this is bbc news. the headlines at seven. tributes to sir roger bannister, the first athlete to run a mile in less than four minutes, who has died at the age of 88. he was one of the cleverest people i think i've ever met and he was in equal measure modest as well. desperate residents flee fighting in syria's eastern ghouta. our middle east editor brings us the latest from nearby damascus, as thousands remain trapped in the ongoing bombardment. this hour — more disruption could be on the way as communities begin the clear up after this week's freezing weather. as we enter the new week, there are warnings of further severe weather for scotland, northern ireland and parts of england. and on meet the author, jim naughtie talks to the journalist aida edemariam about her book, the wife's tale. sir roger bannister —

the first man to run a mile in underfour minutes — has died at the age of 88. he made athletics history on a track in oxford in 1954 — when he was an amateur athlete. it was a moment that came to symbolise sporting achievement. after retiring from athletics he became a distinguished doctor and neurologist. today fellow athletes paid tribute to a man who made "the impossible possible. " joe wilson looks back at a remarkable life. newsreel: 25-year-old roger bannister, third from the left. there are some moments of sporting history which become part of the world's history. what roger bannister achieved in 1954 was like a lunar landing for 20th century sport. bannister‘s old friend and rival

chris chataway is in third place, waiting to take over as pacer. to run a mile and stop the clock before it reached four minutes in 1954, this was a magical number, a barrier of human achievement. a feat that would redefine what was humanly possible. and it would fall to a young medical student to achieve it. after two—and—a—half laps, brasher gives way to chataway. bannister, a superb tactician, has suffered some criticism in the past for adopting his own rather unorthodox training methods. but they are paying dividends now. at this point it becomes quite painful. i overtake chris chataway and begin the finish. and here he comes. bannister goes streaking forward with about 250 yards to the tapes. every stride counted. the tape broke at three minutes 59.1; seconds. and bannister has done it. though he is out on his feet, his coach and team manager tell him he has achieved his ambition. it might have felt like the world

stopped when that clock stopped. four minute mile was a sporting catch phrase everyone recognised. all i can say i'm absolutely overwhelmed and delighted. it was a great surprise to me to be able to do it today. and i think i was very lucky. there was certainly a feeling of it being a national event, and something of a landmark for the country. sir roger bannister was a hugely influential figure in sport. especially for those whose athletics careers came after. methods he would have beaten us. he was one of the cleverest people i think i've ever met, and he was, in equal measure, modest as well. he never really got what he did and it wasn't a front. laura muir is the most recent athlete to continue great britain's middle distance tradition, giving everything to win a silver medal at the world indoor

championships this weekend. she studied medicine to become a vet, and recognises her link to bannister. i think he was very influential and very sort of inspirational to a lot of people, and to me, that you can combine, you know, academics and running. sir roger bannister was knighted in 1975. athletics was only a small part of his life. he regarded his work as a neurologist as more significant. when he was diagnosed with parkinson's disease he described the gentle irony that a neurologist should find himself with a neurological condition. training for roger bannister in athletics had been half an hour a day on a cinder track. the world's first for minute miler was also perhaps sport's last great amateur. sir roger bannister who has died at the age of 88.

we can speak — via webcam — to the eleven—time paralympic champion, baroness tanni grey—thompson. thank you forjoining u when were you first aware sir roger bannister and what he has done?” you first aware sir roger bannister and what he has done? i think as a teenager, and it was much harder to find video footage of those records back then, but it wasn't just at the time, it was the way he ran. and that magicalfour minute time, it was the way he ran. and that magical four minute barrier was hewn, everyone now, young athletes, you have technology in the tracks and thing, they still want to achieve that four minute barrier there is something special about it. yes, and inspiration, all these years later even though the record is long gone. yes, it is. but you look at the impact it has had on long distance running, if you look at athletes, chris chataway, who went on to found the london marathon

which now hundreds of thousands of people have been involved in, it is more than the time he did on the track, its is the legacy after it, and when seb coe said earlier and steve cram about how humble he was, i was privileged to meet him a couple of times, he was almost shocked by people's reaction, he was more interested about talking about athletes were doing and training than talking about anything he achieved himself. he was very interested, wasn't he in sport and development, as you say, long after he gave up running himself. absolutely, he ran as long as he could, until he broke his foot. i remember reading an article, asa foot. i remember reading an article, as a young athlete where he said he did interval training and asking questions about this, open about how... problem with sound to become the best athlete he could. he was really generous with his time. and that is something that is

really special for you know, time. and that is something that is really specialfor you know, itjust typified the man he was. and of course, it was such a different era, not just the technology course, it was such a different era, notjust the technology but course, it was such a different era, not just the technology but the fact everybody was an amateur. yes, the technology of the shoe, most youngsters in athletics wouldn't even know what a cinder track is, let alone trying to run on one. what i love about it was the morn of the race he was sharpening his own spike, you get a packet of new ones now and stick them on your trainers but there is no doubt the influence he had went far beyond, you know, the 50 years after he broke the record. and the fact that that record only lasted 46 day, and yet had such an enduring impact, didn't it. and you know, it doesn't matter that it was run know, it doesn't matter that it was ru n two know, it doesn't matter that it was run two seconds quicker, sir roger bannister broke the record first, it is that mythical barrier, once you have broken it it is easier for people to come behind it, but he was

the first and he set a huge mark for eve ryo ne the first and he set a huge mark for everyone else to follow. how selfless of his friends, his running mates helped him achieve that? yes, if you look at the tactics in terms of how they ran the race, you know i think he was very generous in terms of recognising he needed the other athletes to be there, and i think that shows, think actually, some of the sort of the british spirit as well, in terms of fellow british athletes wanting to help him. their names will be linked, it was sir roger bannister‘s name on the record but their link with that and i know from talking to other people in the race, from talking to other people in the ra ce , yea rs from talking to other people in the race, years later, they were very proud they were able to help him achieve it. good to talk to you. thank you for that. hundreds of people have been fleeing eastern ghouta, just outside the syrian capital damascus, as government forces continue their assault. they are now said to hold a quarter of the province,

which has been in the hands of rebel groups. our middle east editorjeremy bowen reports from damascus. these people said their village was moving because the syrian army had arrived. one man cursed the russians and iranians, key allies of the regime. air strikes he said including band cluster bombs had not stopped. translation: it has been five days, no fuel, no bread, no food, no water. where is the world? where are human rights? we are humans, not animals. 400,000 people live in eastern guta, an area of fields and small towns about the size of manchester. most of them are civilians who have not been able to escape the war. translation: when the plane 's shelves, i could not see anything in front of me.

i did not wait for the ambulance, i started running. the air strikes have been followed by ground troops who are making rapid advances. the strategy seems to be to cut eastern guta in half. negotiations between the rebel groups and the russians have been going on for quite some time. it is not clear if the objective is a ceasefire or are they effective surrender of the rebels. the biggest rebel group says it is regrouping after a retreat. the fighting is still going on, for the regime the prize is the end of the last major rebel enclave around damascus. for the rebels, these are desperate moments. jeremy bowen, bbc news, damascus. the irish foreign minister has suggested that britain's proposals for the irish border after brexit may be rejected by the eu because it

will need to protect how the single market works. simon coveney said there was little new detail on how to avoid a hard border in the prime minister's speech on friday. it is more than 300 miles long. tens of thousands of people cross it everyday. and more than £1 billion is done in trade between northern ireland and the republic every week. but after brexit, these roads will be the new frontier between the uk and eu. the challenge, how to keep this border invisible, when britain is outside the single market and the customs union. we are committed, the irish government is committed, all the parties in northern ireland, to making sure there is no hard border. the prime minister's plans would mean 80% of companies would face no new customs checks and with new technology, she believes a hard border can be avoided. but the irish government

has its doubts. i am not sure that the european union will be able to support a situation whereby 80% of companies that trade north and south and south north will actually protect the integrity of the eu single market. to sort out this most trickiest of brexit conundrums, multiple sides need to be won over and the prime minister has already made clear, she will not accept the fallback position in brussels. one that would see northern ireland stick to the rules and regulations of the eu. mrs may believes her latest thinking is a step forward. it sets out some ways, particularly on the issue of customs across—the—board, in which we can resolve that and i am pleased to say that the taoiseach, when i met him recently, has agreed that the uk and irish governments and the commission can sit down and look in more detail at the proposals that we have put forward. but others elsewhere in the uk have their doubts. i think one of the most shameful

features of the whole brexit process has been the way, the negligent way in which the interests of ireland have just been cast aside. so, when i hear hertalk about technological solutions, i guess there is nobody who would disagree with the objectives she is setting, but she is talking at the moment about technological solutions that perhaps do not even exist. the irish border is a key sticking point in the talks, but other problems need solving, too. there has been progress, but the brexit negotiations still have a long way to go. the housing secretary sajid javid has warned that councils in england could be stripped of planning powers if not enough homes are being built in their areas. mrjavid told the sunday times he would be "breathing down" the necks of local authorities to ensure building targets are met. the government is preparing to announce an overhaul of planning rules in england tomorrow. the housing minister dominic rabb told the bbc‘s pienaar‘s politics that under the plans, pressure would be put on councils. lots of people have children or

grandchildren trying to get on the housing ladder, a lot people know how difficult it is and there is a sense in which this has become a challenge that we just can't ignore any more, so yes, we want to give local authorities the support, for the example the targets funding so roads aren't congested, what we can't do is duck this challenge, there will be less room for wriggling out of what is the clear overwriting need of the local communities so we are clear on that, no ducking it. communities so we are clear on that, no ducking it. labour says home—ownership has fallen to a 30 year low since 2010, while rough sleeping has more than doubled. the shadow secretary for communities and local government, andrew gwynne, said targeting the government should crackdown on developers who don't build the homes they've promised. there is a number of thing, firstly we need toe have robust action on

getting housing build, that means giving councils the freedom to build council home, using the housing revenue account as, to be able to borrow against, be able to build those new council homes, that are crucial. it also means putting pressure on developer, there are thousands of planning applications that have been granted, and yet developers are sitting on that land, land banking while those developments that are chronically needed just aren't being built. tributes to sir roger bannister, the first athlete to run a mile in less than four minutes, who has died at the age of 88. the offensive against rebel fighters in eastern ghouta will continue, says the syrian president. and the government is to promise a dramatic overhaul of planning rules to boost house—building. more reaction to the death of sir

roger bannister, the man who broke the four minute mile. thousands of runners have ta ken the four minute mile. thousands of runners have taken part in a half marathon today, the vitality big half the race director was son of sir roger's friend chris brasher. our reporter spoke to him about his personal connection to sir roger. the passing of sir roger bannister isa the passing of sir roger bannister is a real moment of reflection for athletics. no just here is a real moment of reflection for athletics. nojust here in britain but round the world. he inspired millions in running the first sub four minute mile, including some of those who have been running the london half marathon today, where they braved dreadful weather conditions to finish the race. the race director is hugh brasher and joins me now, what was his legacy for athletics? his legacy is something that i think is timeless. he was the first man ever, as you

say to break the four minute mile, and at the time, that was deemed to be fizz logically impossible, for nine years people had been trying to break this mythical barrier, it was seen to be impossible. and roger was training at the time to be a doctor, he was training to be a junior doctor, yet at the same time here he was doing a world record, breaking four minutes for a mile. it was a time where britain had rationing, we we re time where britain had rationing, we were coming back from the second world war, and it really lifted a nation. and it was deemed to be one of the greatest sporting moments of the 20th century, and i believe it will stay at a timeless moment in sport. and your father had a very close connection to milos raonic —— sir roger bannister and in particular that first sub four minute mile. tell us about that. so my father was the pacemaker along with chris chataway on 4th may in 1954. and my father did the first

two laps, he always said that lots of people could have run 800 metres in1.57.57. of people could have run 800 metres in 1.57.57. roger said my father played an important part because he set the right pace, roger was imploring him to go faster at the start, the adrenaline was flowing, my father said he couldn't go faster but that shows you the sort of humility of each of them. and chris chataway took the third lap, but it was roger who was the athlete that could and believed and they all believed that roger could break that four mill mile and he did on that day and it is a moment of sporting history. —— four minute mile. day and it is a moment of sporting history. -- four minute mile. your father nearly scuppered the whole achievement of sir roger bannister, he worried that he nearly gave him knew mopeia, tell us about that? so the training, they used to train at hurling ham and paddington rec. that

i were doing 400 metre reps and 12 of them, two minute recovery and they couldn't get it under 60 seconds so my father and roger went climbing in north wales. my father used the world bundled roger into a car, an open top car, they drove up to north wales and went climbing and they didn't do any running but it was in doing that climbing they rested their bodies a bit and did something different. they came back from north wales and suddenly, they we re from north wales and suddenly, they were then running under 60 seconds for the 400 metre reps. he was worried he was going to give him pneumonia. sir roger went on and broke broke the four minute mile. it isa broke broke the four minute mile. it is a moment in time that will remain with us. it is very sad news of his passing. thank you for that. those reflections on sir roger bannister‘s life. he passed away on what is a very sad day for athletics here in britain and around the world. back to you. work is continuing to clear snow from the roads after days of disruption.

there are still some problems on the railways — with some operators warning of delays continuing tomorrow. danjohnson reports from carlisle. not exactly the polar express. the train to carlisle but has not moved for three days. they have been trying to free it from a snow drift blocking the line from newcastle. a farmer helped rescue the passengers. they were very pleased to see us. very, very pleased, because they had been there for about five hours before we found them. they were just sitting, getting colder and colder. we found them and we got it sorted. there are teams working like this across large parts of the railway network, but the problem is, they keep clearing snow from the tracks, but then high winds blow it back again, blocking the line. so that means replacement buses and increasingly weary passengers. hoping to get the train back on wednesday morning and i had just been staying there since. it has taken you five

days to get here? five days, yeah, yeah. going to weymouth and i have just been told i have got to get three trains, a tube and then a bus. it is difficult to fathom, after this period of time. i am sure they are doing their best, but i am really irritated. voting's been taking place in italy's general election after a campaign dominated by immigration. the centre—left government is facing strong opposition from a coalition of right—wing parties and the anti establishment five star movement. here's our europe editor, katya adler. charming, but troubled naples, unhappily encapsulates the problems at the heart of italy's elections. falling living standards, unemployment, and mass irregular migration from africa. but uncertainty hangs in the today. italians are voting for change. they are just not sure which political party to trust.

translation: i am so worried about italy. i said a prayer before coming to vote. translation: italians are frustrated. they need to hear our voice today. son of naples is the leader of the party tipped to become italy's largest today. his 5—star movement claims to be corruption free and people friendly. but the political system here favours coalitions and meaning this familiar face could be kingmaker in stead. this familiar face could be kingmaker instead. naples and the south of italy will swing the vote today, silvio berlusconi did some last—minute campaigning here on behalf of a right—wing coalition. so, what does this rather chaotic political picture mean for italy and europe? after all, this is the eurozone's third—largest economy. confusion is quintessentially

italian, brussels is used to it, the financial markets seem prepared for it, they believe that a coalition government will water down more extremist populist policies on offer. how does that help italians get to grips with their problems? this shop is famous for its handcrafted political figures. translation: today, all italian voters will help paint the future landscape of the country. stay with us for full coverage of the italian elections. the firm had been aggressively managed to make its balance sheet

look better than it was. the document has been published by two commons committees which were examining while carillion went out of business with debts of almost £1 billion. the metropolitan police have confirmed an explosion in north east london is gas related. emergency services were called to the building in harold hill. there are no reports of any injuries. not long to go now before the film industry's biggest event of the year — the oscars. this year's event takes place after allegations against harvey weinstein, and amid the #metoo and time's up movements. our arts editor will gompertz reports from hollywood. here on a still concealed oscars red carpet, just about everybody has got an opinion about what is going to happen tonight. but what does a genuine hollywood insider, with her ear to the ground think? does she expect there to be a post—weinstein reaction that might change how academy members vote? in terms of voting on the oscars, i don't think that there will be a real effect on who wins and who loses. my daughter, angela was...

i would be surprised if three billboards repeated its bafta success and won best ppicture. that movie is quite polarising among american academy members. the shape of water, guillermo del toro's film is one that has won a lot of the precursor awards that lead up to the oscars, so that seems to be sort of a rising contender. who is going to win? i would put my money on get out. chris was just telling me how he felt much more comfortable with my being here. noted. what about best actor? you cannot reason with a tiger! the front runner for best actor is gary oldman for darkest hour, for whom this is, in many ways, possibly a lifetime achievement award. there is an outside contender, timothee chalamet for call me by your name. he has kind of captured, what i think of as the ingenue spot this year. surely francis mcdormand is a shoo—in as best actress for her performance in three billboards as a grieving, seething mother. if there is any movie that sort of captured the #metoo movement and the idea of female rage, surely it is this one. and what about greta gerwig and herfilm lady bird?

could she become just the second woman in the history of the oscars to walk away with the best director prize? i think greta gerwig is a long shot. i think her being nominated is a milestone for a female director. three, two, one. ready? action! guillermo del toro is the person i would put my money on. this could indeed be the year that the shape of water is the film that makes the biggest... splash? will gompertz, bbc news, hollywood. our correspondent nada tawfik is in hollywood. this year, of course is against a backdrop there are so many calls for cultural change in the industry. absolutely, and we are seeing that really reflected tonight. you have for example calls for a more women

in two years, about 2020 to be equal representation in the industry with men, so today we have been focussing a lot on the women who have made history tonight, as will said there, rachel morrison, the first female prize for cinematography, and if you look at what the organisers of the times up movement have said, they said they don't want to be known as an award protest group, they won't be wearing black the way they did at the gloelden globes but they will find other ways to keep the momentum up. to focus on the successes they have had so far. on the other hand we still are the oscars so white controversy hanging over the night, but again, some improvements there, a record number of african—americans have been nominated this year and that blockbuster hit get out is made and starring an african merge in the

lead role. the academy is taking it seriously and we are likely toe have a nod those issues in the telly cast, this is at the heart a celebration of the success of film. some is being made to change the presenting line up this year. absolutely. it is typical for whoever won best actor to announce a best actress but casey affleck has been caught up in controversies that he did sexually abuse someone, he has denied that, but he has been asked to not come and present that award, and so that could be a moment, as i say, where they could make a nod to the times up movement, the #metoo movement. eyes will be on who will present that award for best actress, that was one of the things that the academy did take seriously when thinking about how to choreograph tonight. thank you very much. thank you very much. let's speak now to the british actress tehmina sunny, well known for starring in films

such as children of men and argo, alongside ben affleck — which won seven oscars back in 2013. thank you very hutch forjoining us, lots of brits for us to cheer on tonight. absolutely, it is very exciting. a lot of talent, a lot of british talent has been acclaimed, and it is great to see and very inspiring too. gary oldman is saying in the press he almost didn't take a role for which he is now nominated for a best actor? i am glad he did. i thought his performance blew me away and i watched it a couple of time, because what a masterpiece. yes, not the obvious person to cast as winston churchill, because of looks alone sourcing the make up artists did their work. what about daniel day—lewis? he is tipped too. their work. what about daniel day-lewis? he is tipped too. he is. what can you say about daniel? he

immerses himself into every role he does. he is so believable. i is like you are a fly—on—the—wall. fly—on—the—wall when you watch his work. has off to him if he win, but ijust think everyone work. has off to him if he win, but i just think everyone who has work. has off to him if he win, but ijust think everyone who has been nominated this year they have done sterling work, and it will be interesting to see what happens in a few hours. women still underrepresented among oscar nominees the categories where it could go to a man or woman. there could go to a man or woman. there could be a lot of scrutiny of how those awards are given out tonight. absolutely, i mean, times are changing, and especially in this past, in this past year there has been a lot of change, and just a lot of support, a lot of empowerment, i think for women and diverse actor, it has been positive, but