welcome to bbc news. i'm gareth barlow. our top stories: president xijinping travels to hong kong to mark the 25th anniversary of the british handover. prime minister borisjohnson says china must be held to commitments made about the former colony. on the 25th anniversary of the handover, we simply cannot avoid the fact that for some time now, beijing has been failing to comply with its obligations. the us supreme court deals a major blow to efforts to tackle climate change, with a ruling that limits government powers to cut greenhouse gas emissions. as nato leaders wrap up their summit in madrid, president biden says the united states and its allies will stick with ukraine

for as long as it takes. and, temperatures in japan are at the highest in nearly 150 years. now fears the electricity grid could be overwhelmed. hong kong is marking 25 years since britain handed over control of the territory to china. xijinping, china's president, has been in the city to celebrate the event. this was the scene at the railway station as mr xi arrived. he was greeted by the outgoing chief executive carrie lam, who he credits for stopping what he called "chaos and violence" in the territory. her time in office saw the erosion of civil liberties and the crushing of huge pro—democracy protests. speaking ahead of the

anniversary, the british prime minister, borisjohnson, accused beijing of failing to meet the commitments it made in 1997 to respect hong kong's freedoms. on the 25th anniversary of the handover, we simply cannot avoid the fact that, for some time now, beijing has been failing to comply with its obligations. it is a state of affairs that threatens both the rights and freedoms of hong kongers and the continued progress and prosperity of their home. but we're not giving up on hong kong. 25 years ago, we made a promise to the territory and its people, and we intend to keep it, doing all we can to hold china to its commitments so that hong kong is once again run by the people of hong kong for the people of hong kong. this is the scene live now in hong kong. dignitaries have gathered waiting for the

various events for taking place during the day, including the new leader, the former policeman due to be inaugurated. that will happen shortly. in the next hour, hong kong's new leader, john lee, a former policeman, is due to be inaugurated. let's cross live to our reporter martin yip now. we heard comments from president xijinping, and one of them he said that after the storms, hong kong has been reborn by fire and what does exactly mean by that what will he say later on?— he say later on? very likely, but pretty — he say later on? very likely, but pretty much _ he say later on? very likely, but pretty much the - he say later on? very likely, but pretty much the main i but pretty much the main interpretation is that he's referring to what happened in 2019, the anti—government protests brought on by the proposed amendment to the extradition law in hong kong, which has died down in 2020, first because of the covid—19 pandemic, and then because of

the proclamation by beijing of the proclamation by beijing of the hong kong national security lord which stopped many activities and literally poured activities and literally poured a bucket of water, you could say, on the fire of this raging pro—democracy movement —— the security law. in beijing's point of view, hong kong is raising again by the ashes, as described by the president, and developing in the way, the communist party has described it as opening up the way for hong kong. and this is likely what we can deduce from the president's words. right now, any moment now, from where i am from the convention & exhibition centre in the distance, in a speech to follow the inauguration, very likely

to be after the inauguration ceremony, we would be likely to hear more insight on what beijing wants hong kong wants to do, along the line of patriots to rule hong kong. because hong kong is tied to the one country, two systems principle and the way of ruling, it is very likely he'll be talking about taiwan as well but we will have to wait and see until the specs. a rather generic expectation you would say, i'm what he may be speaking about in 30 minutes time. , , , time. this is president xi jinping's _ time. this is president xi jinping's first— time. this is president xi jinping's first visit - time. this is president xi jinping's first visit and i time. this is president xi jinping's first visit and it | jinping's first visit and it has been carrie lam's previously but what can we expect from john lee and his time in office?—

time in office? john lee is a lifetime policeman - time in office? john lee is a lifetime policeman and - lifetime policeman and questions from and about service and about how much experience he has on things not related to security, like the economy. we are already hearing members from his cabinet talk about border control around covid—i9 based on western business communities because we have been locked down for so long but also they could be further national security legislation going on as promised by the local government after beijing has amended their law. government after bei'ing has amended their law._ government after bei'ing has amended their law. the biden administration has condemned a supreme court ruling which curbs the us government's power to limit carbon emissions from coal—fired power stations. all six members of the conservative majority in the supreme court backed the landmark ruling,

which marks a victory for the coal industry. from washington, here's our north america editor sarah smith. in california today, wildfires burning out of control are a vivid reminder of the urgent need to take action on climate change. america is a large part of the problem — the second—biggest emitter of greenhouse gas in the world after china, but also a victim. you can see from the water line above the vast lake mead how much it has shrunk in recent years, impacting the water supply for millions of people in the south—west. president biden came into office pledging to lead a global effort to reduce carbon emissions, promising at the cop summit in glasgow last year to lead by example. will we act? will we do what is necessary? will we seize the enormous opportunity before us or will we condemn future generations to suffer? future generations may not thank the us supreme court for a decision today that restricts the federal government's ability to regulate energy producers.

the supreme court ruling makes it much harderforjoe biden to try to meet his climate change goals. the court has decided the environmental protection agency does not have the authority to impose carbon limits, unless there is new legislation coming from congress, and that's something joe biden knows he just does not have enough votes to get passed. coal lies at the heart of the problem. america still relies heavily on this most polluting fossilfuel to keep the lights on. the supreme court case was brought by 19, mostly republican, states that were worried they could be forced to move away from using coal to generate electricity. those are states that contribute an outside share of america's carbon emissions, and have done little so far to reduce them. california's majestic landscape is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. a democrat—run state, it's spending billions — more than most countries — to protect the environment but that effort will be undermined by today's supreme court ruling. the idea that the us supreme court moved to take away one of

the most significant and historically powerful tools to address the ravages of climate change is incomprehensible. in the states that won this case, they are celebrating a ruling that gives them a right to make their own rules on carbon emissions, rather than be told what to do by washington. and they say it will prevent a rise in the price of electricity. the united nations secretary general�*s spokesman says they're disappointed by the move. while it is not our role to provide legal commentary on judicial decisions of individual member states, just more generally, i can say that this is a set back in ourfight against climate change, when we are already far off track in meeting the goals of the paris agreement. the secretary general has said repeatedly that the g20 must lead the way in dramatically stepping up climate action. noah diffenbaugh is an american climate

scientist and professor at stanford university. he told us more about the impact of fossil fuels on climate change. not only is global warming happening but the climate is changing, extreme events are intensifying and we have very clear evidence now that those changes are already impacting people and ecosystems, from the equator, to the poles, in the ocean, on land, on the coast, at the coast, in the tops of mountains, and it is costing us. it is costing billions of dollars a year, it is exacerbating economic inequality, and it's harming ecosystems around the world. so, we have very clear evidence that this is notjust a problem for the future, it is a challenge for the present, and the more global warming we have in the future, the more those impacts will intensify, and we know that global warming is going to be determined by the amount of emissions. in a time of electric cars, hydrogen fuel cell technology,

wind turbines, photovoltex excels, this argument is all about coal. why are we still arguing about coal in 2022? about 80% of the world's energy supply is fossil fuels right now. we have a very large global population and a growing population and the reality is, is that there are very large fractions of that population that live in energy property, that do not have the energy resources necessary for human wellbeing. what we have now, in terms of the level of just tremendous wellbeing that we have around the world for those who do have it, it has been fuelled by fossil fuel. so, the default is fossil fuels. they are very effective at supplying energy. they also have a number of side effects. one of them is climate change. there's also a lot a air pollution and health impacts, water pollution and the health impacts of that water pollution as well. there are side effects

of fossil fuel. so it really is a balance between the benefits of energy access and the impacts on the environment, and the impacts on people. tackling climate change has been a key pillar for joe biden. he got the us to go back into the paris climate accord on the first day of his presidency. what can he do now? what can the white house do now as a result of this ruling to try and limit emissions? there's lots that the executive branch does to enact the laws of congress, and there are also other laws of congress, and there are laws that are on the books, and there's laws under consideration, so, clearly, there's both the opportunities that remain within the current laws that are on the books, and there's a question of what new regulations and incentives congress passes and a number of those — a number of new previsions

have been proposed by the biden administration in the legislation that they have put forward. it is also important to note that the state are also important actors here, not only california, but there are many states that are already — have very ambitious goals in terms of not only the electricity sector, across the transportation and other emitting sectors, and then there are non—state actors. i am here sitting in my university office, my own university has a goal of reaching net zero emissions both in its investment, its endowment, as well as in operations, so, we're seeing it at multiple levels. the federal government is very important, it is not the only level that is important, but this is certainly — today the options for the biden administration are more limited than they were yesterday.

some live pictures now from hong kong and president xi jinping hasjust arrived hong kong and president xi jinping has just arrived and hong kong and president xi jinping hasjust arrived and he is overseeing the new inauguration of the chief executive of the city, john lee, a former policeman taking overfrom carrie lam, he was in powerfor the overfrom carrie lam, he was in power for the last x years, happening on the anniversary of the hand overfrom hong kong to china, 25 years ago. —— for the last five years. —— the last six years. nato leaders have pledged more financial aid and weapons for ukraine. the alliance also renewed calls for president putin to end the invasion. nato's secretary general, jens stoltenberg, insisted that ukraine must prevail as an independent state.

here's our political editor, chris mason. salisbury plain, usually a place where british troops train. now, those in ukrainian uniforms are here, too, being taught how to use the weapons and equipment being given to them by the uk. this as the prime minister, at the end of the nato summit in madrid, promised more money to help ukraine further. the best way for us to win the argument around the world about our values is for the ukrainians to win. and that's why i'm pleased today that we've announced another billion pounds�* worth of military support. so, prime minister, what is the overall objective of the uk's help and strategy for ukraine? we want to give them the means to repel the russians, to expel the russians from the territory that they have occupied, because that is the right thing under international law. this gathering of the world's

biggest defence alliance has had a sense of urgency — even emergency. an invasion in europe, a hostile russia, an ongoing war without obvious end — huge human suffering, profound global economic consequences. president putin has been meeting his allies in turkmenistan. his decision to go to war in ukraine has spooked others close to russia's borders. for years, sweden and finland felt sufficiently safe to be neutral. no longer — russia's aggression means they're joining nato. translation: we don't - have a problem with sweden and finland, as we do with ukraine. ukraine and its people's well—being is not the aim of nato or the west, it's just a means to defend their own interests. the prime minister has spent the last few days urging other countries to commit more to defence spending, while facing criticism at home that the british army is shrinking.

nice to meet you. how are you doing? he's also faced criticism from the scottish and welsh gvernments, who feel while helping ukraine is noble, they've been pickpocketed by the government at westminster to help pay for it. but he's set a big long—term goal, saying by the end of the decade, the money allocated to defence will rise to 2.5% of national income — much more than most other countries. chris mason reporting. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: —— there is plenty more to come. china marked its first day of rule in hong kong with a series of spectacular celebrations. a huge fireworks display was held in the former colony. the chinese president, jiang zemin, said unification was the start of a new era for hong kong. the world's first clone has been produced of an adult mammal.

scientists in scotland have produced a sheep called dolly that was cloned in a laboratory using a cell from another sheep. for the first time in 20 years, russian and american spacecraft have docked in orbit at the start of a new era of cooperation in space. tennis balls thwack cheering and applause challenger powered past the bishop rock lighthouse at almost 50 knots, shattering a record that had stood for 3h years, and there was no hiding the sheer elation of richard branson and his crew. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: hong kong is marking 25 years since the handover of the former british colony. chinese president xijinping is attending the inauguration of the new chief executive.

let's stay with that and return to events in hong kong. for a better insight into what xi jinping's visit today spells for the city and for some of china's neighbours, let's turn to ho—fung hung, a professor of political economy at thejohn hopkins university in baltimore. professor, thank you so much forjoining us. what do we take from xijinping's visit forjoining us. what do we take from xi jinping's visit to hong kong. what does it tell us about china's level of control over the territory and also beijing's contentment with that level of control? it's the 25th year anniversary of the hong kong handover and it's an important landmark and also, after the uprising in 2019 and the national security law in 2020, xijinping is very much interested in showing that now, hong kong is back to stability and beijing has full

control of hong kong now and as many chinese scholars and visual media have been talking about a second return of hong kong. first return in was the formal return but opposition is still around and people are not very loyal to beijing and now, the return of the general agree for genuine and substantive return of hong kong, xijinping is trying to retain his historical status as important as done shopping was the first formal return of hong kong and also he definitely wanted to throw his support over the new government and urge them to facilitate the revival of the hongkonger khonry which is not in very good shape. what does president xi position and stands towards hong kong signal for taiwan, for example? definitely in the beginning when china cracked down on hong

kong after 1997, there was a lot of discussion about whether it should make for taiwan people more hesitant in accepting beijing olive branch in striking a deal but after 2019 uprising and after national security law, 2019 uprising and after nationalsecurity law, i 2019 uprising and after national security law, i don't think beijing cares about the timeline reaction anymore and they would judge that, taiwan people are not very enthusiastic with the reunification anyway so they are really preparing in full force, in the military ork was a military option, in solving the taiwan question and so when taiwan take control, i don't think they care too much about taiwan reaction anymore. you mentioned — taiwan reaction anymore. you mentioned there _ taiwan reaction anymore. you mentioned there hong kong fully in control. it's been 25 years since it re—entered beijing's

sphere of influence. the last two and three years since 2019 and those protests you mention have been far more turbulent. do we expect to see more control over the territory or do you think beijing is happy with things as they stand? from a bei'ina with things as they stand? from a beijing perspective, _ with things as they stand? from a beijing perspective, control. a beijing perspective, control is a relative matter and they are always paranoid or anxious about any pockets or hidden space of resistance so they still feel very insecure about the possibility that resistance might flare—up so we can see the tight security measure that they take when xi jinping is visiting and they close down all of the roads and block off whole regions of hong kong and so, they really don't take any chance and definitely, by putting john lee with kind of the security police background as the next chief, the new chief executive, which is

unprecedented not only in hong kong but even in local leaders in chinese province and cities, to have somebody having a security background to be the leader of the local area shows that they are still anxious about the possibility of resistance flaring up, which is possible very well, in the long run, so they will definitely double down in increasing the control of hong kong so that hong kong people and also revamping the universities, high schools, school curriculum to make sure that people are ontologically falling in line. we are seeing here pictures of the ceremonies taking place in the ceremonies taking place in the conference centre there in hong kong, the civil dignitary xijinping in attendance hong kong, the civil dignitary xi jinping in attendance as well. in the last few hours we have heard comments from the british prime minister boris johnson and british secretary liz truss in reference to the fact that china must continue to uphold the commitments it made back in 1997. 25 years

ago. to what degree, if any, do comments such as those from the british reverberate or rattle or even bother the chinese authorities? do they care? do they listen? i authorities? do they care? do they listen?— they listen? i think bei'ing is veryopenfi they listen? i think bei'ing is very open and its h they listen? i think beijing is very open and its position i very open and its position about the sino—britishjoint about the sino—british joint declaration that definitely, it is an international treaty, registered in the united nations, that is spelt out beijing's commitment in protecting the autonomy and liberty and freedom then hong kong but beijing officials in the recent few years have been recurrently and quite broadly saying that this treaty all this joint declaration is saying that this treaty all thisjoint declaration is no longer valid and it is only a historical document, in their words, and no longer binding to beijing so they really don't care anymore about the uk reaction to the fact that

beijing has been violating this international agreement and but it is kind of a warning to the rest of the world about beijing's attitude towards international agreements and commitments and promises that, so they use this commitment and promises to secure a smooth transition of sovereignty but after this sovereignty transition is done, they feel that they are no longer, they no longer need to be obliged or blinded by this agreement and just violating it in an open way. just violating it in an open wa . ~ just violating it in an open wa , ~ ., ., way. we will follow the developments - way. we will follow the developments closely i way. we will follow the i developments closely here on bbc and you can get more on our website. forthe bbc and you can get more on our website. for the moment though, professor ho—fung hung, thank you forjoining us and if you do want more on our website, its bbc.com/news. those events in hong kong marking the 25th anniversary of the handover between britain and beijing. plenty more analysis from our correspondence and reporters around the world and you can

find me online. i'm on twitter. i'm @gareth barlow. hello again. well, thursday was a day of sunshine and showers but the day's showers were a lot bigger, there were loads more thunderstorms around than we've seen over the past few days and whenever you see big clouds tearing upwards through the skies like these, well, you know someone's getting soaked. someone lived in south newington as those heavy downpours came through here. really hefty shower. now, the showers and thunderstorms that developed through the day have actually kept going for the first part of the night as well and they have tended to migrate towards the pennines, north east england and will generally begin to fade away over the next few hours. but at the same time, we'll probably see some rain just spinning its way across the north sea, grazing north east scotland over the next few hours. here are your morning temperatures. now, for friday itself, we've got low pressure in charge. it's a day of sunshine

and showers, broadly speaking. however, we will see another low bringing some more general rain into northern ireland as we go through the afternoon. here's the forecast for wimbledon — the computer reckons it's dry. well, you might be lucky, i suppose, but i'd go for a chance of a shower, to be honest. the showers are going to be quite widespread. they'll get going through the morning and, come the afternoon, some of them will turn heavy and thundery. the greatest chance of seeing those heavier showers will be across eastern areas of scotland and down the eastern side of england, down to about norfolk, i suspect. temperatures similar to recent days — high teens across western areas, low 20s in the east. feeling warm in the sunshine with a bit more of a breeze around on friday compared with the last couple of days. the weekend sees further weather fronts diving eastwards across the uk and so on saturday, we start off with this weak weather front. a band of rain pushing eastwards across england and wales. what follows is, yeah, sunshine and showers again.

some of them heavy, particularly across north—western areas this time. it's here where we've got the greatest chance of seeing some thunder. and those temperatures not really changing a great deal — low 20s in the east but generally, for most of us, we're looking at temperatures into the high teens. now, pressure starts to gradually rise from the south—west as we go through sunday, so probably dry for wales, good part of western england and probably the midlands, too. a few showers elsewhere, notably across scotland and northern ireland, and temperatures, well, they haven't changed very much, have they? pressure will rise more generally into next week, so more of us will enjoy drier weather, a bit more sunshine and it will start to get a bit warmer as well.

this is bbc news, the headlines: the chinese president xi jinping has sworn in the new chief executive of hong kong, john lee. he takes overfrom carrie lam, who saw beijing tightening its grip on hong kong. the us supreme court has dealt a serious blow to president biden�*s plans to tackle climate change. it's issued a ruling that limits the government's ability to regulate emissions from power plants. the case was brought on behalf of 19 mostly republican—led states and some of america's largest coal companies. nato leaders have pledged more financial aid and weapons for ukraine.

the alliance also renewed calls for president putin to end the invasion. nato's secretary general, jens stoltenberg, insisted that ukraine must prevail as an independent state. now on bbc news, panorama. protection is a national security. it is everyone's responsibility.— security. it is everyone's responsibility. tonight on panorama, _ responsibility. tonight on panorama, china's i responsibility. tonight on i panorama, china's crackdown responsibility. tonight on - panorama, china's crackdown on hong kong. we panorama, china's crackdown on hong kong-— panorama, china's crackdown on hong kong. we must protect our --eole hong kong. we must protect our people from — hong kong. we must protect our people from espionage, - people from espionage, terrorism, political interference and subversion. it is 25 years since britain handed back control of the city to china. back then, promises were made to protect

fundamental freedoms. were made to protect fundamentalfreedoms. now,