hello. and welcome to "nhk newsline." we begin in hong kong where the former british colony is marking 25 years since its return to chinese rule. anniversary events have kicked off and china's president is making his first visit since 2017. >> translator: by enacting the national security law and revising the electoral system,

we have basically reached the achievement that hong kong is now being ruled by patriots. >> xi jinping spoke at an inauguration ceremony for hong kong's new chief executive. xi said the one country two system policy has been recognized as a success. >> translator: i want my compatriots in hong congress to emphasize mainstream values suitable for the principle centered on patriotism. >> he arrived in hong kong on thursday. it's his first visit there since beijing tightened its grip on the city. the anniversary used to be marked by massive protests for those calling for democracy. this time police are warning against acts of violence or public disorder.

more than 30,000 officers will ensure security at the events. nhk world senior ross mihara correspondent is in beijing and has been following xi's visit. i spoke with him earlier. what was the president trying to accomplish with this speech? >> well, he wants to show citizens and the world that the central government attaches great importance to hong kong's development. xi tried to boost patriotism among hong kong residents, especially the younger generation. he expressed his affection for the city and an eagerness to address people's needs and

social programs. he adhered to the one country-two systems principle in the long run. he will assure the central government over the jurisdiction. >> the principle is supposed to guarantee hong kong autonomy for 50 years. but critics call it a facade, especially with the security law that came into effect in 2020. how does it affect hong kong? >> well, there used to be many anti-government protests. but it had changed the landscape in the territory. and investors and business leaders see many risks. and hundreds of pro-democratic petitions and activists were arrested. several rights groups and news outlets were forced to disband. different voices are silenced and many are concerned about the government's ambiguous red line. judicial independence is also threatened, which multinational companies consider a growing risk. meanwhile, beijing is trying to

further integrate hong kong's economy with the mainland. it's trying to make a global and manufacturing powerhouse. and e government is offering incentives to lure many young entrepreneurs from hong kong to the mainland to start businesses. but many observes say the city will remain china's gateway to the world, as it's opened up the forefront of geopolitical tensions and the west. it's a crossroads over whether it will be just like one of china's other cities. moving now to north korea,

they confirmed more cases of fevers. health authorities released a result of a probe into how the view re virus entered the country. in april, the two are set to have developed symptoms and confirmed fto be infected with the virus. the outbreak spread nationwide after people from the area travel to pang april. the north leadership was criticize criticized.

ukraine is touting a symbolic win in the fight for an out post in the black sea. officials say russian forces have withdrawn from snake island. attention is focused on whether this will lead to the resumption of grain shipments. >> translator: the island is a stratec point. it's significantly changes the situation in the black sea. it doesn't yet guarantee security. it doesn't yet ensure th the enemy will not come back. this significantly limits the actions of the occupiers. step by step, we will push them ck from our sea, our land and our sky. >> snake island overlooks the ukraine main port in odesa. russian defense ministry spokespers has claed the goodwill.l was a gture of he said it showed the world at russia was not impeding efforts to create a corridor for agriculture exports from ukraine. the country is a major exporter of wheat and other grains. but nce the vasion ban, shipnts througthe black sea

have been blocked by russia. meanwhile russian troops have intensified the offensive in the eastern ukrainian region of luhansk. they have been trying to encircle the city and a bid to take hold of the last part of the region that is still under ukrainian control. four months of combat weaken his capacity. it is possible russian troops will make a breakthrough or

ukraine will stabilize its front lines and make new gains. it is likely russia will make slow process for territory. the russian government plans to establish a new firm to take over the operation of the oil and natural gas development project. two japanese companies are involved in the venture. russian president vladimir putin signed a decree to replace the energy investment company. it cited a threat against russia's national interest and economic security. russia's state-affiliated gasprom holds a stake in energy. the next biggest shareholder is british giant shell, that withdrew from the project because of russia's invasion of ukraine. japanese trading houses have 12 1/2% and 10% stakes respectively. shareholders have one month to tell the russian government if they want to invest in the new firm. a japanese official says the government is investigating

what's behind the move. >> translator: japan's resources related interests should not be undermined. we are now examining how the interests of japanese companies will be dealt with and what impact there will be on imparts of the liqueied natural gas for the two projects. >> the japanese companies say they are looking into the situation. the u.s. supreme court has its first female black justice in its 230-year history. ketanji brown jackson has been sworn in to serve on the top court. >> raise your right-hand and repeat after me. >> i, ketanji brown jackson, do solemnly swear.

>> i, ketanji brown jackson, do solemnly swear. >> that i will support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies, foreign and domestic. >> jackson replaces liberal justice, steven breyer, who retired the same day. president joe biden offered congratulations in a statement. he said her swearing in represents a profound step for the nation, for all young black girls and for the american people. jackson is seen as a liberal voice on the bench. but her conservative colleagues have a 6-3 majority. the court has taken a con servative turn in its decision. last month, it overturned the 1973 rules that established abortion as a constitutional right. it also struck down a new york state law restricting people from carrying handguns. tunisia's president has proposed a draft of a constitution that would increase its powers. the plan was unveiled on thursday. it allows the president to

appoint a prime minister without parliamentary approval. it says political power will be exercised solely by the president, not by the parliament as it is now. the president has tightened his grip on power since taking office three years ago. he suspended parliament in july last year and took other steps he said were needed to recover from political and economic turmoil. voters will be asked to approve the new constitutionn a referendum. the moves have drawn criticism from the public and opposition parties. say they the president's actions are counter to the spirit of democracy. tunisia is viewed the only success story of the so-called arab spring. the government collapsed during protests. the uprising spread to other countries that led to the fall of authoritarian regimes, including egypt and libya. ♪

japanese researcher say a clinical trials of a drug to treat parkinson's shows progress of an alzheimer's disease. using cells of patients, the team has found that the drug reduced accumulation of a protein in the brain believed to cause alzheimer's. since 2020, the researchers have been testing patients who developed alzheimer's due to genetic factors. they said about five months after patients started taking the drug, only one in five showed cognitive decline. >> translator: by using an existing medicine, we may be able to overcome this disease. >> the researchers acknowledged that the number of test subjects

was limited. so, they will need to conduct further trials. researchers in japan says they have taken video images of a colossal deep sea fish in the pacific ocean. it's a rare and new species of slickhead. the japan agency for marine earth science technology discovered the fish several years ago. last october, researchers placed a camera at a depth of 2,000 meters, about 100 kilometers southwest. the fish is estimated to measure about 2 1/2 meters long. researchers say they believe the fish may be inhabiting deeper places across the northern pacific. they say it's proof the sea still holds many mysteries. it's time, now, for the world weather.

extreme heat continues to grip much of japan, including tokyo. for more on the situation, let's turn to our meteorologist, jonathan oh. >> hello. we have been dealing with a stretch of really hot weather. once again, we're seeing some parts of japan reaching that 40-degree mark, as we went through friday. 40.3 degrees as we start off july. tokyo 37 degrees, the hottest so far this year. we have the high pressure nearby bringing the southerly flow. it's going to stay hot as we go through the weekend. but we may see a little bit of cooloff, in places like tokyo and osaka as we go towards the first part of next week. mid-30s to low 30s by monday. and osaka seeing some rain. naha, you're going to deal with a lot more rainfall. we have a tropical storm that's nearby. and this is going to move in your general direction as we go through the weekend. and so, be on the lookout for that. meanwhile, another tropical

system near southern areas of china will make its way north, make landfall and bring strong winds to heavy rain for that. this system continues to move towards the north. it will bring rainfall possibly into the western edge of japan in the first part of next week. meanwhile, we're still watching out for the heavy rain that's impacting a good portion of india. especially the northeastern corner of the country. here's some video to show you what resulted from the heavy rainfall as it continues heavy rain for three weeks, have led to a mudslide, killing at least 14 people, 30 others missing, with local villagers trying to rescue those buried under the debris on thursday. in recent weeks, about 200 people have been killed due to floods and landslides in the region. we're going to be in a wet pattern as the southwest monsoon is covering a good portion of the nation. and we're looking at some places gaining 150 millimeters of

rainfall. look forward to that as we go forward in time. hope you have a safe day where you are. ♪

that's all we have for now on "nhk newsline."

come ing up next is "newsline b" are ramin mellegard so stay right there. ♪ ♪ this is "newsline biz." i'm ramin mellegard. the tankan survey shows that japanese manufacturers worsened for a second-straight quarter. the factor is soaring raw materials, caused by russia's invasion of ukraine. boj polled 10,000 companies from late may to early june. it says the factors on plus-nine was down five points from the previous survey in march.

a positive number indicates that more companies feel business conditions are good than those taking a negative view. japan's manufacturers have been paying for raw materials since the war in ukraine erupted. a lockdown in shanghai that lasted through the end of may crimped supplies. the nonmanufacturers is up 4 points to 13. the first improvements in two quarters. an easing of coronavirus restrictions in late march has encouraged more people to go out for recreation and wining and dining. the survey gives an outlook for three months from now. the reading for large manufacturers is up one point. the mood among nonmanufacturers remains unchanged. travelers are on the move again in japan, much to the relief of the local tourism industry. with the summer travel season around the corner, many businesses are hopeful a sustained recovery is finally under way.

>> reporter: one place enjoying a tourism revival is the city of kamakura near tokyo. streets are crowded, even on a weekday. >> translator: i was surprised to see so many people today. there were very few tourists the last time i came here. >> translator: i'm still worried about the virus. but many people have begun to go out. so, i did, too. it looks like a new tourism boom is starting. >> reporter: this traditional sweets shop is among the businesses benefiting. coronavirus restrictions have fueled a hunger for treats. that includes pumpkin cake. the owner says sales in the past month have recovered to about 80% of the prepandemic level. >> translator: people in their 40s to 70s seem to be relieved that coronavirus case numbers

fell in mid-may. visitors and group tours picked up sharply around that time. >> reporter: the government subsidy program is encouraging people to get back on the road. and the water. accommodation and transport discounts are on offer for those that travel within their local areas. there's plans to expand the program in july, to include trips across japan. travel agencies are reporting more inquiries. >> translator: i suppose the stores will be crowded there? >> translator: yes. they're becoming more and more crowded as more people are taking trips. >> reporter: this agency says reservations for july and august are still down about half from 2019. one reason, the company has slashed the number of outlets. it also sayseople remain cautious about a rebound in infections. manages are confident the recession is over.

japanese retail operator, japanese rail operator seibu holdings is setting assets to singapore and gic. the deal rolled for 1 opini$1.1 billion. seibu holdings with operate under their brand name. they plan to use the income to improve the pandemic hit balance

sheet. the company posted an operating loss in both of the past to fiscal year. okay, let's get a check in the markets. ♪

that's it for "newsline biz" from tokyo. i'm ramin mellegard. thank you very much for watching. ♪ ♪ ñpsps■

♪ >> this is al jazeera and these are the top stories. nato is going to bolster forces across europe and announce the biggest overhaul since the cold war. at a summit, leaders professed unwavering support for ukraine. vladimir putin says moscow will respond to any nato forces in sweden and finland, who have been formally invited to join the an alliance. >>