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

for the next part of myjourney, i'm heading to the south—east of gujarat, to the town ofjunagadh.ion. 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. 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. they 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. do you know everyone on this carriage? yeah. yeah, from the train journey? yeah, trainjourney, train friends. you're the train friends, excellent. you have a community. is it lucky to have a seat on the train? yes. very lucky. she's very lucky. like you. like me! so here we are, the ancient, fortified city of junagadh, crowded and noisy, as i expected. let's go explore.

i began in gujarat, in the far west. this is genuinely incredible. i'm in heaven. it's pretty crowded. and this week i have travelled 2,000 miles over to the north—east. i am on the banks of the mighty river brahmaputra and i am about to go to a very spiritual place. it is one of india's lesser—known regions. we're really high up, and just to my right is the border with bangladesh. a part of the country that prides itself on its traditions. he makes it look so easy. but it's incredibly difficult. but it is also looking forward and embracing progress. so now i am on my way to go and see assam's very own eco—warrior. it is going to be an incredible adventure. india's north—east. a collection of eight states almost cut off from the rest of this vast country, but for a tiny strip of land. at partition, a large swathe of the region was sectioned off to become east pakistan which later became bangladesh, leaving the indian area landlocked. it is geographically and culturally out on a limb. this is frontier country, little known to tourists and other indians alike. they c

the state of gujarat is known for being colorful this reputation comes from its traditional textile industry and the vibrant fabrics and prints used to make the garments. a signature textile here is by dick a method of dying cloth using vax in patent areas the most famous practitioners of this craft are the company community. 38 year old shaquille is the 5th generation of his family to continue this elegant tradition. who are dzhokhar never incest or splitted greens they would use fruits from the blue tree the are from the seeds of these roots is what they use. all the colors of their natural. like indigo black from iron rust or yellow from. there did not have too many colors to choose from back then limited. use now it is hard work everything is done using racks we have been using it because of market demand we have to work with many more colors and designs. but it god has been struggling to survive in today's competent market but a few artisans are keen to revive the art in its original form they're choosing to go organic a decision that's meeting the very real and persistent problem in th

hundreds of migrant workers stranded in the western india state of gujarat have fought with police.] barbara: workers from across india have stuck in the city since covid-19 restrictions began in late march. they say the government has not provided them with the food and train tickets home that they initially promised. government leaders say doctors need time to check infections first. scientists have made a major breakthrough in the fight against malaria. they have found that a microbe that prevents mosquitoes from being infected with the disease actually stops them from than infecting humans. the microbe is known as microsporidia mb and it lives in the guts and genitals of mosquitoes. researchers could not find malaria and any of the mosquitoes carrying the microbe. more than 400,000 people are killed by malaria each year, most children under five. it is thought at least 40% of mosquitoes in an area would need to be infected with the microbe to have a serious impact. earlier, i spoke to research scientists at the international center of insect physiology and ecology. he led the st

the largest spike came in the western states of maharashtra and gujarat, two of india's richest regionsn which has been given for the rise in cases which has actually been steady now for the past four days, the number is much higher than what we have seen earlier and of course the last 24 hours, a dramatic increase of more than 2,000 cases in one day. the highest so far. and the reason being given is an increase in testing. now, india has been appreciated for implementing a lockdown very early into the spread of the pandemic, but criticised for one of the lowest testing levels across the world. so now, as the testing levels are being increased, the numbers are also increasing. the health ministry, which does a press conference every day, almost every day, has been asserting that the curve has been flattening. they have also said that the recovery rate is much better, but, as we can now see, the deaths have suddenly started climbing up, ironically, as india has started to ease its lockdown. let's get a round up of some more coronavirus news. research by french doctors has suggested that

there were more than four thousand new infections with the worst affected areas in maharashtra and gujarat states. you are watching bbc news now. let's take a look back at today's downing street briefing, which was led by the foreign secretary, dominic raab and the deputy chief scientific adviser angela mclean. good afternoon. i'm joined by professor mclean chief scientific professor. first let me give an update on the latest data that we have unk rotavirus. i can report that through the governments ongoing monitoring testing problem as of today they have now been i million 83 , 842 test today they have now been i million 83,842 test for coronavirus across the uk including 85,806 test yesterday. we know that 195,900 thousand people have tested positive. that's an increase of 5506 cases sent yesterday. and of those who have tested positive 29,000 500 27 have very sadly died. and our hearts go out to everyone who was lost a loved on throughout the coronavirus challenge. we continue to see evidence of a flattening of the peak of this virus. but as the figures that i read out show it's not ove

hundreds of migrant workers stranded in the western indian state of gujarat her fault with police. well the last india have been stuck in the city of seward since covert 19 restrictions began in late march they say the government hasn't provided them with promised food and train tickets home government leaders say doctors need time to check for infections 1st. the hardest hit country in the middle east is reopening some mosques but iran's capital tehran remains a virus hotspot president hassan rouhani says social distancing is more important than collective prayer same as in the capital. iran's government announced the names of more than $100.00 towns and cities across the country that they now consider safe or white zones these are places that health officials say have seen a dramatic drop in the rate of infection of the coronavirus mosques have the green light to go ahead and reopen their doors and in some cases friday prayer congregations will also go back to normal but it has to be said these are small population centers in a very big country to iran still one of the worst affe

hundreds of right grunt workers stranded in the western indian state of gujarat have fought with police. 5 workers from across india have been stuck in the city of surat since covert 1000 restrictions began in late march they say the government hasn't provided them with the food and train tickets home they initially promised government leaders say doctors need time to check for infections 1st. brazil's amazon region has become the new frontline in the battle against covert 19 infections are rising quickly leaving hospitals overwhelmed in the city of run outs the president terrible scenario continues to downplay the pandemic alison grimes reports the face mask is projected in the statue of christ the redeemer the symbol of religion nato it's a call for awareness as the number of coronavirus cases keep rising across brazil. yes president. who has been marking the disease from the start keeps hugging and shaking hands with allies and supporters. on sunday he once again led a protest in the capital brasilia against stay at home measures ordered by local governors as he fights against accusa