Briefly

EUROPEAN UNION

Lending arm approves $1.2 trillion green plan

European Union governments approved a 1 trillion euro ($1.2 trillion) green "road map" for the bloc's lending arm on Wednesday that will see it stop financing fossil fuel projects and airport expansions, though climate groups said it did not go far enough. The European Investment Bank's "Climate Bank" plan had been in discussion since last year when it was laid out as a sign of the EU's intent to lead on the fight against climate change. The fund is to be spent by 2030 on climate, biodiversity and sustainability-focused projects. The bank says "all financing activities" will be aligned with the Paris climate agreement by the end of this year. The EIB is expected to align with the Paris agreement commitment to limit global warming to 1.5 C above preindustrial levels.

BAHRAIN

Long-serving prime minister dies

Bahrain's Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, one of the world's longest-serving prime ministers who led the government for decades, died on Wednesday. Khalifa, 84, had served as prime minister since the island nation gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1971. The state-run news agency announced his death, saying he had been receiving treatment at the Mayo Clinic in the United States, without elaborating. Bahrain's Royal Court announced a week of official mourning. The new premier, Crown Prince Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, 51, has been viewed as a leading proponent of social and economic reforms.

INDIA

New Delhi cases spike ahead of Diwali

India reported 47,905 new cases of coronavirus infection, with New Delhi setting another daily record on Thursday. The surge of 8,593 cases in the nation's capital is the highest for any major Indian city and came as people crowd shopping areas ahead of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, on Saturday. Deaths, too, are climbing again, with 85 in New Delhi in the past 24 hours. India's tally of confirmed cases－currently the second largest in the world behind the United States－has exceeded 8.6 million.

NETHERLANDS

Shots fired at Saudi embassy; no injuries

The Saudi Arabian embassy in The Hague was sprayed with gunfire early on Thursday, leaving bullet holes across the facade and in several windows. Police said nobody was injured in the shooting. Spokesman Steven van Santen said police were alerted around 6 am to shots being fired at the building on a stately avenue opposite a canal in the Dutch city. The shooting came a day after an explosion at a Saudi cemetery where US and European officials were commemorating the end of World War I wounded three people. There was no indication that the two incidents were linked.

Agencies - Xinhua