central city building were struck in central city of dnipro. here in the uk, up to 20,000 workers on the rmt union are on strike. it is part of a long—running dispute on pay, jobs and working conditions. around half the usual services are expected to run across the network. donald trump has told a gathering of republicans that he is the only candidate who can win next year's collection, and he suggested this is the reason he faces a range of criminal and civil charges. mrtrump faces a range of criminal and civil charges. mr trump was addressing a party fundraiser in iowa with other presidential hopefuls. now on bbc news, 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 which 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 cystals. 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 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, 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 was disrupted over 75 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, the sand. 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 is what you might call the glamping quarters. 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 regional 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. it's a day to day practice. one person plays two flutes at the same time? yes, yes.

now, for example, 500 kettles are there and only one zephyr is there. he will sit below a tree and start playing this and whatever this musical notes, the kettles will not go out this 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. was 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!

like you! so here we are, the ancient fortified city ofjunagadh, 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 with all the pomp and splendour of a princely wedding. harish was ten in 1916 and recalls the splendour of the ceremony.

archive: escorted by the royal guard, the bride groom drivesl through the streets. before him, there's a costly profusion of wedding gifts. i 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.

the important thing is that, the formal photograph of his highness. the nawab's own most legendary indulgence was was his love of animals. 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, 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. the nawab band to hunting. these [ions 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 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? 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. the next murch 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 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. hello.

thanks forjoining me, let's have a look at the weather for the next ten days or so. july has been very unsettled and very wet in many parts of the country, and if we have a look at the computer models for the next ten days, they are looking like further unsettled welter, —— weather, with a strong jet stream joining us in low pressure is expected to come our way. low pressure is just to the north—west of the british isles on our satellite picture, and further weather systems developing just off the coast of canada. here is that jet stream over the next few days. it is sweeping right across the atlantic, and broadly speaking it separates that colder air from the northern climes to the warmer air across the south. it is this temperature gradient the difference that drives this jet stream. and, of course, thejet that drives this jet stream. and, of course, the jet stream sweeps the weather systems, develops these low

pressures, and this is a leather fat and notjust across the uk, but indeed europe. you can see how dry and sunny the weather is across the south, where is here in central and northern parts of europe, we have the rain. some of that in europe will be from thunderstorms, but from us it will be from weather system sweeping across the way. look at the rain fell on till about the 27th of july. in northern ireland, we had 184% of july. in northern ireland, we had 181i% of the average, and england about i63%, 181i% of the average, and england abouti63%, but 181i% of the average, and england about i63%, but from one region to another that varies greatly. in the north—west of the country, it has been even wetter than that. let's have a look at the forecast for the weekend. sunny spells and scattered showers. he was that area of low pressure sweeping across the uk. that also means fairly blustery conditions. this is a picture around lunchtime. let's start with the morning. not particularly cold, temperatures will be around 12 to 15 celsius, and already in the morning some of us will be waking up to a scattering of showers, but also

plenty of sunshine around as well. here's the low centre. brisk winds on the southern flank of this area of low pressure, quite gusty around some of these western coasts. the heaviest is summer showers will form across northern ireland, parts of scotland and northern england. if you live in the south and the south—east, i think that is where the best of the weather will be. the cricket, it does look like there's a chance of showers pretty much every day, and of course it is scheduled until monday. as a look at the forecast for saturday. here is that jet stream once again and another area of low pressure waiting in the wings, this time extensive cloud sweeping into western and south—western parts of the country early on sunday morning. rain and drizzle, murky around the coast, but not everywhere. across scotland there will be some sunshine in aberdeen, not looking bad for the borders and the north—east of england. that sunday, here is the outlook for the week ahead, or next week that is. temperatures typically

around the low 20s across the south of the countries, the high teens in the north, and from the weather icons, you gathered the weather will be quite changeable with frequent showers. as we head into early august, yes, briefly high pressure will pay us a visit. that does mean sunnier, warmer weather, will pay us a visit. that does mean sunnier, warmerweather, but will pay us a visit. that does mean sunnier, warmer weather, but then very quickly low pressure will once again sweep in to bring us yet more unsettled weather.

live from london, this is bbc news. president zelensky visits advanced positions near the hotspot of bakhmut as ukraine ramps up its counter—offensive against russia. much of britain's railways are at a standstill. staff walk out again in a long—running dispute over pay,

jobs and working conditions. numbers of tigers have risen in bhutan the first time a decade. president zelensky has been visiting ukraine's special forces near the hotspot of bakhmut, as kyiv ramps up its counter—offensive. mr zelensky praised the troops. he said he had travelled to meet them to another strength. the city has been some of the fiercest fighting in the war and a security building were struck by missiles in

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