Pro . give him chance.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58342790 Earlier this week, as the dust began to settle on the Taliban's blistering takeover of Afghanistan, a small group gathered at a house in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif. The guests arrived discreetly, in ones and twos, keen to avoid attention. They were elders from the city's Uyghur community, plus some family members and others who joined from different cities via Skype. The mood in the house was fearful. There was only one topic of conversation: escape. A middle aged man began making calls to activists in Turkey, seeking help. One didn't answer. Another one who did pick up said he would do everything he could for them, but right now there was not much he could do. The group urged the man calling to keep trying, keep making more calls, but there was no good news. Eventually, after nightfall, the guests left, as carefully as they had arrived, even more despondent than before. "We have no one to help us right now," one told the BBC after the meeting. "We are terrified," he said. "Everyone is terrified." Like millions of other Afghans, the country's Uyghurs are waking up to a different reality this week, one in which the Taliban is in charge. Like other Afghans, the Uyghurs fear a worse existence under the Taliban. But they also fear something else: greater influence for China. There are about 12 million Uyghurs in China, concentrated in the northwestern Xinjiang province. Since 2017, they and other Muslim minorities have been subjected to a state campaign of mass detention, surveillance, forced labour, and, according to some accounts, sterilisation, torture and rape. China routinely denies all human rights abuses in Xinjiang, and says its camps are vocational centres designed to combat extremism. Many of Afghanistan's Uyghurs - thought to number about 2,000 - are second generation immigrants whose parents fled China many decades ago, long before the current crackdown began. But their Afghan ID cards still say "Uyghur" or "Chinese refugee", and they fear that if China enters the vacuum left by the US, they could be targeted. "That is the biggest fear for Uyghurs in Afghanistan now," said a Uyghur man in his fifties in Kabul, who said his family had not left their house since the Taliban took power. "We fear the Taliban will help China control our movements, or they will arrest us and hand us over to China," he said. All the Uyghurs in Afghanistan who spoke to the BBC said they had been effectively hiding at home since the Taliban seized the country, communicating only occasionally by phone. "We are like a living dead people now," said another Uyghur man in Kabul. "Too scared even to go outside." A father in Mazar-i-Sharif described hiding in the house with his wife, children and extended family. "It's been 10 days now sitting at home, our lives are on hold," he said. "It is written clearly on our ID cards that we are Uyghur." The fear of China is not unfounded. The Chinese state has in recent years extended its crackdown on the Uyghurs beyond its borders, using aggressive tactics to silence people or in some cases detain and render them back to Xinjiang. Data published in June by the Uyghur Human Rights Project suggests at least 395 Uyghurs have been deported, extradited, or rendered since 1997, though the real figure may be much higher. "China has invested heavily and established close diplomatic relations with states in central Asia, and the result is Uyghurs in those countries being targeted by local police and Chinese agents," said Mehmet Tohti, a prominent Uyghur activist in Canada. "We know from those previous examples that close diplomatic ties with China results in persecution of Uyghurs." BBC Who are the Uyghurs? The cost of speaking up against China How Afghanistan rattled Asia and emboldened China BBC China may be considering a similar strategy with the Taliban. The alliance is unlikely in some ways - the Taliban has some historic connections with Uyghur militants, the very forces China says pose a threat to its security. But the Taliban also has a history of cooperation with China, which shares a short land border with Afghanistan, and analysts say the superpower's ability to provide technology and infrastructure - and lend legitimacy - to a new Taliban regime would likely trump any kind of solidarity with Uyghurs. "China's belt and road project has given it a lot of economic leverage over countries with which it cooperates, and in exchange Uyghurs are often scapegoated," said Bradley Jardine, an analyst who has studied China's economic and political presence abroad. "The Taliban will be hoping for economic concessions and much needed investment from China, and Afghanistan's Uyghurs could, to put it crudely, end up a bargaining chip." In July, China invited a senior Taliban delegation to Tianjin, where foreign minister Wang Yi said he expected the group "to play an important role in the country's peace, reconciliation and reconstruction process". The Taliban pledged they would "not allow anyone to use Afghan soil against China". The Uyghurs in Afghanistan know about this meeting - news of the growing diplomatic relationship has spread through Ugyhur communities across the country. And they know about China's recent history of pursuing Uyghurs abroad. "We all know about the Taliban relationship with China, and we fear they will come first for the people who fled," said a Uyghur woman in Mazar-i-Sharif who grew up in Xinjiang. "We have stopped shopping or leaving the house at all," she said. "We are living in fear. We need help. Please help." Unlike some other potentially at-risk groups in Afghanistan, the Uyghurs do not have a state ally to work on their behalf - a fact which might make them more vulnerable under Taliban rule. "This is a community without state representation of any sort," said Sean Roberts, a professor at George Washington University and author of The War on the Uyghurs. "They are watching other countries lift out people who are either citizens or have some sort or ethnic connection - Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, etc. But the Uyghurs, I think, must feel like nobody speaks for them right now." Efforts are being made by non-governmental groups to get Uyghurs out, but they face the same obstacles as everyone else. Abdulaziz Naseri, a Uyghur refugee living in Turkey, told the BBC he had collected a list of names with the help of Uyghurs inside the country and was submitting it via activist groups to government officials in the US, UK and Turkey. "We are doing our best to get them out," Naseri said. But in Mazar-i-Sharif, many miles from Kabul, getting out feels like a long shot. Even in the unlikely scenario a family were offered seats on a flight out of the capital, it's a two-day journey by car, through Taliban checkpoints where they fear presenting their ID. "As a Muslim, we say having no hope is the devil's mindset," said the father in Mazar-i-Sharif. "But from the time I was born in Afghanistan, all I remember is war. Forty years of war, one after another," he said. "I no longer worry about myself, only my children, especially my daughters. I had hoped they would become educated and become doctors." None of the family has ever set foot in China. They have only read about the detention camps and the alleged abuses in Xinjiang. The father fears life under the Taliban because he can remember it. "But we fear China more," he said, "because we cannot imagine it."

The International Mobility Show in September, held in Munich for the first time, will be the first full-scale motor show held in Europe since the pandemic took hold, so we are expecting to get our long- awaited first look at several important new models. Mercedes-Benz looks set to dominate proceedings with no less than five high-profile debuts, but other European manufacturers will be out in force. The IAA Mobility show will take place alongside the Munich Motorshow, where more than 1,000 exhibitors and speakers will present innovations and concepts for the future of mobility. Over 100 technologies are expected to receive a world premiere, with new innovations into mobility will be presented, along with the path to a climate-neutral future, and advances in digitization. "The IAA MOBILITY 2021 in Munich will be the largest and most modern mobility event in the world and is a perfect fit at a time when Europe has set out to be the world’s first climate-neutral continent. Traffic plays a major role in this scenario," says Jürgen Mindel, Managing Director of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), organizer of the IAA MOBILITY. "We are already uniting the sectors – automotive, digital, bicycle and urban planning – that will belong together in the future. We will present new concepts and invite visitors to debate on the right path to a climate-neutral future,” Mindel said. Here's a first look at the most important models we'll see at our first in-person motor show for nearly two years. The ACM City One will be a German-built, electric microcar which will be sold for a low price en masse. The startup firm recently agreed a partnership with Magna International, a global parts manufacturer, to develop the model. The firm has been developing the City One for eight years and says the car will have an interchangeable battery and space for up to five people. At an expected cost of €10,000 to €15,000 (£8562 to £12,843), most sales are expected to come from the fleet sector, with taxi and leasing companies in Asia and Africa. The City One can also be used as a small commercial vehicle and has a cargo bay of up to 1450 litres, with enough space to carry replacement batteries. The firm also claims documents have been signed for the sale of 208,000 cars, with a total sales value of over €3 billion.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-58351462 The fitness bike maker Peloton is to slash the price of its flagship bike as people head back to the gym and do less exercise at home. The US firm will cut the price of its less expensive Bike machine by about 20% to $1,495 from Thursday. The change will take effect in all of its markets, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia and Germany. It came as losses widened at the firm in the fourth quarter of the year and revenue growth began to slow. The company has also had to shoulder costs associated with a treadmill it recalled in May, following the death of a child. As more people exercised at home during the pandemic, sales of Peloton products surged, more than doubling to $4bn in the year to 30 June. However, the New York-based firm said it only expected revenue of $800m in the first quarter of the financial year, far below market estimates of $1bn. Peloton set to build first US factory It also said the decision to slash the price of its flagship bike would hit near-term profitability, sending its shares down 15% in after hours trading. It is the second time in a year that the firm has cut the price of its Bike product. "We know price remains a barrier and are pleased to offer our most po[CENSORED]r product at an attractive everyday price point," the firm said in a letter to shareholders. Peloton said it would begin selling a cheaper redesigned model of its Tread running machines next week in the US, after an older version and its more expensive Tread+ machine were pulled over safety concerns. It came after a child was pulled under the Tread+ and died. Users had also reported the touch screen falling off the Tread.

Low Activity Contra

Verry Low Activity Contra

Why we’re running it: Does Mazda’s unusual debut EV make daily driving a joy, or will its limitations frustrate over time? You would have to imagine that a chuckle rippled through the halls of Ujina when one jokester at Mazda decided the MX-30 needed a driver alertness warning. When the coffee cup icon and ‘take a break’ message popped onto the speedo, I had only driven about 60 miles and needed to charge anyway. Little danger of over-extending your concentration in something with legs this short. Mileage: 1200 Seeing the crowds gathered around our long-termer’s identical twin (VX21 KNJ) at the Festival of Speed reminded me just how unusual and attractive the MX-30 is. At one point, there were more punters checking out the Mazda’s boot space and rear leg room than there were gathered around the 1900bhp Pininfarina Battista nearby. It drew a confused look from my next-door neighbour when I started piling tools, petrol cans, oil and a 12V battery into the boot of the MX-30 but, although I’m excited to try the forthcoming rotary range-extender variant, I don’t have the skills to carry out a combustion conversion on our long-termer. No, I was using the Mazda as a support vehicle in my attempts to rescue my Volkswagen Beetle from a five-year slumber and to see what it really has to offer dynamically over the rest of the electric SUV crop. Heavy rain the night before had made my hometown’s crumbly country roads particularly inhospitable, and the periodic appearance of a brave rabbit, deer or cyclist gave the brake pedal and front tyres a workout. The roads in question have poor sight lines, unpredictable cambers and a number of tight curves – not the sort of environment in which an electric runaround usually shines, but Mazda has worked wonders in bestowing on the MX-30 some of the dynamic finesse of its more overtly performance-focused offerings. I was so surprised by how much I was enjoying myself that I started driving with an exuberance that I came to regret about nine minutes later, when I saw that I had brutally slashed my indicated remaining range, covered the car in a thick film of Kentish grime and filled my tool tray with three-year-old petrol. Later in the day, when it briefly and miraculously fired into life, it genuinely looked like my 50-yearold VW antique would be a better bet for the return journey, given the relative lack of EV chargers in London’s outer fringes, but range anxiety comes a very distant third to fire and blowout anxiety on my list of concerns, so I ‘fired up’ the MX-30.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-58322593 US Vice-President Kamala Harris's flight to Vietnam was delayed by several hours due to an "anomalous health incident" with similarities to so-called Havana syndrome, reports say. The mysterious syndrome first affected people at the US and Canadian embassies in Havana in 2016 and 2017. It may be caused by directed microwave radiation. Ms Harris was in Singapore ahead of her visit to Vietnam at the time of the incident in Hanoi. It is unclear who was affected. CBS News reported that the incident in the Vietnamese capital is similar to previous incidents of Havana syndrome reported elsewhere. In a statement, the US State Department said that Ms Harris's departure from Singapore to Hanoi was delayed after reports of a "possible anomalous health incident" there. The department added that "after careful assessment", Ms Harris and her delegation decided to continue the trip to Hanoi, where she has now arrived. A senior official quoted by CBS News said that at least one official had to be medically evacuated over the weekend. He added that the incident is not the first case of Havana syndrome reported in Vietnam. NBC News has reported that two officials were evacuated after "acoustic" incidents were reported in the homes of two US diplomats. The BBC has contacted the state department to ask for more details. Since the syndrome was first reported in Cuba in 2016, cases of the condition have been reported elsewhere in the world, including China and, last month, Austria. Hundreds of US diplomats, spies and other personnel have reportedly fallen ill with symptoms including ear ringing, nausea, and severe headaches. Is Russia targeting CIA spies with secret weapons? Diplomats sue Canada over mystery illness A 2019 US academic study found "brain abnormalities" in the diplomats who had fallen ill in Cuba. A report last year from the US National Academies of Science found the mystery illness was most likely to be caused by directed microwave radiation. In June, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a review into the causes of the illness.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-58331178 Sharon Graham has been elected as the new leader of Unite, becoming the union's first female general secretary. Ms Graham - who is backed by the Socialist Workers Party - takes over from Len McCluskey. She saw off a challenge from his preferred choice as successor, Steve Turner, and forced rival Gerard Coyne, who was favoured by the Labour leadership, into third place. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has welcomed her appointment. Unite union expected to elect first female leader Who might lead the Unite union and why it matters Unite to elect new leader by end of summer Ms Graham won the election after receiving 46,696 votes, with 41,833 for Steve Turner and 35,334 for Gerard Coyne. In a statement responding to her victory, she warned "bad bosses take note" and said a strong union was "the best defence our members can have". "Unite is an incredible force for good in the UK and Ireland but I am fully aware of the huge challenges our members face in the workplace," she said. "As general secretary, I will put all the power of our union into defending their jobs, improving their pay and protecting their rights." As the former head of Unite's Organising and Leverage Department, she led recent disputes at British Airways and Crossrail as well as campaigning to unionise Amazon. She says her focus will continue to be on workplace rights rather than internal Labour party politics or "settling old scores" at Westminster. And she said Unite will fight the "fire and rehire threats being issued by rogue employers" to workers "with all its power in the future". Sharon Graham's victory has been described as a surprise but her team were confident all along that the credit she had in the bank with activists would be enough to take her to victory - and that her 'workplace not Westminster' message would have resonance. So much so that she resisted pressure and pleas not to split the Left vote and to stand aside early in the contest. Certainly she wasn't the choice of Len McCluskey, the dominant voice in trade unionism for a decade. So her victory may come as a relief to Sir Keir Starmer - who has been criticised by Mr McCluskey - and he swiftly congratulated Sharon Graham today. But while she may not involve herself in party faction fighting, it is by no means clear that she will continue with the current level of generous donations to Labour. She has talked about "payment by results", and "no blank cheques". But employers may have more to fear than Labour leaders. As an organiser, she has found new ways to exert pressure during disputes, and often gets involved when these turn hostile. So we could see more industrial action rather than political activity under her leadership. 2px presentational grey line She takes the helm of Britain's largest union after a fierce battle between rival wings of the party. Unite is the Labour Party's biggest trade union funder and, under Mr McCluskey, it strongly backed Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader. Mr McCluskey has been very critical of Sir Keir's tenure and has funded legal challenges to the party over suspensions and expulsions of some members. Responding on Twitter, the Labour leader congratulated Ms Graham on becoming the first woman to hold the role. He tweeted: "Congratulations to @UniteSharon on her election as General Secretary of Unite - the first ever woman to hold that role. "I'm looking forward to working together to improve the lives of working people across the country." In a statement, Mr McCluskey welcomed her appointment and said he had "every faith that she will run our union in a manner true to its fighting back spirit". He added: "Sharon comes into office at a time of great uncertainty for our members and a challenging political environment. "From assaults on workers' rights to the fear that the end of furlough will bring with it increased and needless unemployment, the in-tray is full. "But I know that she will build on our values and harness the talents of our great union in the service of our members and our movement."

PRO Give him chance

A new, lightweight hydrogen engine concept from Israeli firm Aquarius Engines has been under development since 2014 and is close to maturity. Powered by hydrogen, the Aquarius Two Sided Free Piston Linear Engine (FPLE) is designed to generate electricity for plug-in series hybrids or range-extenders. The tiny engine consists of a mere 20 components, only one of which moves. Although originally designed to burn petrol, it could conceivably operate on a variety of fuels including the latest ‘dropin’ carbon-neutral, synthetic liquid fuels, and a hydrogen version of the engine has been developed and tested. The Aquarius is called a linear engine, because instead of converting reciprocating forces into rotating forces via a crankshaft like a conventional piston engine, the single piston rod moves to and fro on a two-stroke cycle, firing on each stroke of the piston, at each end of the cylinder. The Aquarius engine comprises one piston rod (a long bar with a piston at its mid-point); a small cylinder block in which the piston slides; two cylinder heads, one on each end of the block; two inner bearings and two outer bearings, which support the piston rod. The air-cooled engine needs no lubrication and instead has graphite piston rings and special coatings to reduce friction. The lack of oil rules out any chance of leaks or unburned hydrocarbons being produced during combustion and it simplifies servicing, which, its designers say, is minimal and required only every 1000 hours of operation. In that time, a hybrid car could comfortably travel more than 50,000 miles. As the piston moves from side to side in the single cylinder, it expels exhaust via ports in the wall of the cylinder like a conventional two-stroke engine, then draws in air through a patented air filtration system and via ports in a hollow section of the piston rod. There are no poppet valves like a conventional engine or a highly stressed valvetrain to soak up energy in effort and friction. There are four injectors in total, two in each cylinder head at each end of the engine. On each stroke, the hydrogen is injected into the fresh air by a pair of injectors, the mixture is compressed and ignited by a spark plug and the whole sequence begins again. A patented system of balance weights reduces noise and vibration. The engine drives a generator that feeds the battery or traction motor of a series hybrid with electricity. Regenerative braking works in exactly the same way as with any all-electric or hybrid car, the traction motor switching to generator mode when the car slows to recover energy into the battery. There are no production dates yet but a hydrogen-fuelled version of the engine has undergone independent testing by AVLSchrick in Austria and work continues on reducing noise levels from the electrical generator. Apart from hybrid cars, the engine is designed for use as a generator in telecommunications centres, microgrids, as an auxiliary power supply (APU) in large trucks, marine applications and for use in drones or APUs in aviation.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58277226 When US Vice President Kamala Harris arrives in Vietnam on the second part of her South East Asian tour, she can be grateful it is Hanoi she is flying into, not the larger commercial capital in the south, Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, which was re-named in 1975 after the first insurgent leader to force a humiliating American withdrawal. For years afterwards, Vietnam evoked US failure and the futility of pouring money and lives into a war against an entrenched local insurgency. The obvious parallels between Afghanistan today, and Vietnam then, are going to be awkward enough without actually being in the last city where the US had to lay on a last-minute, panicky evacuation. Third time lucky? Vice President Harris's visit is part of a diplomatic charm offensive by the Biden administration in South East Asia, a region it argues is crucial to the future prosperity and security of the United States. His is the third US administration to promise a renewed focus on this region. President Obama's had his so-called 'pivot', which was supposed to redirect US diplomacy away from the Middle East towards the Asia-Pacific, and President Trump his 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific', intended to challenge China's expanding influence. Neither strategy went much beyond broad concepts, nor did they reverse the perception of declining US prestige here. So, coming right after the embarrassing fiasco in Afghanistan, what hope has the vice-president of convincing her hosts in Singapore and Vietnam that President Biden will do any better? Why is Kabul being compared to the fall of Saigon? The Afghan debacle's impact on US allies and rivals There was some concern in this region about his apparent lack of interest in the first six months of his administration, when he did not call a single South East Asian leader, and seemed to focus more on rebuilding ties with Europe. But in the past two months visits first by Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and then Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin have signalled the seriousness with which the US now takes this region. "The way that the withdrawal from Afghanistan happened was very damaging to US credibility", says Professor Thitinan Pongsudhirak, director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. "But in the long term, it depends what they do next. If they follow up on the Austin and Harris visits, stepping up vaccine diplomacy in this region, if they fully resource their Indo-Pacific strategy, this could be a more focused foreign policy for the Biden administration, away from the Middle East and the wars that cannot be won." The recent donation of 23 million doses of Covid vaccines has given the US image in South East Asia an unexpected lift, the perceived quality of its mRNA technology contrasting favourably with the less effective Chinese-made vaccines which have been deployed in large quantities. Ms Harris will capitalise on that by proposing deeper healthcare and medical partnerships, and opening a first regional branch of the US Center for Disease Control in Hanoi. She is also likely in Singapore to push the idea of a digital trade pact among several countries in the region, which could cover digital security and agreed standards in emerging technologies like AI and blockchain. This has the advantage of re-engaging in Asia-Pacific trade networks, after the damage done by President Trump's abrupt withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership five years ago, and in areas where the US is competitive. Challenge to China It would aim to counter China's rapid advances in pushing its own telecoms and other advanced technology, the so-called 'digital silk road', which has seen, for example, Huawei's cutting-edge 5G infrastructure dominate in many countries. President Biden is also pushing for changes to the way global supply chains are structured, to wean US companies off dependence on small numbers of specialised suppliers, many in China. These issues will have much more appeal in South East Asia than the Trump administration's focus on projecting US military power in the South China Sea, and on escalating trade disputes with China. None of the countries in this region wants to be asked to choose between the US and China.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-58300897 More than 80 private Covid travel test providers listed on the government's website will be issued two-strike warnings over misleading prices, Health Secretary Sajid Javid has announced. A further 57 firms will be removed from the website on Monday, because they either no longer exist or do not actually provide the relevant tests. The health secretary said the move was to clamp down on "cowboy behaviour". The government will also introduce spot checks on the test providers. Government was told in April of PCR test 'rip-off' Anger at overflowing Covid test drop boxes Tui to subsidise Covid tests for customers The UK government has made it a condition of international travel to England that tests before travel, and on your arrival in the UK are mandatory. The number of tests that are needed is dependent on your arrival from either a green or amber country or your vaccination status. Arrivals from red countries must still use quarantine hotel facilities. The government website has a list of private companies that offer such tests - but a recent review by the Department of Health found the prices displayed were lower on the Gov.UK site than the actual amount they cost. Some of the most common complaints from travellers also mention tests listed on the government's list of providers that do not exist at the price advertised, whilst others allege poor service. Mr Javid said: "It is absolutely unacceptable for any private testing company to be taking advantage of holidaymakers and today's action clamps down on this cowboy behaviour. "57 firms will be removed from the Gov.UK list and a further 82 will be given a two-strike warning - if they advertise misleading prices ever again, they're off." He added that the spot checks being introduced were to ensure that all private providers "follow the rules" and meet the government's "high standards of transparency". 'We haven't met anyone who's had a £20 test' But consumer group Which? said that it had warned the government about the problems with private travel test providers six months ago. "It's welcome news that the government is finally taking responsibility for its list of test providers and carrying out an audit, but it's six months late," Rory Boland, travel editor at consumer association Which?, told the BBC. "There should not have been providers listed on the Gov.UK website that don't exist. We found this in our first investigation in April, when providers were telling us that the system would collapse if larger numbers of people were travelling." He added that Which? had repeatedly reported some Covid test providers to the government: "In our second investigation, we looked at the 10 cheapest providers and we found that none of the tests listed below £80, were actually attainable for less than that. "We submitted the names to the government and they removed three of those 10 names in June." While the government has not named the providers that it intends to remove from the Gov.UK website, or the firms that will be receiving warnings, Which? says it is certain that the test providers offering Covid tests that start from £20 will be targeted. Mr Boland said: "You can't get the £20 tests. We haven't met anyone who's had a £20 test. Generally the price you pay, at the cheaper end, is £40-£50. "A lot of these firms offering £20 tests require you to drive to somewhere in England on a specific day, such as in Middlesbrough. When you try to book the test online, the booking calendar is almost always full." In April, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told MPs that some travel tests had fallen to below £45, saying he was "very anxious" to reduce the cost of the tests for consumers. Last week, the government accused the Competition and Markets Authority of not doing enough to protect consumers, saying that PCR testing for travel had become a "predictable Covid rip-off". In response, the business and competition regulator told the BBC it warned government officials that consumers could face risks from the fast-growing travel testing industry in April and May.

HHmmmm we see more activity. I think we will give him a chance ... but make more and more active. One weak test.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-58272209 The SNP and Scottish Greens have published details of their new power sharing arrangement. The deal will take the Greens into government for the first time anywhere in the UK. It includes a commitment to hold a referendum on Scottish independence within the next five years, and preferably by the end of 2023. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon gave details at a briefing alongside the two Scottish Greens co-leaders. Opposition parties have described the arrangement as a "nationalist coalition of chaos" that will be a "disaster" for Scotland. What could the SNP-Green deal mean for Scotland? The agreement will see two Green MSPs appointed as junior ministers in Ms Sturgeon's government. These ministers could be invited to attend cabinet meetings when their portfolios are being discussed, with the Green co-leaders attending cabinet at least twice a year. BBC Scotland's political editor, Glenn Campbell, said the arrangement will "look like a coalition but fall short of a coalition". What is in the agreement? The pro-independence Greens have signed up to the bulk of the government's policy - but there will also be areas where they are in disagreement with the SNP, and they will be able to criticise it on those points. These excluded areas include aviation policy, international relations, policy on fee-paying schools, fox hunting and Nato membership if Scotland becomes independent. The co-operation agreement says the two parties will work together to provide "effective and responsible leadership for Scotland for this session of the Scottish Parliament, in the interests of Scotland, of the people who live in Scotland, and of future generations". It says they will secure a referendum on Scottish independence "within the current parliamentary session on a specific date to be determined by the Scottish Parliament". If the Covid crisis has passed, their intention would be for the referendum to be within the first half of the five-year parliamentary session. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is adamant that another referendum should not happen any time soon - with BBC political correspondent Nick Eardley saying that stance is unlikely to change. The partnership agreement also includes commitments to: Increase investment in active travel and public transport, with the aim of providing a "realistic and affordable" alternative to car use More support for the marine renewables and offshore wind sectors A 10-year £500m Just Transition Fund for the north east and Moray Increasing the level of the Scottish Child Payment to the full £20 within this parliamentary term Investing at least £1.8bn over this parliamentary session in energy efficiency and renewable heating Enhancing tenants rights and delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032 It is a new form of government at Holyrood and a first in the UK, and is based on the arrangements the New Zealand Greens have with Jacinda Ardern's government. The Greens are the fourth largest party in the Scottish Parliament after winning eight seats in the election in May, while the SNP won 64 seats - leaving them one short of an overall majority. The SNP had formed a minority government for the previous five years, and had relied on the support of the Greens to pass its annual budget. Ms Sturgeon said the agreement was about "doing politics and governance better to find the solutions needed to solve the problems confronting the world today". She added: "The spirit of co-operation and consensus-building is very much in keeping with the founding principles of our Scottish Parliament. "We do not agree on everything but we are coming out of our comfort zones to focus on what we do agree on." Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie said the "historic" arrangement could not have come at a more important time. He said: "We must build a fairer and compassionate country and we must do everything in our power to tackle the escalating climate and nature emergencies to deliver a just transition for all. That is what this deal will do". The deal has been struck with less than three months to go until the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow. The Greens have been pressing the Scottish government to go further in tackling global warming in exchange for their support, and wants it to oppose any new oil and gas exploration in the North Sea. But the agreement does not do this, and instead offers support for a "pre-production oil and gas licence climate checkpoint review". The UK government is expected to announce soon whether extraction of oil and gas at the Cambo site near Shetland will be given approval. The GMB union said workers across the energy sector were "looking on with real concern" and would be seeking assurances that the SNP-Green deal will not be a "one-way ticket to the dole queue". The Greens are also opposed to the government's road building programme, and some businesses including fish farming have warned that Green policies could damage the economy if they are adopted by the government.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-58289893 Greece has installed a 40km (25-mile) fence and surveillance system on its border with Turkey amid concern over a surge of migrants from Afghanistan. "We cannot wait, passively, for the possible impact," Greece's Citizens' Protection Minister Michalis Chrisochoidis said on a visit to the region of Evros on Friday. "Our borders will remain inviolable." His comments came as Turkey called on European countries to take responsibility for Afghan migrants. In a telephone conversation with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said a sharp increase in people leaving Afghanistan could pose "a serious challenge for everyone". "A new wave of migration is inevitable if the necessary measures are not taken in Afghanistan and in Iran," Mr Erdogan said. EXPLAINER: Ten days that shook Afghanistan ON THE GROUND: Desperate scramble to escape VOICES: Uncertain times ahead for Afghan women The rapid takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban, an Islamist militant group, has left some fearing for their lives and seeking to escape the country, often by any means necessary. Mr Chrisochoidis said the crisis had created new "possibilities for migrant flows" into Europe. Greece, which was on the frontline of the migrant crisis in 2015 when more than a million people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East crossed from Turkey into the EU, has said it may send back any Afghans that arrive illegally through the country. Of those who arrived in Greece during the migrant crisis, many travelled further north throughout Europe, but about 60,000 have remained in the country. Last year, Athens temporarily blocked new asylum applications after Mr Erdogan said Turkey had "opened the doors" for migrants to travel to the EU. Mr Mitsotakis said at the time that Greece had increased "the level of deterrence at our borders to the maximum", with security personnel deployed to the Evros land border.