this is bbc news. the headlines: record low temperatures are expected in 30 cities in the united states over the next few hours. new york's jfk airport set an all—time low on saturday at —13 degrees celsius. in canada, temperatures approaching —50 degrees celsius are forecast in northern ontario and quebec. reports from syria say 17 people have been killed in airstrikes on a besieged, rebel held stronghold close to the capital, damascus. aid workers said that over the past ten days, ten hospitals had been hit by airstrikes in both this area and the rebel—held northern province of idlib. tributes have been paid to longest—serving american astronaut, john young, who has died at the age of 87. he first went into space in 1965. later he become one ofjust 12 people to walk on the moon and then commanded the first space shuttle mission. nasa said the world had lost a pioneer. those are the latest headlines.

there'll be a full bulletin at the top of the hour. but now on bbc news, the travel show. india, 70 years after independence. i'm on a journey to two extremes of this vast subcontinent. today, a fast emerging global power. 70 years after independence, it is still a coming together of different cultures and languages. we are on a journey spanning this continent from east to west, travelling from one of the driest places on earth...

it is incredible. hard crystals. white salt. you can even taste it. to one of the wettest. these are areas for the adventurous traveller. this is not india on tap. i am on a quest to find out how history, religion, and politics, had shaped india. and also meet the people of this intriguing and overwhelming country. it is going to be an amazing journey. for thousands of yea rs, amazing journey. for thousands of years, india found its riches and influence through international trade. and at the heart of this enterprise was the ocean. and the

state of gujarat, with its coastline, served as a shipping gateway to africa and beyond. this is as far west as you can get. it's the influences from overseas that have helped make gujarat what it is today. the region is known as kutch. and its beaches are a popular domestic tourist attraction. 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 stage 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 we are close up to these

incredible hulks really. this one's in mid—construction. we can actually go inside, which i'm going to see how they actually make these things. apparently, each of these takes about 2.5 years to make. for many of the workers ship building is a family tradition. this ancient craft is now attracting unexpected new admirers. the region 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 bujh. its glory days are kind of over. it was badly hit by the 2001 earthquake. it's a kind of melancholy about this area. this was once the real opulent centre of a rich empire, its old royal capital is the city of bujh. its glory days are kind of over. it's a kind of melancholy about this area. this was once the real opulent centre of a rich empire, trading empire any way, and the hub was here. but what is still flourishing is the 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, grocery. you see all sorts of community, all cultural background can be seen in the marketplace. here, as you can see, they're like all different community,

ethnic groups comes here. but the 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 herdsmen. they've been living here for 400, 500 years, since they migrated down south. ever since the split, there's been tension between the two governments. to these herdsmen, national borders and religious differences mean little. for the people, when we say india, pakistan or like hindu, muslim,

it's not that important. people are religious, of course. but they are like living in harmony and 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 peace. rejoicing turned quickly into horror and mourning. in traumatic scenes more than a million people died in religious rioting. many millions more were displaced. this all used to be one, but now it's like divided in two. now the border itself has become a tourist attraction. that way is pakistan. that way is pakistan, about 70 kilometres up north. that's where the border is. that lies in the middle of the area, which is of geographical value. at nearly 500 metres above sea

level, the highest point allows us a dramatic view of this geological phenomenon, the desert, which continues into pakistan. i wanted to get up closer to this natural wonder. it's quite incredible. it's just cystals, hard cystals, white salt. 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 cystals. when it gets wet around here, i'm deep into it. whoa! today, this shimmering wilderness is a healthy source

of income for the region. thanks mainly to a 3—month long festival throughout the winter. it is amazing what was a vast barren landscape has been transformed into this colourful complex, where by night, there's live music and other performances and by day, there's plenty of activities and just here, what you might call the glamping headquarters. 50,000 people have come here in the last month alone. i guess this is like a cross between a weekend festival and a resort. it's a honey pot for the booming middle classes in india, in what has been one of the fastest growing economies in the world. the revival of interest in culture boosted by the festival has been a lifeline for one group of locals in particular. folk musicians. music in particular and it's very, very rich over here.

previously they used to perform with their kettles, then afterwards, when they come home, they'd get together and spiritual songs are being performed. one person plays two flutes at the same time? yes, yes. now, for example, 500 kettles are there and only one zither is there. he will sit below a tree and start playing this and whatever this musical notes, the kettles will not go out this afternoon range. wow.

and they enjoy the music so the milk output increases. almost like meditation. yeah, 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. of course, they're very well—paid. not only do i get a demonstration, but also the privilege of playing along. as lead tinkler. 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'm telling you till today, in spiritual, in music forms, hindus and muslims sit together and perform today. for the next part of myjourney,

i'm heading to the south—east of gujarat, to the town ofjunagadh. the classic indian railway station. to me, nothing sums up this country better than the indian railway network. more than any political act, they say this is what unifies this country. i remember as a small child being on an indian train and being totally overwhelmed by it. but i love it. ah, this feels imminent. who knows when this is made, this train. it looks pretty damn old to me. but wow, look at that.

it's a network that ferries millions of passengers daily across tens of thousands of track to nearly 7,000 stations. it's one of the world's biggest employers. if there's one defining legacy of british rule, it's the vast, sprawling, creaking indian railway network. it's still the lifeblood of the country today. singing. i'll tell you this, you wouldn't get this on a suburban train on a cold wednesday morning in london or any other western city. this is unique.

you know everyone on this carriage? yeah. from the train journey? trainjourney, yeah. train friends. excellent, you have a community. very good. is it lucky to have a seat on the train? yes. very lucky. she's very lucky. very lucky — 0k! so here we are, the ancient fortified city of junagadh, crowded and noisy as i expected. let's go explore.

just a few minutes from the station, along a dusty, busy road stands this jaw—dropping and little—known architectural wonder. built in the late 19th century, this is an elaborate mausoleum blending indian and european architecture. the intricate carvings took over a decade to complete and the whole structure reflects the opulence and influences of the time. back in the day, under the british raj, there were hundreds of so—called princely states run by maharajas, powerful and wealthy men.

there was one here, who made decisions which still has ramifications for relations between india and pakistan, even today. these nawabs led lavish life styles, in stark contrast to ordinary indians. the nawab ofjunagadh was no different. archive: the state celebrates the marriage of all the pomp and splendour of a princely wedding. harish was ten in 1946 and recalls the splendour of the ceremony. archive: escorted by the royal guard, the bride groom drives through the streets. there's a profusion of wedding gifts. all princes were there. princely patrons with turbans on their heads.

dance girls used to be brought there, musicians and all that. that lasted for several days. and he recalls getting his first taste of this other world. for the first time, i saw bread, butter, sandwich, everything. because that was not known to us here. my father said you eat this, this is bread and this is butter. i liked it. there were small pastries. i still remember that made in england, london, there was huntly and palmer biscuits. important thing is that the formal photograph of his highness. the nawab‘s own most legendary indulgence was was his love of animals. i think almost all brands and varieties of dogs from all the world were here. he used to arrange marriages for dogs and celebrated parties and then they were sent for honeymoon. honeymoon! yeah, used to do it. with the advent of independence,

the power and influence of india's royal rulers was coming to an end. come partition, the muslim nawab wanted to makejunagadh part of the newly created islamic pakistan. even though the town is more than 80% hindu and hundreds of kilometres from the border. infuriated, the new indian government rallied its troops. the news started coming that the army is coming, huge tanks and trucks and jeeps and artillery and guns and everything is there. junagadh state was besieged on three sides also. an economic blockade was ordered,

cutting off supplies of foot and resources into the region. eventually, junagadh acceded to india and the nawab fled to pakistan. yet to this day, 70 years on, his great—grandson still lays claim to junagadh. and the episode lingers as a reminder of the last days of the raj in india. and 65 kilometres down the road, the nawab‘s legacy as an animal lover extraordinaire continues, with the most regal of creatures. lions may have iconic status here. they're a royal symbol. they're in hindu mythology. at the beginning of the last century, they were threatened with extinction. i'm going somewhere now,

which is the only natural abode of the asiatic lion. these lions are smaller and paler than their african relatives. and these are their modern day protectors, india's first female forest rangers, the so—called lion queens. now they're part of a team that performs more than mall rescues than any other wildlife park in the world. on average, the unarmed rangers cover 25 kilometres a day and have to tackle venomous snakes,

leopards and poachers as well as lions. if they did get agitated, how would you be able to tell from the animal? how would you know if you're safe or not being this close to the animal? and it did get dangerous early on in her career here. applications from women for these posts have rocketed and the rangers are role models and trail blazers in the region today. look, look at that mouth! the good news is that from once being in danger of extinction numbers have climbed to over 500.

but next week, i head to the north—east of the country. i'm on the banks of the mighty river and about to go to a very spiritual place. the amount of people crammed on here as well — it's going to be an experience! a region that prides itself on tradition and creativity. and a passionate desire to protect this unique part of the world forfuture generations. good evening.

it is a cold and a frosty night out there across all parts of the country, particularly across parts of scotland where we could see one of the coldest nights of the winter so far. sunday is set to be another very cold day. we have clear skies which is set to bring us a good deal of sunshine by day, but dawn could well look something like this. a lot of sharp frost around, the potential for temperatures close to —15 degrees across the sheltered glens of scotland. so a very cold start with some icy stretches to watch out for as well. a lot of sunshine on offer, though, as we move through the day on sunday. let's look at the morning. it's across the rural glens of scotland that we will have the coldest temperatures, as i say, potentially close to —15. around about —8 eight by 9am. a few showers for the northern isles of scotland. down across northern ireland and northern england, lots of sparkling sunshine, frosty — watch out for some icy stretches, particularly where we have had some showers. there could still be a few showers

across the north—east of england. a lot of dry, sunny weather towards the south—east. just a little bit of cloud drifting around. bit of wind chill with the brisk north—easterly winds across southern england and wales, too. but through the day, it is looking dry, fine and settled after that cold, frosty and icy morning. there will be a lot of sunshine on offer for most places. quite breezy, i think, in the far south, and also for the northern isles of scotland with one or two showers. elsewhere, dry, but temperatures only between around about zero to six degrees for most of us. sunday also ending on a cold note. another very cold night ahead sunday night and on into monday morning. if you're heading to work during the early hours of monday, do watch out for some icy stretches forming once again on the roads because even in towns and cities, the temperatures will be down below freezing. just a little milder along the south coast because we will have a bit more cloud filtering in here through monday morning.

and that's going to be a theme for monday. the cloud in the south will nudge its way further northwards, so clouding over, i think, for parts of east anglia, the midlands into wales later on in the day. it will still cold where you have the cloud around, too. lots of sunshine and northern england, scotland and northern ireland, too. fairly light winds across much of the country. another largely dry day, 2—6, but that cloud just thick enough potentially for a little bit of drizzle along the south coast. and then eventually, we lose the blue colours, the cold air mass, and we'll see something a little milder creeping in from the atlantic as we head through monday night and into tuesday, too, with eventually some wet weather arriving in the west. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. i'm duncan golestani. the east coast of north america is shivering in a record—breaking freeze. it comes after a massive snow storm that reached as far south as florida.

in parts of the us, temperatures are forecast to fall below minus 30 degrees celsius. the extreme weather has so far been linked to up to 19 deaths in the us and two more in canada. andrew plant reports. a new year, a new low for north america's east coast, bracing itself against subzero temperatures and several inches of snow. it is those who live outside who are now the most vulnerable to a weather event exceptionally rare. in chicago, the thermometers are still falling. those on the streets, encouraged to come inside.