this is bbc world news today. i'm geeta guru—murthy. our top stories... civilians flee eastern ghouta, as syrian government forces advance on the rebel—held area. polls are closing in just under an hourin polls are closing in just under an hour in the italian general election. parties on all sides are hoping for at least a share of power. as hollywood prepares for the oscars, will the ceremony focus on the films or the new mood of protest? these are live pictures. harvey weinstein has changed the scope of award season on what people ask on red carpets and what they wear full he has changed how the whole industry is behaving. hello and welcome to world news today. the syrian president has insisted

that the current offensive in eastern ghouta must continue as thousands of civilians flee. he said also that western accusations over chemical weapons are an excuse to attack the syrian army. a monitor based in the uk says government forces have now taken a quarter of the ghouta enclave. our middle east editor 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 banned cluster bombs had not stopped. translation: it has been four 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 ghouta, 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 planes shelled, 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 ghouta 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 the 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. italians are voting in a general election against the backdrop of a bitter debate on immigration. latest indications point, once again, to no clear majority for any single party. well, let's cross live to rome. my colleague karin giannone is there for us. it has been a fierce campaign. we get the results soon. a fierce campaign indeed. the polls close in just under an hour. italians really do not have a clear idea of what the likely outcome is going to be. as you mentioned, no party looks like it will get the necessary a0 descent to secure a majority. so, the close

of polls could be the starting point for coalition talks that may go on for coalition talks that may go on for weeks. this report from our europe editor. 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. politicians need to hear our voice today. son of naples is the leader of the party tipped to become italy's largest today.

his five star movement claims to be corru ption—free and people—friendly. but the political system here favours coalitions and meaning 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 smooth away political extremism. this napolitan shop is famous for

its handcrafted political figures. today, all italian voters will help paint the future landscape of the country. turnout really is key because, in the weeks before the elections, some polls were saying as many as a0% of italians were not going to bother to turn up or were undecided. in the last election 28% of the voting population and stained. as we heard there, the south is three critical. —— abstained. latest figures show there is a higher turnout than usual in the south and a lower turnout than usual in the north. in the south that could favour the five star movement. i been speaking to john hooper, italy correspondent for the economist about just john hooper, italy correspondent for the economist aboutjust how john hooper, italy correspondent for the economist about just how turnout could affect the result. the first thing that is different is turnout, which seems to be on the

low side, going the way of maybe 5% and 10% less this time. and with very significant regional variations. in the south, turnout seems to be higher, which should, perhaps, favour the five star movement, which has made the south into something of a fortress. it seems to be going lower in the ce ntre seems to be going lower in the centre and the north and that may be bad news for particularly the democratic party. you would be able to talk about disillusionment with the parties in the south because of the parties in the south because of the economic situation in the south to two high unemployment. high unemployment and high juvenile unemployment. lots of people in need 25 to 35 age group who are on short—term contracts, who are not getting the benefits of full employment, and who feel there is a plague on all your houses. vote for

the five star movement because they are in new faces and they promised something different. what exactly do the five star movement offer? can you define them left, right or centre, or none of the above?m you define them left, right or centre, or none of the above? if you average out their policies they come up average out their policies they come up more in the centre. they are more like a group in spain in the fact they pick policies both from the right and the left. they would say the left and right mean nothing but since the fall of the berlin wall, these are outdated concepts. having said that, what they really stand for, certainly according to their founder, is the introduction of direct democracy. in other words, doing away with the present system of parties and replacing it by a syste m of parties and replacing it by a system in which everybody can click with a mouse and vote on everything. that is really the original purpose of the five star movement and in fa ct of the five star movement and in

fact grillo put up a post just the other day saying that you have to remember what you are there for. this is a party which, once it gets into power and does that, it should disband itself. that is why they call themselves a movement. they really are different from parties wa nt really are different from parties want to do away with parties. really are different from parties want to do away with partiesm really are different from parties want to do away with parties. if you thought it was just the european union watching closely what happens in italy, think again. i rather interesting figure has arrived in town to monitor this election very closely. none other than donald trump smack former chief strategist, steve bannon. he finds himself very much aligned with the leader of the populist, anti—immigration right—wing party. he has come to town to give a boost to those forces of population which have been making huge waves in this election, which has been very dominated by the matter of immigration. just to take

you through what we are expecting. polls close at 11 o'clock local time, just under an hour. every hour we will get an updated exit poll. they are slightly unreliable. there isa5% they are slightly unreliable. there is a 5% margin for error. at around 0130 gmt, 130 in the morning italian time. that is when we will get a definitive result which may give us the shape of what has come out of the shape of what has come out of the polls. it will not necessarily tell us the shape of the government because that can all be decided by coalition discussions which may go one for a very long time to come. we will see you in the coming hours. thank you very much. another earthquake struck papua new guinea. this one is ranked 6.0 at the depth of ten kilometres. that is a week after an earthquake caused

landslides, damaged buildings enclosed oil and gas operations. the people are in need of supplies. the german chancellor, angela merkel, is set to form her fourth government, after the centre—left social democrats agreed to join her conservatives in a renewed coalition. it brings an end to the political uncertainty since september's election. voters in switzerland have rejected a proposal to abolish the mandatory licence fee for public broadcasting. ina licence fee for public broadcasting. in a referendum, more than 70% said no to the change. the swiss pay almost $500 a year for the public broadcaster. it broadcasts in all four national languages. stay with us on bbc world news. still to come... tributes to the world's first four minute miler, as roger bannister dies at the age of 88. it was just a matter of seconds as

the very lurched onto her side. the hydrogen bomb. the americans have successfully tested a weapon whose explosive force dwarfed that of the bomb dropped on hiroshima. my heart we nt bomb dropped on hiroshima. my heart went bang and bang will stop the constitutional rights of these marches and their rights for citizens of the united states, they should be protected so they do not get their heads broken and are sent to hospital. it is religious controversy. does it worry that it will boil up when you get to the states ? will boil up when you get to the states? it worries me. i hope everything will be right when you get to the end of the day. -- will

be all right. this is bbc world news today. the latest headlines... president assad says the government assault on eastern ghouta must continue with civilians fleeing the rebel—held enclave. millions have been voting in the election in italy. not long to go now before the film industry's biggest event of the year — the oscars. this year's event comes with hollywood still reeling from the allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault against several high profile figures, these are the live pictures. camera crews and genocide gathering outside the red carpet area where pretty $0011 the red carpet area where pretty soon we the red carpet area where pretty soon we will see the stars parade. —— and journalists. will gompertz reports.

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? i don't think so. harvey weinstein has changed the scope of awards season has changed the scope of awards season and what people ask about on red carpets and what they wear, how the whole industry is changing. 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! not when your head is in its mouth. 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. this year it is seemingly held by a beautiful young man. surely francis mcdormand is a shoo—in as best actress for her performance in three billboards as a grieving, seething mother. her performance in three billboards... 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. it has happens so rarely. kathryn bigelow is the anyone who has won in the category. 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. let's go live to hollywood. you are looking stunning. we can see people are riding behind you. what is your sense, oui’ are riding behind you. what is your sense, our people focused on the films all the controversy? it is impossible to separate the two. this is the culmination of the awards

season with the biggest awards yet to come. people are celebrating some of the most adverse range of movies we have had for best picture nominee. we have tragic comedies in three billboards to romances in call me by your name, and the shape of water. among those films we have seen a lot of diversity and storyli nes seen a lot of diversity and storylines talking about the underdogs, the underrepresented, capturing the culture right now. there are very real controversy surrounding the oscars. the me too movement is capturing the fact that there has been rampant sexual abuse in this industry which harvey weinstein has come to symbolise. also the underrepresentation of minorities in hollywood. i expect in a ceremony for all of that really to come to light. we can see the

excitement behind you already. also a change in the presenter line—up. casey affleck has withdrawn, hasn't he? there has been a lot of conflict because he has been accused of sexual assault. he denied and said they had settled the matter. that was going to overshadow the tradition of having the person who w011 tradition of having the person who won best actor present the best actress award. he withdrew and said he will not be attending the oscars. the academy thanked him for that and said they want the focus to be on winners. instead we are going to be having jodie foster and jennifer lawrence presents best actress and also, for best actor, we're going to have jane fonda and heron mellon —— helen mirren presenting that. thank you very much. we will of course bring you all the winners and the reaction from the red carpet here on world news, which kicks at 0100 gmt. and you can find much more on the academy awards on our website.

now the sport. talking of the red carpet it certainly hasn't been rolled out in central london. the pressure has increased on arsene wenger. brighton & hove albion were 2—1winners over the gunners. record signing barmy yanks scored for arsenal. arsene wenger‘s sign of four points behind totte n ha m. wenger‘s sign of four points behind tottenham. it took us a while to get into the game. they were sharper us on the ball. we made some defensive mistakes. in the second half it was all us but we could not find a goal. we are going through a tough time.

of course it is difficult at the moment. as tough as you can remember, do you think, this week? three defeats back—to—back. it never happened to me in my life. it hit me on the confident side and you could see the team at the moment struggles a bit. a barnardo 's silver goal proved the difference as manchester city extended their lead at the top of the table to 18 points. the blues managed just three shots on goal throughout the game and are languishing five points of the champions league qualification places. pep guardiola is on target to win the title in three different countries. 18, a strong team, like chelsea, are still the champions. we did not concede one shot on target.

against the chelsea players, everybody was involved and i was very happy. lionel messi scored his 600th career goalfrom a very happy. lionel messi scored his 600th career goal from a wonderfully struck free kick. they are eight points clear of the division. the atletico defence only conceded 12 goals in 27 games. the catalans remain unbeaten this year. they almost scored a late equaliser only to have it ruled out for offside. elsewhere in spain, valencia lead real bettis in sunday's other big clash. the fiorentina captain has died after a sudden illness. the florence —based outfit was scheduled to play udinese. hejoined the

florence —based outfit was scheduled to play udinese. he joined the team and made 58 appearances for them. sir roger bannister, the first man to break the four—minute mile, has died at the age of 88 foot he has been described as one of the inspirational figures will stop he also won gold over the same distance at the 195a commonwealth games. he later became a leading urologist and was diagnosed with parkinson's disease in 2011. —— neurologist. andrew posse got a gold medal. —— pozzi. it was a relief to the british co—captain he made some

m ista kes british co—captain he made some mistakes but held his nerve to claim the gold. the burundi athlete was in a class of her own and defended her title. the fastest time of the world in 2018. thank you. sir roger bannister — the first man to run a mile in underfour minutes — has died at the age of 88. he set the record on a track in oxford in 195a — later winning the gold at the same distance at that year's commonwealth games. joe wilson looks back at his 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. he's decided this is the right moment. what roger bannister achieved in 195a 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 195a, 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.a 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. there was certainly a feeling of it

being a national event and something ofa being a national event and something of a landmark for the country. lam i am overwhelmed and delighted at being able to do it today. i was very lucky. sir roger bannister was knighted in 1995. he regarded his work as a neurologist as more consistent. he described the gentle irony when he was diagnosed with parkinson's disease. his training would have been half an hour a day on the cinder track. he was perhaps sport's last great amateur. sir roger bannister, who has died at the

age of 88. that is it from me. last week, many a scene like this. for some of you, some days to come will also look like that because the snow won't disappear straightaway. we're moving into something a good deal more clement than many of us have experienced. we have to thank this area of low pressure. we don't often do that but this system, anchored as it is a way towards the west and south—west of the british are of over the next few days will help to feed in relatively milder from the atlantic rather than something very much colder than the heart of continental europe. that doesn't mean it will be a heatwave but we are already beginning to see some of the temperatures took up over the southern counties of england and wales. overnight the temperatures will stay positive

across the southern part of britain. further north, major towns and cities in positive territory but with the underlying snow it would be another cold night and there may be snow showers because this area of low pressure will keep things settle close to the british isles but it is helping to lift the temperatures slowly but surely. closed the area of low pressure in the south—west some heavy rainfall. —— close to the area. there will be rain and sleet on coastal areas. in the far north and on the high ground in scotland we may well find further snow showers. this is tuesday, looking at a very subtle picture with quite a bit of dry weather across england and wales. pretty leaden skies and still a sprinkling of showers in the south—west. further rain on the coasts of scotland may be over the highest ground of further dusting of snow. at this stage temperatures in the south starting to push towards

double figures. not a great deal of change on wednesday, save for some hefty showers across some spots of england and wales. there is the chance of further wintry showers across the very highest ground in scotland. the temperatures well in positive territory by day. becoming milder in the coming week, rather u nsettled milder in the coming week, rather unsettled and if there was any snow it will be mainly over the hills. this is bbc world news, the headlines. the syrian president, bashar al—assad, has insisted the offensive in eastern ghouta will continue, in parallel with civilians being allowed to leave. government forces are now said to have taken about a quarter of the rebel—held enclave. polls are closing shortly in italy's general election dominated

by debates on immigration. opinion polls suggest no party will win enough support to govern without forming a coalition. germany's biggest opposition party, the social democrats, has agreed to enter a coalition government with angela merkel‘s christian democrats. the deal took several weeks to arrange. a delegation from south korea is to head to north korea on monday, for a two—day visit. among those travelling to pyongyang are the head of south korea's main intelligence agency and presidential security office. coming up later tonight here on the bbc news channel — we'll have special coverage of italy's general election, with results and analysis live from rome as the polls close. now though, it's time for our world.