of peace talks on ukraine, but he also said it was hard to implement a ceasefire with ukraine on the offensive. here in the uk, the prime minister has ordered the department for transport to review existing so—called low—traffic neighbourhood schemes, which seek to reduce the numbers of cars using streets in some residential areas. rishi sunak says he wanted to show drivers that he was on their side. 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 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. 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 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 go and see how they actually make these things. apparently, each of these takes about 2.5 years to make.

for many of the workers shipbuilding 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. there'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 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 india—pakistan 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 white crystals. 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 three—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 couple of months 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 of 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 these musical notes, the kettles will not go out this afternoon 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're very well—paid. 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'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. 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 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. 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 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, and nawabs, powerful and wealthy men. there was one here, a nawab who made a decision 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 the eldest son j of the nawab with 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 drivesl 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 huntley 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. but 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, 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 banned hunting. 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 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 trailblazers 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 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 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.

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hello. well, the weather started off so bright and sunny in many parts of the uk and now it's mostly going downhill. it's very disappointing. the outlook for the week ahead, cool, rain at times, surprise, surprise. if i move out of the way, i want to show you this daisy chain of weather systems sweeping across the atlantic and you know where they're heading, heading straight for us. and the reason for it is this jet stream, which is also pointing right at us. and in fact, at times it will be south of us, which means that cooler air will be streaming in from the north. back to the here and now, though, through the course of the afternoon, we will see this weather front extending across ireland into wales, many parts of england, too, so progressively it's just going to get wetter and wetter. but the best of the weather will remain across parts of scotland and especially northeastern areas, so some sunshine there for aberdeen.

but look at the second half of the afternoon and into the evening hours, it's murky, it's cloudy, it turns blustery, drizzly, lots of hill fog. outbreaks of rain at times will be quite heavy, but it is going to be a very warm night, 17 in cardiff, but much fresher there in the north east of scotland where the skies will be clearer. and then monday is going to be overall an overcast day, some sunny spells, too, but it will be very blustery, rain at times. if you're popping out during the day, take a brolly, it really could rain almost at any time during the course of the afternoon. sunny spells, i think, most likely across some southern and southwestern parts of the country. but remember, that wind will be noticeable and that's how monday evening is looking as well, a lot of cloud with outbreaks of rain. and tuesday, a bit of a lull in the weather. yes, a few showers in the forecast and yes, more weather systems coming our way. but we're ahead of that weather system, in between weather fronts, if you like. so i think it'll feel a little bit warmer and there'll be some sunshine. and then on wednesday and into thursday, another low pressure sweeps

across us, delivering a northerly wind eventually, which will make it feel pretty cool. in fact, temperatures — look at that in the south of the country, 18 degrees, which is around four to five degrees below the average for the time of the year in the warmest of spots. that's it, bye—bye.

live from london. this is bbc news. president putin praises the might of russia's navy. but doesn't dismiss the idea of peace talks over ukraine. the leaders of the coup in niger say their regional neighbours could be about to stage an imminent military intervention. the uk's prime minister insists he's on the side of car—drivers, he wants �*anti—motorist�* measures reviewed.

and in the women's world cup, colombia stun germany with a shock late win. hello, i'm mark lobel. welcome to the programme. we start this hour with some breaking news. at least 20 people are reported to have been killed in a blast during a rally organised by an islamist party in north—west pakistan. dozens of people have been injured in the explosion in bajaur district. pictures show ambulances ferrying injured people to hospitals. it's not immediately clear what caused the explosion. security forces have cordoned off the area. with more on this let's cross to the newsroom and our south asia editor, anbarasan ethirajan. the details have just emerged.

the details havejust emerged. do you know any more?