personal emotional and mental risk -- we're not talking here about even getting covid --

is just too much for them? >> yes, there is definitely what we call, as a psychiatrist, we call it an escape fantasy where it's just, i can't do this anymore. i don't feel attached to what i'm doing anymore. i don't feel purpose in my work, which is very alarming for physicians and health care workers because it's not easy to become either of these things. it requires a lot of training and many years and a lot of dedication and experience to be able to do this work. and so having them leave like this or even think about leaving like that is something that our system cannot afford. >> what is the overriding emotion, feeling that you're getting from these doctors and nurses who are calling in to your help line and the ones that you counsel? is it anger, or is it sadness, or is it just sort of a chronic burnout that you would perhaps see with soldiers coming back

from war, a kind of ptsd situation? >> right. it's actually, you know, an interesting combination of all of those things, which actually manifests as betrayal. something that we often hear from soldiers as well as health care workers from this past year is, i didn't sign up for this. this was not part of what i was hoping to do as being a public servant. you know, with soldiers, there's a very different kind of hope or purpose of why they are participating in a wartime effort. and for doctors and for people in health care, it's the same thing. we know there's inherent risk in the work that we're doing, but to go in inadequately prepared and feeling very much that we are left to do it on our own

is -- is incredibly betraying. >> before we go, doctor, is there one other story, one other patient that you want to tell us about? i know that there have been quite a number of suicides of doctors across the world who just couldn't do it anymore. is there one story that still sits with you? >> there is. gosh, yes, there has been a number of suicides. prior to covid and enhanced by covid, and i think of them often, but i also think about the ones who made it, who made it past that feeling of despair, that feeling of hopelessness and feeling no way out and feeling trapped. and we have had calls like that too on the support line, where they'll be open that they're feeling at the very end of their rope with no exit signs that feel viable. and having someone to hear them and to give them permission to

talk about feeling like humans and not heroes, it can definitely be a literal lifeline. >> dr. mona masood, thank you very much for all the work you're doing, and please pass our thanks on to all these human beings, not heroes, that are doing so much hard work there on the front lines. thank you. >> thank you, robyn. and if you know a doctor or a medical student or a nurse in the u.s. who needs help, please have them call the number you see here. physician support line offers pree and confidential support from volunteer psychiatrists. you can also find their website at physiciansupportline.com. and the tokyo 2020 olympic torch relay is on its tour. the route was lined with spectators on sunday, but organizers say parts of the relay will be taken off public roads next week due to covid. japan has declared its third

state of emergency in tokyo and osaka and is now planning to ramp up vaccinations as infections rise once more. joining me now from tokyo is selena wang. selena. >> reporter: well, robin, it is hard to believe even with the tokyo olympics looming, less than 1% of japan's population has been fully vaccinated. with this state of emergency that has just gone into effect, it is not a lockdown, but it d -- but the big question is how effective is this going to somebody you have covid fatigue setting in. walking around the streets of tokyo, many areas still remain crowded. the concern among experts now is these olympics could become a super spreader event that not only enables the spread of more contagious covid variants throughout japan but also around the world. the tokyo olympics are just three months away, but japan is far from ready. the country is struggling to contain a fourth wave of

covid-19 driven by more contagious variants. the prime minister has just declared another state of emergency in tokyo and other prefectures. japan may be one of the most technologically advanced countries on the planet, but it has struggled to roll out the covid-19 vaccine. japan has fully vaccinated less than 1% of its 126 million people, the slowest of g7 countries. only 17% of health care workers have received two shots. just 0.1% of senior citizens have had a single dose. do you think the olympics should be canceled? >> i think it is time to reconsider it and eventually cancel it. >> reporter: you had to predict when japan's population will be fully vaccinated. i mean how long is it going to be? >> it would take ten years or something. >> reporter: officials have blamed european export curbs for the delay, but red tape, poor

planning, and vaccine hesitancy have also held the country back. a key reason is japan's slow approval process. the country requires additional domestic clinical trials of new vaccines. so far, it's only approved pfizer's. officials say the cautiousness is necessary. japan has one of the lowest rates of vaccine confidence in the world driven by a series of vaccine scandals over the past 50 years. a key lawmaker said vaccinations for people over 65, which only started this month, may not be finished until end of this year or next. for japanese olympic hopefuls, the slow rollout is leading to mounting anxiety. 73-year-old kimmy besho is vying to be in her fifth summer paralympic games, a competition she says she's risking her life for. i'm prepared to die under these circumstances, she tells me, but i don't want to die of covid.

the qualifiers for paralympic table tennis is just weeks away in slovenia. bessho says she's called her local health center many times. they say they still have no plan to provide vaccines. despite public opposition to the games in japan, officials have projected unwavering confidence. i express my determination to realize the tokyo olympics and the paralympic games as a symbol of global unity this summer, and president biden once again expressed his support, he said. the question is what kind of symbol the olympics will be if japan is unable to protect its citizens. now, the japanese government says that it has plans to ramp up this vaccination rollout. broadcaster nhk say they're planning to open venues that can vaccinate as many as 10,000 people a day. this would only be in tokyo and osaka, and it's unclear if it's even going to make a dent in this vaccination rate.

but at least it is a start in addressing the myriad of concerns, which include a shortage of venues and a shortage of staff to vaccinate these people. robyn. >> just 1% of the population. it's amazing. selena wang in tokyo, thank you for that. coming up, the virgin hyper loop aims to change the way we think of future travel as well as sustainability. we talk to one of the first people to take a test ride. that's next. ts that your acne left behind. differin dark spot correcting serum has the maximum-strength dark spot-fading power you can get without a prescription. do things differin. you can get without a prescription. germ proof your car with armor all disinfectant. kills 99.9% of bacteria and viruses. (vo) conventional thinking doesn't disrupt the status quo. which is why t-mobile for business uses unconventional thinking to help your business

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as the world paused for the pandemic, the transportation industry seized the opportunity to take stock and re-imagine the ways in which we move. our bianca nobilo has been exploring how technology is playing a pivotal role in that new future. for a special called "road to the future" she starts by looking at the virgin hyperloop and how it's making high-speed

travel greener. >> reporter: november 8th, 2020. just outside las vegas, nevada, virgin hyperloop passed another milestone in its ambitious journey to revolutionize the way we move. it carried out its first passenger ride. >> three, two, one, launch. >> reporter: josh geigel, ceo and co-founder of virgin hyperloop, and sarah luchin, the director of passenger experience, were the first to test it out. what was that experience like for you? >> oh, it was absolutely incredible. it was phenomenal to be sitting in a vehicle that we designed, built, we've made safe. once we started going down the pod, we felt a nice gentle acceleration. it was a pretty short test, but we got to the end and all we wanted to do was go back again. >> yes! >> reporter: virgin hyperloop is harnessing magnetic levitation technology and wants to take it to the next level.

>> what we want to do is be the first new mode of mass transportation over 100 years. we're not a plane, we're not a car, we're not a boat. what we are is a pod moving inside of a tube at the speed of an aircraft for a fraction of the energy consumption. basically taking you directly from where you are to where you want to be without stopping at every place along the way. smoothly, autonomously. it's this idea of being able to move ten times faster than a car and doing that for a fraction of the emissions. being able to move so many people, being able to save so many tons of emissions is that it's really going to open up a lot of opportunities. >> reporter: as the pandemic altered the course of your planning or the execution of your pilot projects? what impact has it had for you? >> the thing that i think is maybe a little bit of a silver lining, if we could say that about the pandemic, is it's really accelerated the talk about sustainability. we've seen a world with less

congestion, with less pollution. we've also felt this absolute human desire to be connected to each other. so we want to see each other. we want things faster, and this is the opportunity for us to rethink what it is we're doing about the future and make some changes instead of building back the past, we can actually build back the future. the bowls are back. applebee's irresist-a-bowls all just $8.99.

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"nomadland" is the biggest winner at this year's oscars. take a listen. >> we thank the academy and we thank our brilliant fellow nominees, and we thank all the hearts and hands that come together to make this movie. >> the film's director also won for best director, the first asian woman to win that category in oscar's history. and the star of best actress. for more on all of this, i want to bring in an american journalist that has covered the

industry for decades. before we go to the actual movies, because it was historic on many levels in terms of the diversity of winners, i want to talk about the award show, because you tweeted, it was torture, many, many people on twitter saying it was boring and not funny, and it was not fast enough, and the ending was a bit of a damper, and does that matter? >> yes, they did try to re-invent the show to reflect the serious times we are living in, and as a result the speeches were too long and many were too earnest, and the songs were all done in the preshow and there were no entertainment segments, and there were comedy segments at the end which was funny, and for the most part it was a liberal convention of the type that could make you hate la

liberals, and i'm a liberal. >> let's talk about some of the themes, a lot of social justice, and diversity, and what was the headline for you? >> very dark films that reflect our times and very good films, even though a lot of the films were pushed to this year, and no m -- no mad "nomadland" was the winner. and then a black panther, he's quite brilliant in his fiery speech scene. and then with a korean american family in arkansas, and her speeches deserve awards in themselves, and she's just

charming and funny. >> she did not take herself very seriously, which this award show did and that stood out. let's talk about asian women in particular, and they are very much front and center, which is great. >> absolutely. i mean, anti-asian hate has been in the news and it's important to celebrate asian culture, they are both brilliant women richly deserving of their awards. there was a lot of diversity on parade. i was happy for tyler perry's speech, and it was anti-hate. and international is what they call foreign films -- sorry. >> it is what it is. i want to talk about, because it's about booze anyway, isn't it? it's the danish movie that has

mickelson and is fantastic, isn't it? >> i don't dink anymore, and i have to rely on movies like this to show people drinking, and basically it's a movie about four high school teachers who decide to keep the alcohol level in their blood very high to see how it affects their lives, and i'm not saying it's a celebration of alcoholism, it's a study of bonding and very life affirming. and my octopus teacher, it's a nature film about a man having a mid life crisis that bonds with a female octopus, and they are actually very smart. >> as the south african here interviewing, it's a great piece of work, isn't it? why do you think it is? >> because it's an enter species

love story and buddy movie, and it's beautiful nature, beautifully done. the third flight on mars just a we can going further and faster before. there were black and white images that could help with aerial missions. it was captured on camera on the perseverance rover. it will likely fly again in the next few days. thank you for spending your time with me. i am robyn curnow and will be back with more after the break.

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welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. thank you for joining me. i am robyn curnow. fully vaccinated americans could get a reward, one that would impact their summer travel plans. and then a new epicenter of the pandemic, with a number of cases skyrocketing. one movie dominates at the academy awards, and its director makes history.