fierce fighting is reported in the northern afghan city of kunduz, where government forces are trying to push back taliban militants. a taliban spokesman said their fighters were inching towards the centre of the city. thousands of residents and tourists have been evacuated from towns north of athens, as wildfires spread across greece. two people are known to have died, and at least 20 others have been injured. the latest changes to britain's travel restrictions have come into force. seven countries including germany have been added to the green list — meaning that anyone who returns from there doesn't have to quarantine. at the tokyo olympics, lauren price has won great britain's 22nd gold medal. the welsh boxer defeated li qian of china to become middleweight champion.

now on bbc news, there's another chance to enjoy the first part of rajan datar�*s epic journey across india in the travel show. india. a vast country, home to over a billion people, birthplace of illustrious ancient civilisations and today, a fast emerging global power. 70 years after independence, india is still a diverse, ever—evolving assortment of cultures, creeds, religions and languages. heading off the well—worn tourist path, we're on a journey that spans this vast subcontinent from east to west. travelling from one of the driest places on earth... it is quite incredible, the sand. it's just crystal, hard crystals. white salt. you can probably taste it.

..to one of the wettest. these are areas really for the adventurous traveller. this isn't india on tap. i'm on a quest to find out how history, religion and politics have shaped india. and also, meet the people who call this intriguing and sometimes overwhelming country �*home�*. it's going to be an amazing journey. for thousands of years, india found its riches and influence through international trade. at the heart of this enterprise was the sea. and the state of gujarat, with a thousand miles of coastline, served as a shipping gateway to africa, arabia and beyond.

this is as far west as you can get in india. 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, 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 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 dhows 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 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 bujh. its glory days are kind of over. it was badly hit by the 2001 earthquake.

it's a kind of melancholy, i suppose, about this area. 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 burj�*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, grocery. you see all sorts of community, all cultural background can be seen in one marketplace. here, as you can see, they're like all different community, ethnic groups comes 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, 500 years, since they migrated down south into kutch into an area which is now pakistan. 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 them 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 india—pakistan border is, which 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 of kutch,

which continues into pakistan. i wanted to get up closer to this natural wonder. it's quite incredible, this sand. it's just crystals, it's 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 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 other activities, and just here, what you might call the glamping headquarters. 50,000 people have come here in the last couple of months alone. i guess this is like a cross between a weekend festival and a holiday resort. it's basically 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 kutch culture boosted by the festival has been a lifeline for one group of locals in particular — folk musicians. now, 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. it is practice. one person plays two flutes at the same time? yes, yes. now, for example, 500 kettles are there and only one zither is there. what he will do is he will sit below a tree, start playing this and whatever this musical notes, the kettles will not go out of that range. wow. and they enjoy the music, so the milk output increases. this is the beauty of it. 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 are very well—paid. music and singing and not only do i get a demonstration, but also the privilege of playing along... music and singing continues ..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'm telling you till today, in spiritual, in music forms, hindus and muslims, they sit together and perform till today. music and singing continues

for the next part of myjourney, i'm heading to the south—east of gujarat, to the town ofjunagadh. ah, 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 that 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. horn blares ah, this feels imminent! who knows when this was made, this train. it looks pretty damn old to me! but, wow, look at that! horn blares 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. all sing 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. singing continues you know everyone on this carriage? yeah. yeah, from the train journey? trainjourney, yeah. ah! train friends. you are 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 — ok! like you! like me? so here we are, the ancient fortified city ofjunagadh. horn blares 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 mahabat maqbara, 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 and nawabs, powerful and wealthy men. there was one such character here, who made decisions which still has ramifications for relations between india and pakistan, even today.

these nawabs led lavish lifestyles, in stark contrast to ordinary indians. the nawab ofjunagadh, muhammad mahabat khanji iii, was no different. archive: the state celebrates the marriage of all the pomp l and splendour of a princely wedding. one man would be sitting on the... harish was ten in 1946 and recalls the splendour of the ceremony. archive: escorted by the royal guard, the bride groom drivesl in state through the streets. before him in the procession is 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 one huntly and palmer biscuit. important thing is that the formal photograph of his highness, mahabat khanji iii. the nawab's own most legendary indulgence was was his love of animals. his main hobby was for dogs. he was mad after dogs. 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. sent for a honeymoon! yeah, he used to do it! horns blare

with the advent of independence, the power and influence of india's royal rulers was coming to an end. horns blare 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 army is coming. in his compound, 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 food 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. but 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. the nawab preserved large tracts

of this forest and banned hunting. the asiatic lions are smaller and more pale than their african relatives. and these are their modern—day protectors — india's first female forest rangers, the so—called �*lion queens of gir�*. now they're part of a team that performs more animal 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?

and it did get dangerous forjayshree 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. oh, look! look at that mouth! the good news is that from once being in danger of extinction, numbers have climbed to over 500. the next much more welcome problem is if the sanctuary is actually big enough for their growing population. so the first part of my travels across india come to a close. but next week, i head to the north—east of the country. i'm on the banks of the mighty brahmaputra river and about to go to a very spiritual place. and 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.

hello, hello everyone. i hope you're doing all right.

with a presence of heavy showers across much of the uk today and sunny spells, you mightjust catch a rainbow out there and although that sounds quite nice, some of the showers won't be. as with yesterday, slow—moving, heavy, thundery downpours, so and the reason why we're seeing these is down to this area of low pressure. now, very slowly this is moving towards the north, and in doing so, i think some southern parts of the uk should see something a bit brighter and drier today. the south east seeing some sunshine initially and some scotland as well. then the showers swirling around that low, i think will reach most parts. but as with yesterday, some sunny spells in between. quite windy at times, especially across southern parts, thanks to the low again. and today's top temperatures, well, nothing too dazzling, between 18 and 20 celsius. as we head through towards this evening, the low pressure is still with us, introducing further, heavy, slow—moving showers. some of these, as you can see, bunching together into longer more prolonged spells of rain and through today and this evening, some of them

could to localised flooding. more in the way of drier weather starting to creep in, though. temperatures tonight down to 13 or 14 celsius. tomorrow, the low pressure is still nearby and is still likely to introduce more of those showers a couple of weather fronts drift across the uk which in turn will bring some spells of rain across southern parts, you can see one here draped across northern ireland, the north of england, into southern parts of scotland. these will bring showers and more of those showers will tend to build through the day. but i think many of us, especially across parts of england and wales, will more of that see sunshine and brightness tomorrow and those top temperatures, as you can see, in a similar sort of place, may be getting to 19 or 20 celsius at best. now, as we cast an eye upon tuesday, the low is slowly creeping away from us, and we have a little ridge of high pressure trying to build, so, a better day.

this is en route, however, another weather front will swing towards us as we head towards wednesday. introducing some rain into northern ireland, western parts of scotland at first — it looks like we will see it moving across more eastern parts of the uk. again introducing cloud and some rain as well. temperatures potentially climbing just a touch as we head through the middle of this week, but it looks like things are likely to turn a bit less settled once more as we look towards the end of this week. we'll keep you posted, of course. that's the forecast. stay safe, see you soon.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. on the final day of the olympics, lauren price wins the women's middleweight final — becoming the first welsh boxer to claim olympic gold. another golden moment for team gb cyclistjason kenny, making him the country's most decorated olympian. i couldn't believe that no one can pass. ifelt like i was i couldn't believe that no one can pass. i felt like i was standing still. i kept telling myself even if one comes it is still a medal, and thenit one comes it is still a medal, and then it is a bloody gold medal. american bombers launch air strikes on taliban fighters who'd taken the afghan city of sheberghan,

more than 200 are killed. new changes to the uk's covid travel restrictions