0:00:04 > 0:00:06This is BBC World News Today.
0:00:06 > 0:00:07I'm Geeta Guru-Murthy.
0:00:07 > 0:00:09Our top stories...
0:00:09 > 0:00:15Civilians flee eastern Ghouta, as Syrian government forces
0:00:15 > 0:00:21advance on the rebel-held area.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24Polls are closing in just under an hour in the Italian general
0:00:24 > 0:00:29election.Parties on all sides are hoping for at least a share of
0:00:29 > 0:00:32power.
0:00:32 > 0:00:33As Hollywood prepares for the Oscars,
0:00:33 > 0:00:37will the ceremony focus on the films or the new mood of protest?
0:00:37 > 0:00:42These are live pictures. Harvey Weinstein has changed the scope of
0:00:42 > 0:00:46award season on what people ask on red carpets and what they wear full
0:00:46 > 0:00:55he has changed how the whole industry is behaving.
0:00:55 > 0:01:05Hello and welcome to World News Today.
0:01:05 > 0:01:09The Syrian president has insisted that the current offensive in
0:01:09 > 0:01:15Eastern Ghouta must continue as thousands of civilians flee. He said
0:01:15 > 0:01:19also that Western accusations over chemical weapons are an excuse to
0:01:19 > 0:01:25attack the Syrian army. A monitor based in the UK says government
0:01:25 > 0:01:35forces have now taken a quarter of the Ghouta enclave. Our Middle East
0:01:35 > 0:01:37editor reports from Damascus.
0:01:37 > 0:01:39These people said their village was moving because the
0:01:39 > 0:01:42Syrian Army had arrived.
0:01:42 > 0:01:52One man cursed the Russians and Iranians, key allies of the regime.
0:01:55 > 0:01:56Air strikes, he said, including banned cluster
0:01:56 > 0:01:57bombs had not stopped.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00TRANSLATION: It has been four days, no fuel, no
0:02:00 > 0:02:01bread, no food, no water.
0:02:01 > 0:02:02Where is the world?
0:02:02 > 0:02:03Where are human rights?
0:02:03 > 0:02:04We are humans, not animals.
0:02:04 > 0:02:09400,000 people live in Eastern Ghouta, an area
0:02:09 > 0:02:12of fields and small towns about the size of Manchester.
0:02:12 > 0:02:22Most of them are civilians who have not been able to escape the war.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25TRANSLATION:When the planes shelled, I could not see
0:02:25 > 0:02:29anything in front of me.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32I did not wait for the ambulance, I started running.
0:02:32 > 0:02:37The air strikes have been followed by ground troops
0:02:37 > 0:02:43who are making rapid advances.
0:02:43 > 0:02:48The strategy seems to be to cut Eastern Ghouta in half.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51Negotiations between the rebel groups and the Russians have been
0:02:51 > 0:02:53going on for quite some time.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56It is not clear if the objective is a ceasefire or the effective
0:02:56 > 0:02:59surrender of the rebels.
0:02:59 > 0:03:04The biggest rebel group says it is regrouping after a retreat.
0:03:04 > 0:03:09The fighting is still going on, for the regime the prize is the end
0:03:09 > 0:03:14of the last major rebel enclave around Damascus.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16For the rebels, these are desperate moments.
0:03:16 > 0:03:21Jeremy Bowen, BBC News, Damascus.
0:03:21 > 0:03:23Italians are voting in a general election
0:03:23 > 0:03:28against the backdrop of a bitter debate on immigration.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30Latest indications point, once again, to no clear majority
0:03:30 > 0:03:33for any single party.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35Well, let's cross live to Rome.
0:03:35 > 0:03:40My colleague Karin Giannone is there for us.
0:03:40 > 0:03:47It has been a fierce campaign. We get the results soon.A fierce
0:03:47 > 0:03:52campaign indeed. The polls close in just under an hour. Italians really
0:03:52 > 0:03:58do not have a clear idea of what the likely outcome is going to be. As
0:03:58 > 0:04:03you mentioned, no party looks like it will get the necessary 40 descent
0:04:03 > 0:04:08to secure a majority. So, the close of polls could be the starting point
0:04:08 > 0:04:14for coalition talks that may go on for weeks. This report from our
0:04:14 > 0:04:16Europe editor.
0:04:16 > 0:04:21Charming, but troubled Naples, unhappily encapsulates the problems
0:04:21 > 0:04:26at the heart of Italy's elections.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28Falling living standards, unemployment, and mass irregular
0:04:28 > 0:04:32migration from Africa.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35But uncertainty hangs in the today.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38Italians are voting for change.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41They are just not sure which political party to trust.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44TRANSLATION: I am so worried about Italy.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48I said a prayer before coming to vote.
0:04:48 > 0:04:56TRANSLATION: Italians are frustrated.
0:04:56 > 0:05:01Politicians need to hear our voice today.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04Son of Naples is the leader of the party tipped to become
0:05:04 > 0:05:11Italy's largest today.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13His Five Star Movement claims to be corruption-free and people-friendly.
0:05:13 > 0:05:19But the political system here favours coalitions and meaning
0:05:19 > 0:05:24this familiar face could be kingmaker instead.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27Naples and the south of Italy will swing the vote today.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29Silvio Berlusconi did some last-minute campaigning here
0:05:29 > 0:05:30on behalf of a right-wing Coalition.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32So, what does this rather chaotic political picture mean
0:05:32 > 0:05:33for Italy and Europe?
0:05:33 > 0:05:37After all, this is the Eurozone's third-largest economy.
0:05:37 > 0:05:46Confusion is quintessentially Italian, Brussels is used to it,
0:05:46 > 0:05:56the financial markets seem prepared for it, they believe that
0:06:02 > 0:06:07a Coalition government will smooth away political extremism.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09This Napolitan shop is famous for its handcrafted political figures.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11Today, all Italian voters will help paint the future
0:06:11 > 0:06:13landscape of the country.
0:06:13 > 0:06:18Turnout really is key because, in the weeks before the elections, some
0:06:18 > 0:06:24polls were saying as many as 40% of Italians were not going to bother to
0:06:24 > 0:06:30turn up or were undecided. In the last election 28% of the voting
0:06:30 > 0:06:36population and stained. As we heard there, the South is three critical.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40-- abstained. Latest figures show there is a higher turnout than usual
0:06:40 > 0:06:45in the south and a lower turnout than usual in the north. In the
0:06:45 > 0:06:55south that could favour the Five Star Movement. I been speaking to
0:06:55 > 0:06:57John Hooper, Italy correspondent for the Economist about just how turnout
0:06:57 > 0:06:59could affect the result.
0:06:59 > 0:07:04The first thing that is different is turnout, which seems to be on the
0:07:04 > 0:07:12low side, going the way of maybe 5% and 10% less this time. And with
0:07:12 > 0:07:16very significant regional variations. In the south, turnout
0:07:16 > 0:07:20seems to be higher, which should, perhaps, favour the Five Star
0:07:20 > 0:07:24Movement, which has made the south into something of a fortress. It
0:07:24 > 0:07:32seems to be going lower in the centre and the North and that may be
0:07:32 > 0:07:35bad news for particularly the Democratic Party.You would be able
0:07:35 > 0:07:43to talk about disillusionment with the parties in the south because of
0:07:43 > 0:07:48the economic situation in the south to two high unemployment.High
0:07:48 > 0:07:53unemployment and high juvenile unemployment. Lots of people in need
0:07:53 > 0:07:5825 to 35 age group who are on short-term contracts, who are not
0:07:58 > 0:08:03getting the benefits of full employment, and who feel there is a
0:08:03 > 0:08:08plague on all your houses. Vote for the Five Star Movement because they
0:08:08 > 0:08:13are in new faces and they promised something different.What exactly do
0:08:13 > 0:08:17the Five Star Movement offer? Can you define them left, right or
0:08:17 > 0:08:22centre, or none of the above?If you average out their policies they come
0:08:22 > 0:08:28up more in the centre. They are more like a group in Spain in the fact
0:08:28 > 0:08:32they pick policies both from the right and the left. They would say
0:08:32 > 0:08:38the left and right mean nothing but since the fall of the Berlin Wall,
0:08:38 > 0:08:42these are outdated concepts. Having said that, what they really stand
0:08:42 > 0:08:47for, certainly according to their founder, is the introduction of
0:08:47 > 0:08:52direct democracy. In other words, doing away with the present system
0:08:52 > 0:08:55of parties and replacing it by a system in which everybody can click
0:08:55 > 0:09:03with a mouse and vote on everything. That is really the original purpose
0:09:03 > 0:09:06of the Five Star Movement and in fact Grillo put up a post just the
0:09:06 > 0:09:11other day saying that you have to remember what you are there for.
0:09:11 > 0:09:16This is a party which, once it gets into power and does that, it should
0:09:16 > 0:09:21disband itself. That is why they call themselves a movement. They
0:09:21 > 0:09:26really are different from parties want to do away with parties.If you
0:09:26 > 0:09:31thought it was just the European Union watching closely what happens
0:09:31 > 0:09:36in Italy, think again. I rather interesting figure has arrived in
0:09:36 > 0:09:40town to monitor this election very closely. None other than Donald
0:09:40 > 0:09:45Trump smack former chief strategist, Steve Bannon. He finds himself very
0:09:45 > 0:09:53much aligned with the leader of the populist, anti-immigration
0:09:53 > 0:09:57right-wing party. He has come to town to give a boost to those forces
0:09:57 > 0:10:01of population which have been making huge waves in this election, which
0:10:01 > 0:10:06has been very dominated by the matter of immigration. Just to take
0:10:06 > 0:10:10you through what we are expecting. Polls close at 11 o'clock local
0:10:10 > 0:10:16time, just under an hour. Every hour we will get an updated exit poll.
0:10:16 > 0:10:23They are slightly unreliable. There is a 5% margin for error. At around
0:10:23 > 0:10:300130 GMT, 130 in the morning Italian time. That is when we will get a
0:10:30 > 0:10:33definitive result which may give us the shape of what has come out of
0:10:33 > 0:10:37the polls. It will not necessarily tell us the shape of the Government
0:10:37 > 0:10:42because that can all be decided by coalition discussions which may go
0:10:42 > 0:10:48one for a very long time to come.We will see you in the coming hours.
0:10:48 > 0:10:54Thank you very much.
0:10:54 > 0:11:01Another earthquake struck Papua New Guinea. This one is ranked 6.0 at
0:11:01 > 0:11:07the depth of ten kilometres. That is a week after an earthquake caused
0:11:07 > 0:11:11landslides, damaged buildings enclosed oil and gas operations. The
0:11:11 > 0:11:14people are in need of supplies.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, is set
0:11:16 > 0:11:18to form her fourth government, after the centre-left
0:11:18 > 0:11:20Social Democrats agreed to join her conservatives
0:11:20 > 0:11:21in a renewed coalition.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23It brings an end to the political uncertainty
0:11:23 > 0:11:29since September's election.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33Voters in Switzerland have rejected a proposal to abolish the mandatory
0:11:33 > 0:11:38licence fee for Public broadcasting. In a referendum, more than 70% said
0:11:38 > 0:11:43no to the change. The Swiss pay almost $500 a year for the public
0:11:43 > 0:11:50broadcaster. It broadcasts in all four national languages.
0:11:50 > 0:11:51Stay with us on BBC World News.
0:11:51 > 0:11:52Still to come...
0:11:52 > 0:11:54Tributes to the world's first four minute miler,
0:11:54 > 0:12:03as Roger Bannister dies at the age of 88.
0:12:15 > 0:12:23It was just a matter of seconds as the very lurched onto her side.The
0:12:23 > 0:12:28hydrogen bomb. The Americans have successfully tested a weapon whose
0:12:28 > 0:12:37explosive force dwarfed that of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.My heart
0:12:37 > 0:12:42went bang and bang will stop the constitutional rights of these
0:12:42 > 0:12:47marches and their rights for citizens of the United States, they
0:12:47 > 0:12:51should be protected so they do not get their heads broken and are sent
0:12:51 > 0:12:56to hospital.It is religious controversy. Does it worry that it
0:12:56 > 0:13:02will boil up when you get to the States?It worries me. I hope
0:13:02 > 0:13:08everything will be right when you get to the end of the day.-- will
0:13:08 > 0:13:10be all right.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12This is BBC World News Today.
0:13:12 > 0:13:17The latest headlines...
0:13:17 > 0:13:21President Assad says the Government assault on Eastern Ghouta must
0:13:21 > 0:13:31continue with civilians fleeing the rebel-held enclave.
0:13:31 > 0:13:35Millions have been voting in the election in Italy.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38Not long to go now before the film industry's
0:13:38 > 0:13:40biggest event of the year - the Oscars.
0:13:40 > 0:13:41This year's event comes with Hollywood still reeling
0:13:41 > 0:13:43from the allegations of sexual harassment and sexual
0:13:43 > 0:13:51assault against several high profile figures,
0:13:51 > 0:13:57These are the live pictures. Camera crews and genocide gathering outside
0:13:57 > 0:14:02the red carpet area where pretty soon we will see the stars parade.
0:14:02 > 0:14:08-- and journalists.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11Will Gompertz reports.
0:14:11 > 0:14:13Here on a still concealed Oscars red carpet, just
0:14:13 > 0:14:16about everybody has got an opinion about what is going
0:14:16 > 0:14:17to happen tonight.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19But what does a genuine Hollywood insider, with her ear
0:14:19 > 0:14:20to the ground think?
0:14:20 > 0:14:23Does she expect there to be a post-Weinstein reaction that might
0:14:23 > 0:14:28change how Academy members vote?
0:14:28 > 0:14:34I don't think so. Harvey Weinstein has changed the scope of awards
0:14:34 > 0:14:39season and what people ask about on red carpets and what they wear, how
0:14:39 > 0:14:41the whole industry is changing.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44In terms of voting on the Oscars, I don't think that there will be
0:14:44 > 0:14:46a real effect on who wins and who loses.
0:14:46 > 0:14:47My daughter, Angela was...
0:14:47 > 0:14:49I would be surprised if Three Billboards repeated
0:14:49 > 0:14:52its Bafta success and won Best PPicture.
0:14:52 > 0:14:57That movie is quite polarising among American Academy members.
0:14:57 > 0:15:01The Shape of Water, Guillermo Del Toro's film, is one
0:15:01 > 0:15:05that has won a lot of the precursor awards that lead up to the Oscars,
0:15:05 > 0:15:07so that seems to be sort of a rising contender.
0:15:07 > 0:15:08Who is going to win?
0:15:08 > 0:15:10I would put my money on Get Out.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12Chris was just telling me how he felt much more
0:15:12 > 0:15:14comfortable with my being here.
0:15:14 > 0:15:15Noted.
0:15:15 > 0:15:16What about Best Actor?
0:15:16 > 0:15:17You cannot reason with a tiger!
0:15:17 > 0:15:21Not when your head is in its mouth.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24The front runner for Best Actor is Gary Oldman for Darkest Hour,
0:15:24 > 0:15:26for whom this is, in many ways, possibly a lifetime
0:15:26 > 0:15:27achievement award.
0:15:27 > 0:15:29There is an outside contender, Timothee Chalamet for
0:15:29 > 0:15:30Call Me By Your Name.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33He has kind of captured, what I think of as the
0:15:33 > 0:15:35ingenue spot this year.
0:15:35 > 0:15:42This year it is seemingly held by a beautiful young man.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45Surely Francis McDormand is a shoo-in as Best Actress for her
0:15:45 > 0:15:52performance in Three Billboards as a grieving, seething mother.
0:15:52 > 0:15:57Her performance in Three Billboards...
0:15:57 > 0:16:00If there is any movie that sort of captured the #MeToo movement
0:16:00 > 0:16:03and the idea of female rage, surely it is this one.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05And what about Greta Gerwig and her film Lady Bird?
0:16:05 > 0:16:08Could she become just the second woman in the history
0:16:08 > 0:16:10of the Oscars to walk away with the Best Director prize?
0:16:10 > 0:16:12I think Greta Gerwig is a long shot.
0:16:12 > 0:16:20I think her being nominated is a milestone for a female director.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24It has happens so rarely. Kathryn Bigelow is the anyone who has won in
0:16:24 > 0:16:28the category.
0:16:28 > 0:16:29Three, two, one.
0:16:29 > 0:16:30Ready?
0:16:30 > 0:16:31Action!
0:16:31 > 0:16:34Guillermo Del Toro is the person I would put my money on.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37This could indeed be the year that The Shape of Water is the film
0:16:37 > 0:16:38that makes the biggest...
0:16:38 > 0:16:39Splash?
0:16:39 > 0:16:45Will Gompertz, BBC News, Hollywood.
0:16:45 > 0:16:51Let's go live to Hollywood. You are looking stunning. We can see people
0:16:51 > 0:16:58are riding behind you. What is your sense, our people focused on the
0:16:58 > 0:17:03films all the controversy?It is impossible to separate the two. This
0:17:03 > 0:17:07is the culmination of the awards season with the biggest awards yet
0:17:07 > 0:17:11to come. People are celebrating some of the most adverse range of movies
0:17:11 > 0:17:16we have had for best picture nominee. We have tragic comedies in
0:17:16 > 0:17:27Three Billboards to romances in Call Me By Your Name, and The Shape Of
0:17:27 > 0:17:31Water. Among those films we have seen a lot of diversity and
0:17:31 > 0:17:36storylines talking about the underdogs, the underrepresented,
0:17:36 > 0:17:39capturing the culture right now. There are very real controversy
0:17:39 > 0:17:45surrounding the Oscars. The Me Too movement is capturing the fact that
0:17:45 > 0:17:50there has been rampant sexual abuse in this industry which Harvey
0:17:50 > 0:17:56Weinstein has come to symbolise. Also the underrepresentation of
0:17:56 > 0:18:00minorities in Hollywood. I expect in a ceremony for all of that really to
0:18:00 > 0:18:05come to light.We can see the excitement behind you already. Also
0:18:05 > 0:18:12a change in the presenter line-up. Casey Affleck has withdrawn, hasn't
0:18:12 > 0:18:18he?There has been a lot of conflict because he has been accused of
0:18:18 > 0:18:23sexual assault. He denied and said they had settled the matter. That
0:18:23 > 0:18:26was going to overshadow the tradition of having the person who
0:18:26 > 0:18:31won best actor present the best actress award. He withdrew and said
0:18:31 > 0:18:34he will not be attending the Oscars. The Academy thanked him for that and
0:18:34 > 0:18:39said they want the focus to be on winners. Instead we are going to be
0:18:39 > 0:18:43having Jodie Foster and Jennifer Lawrence presents best actress and
0:18:43 > 0:18:49also, for best actor, we're going to have Jane Fonda and Heron Mellon --
0:18:49 > 0:18:56Helen Mirren presenting that.Thank you very much.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59We will of course bring you all the winners
0:18:59 > 0:19:01and the reaction from the red carpet here on World News,
0:19:01 > 0:19:02which kicks at 0100 GMT.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05And you can find much more on the Academy
0:19:05 > 0:19:11Awards on our website.
0:19:11 > 0:19:19Now the sport.
0:19:19 > 0:19:24Talking of the red carpet it certainly hasn't been rolled out in
0:19:24 > 0:19:29Central London. The pressure has increased on Arsene Wenger. Brighton
0:19:29 > 0:19:37& Hove Albion were 2-1 winners over the gunners. Record signing barmy
0:19:37 > 0:19:43Yanks scored for Arsenal. Arsene Wenger's sign of four points behind
0:19:43 > 0:19:53Tottenham.It took us a while to get into the game. They were sharper us
0:19:53 > 0:19:59on the ball. We made some defensive mistakes. In the second half it was
0:19:59 > 0:20:05all us but we could not find a goal. We are going through a tough time.
0:20:05 > 0:20:10Of course it is difficult at the moment.As tough as you can
0:20:10 > 0:20:15remember, do you think, this week? Three defeats back-to-back. It never
0:20:15 > 0:20:21happened to me in my life. It hit me on the confident side and you could
0:20:21 > 0:20:27see the team at the moment struggles a bit.A Barnardo 's silver goal
0:20:27 > 0:20:31proved the difference as Manchester City extended their lead at the top
0:20:31 > 0:20:37of the table to 18 points. The blues managed just three shots on goal
0:20:37 > 0:20:42throughout the game and are languishing five points of the
0:20:42 > 0:20:47Champions League qualification places. Pep Guardiola is on target
0:20:47 > 0:20:57to win the title in three different countries.18, a strong team, like
0:20:57 > 0:21:07Chelsea, are still the champions. We did not concede one shot on target.
0:21:07 > 0:21:13Against the Chelsea players, everybody was involved and I was
0:21:13 > 0:21:18very happy.Lionel Messi scored his 600th career goal from a wonderfully
0:21:18 > 0:21:29struck free kick. They are eight points clear of the division. The
0:21:29 > 0:21:34Atletico defence only conceded 12 goals in 27 games. The Catalans
0:21:34 > 0:21:41remain unbeaten this year. They almost scored a late equaliser only
0:21:41 > 0:21:47to have it ruled out for offside. Elsewhere in Spain, Valencia lead
0:21:47 > 0:21:59real Bettis in Sunday's other big clash. The Fiorentina captain has
0:21:59 > 0:22:02died after a sudden illness. The Florence -based outfit was scheduled
0:22:02 > 0:22:19to play Udinese. He joined the team and made 58 appearances for them.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23Sir Roger Bannister, the first man to break the four-minute mile, has
0:22:23 > 0:22:27died at the age of 88 foot he has been described as one of the
0:22:27 > 0:22:37inspirational figures will stop he also won gold over the same distance
0:22:37 > 0:22:41at the 1954 Commonwealth Games. He later became a leading urologist and
0:22:41 > 0:22:47was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2011. -- neurologist.
0:22:47 > 0:23:02Andrew posse got a gold medal. -- Pozzi. It was a relief to the
0:23:02 > 0:23:06British co-captain he made some mistakes but held his nerve to claim
0:23:06 > 0:23:17the gold. The Burundi athlete was in a class of her own and defended her
0:23:17 > 0:23:31title. The fastest time of the world in 2018. Thank you.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34Sir Roger Bannister - the first man to run a mile
0:23:34 > 0:23:37in under four minutes - has died at the age of 88.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40He set the record on a track in Oxford in 1954 -
0:23:40 > 0:23:42later winning the gold at the same distance at that year's
0:23:42 > 0:23:43Commonwealth Games.
0:23:43 > 0:23:54Joe Wilson looks back at his life.
0:23:57 > 0:23:59NEWSREEL:25-year-old Roger Bannister, third from the left.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01There are some moments of sporting history which become part
0:24:01 > 0:24:02of the world's history.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04He's decided this is the right moment.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07What Roger Bannister achieved in 1954 was like a lunar landing
0:24:07 > 0:24:08for 20th century sport.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10Bannister's old friend and rival Chris Chataway is in third place,
0:24:10 > 0:24:12waiting to take over as pacer.
0:24:12 > 0:24:14To run a mile and stop the clock before it reached
0:24:14 > 0:24:17four minutes in 1954, this was a magical number,
0:24:17 > 0:24:18a barrier of human achievement.
0:24:18 > 0:24:20A feat that would redefine what was humanly possible.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23And it would fall to a young medical student to achieve it.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25After two-and-a-half laps, Brasher gives way to Chataway.
0:24:25 > 0:24:27Bannister, a superb tactician, has suffered some criticism in the past
0:24:27 > 0:24:29for adopting his own rather unorthodox training methods.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32But they are paying dividends now.
0:24:32 > 0:24:32At this point it becomes quite painful.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35I overtake Chris Chataway and begin the finish.
0:24:35 > 0:24:36And here he comes.
0:24:36 > 0:24:40Bannister goes streaking forward with about 250 yards to the tapes.
0:24:40 > 0:24:42Every stride counted.
0:24:42 > 0:24:48The tape broke at three minutes 59.4 seconds.
0:24:49 > 0:24:50And Bannister has done it.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53Though he is out on his feet, his coach and team manager tell him
0:24:54 > 0:24:55he has achieved his ambition.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58It might have felt like the world stopped when that clock stopped.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02Four minute mile was a sporting catch phrase everyone recognised.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06There was certainly a feeling of it being a national event and something
0:25:06 > 0:25:17of a landmark for the country.
0:25:19 > 0:25:27I am overwhelmed and delighted at being able to do it today. I was
0:25:27 > 0:25:33very lucky.Sir Roger Bannister was knighted in 1995. He regarded his
0:25:33 > 0:25:40work as a neurologist as more consistent. He described the gentle
0:25:40 > 0:25:50irony when he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. His training
0:25:50 > 0:25:57would have been half an hour a day on the cinder track. He was perhaps
0:25:57 > 0:26:03sport's last great amateur. Sir Roger Bannister, who