out over pay and conditions. temperatures in japan are temperatures injapan are at their highest in nearly 150 years. now, fears that the electricity grid could be overwhelmed. hello and welcome. the chinese president xijinping has sworn in hong kong s new leader, john lee. the territory is marking 25 years since the handover from british colonial rule. in a speech, mr lee praised the security law that s been used to crush pro democracy protests. he said it had brought stability. britain has accused beijing of failing to meet the commitments it made to respect hong kong s freedoms. mark lobel reports. president xi s steps out of china since the start of the pandemic, choosing hong kong, two years on controller parr state security law here stifling protests, reducing the city public autonomy. it is also 25 years since the british handover to chinese rule. translation: the practice of one country, two systems has achieved success in hong kong, recognised by all. but after scen
hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. we start on wall street where stock markets have suffered their worst first half of the year in more than five decades. as of the close on thursday, the s&p 500 index of top us firms has lost more than 20% between january and june, a sell off on a scale not seen since 1970 when president nixon was in the white house. for the tech dominated nasdaq, it s been even worse a near 30% fall for the first half is the worst in its history. from new york, samira hussain has more. the sell off of the stock market over the last six months has been brought. it is not just one sector bearing the brunt of losses, but a range of companies from disney to apple tokamak target. the latest economic data indicates actually the road ahead may be getting even bumpier. the federal reserve s regional bank in atlanta has been closely watched for the gross domestic product and gdp, which today signalled that the us economy will have shrun
this is bbc news with the latest business headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. wall street s historic slump: us shares suffer their biggest first half loss in more than five decades. europe s cost of living conundrum: inflation easing in germany, but surging in spain raises hard questions for the region s interest rate setters. summer of strikes: more travel misery as easyjet crew in spain join ryanair staff in a walkout over pay. plus, a man made disaster zone: earthquakes and heartbrea ks for the people who live on top of europe s largest gas field.