that's a lifeline for the hungry and poor in the indian capital delhi. i'm british comedy welcome to do the news asia glad you could join us it's an important week in the pacific as the united states seeks to reinvigorate its alliances with bought nos in the region secretary of state antony blinken and defense secretary lloyd austin traveling to japan and south korea to meet their counterparts in the shadow of growing chinese influence in the region it's an outreach that began in earnest last week when president joe biden met his counterparts from india australia and japan the so-called quad grouping of nations the 1st ever meeting of leaders of the chord. ended with a commitment to ensure a free and open into pacific and the pledge to produce $1000000000.00 of covert $1000.00 vets scenes for the region the leaders also agreed to cooperate in the field of emerging technologies and climate change. predicted that joe biden has already presided over a virtual summit of powers with a vested interest in the asia pacific region called the quad it's made up of the u.s. india japan and australia the leaders agreed to ramp up curve of 19 vaccine supplies in asia and to work more closely on security and climate change. and we've launched into a vicious new joint partnership that is going to boost vaccine manufacturing and for global benefit and strengthen vaccinations to benefit the entire indo-pacific were establishing a new mechanism to enhance our cooperation and raise our mutual ambitions as we address the accelerating climate change this is where we live this is where japan lives this is where india lives and of course with the united states across the pacific has had a long term presence and so this is about and i think if the peace and stability in the in diapers civic and that benefits all license have been done since. but it's china that is the real target biden sees the quad as vital to countering beijing's growing might and influence on the asia pacific stage and that to bean's also strengthening alliances beyond the core of full. u.s. secretary of state antony blinken is heading east this week with stops in south korea and japan both key allies and then on thursday he meets his chinese opposite number in alaska for the 1st time this is an important opportunity for us to lay out in very frank terms. the many concerns that we have with beijing's actions and behavior that are challenging the security prosperity the values of the united states and our partners and allies washington has said it will not hold back on taking a tough line with beijing on issues ranging from taiwan to hong kong and its treatment of the minority muslim week has and for that the u.s. will need solid backing from its regional partners. and some of those partners are part of the quote grouping of nations which i would like to focus on 1st for more joining me from canberra is rory metcalf he's head of the national security college of the australian national university and author of the book contest for the in depressive fix why china won't map the future progress on that gulf welcome now given each of the quote nations is significant differences with china is this grouping mainly to ensure china want to map the future in the into pacific thanks for having me on the program the grouping the quartet is not purely some kind of and he china club but what it basically is is rallying strength in numbers to ensure that china does not dominate the future of the indo-pacific but instead i hope to build a relationship of mutual respect with china but one which i respect the boundaries of others now this grouping is actually more than 13 years all and it's only last week that we have the 1st summit level conference between the leaders what exactly is it offering to the in depressive figure region now. so the group the quote it's much more than talk we have to remember that it began as a disaster relief arrangement after the terrible tsunami in the indian ocean in 2004 these 4 countries are struggling india japan the united states mobilize the forces rapidly to assist the region and out of that grew the idea of building this unusual coalition of cooperation for very different democracies you know that they many changes since then and of course the court was dormant for a while but what it's offering the region now really is i think 3 things the court is a kind of an anchor for cooperation among a diverse range of countries not just democracies the countries we've interests with respect for rules based order with capabilities a willingness to cooperate that's the 1st thing secondly the quarterlies sending a signal to china that there is safety in numbers and that china cannot coerce individual countries alone they will be pushed back and combined the weight of the cord is actually stronger then china and thirdly the court does offer i a great capability for partnership with with the region whether it was disaster relief 17 years ago whether it's penned in relief code vaccine rollout now those are the 3 i think characteristics of the core you speak of cooperation amongst a diverse range of nations but then each of these nations not just in the core of them if you look for that a film like aussie on for example there have individual trade ties with china and china has a huge presence in the region i'm just wondering if it comes down to. the countries picking sides either you or china or you know of the quad and other initiatives like for example. you know look i think nobody in the region wants to pick sides and if they're being pushed to pick sides now it's china that's doing the pushing maybe donald trump was pushing but that's changed now the biden administration is taking a much smarter approach and importantly when you scratch the surface when you do opinion polling for example on the elites in southeast asia in the s. and countries you find that most of them want a stronger american engagement in the region and most of them want a wide range of partners japan india australia the european union in the region to create a context where chinese power is absorbed and is not dominant i think most of the circumstances in the region are going to fall short of all out war and in those circumstances in that gray zone of constant competition that's with the quad and its coalition building its creative coalition building can have an effect but at the end of the day the chord remains a very much a grouping do you see this progress to the status of an alliance for example along the lines of nato for instance no i don't and i think that's part of the point because not planning to be some kind of alliance that gives china and all tonight and it's about offering alternatives to other countries in the region sure individual chord countries do have their own alliance relationships astroid or in the united states japan and the united states india is nobody's formal ally so i think we're going to see a really more like complex subtle approach rather security than we sort of europe during the cold war our quick comment from your professor the mecca of on their visits to south korea and japan by secretary of state antony blinken and defense secretary lloyd austin what are they hoping to achieve in these visits. well it's very clear that the boyden administration is reengaging in a very constructive way with the whole indo-pacific region not only east asian countries like japan and south korea but also with india australia indonesia and many others but the japan and korea relationships are an important start because they are america's key treaty allies along with a stranger and so there's a reassurance the that america is not going to put transactional costs on japan or korea in the way that donald trump did there's also a commitment that america will support them in protecting their interests whether it's against china or north korea and frankly i think that there's a commitment to dialogue to listening which i think was missing in trying to be his gratian so i think boughten is off to a strong start here in the pacific here in asia right america from the australian national university pleasure talking to him thank you for joining us. thank you indeed. and that's professor metcalf was saying the u.s. dialogue in the region will be in evidence all through this week between the 15th and 18th of march u.s. secretary of state antony blinken and defense secretary lloyd austin will be in tokyo and still to meet their counterparts on the 18th and to me blinken the metal security advisor jake sullivan need to chinese foreign minister one year and top diplomat young g g in alaska and between the 19th and 21st of march lloyd austin is a new delhi talking to senior officials there coverage of all of that all this week on the news asia. in the indian capital delhi a street kitchen run by a former id professional has become a lifesaver for the poor and the needy for just one cent people can eat a full meal. it's lunchtime every day former i.t. expert praveen going al works in his street kitchen in delhi over 1000 people in need come here every day to eat the special thing about this kitchen is that a full lunch costs just one cent. come out of a group of friends and i wanted to do something to combat hunger in delhi and founded this street kitchen we can proudly say that our food tastes as good as that at weddings the former governor got. over 1500 kilos of food stuffs are cooked up here every day the kitchen is mostly funded by donations it means that many people in need like 9 year old sone can now afford lunch. my father can barely walk he works but his salary is very low if it weren't for this street kitchen we probably wouldn't be able to survive. praveen going well as currently expanding the street kitchen with the donations he is now purchasing rickshaws and using them to bring his food to schools or charities in the area. and others over africa giving the poor something to eat is our job there's no point in just hoarding money in the end what counts isn't wealth but what you do for others one thing is certain for praveen he'd like to run the street kitchen for the rest of his life. that's it for today there's more on did up to dot com for what's leisure asia we leave you now with images of the worst sense to come to fit in 10 years and events the grounded flights and shug of the city in all to ensure back to morrow and see you then go by. what secrets lie behind. discover new adventures in 360 degree. and explore fascinating world heritage sites. w world heritage 360 get the maps now. by 2050 more than half the world will be leaving with limited water resources we haven't had to think about our war or worry about oh. i think that era is over this is the crisis of our time it's a financial product like any other financial. the world is changing the most important commodity junk is called the free trade and holds it for necessity for commodity starts march 22nd on d. w. . female artists conquered this year's grammy awards that's coming up on arts and culture and later on the show why the 17th century dutch master rembrandt fun to rhyme painted far away places he would never see. beyond said to come for a grammy awards this. can bring interrupt to a career total of $28.00 the most grammys ever won by a female artist singer claimed her awards at a socially distanced outdoor ceremony in los angeles she said her success wasn't just about her take a listen as an artist i believe it's my job. and all of our jobs to reflect the times has been such a difficult time so i want to uplift encourage celebrate all of the beautiful black queens and kings that continue to inspire me and inspire the whole world this is so overwhelming i've been working my whole life since 9 years old and i'm i can't believe this has been the thanks for a magical night thank you so much an emotional and historic event ditto the reporter adrian kennedy's got more scoop on this year's grammy awards a historic night for women who were to be big winners well as we saw that beyonce was the big story of the night she actually drew level with the most grammys record early in the evening when macon the stallion featuring say one of the best rap performance category for savage make in the study and also won best new come off. as expected because look down favorite future nostalgia took the best pop album. irish one record with yet for everything i wanted she spent her acceptance speech to mention the fact that make in the study and having one in that category 2 and. the prestigious soul is the goal for have black lives matter protest song i can't breathe ok and then the women artists didn't and there they didn't stop there killing there i'm another happy female winner in the album of the year category and the award went to. folk. thank you. thank you thank you but mostly we just want to thank the fans you guys met us in this imaginary world that we created and we can't tell you how honored we are forever by this thank you so much and thank you to the recording academy we'll never forget that you did this for us thank you. adrian it all looks pretty harmonious but i thought there was a little bit more controversy brewing in the background there on the night it was very harmonious of course ahead of the event there was a discount for about going to the lights the global hit for the weekend being nominated the canadian musician behind the weekend did upstaged the grammy still i usually by announcing last week that he would be boycotting the grammys for ever for ever and obviously he wasn't performing there but we can maybe take a little look at the performances the did take place why don't we start with meghan the stallion and carty be with wop people have said maybe this was the song of year but it wasn't nominated adrian why is that it wasn't to be for some reason decided not to submit song but the song that has been on many a song with the year lists into the grammys in the form of a romantic sick performance on the night. i mean yeah but i'm going to. be on the show along with everything i wanted. and not the highlight nominated as best willfulness but they lost out to fiona apple they rocked out with the steps ok well we managed to get through that without mentioning any of the male winners i do believe that there were some but ok well let's leave it there for now with the grammys adrian stick around there because we do have some other news coming out of los angeles and that is the academy award nominations for this year at their out leading the pack with a whopping 10 nominations as the netflix movie make the tale of legendary hollywood scriptwriter herman mayne kuwait's is in the running for best picture and for best director david fincher. it's for someone. today. and of course no matter lands the gritty migrant worker drama starring frances mcdormand one of a few films that got 6 nominations including best director for chloe zhao which is the 1st ever nomination in the category for a woman of color 2 of this year's most nominated films adrian who else is in the running well there was a posthumous nomination for chadwick boseman as best for his epic performance rainey's black some. postman played trumpet player and. was already fighting code on country killing filming he died in august 2020 at the age of just 40 free and viola davis also you know when i sing as best actress for that fellow now i understand there's another nomination to that's already making history that's why this is steven ewing who's been nominated as best actor for his performance in the nari this is the story of a korean american family moving to an console farm in search of the american dream film has a 5 nominations no one in shooting for best picture while another big award ceremony coming up adrian kennedy thanks very much thank you and sticking with the oscars news for now the new oscars museum in los angeles is finally complete and ready to receive visitors as soon as it's considered safe with the pandemic the museum says that until then it will be hosting virtual events like this one the academy of motion picture arts and sciences it promises the museum will highlight not just the glamour of film but also histories of racism and massage any within the oscars themselves right now the museum is set to open its doors for rio in september. world renowned cellist yo-yo ma celebrated his 2nd dose of the coronavirus vaccine by giving a surprise concert at a vaccination center in the u.s. state of massachusetts after more received his shots the nurses asked him to stay for a 15 minute observation period and he spent that time by playing pieces by schubert and moss and he wanted to get something back. speaking of surprises the owners of a tapas bar in spain got a big one there renovation project turned out to be an archaeological discovery it turns out there bar in the city of seville was originally a 12th century bathhouse archaeologists are stunned at the find with dozens of star shaped skylights and exceptionally well preserved paintings dating back to the period of muslim rule 800 years ago. well the 17th century painter rembrandt fun ryan never traveled far from home but that didn't stop him from painting faraway places he knew very little about a new exhibition called rembrandt's orient has opened here in germany now germany's museums are finally emerging from 4 months of coronavirus lockdown but no one knows for how long the government says they can stay open if infection rates don't rise. museums in germany can open once again but they have to implement safety measures here at potsdam as museum by remaining art lovers must buy their tickets online get their temperature taken and leave their contact details. the number of visitors has been drastically limited to only a 3rd of what it was in pretend demick times but those who are here welcome the reopening. for me visiting a museum is normal and ordinary i go quite often and it was pretty difficult for me to stay at home and look at exhibitions online so yeah i'm really happy. but i've been good on this and if everyone's a bit careful keeps their distance and looks out for each other then i think it can work off and hit us. this new normal also meant that organizing the new rembrandt exhibition came with a few challenges for a museum director or 2 press tied up. as follow get there's. still a just x. were extremely difficult pictures of this quality and value are usually accompanied by conservators but that couldn't be the case here so we installed the 6 a bishop along with 26 virtual couriers. each time a picture was unpacked and evaluated it was done during a video conference with a representative of the lenders. by. the results are breathtaking works by 17th century master rembrandt and his contemporaries for an invitation to dive into the dutch golden age of painting and understand how artists reacted to what was new to them. turbans carpets and lush fabrics through their art rembrandt and his fellow dutch painters illustrated the beginnings of globalization and showed the influence of foreign cultures during the early modern period the west east and. counter but one that was never an equal footing. so busy owning one of these objects was a real treasure it was a sign of education luxury and affluence so it started a whole trend where the dutch themselves started to be protected wearing turbans even if it times they didn't know exactly which culture it came from what they have little knowledge of distant countries and. like most of his contemporaries rembrandt never left the netherlands he and his fellow artists represented the foreign as reflected through their own set of values and their understanding of the world. that extended to their many depictions of biblical scenes which they often enrich with exotic elements taking great liberties with the stories. even if their representation is were sometimes fanciful the paintings show how artists helped shape a view of the foreign at a time when very few people could go see these places for themselves. this exhibition really takes the visitor to a long ago century and distant countries so the yearning that was associated with these places during rembrandt's time still resonates today. in these days of drastically limited travel and social contact the museum barberini offers visitors a chance to explore far away cultures a welcome interlude in these uncertain times. and we'll take you one more place before we go to the snowy climes of siberia some sounds there of the star wars spin off series the man the lorry and the have built their own replica of a spaceship from the show thanks for watching arts and culture. it was kind he said famous like a bunch of the queen because i wanted to see if germany was the name the last few years have been quite override berlijn would look up and a very little higher but when it comes to jump it is and of course i always look right in the eyes for a chance but perhaps the biggest fans a new hobby of mine 100 on the river i love to be in the news there are pros in their accounts but when you feel them all together they realize that culture's just another way of living you ready to meet the servant entered me right just do it. children to come to. one giant trouble i'm. in no mood to see the 1st serious. fire. power the back of the world climate change affect us and our children laugh. at e.w. dot com slash water. imagine being born as. your ally the can prove that since you want to look for no school. you want to be useful put on a loved one. when you're sick the doctors know. when you fall in love they won't. you don't have children for fear they'll be invisible to. have no human rights. when you die there's no other ever exist. every 10 minutes. someone. 10000000 people in the world the stakes they have no nationality i'm told made up along and. that everyone has the right. everyone has the right to say my warm. this is you know every news line from berlin war e.u. country slam the brakes on astra zeneca as corona virus vaccine germany italy and france join a growing list of nations to temporarily shelve the shot over concerns it causes blood clots but medical regulators anding w.h.o. insist the vaccine is safe also coming up.