is potentially. obviously there is storm dylan blowing around the country. there are apparently four weather warning is, country. there are apparently four weatherwarning is, predicted country. there are apparently four weather warning is, predicted winds of up to 80 mph. edinburgh celebrations will still continue, despite the threat of wind. that is good to hear. we are looking at the ben wallace interview earlier, that was talking about the security threat, not only do you have weather and rail, but there is a need to keepa and rail, but there is a need to keep a vigilant, because the threat is real. we forgot the motorways. if you are on the roads as well. just add to the list. back to the sunday times, very quickly. mum's names to be put on wedding certificates. why haven't they been on all this time? i cannot believe i never questioned it was there. it is so sexist. what do you think of this, henry? nobody is against this idea. vote people on the right and the left are saying

this makes absolutely no sense to have a gender to vision on marriage —— both people. the wedding certificate only has the father's name and occupation. it is ludicrous. a step forward. we are forgetting that. ok. deborah and henry, thank you so much. have a lovely new years, whatever you are up lovely new years, whatever you are up to. avoid the rose, do not go to parties. thank you for having us, joining us for the papers. coming up next it is the travel show. in the. —— india. a vast country and to over ati billion people,

birthplace of the luscious civilisations and today, a fast emerging global power. that illustrious. and 70 years after independence, india is still a diverse, every evolving assortment of cultures, creeds and languages. —— ever evolving. heading off the well worn tourist path, we are on a journey that spans this vast subcontinent from east to west. i am ona subcontinent from east to west. i am on a quest to find out how history, religion and politics have shaped india. is going to be an amazing journey. —— it is. for thousands of years, india found its riches and influence through international trade. and at the heart of this enterprise was the sea. and the state of gujarat, with 1,000 miles of coastline, served as a shipping gateway

to africa, arabia and beyond. this is as far west as you can get in india, and it's the mingling of all the influences from overseas that have helped make gujarat what it is today. the region is known as kutch, and its beaches, like here in mandvi, are a popular domestic tourist attraction. but this ancient port town's economy is still anchored in a much older maritime tradition. this is genuinely incredible. i'm in heaven. a huge shipyard with boats and ships at various stages of construction, all made from wood. in an industry dominated by bulky and expensive container ships, these smaller, more agile vessels are still in huge demand. so here are, really close up

to these incredible hulks. this one is in mid—construction. we can actually go inside. i'm going to see how they make these things. apparently, each of these dhows takes two and a half years to make. for many of the workers, shipbuilding is a family tradition. and this ancient craft is now attracting unexpected new admirers. the region of kutch was home

to one of the world's earliest civilisations, and can be traced back to prehistoric times. its old royal capital is the city of bhuj. its glory days are kind of over. it was badly hit by the 2001 earthquake. there's a kind of melancholy about this area, because obviously, this was once the real, opulent centre of a rich empire, trading empire anyway, and the hub was here. but what is still flourishing is bhuj‘s aso—year—old market just a few minutes away, where the trading tradition continues. what do they sell here? they sell everything. fruit, vegetables, fabric, groceries.

all cultural backgrounds can be seen in the marketplace. here, as you can see, all different communities and ethnic groups come here. but kutch's natural harmony was disrupted 70 years ago, when the british left. the country was divided on religious grounds, with muslims partitioned to the north in pakistan, and hindus to the south in india. we drove out of the city towards the border with pakistan, along the way encountering some kutch herdsmen. they've been living here for 400 or 500 years. since, they migrated down south into kutch from sindh, which is now part of pakistan. ever since the split, there's been tension between the two governments, but to these herdsmen, national borders and religious

differences mean little. for the people of kutch, india and pakistan or hindu/muslim is not that important. people are religious, of course, but they're living in harmony and the relationship between these two different groups is brotherly. when two countries were created from one, indelible scars were left on the psyche of the subcontinent. archive: independence has not yet brought them peace. rejoicing turned quickly into horror and mourning. in dramatic scenes, more than a million people died in religious rioting, and many millions more were displaced. this all used to be one, but now it's divided in two. and now the border itself has become a tourist attraction. that way is pakistan? that way is pakistan, about 70 kilometres up north. that is where the india—pakistan

border is, which lies along the middle of kutch, which is a geographical valley. at nearly 500 metres above sea level, the highest point, kalo dungar hill, allows us a dramatic view of this geological phenomenon, the rann, or desert of kutch, which continues into pakistan. i wanted to get up closer to this natural wonder. it's quite incredible, the sand. i mean, it'sjust hard crystals, white salt. you can probably taste it. really unusual to see something like this. the further out i walked, the less lovely it became. it's actually quite incredible. it's more like snow or sludge than white sand or white crystals when it gets wet around here. i'm getting really deep into it.

whoa! today, this shimmering wilderness is a healthy source of income for the region, thanks mainly to a three—month long festival throughout the winter. it is amazing. what was a vast, barren landscape has been transformed into this colourful complex, whereby at night, there's live music and other performances and by day, there's plenty of other activities. just here is what you might call the glamping quarters. 50,000 people have come here in the last couple of months alone. i guess this is a cross between a weekend festival and a holiday resort. it's basically a honeypot for the booming middle classes of india in what has been one of the fastest—growing economies in the world.

the revival of interest in kutch culture, boosted by the festival, has been a lifeline for one group of locals in particular, folk musicians. music in particular is very rich over here. previously, they used to perform with their cattles, the shepherds. then afterwards, when they came home, they'd get together and their speech and songs are being performed. it's a day—to—day practice. one person plays two flutes of the same time? yes. now, for example, 500 cattles are there and only one shepherd is there. so he'll sit and start playing this and whatever musical reach this has, the cattles will not go out of that range. wow.

and they enjoy the music, so the digestive system, the milk output increases. so this is the beauty of it. so it's almost like meditation. yeah. things are changing, definitely. as you say, tourism, so many music festivals are there, so they are invited in various parts of india and abroad. and of course, they are very well paid. and not only do i get a demonstration, but also the privilege of playing along... as lead tinkler. and yet again, i'm made aware that kutch culture is all about a sense of community and certainly not about religious segregation. from the bottom of my heart, i am telling you till today, in spiritual and music forms, hindus and muslims sit together and perform till today.

hello there. last day of 2017, we are careering towards the end of the year already and we have got a bit ofa year already and we have got a bit of a stormy end as well. a band of rain moving its way north and east was, mild night for many of us but cold enough for snow in the high mountains of scotland but it is the wind that will take centre stage through the night and early tomorrow morning. stormed dylan will bring gust of 70— 80 mph, the met office and weather warnings in force. those winds starting in northern ireland to scotland, wins the strong will likely bring down the trees, talking about transport disruption and we may see some power cuts about transport disruption and we may see some power cuts as about transport disruption and we may see some power cuts as well. a

chance those winds will squeeze to central belt and funnel through there, so it could get quite rough through central scotland. the early overnight rain clearing away and then some sunshine. really, tomorrow will be a day of sunny spells and blustery showers. the showers coming in big bangs. some thunder mixed in and the strong wind will be with us through the first part of the afternoon, easing late afternoon at scotland. temperatures between six and 12 degrees that is your weather. this is bbc news. i'm ben bland. our top stories: violent clashes flare in iran as demonstrators defy police to protest against the government. but in the capital, tehran, an official show of support for the government draws thousands of people. new year revellers prepare to see in 2018 in style, but in many european capitals, there'll be a tight security operation. an attempt on mount everest.

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