China - EU: Chinese FM, EU foreign policy chief meet on closer strategic partnership - by Ren Zhongxi

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met here Friday with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on the sidelines of the annual high-level debate of the UN General Assembly.

During their talks, Wang said that the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership, which has laid a solid foundation and opened a bright prospect for the development of bilateral ties, ushers in a second decade this year.

During a trip to Europe in March this year, Chinese President Xi Jinping and European leaders decided to deepen their partnership for peace, growth, reform and civilization, which has charted the course for the future development of China-EU ties, said Wang.

China and the EU need to accumulate mutual trust and strengthen cooperation on the basis of mutual respect so as to further advance their comprehensive strategic partnership, said the Chinese foreign minister.

For her part, Ashton said that the EU-China relationship, which has made rapid progress over the past 10 years, enjoys great potential for further development.

Read more: Chinese FM, EU foreign policy chief meet on closer strategic partnership - CCTV News - CCTV.com English

EU: Poll shows 70% polled want citizenship of European ISIS sympathizers revoked

In a recent EU-Digest Poll 70 % of those polled want citizenship of European ISIS sympathizers revoked, while 20% want it revoked following legal extradition procedure, while 10% wanted to do nothing.

In our new poll the following question is asked : "Which country in your opinion is presently the principal conduit for ISIS supplies and finances recognizing that ISIS is a direct result of earlier Western efforts to bring down the Assad Regime in Syria, whereby not only exiled opposition but also Jihadist and splinter terrorist organizations were provided with weapons and financing ? "

1) Iran
2) Saudi Arabia
3) Turkey
4) Qatar

EU-Digest

ISIS: Britain, Belgium and Netherlands to debate in Parliament joining airstrikes on Iraq

The British, Dutch and Belgian parliaments are to consider proposals to join the US-led coalition’s airstrikes on Iraq, according to reports.

Sources in the British prime minister’s office said the UK’s parliament would be recalled from its summer recess on Friday in order to vote on the issue, the BBC reported.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi is expected to issue a formal request for British assistance while at the UN on Wednesday.

In an interview with the American NBC News earlier this week, UK Prime Minister David Cameron said the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) was one “you cannot opt out of.”

“It has oil, it has money, it has territory, it has weapons and there’s no doubt in my mind it has already undertaken and is planning further plots in Europe and elsewhere,” he added.

Although Cameron has previously hinted that he does not consider the Syrian government “legitimate,” the BBC also reported that any parliamentary vote would be authorizing military action in Iraq but not Syria, because of fears about the legality of such a move and opposition from the Labour Party.

A parliamentary motion to approve military action against the Syrian government failed last year amid opposition from Labour—the official opposition—and from within Cameron’s own Conservative Party.

A US-led coalition encompassing Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Jordan carried out airstrikes against ISIS targets on Tuesday and Wednesday.

In Iraq, American jets have been bombing ISIS targets since August, and were recently joined by French warplanes.

In addition to France, the Australian government recently announced it was sending warplanes to the UAE in preparation for joining the US in strikes against ISIS in Iraq.

Also on Wednesday, the Dutch and Belgian governments said they would consider sending air force jets to assist in the US strikes in Iraq.

The Dutch news agency ANP announced on Wednesday that the government of the Netherlands is to consider sending a small number of combat jets to the region to join in the campaign against ISIS.

The same day, the Belgian Ministry of Defense confirmed it had received a request for assistance from the US, and would prepare a plan to send six F-16 fighters to join US efforts. The move would need approval from the Belgian parliament and is expected to be granted later this week.

Read more: Britain, Belgium and Netherlands to debate joining airstrikes on Iraq « ASHARQ AL-AWSAT

Germany: Opening Weekend of Oktoberfest 2014 - by Alan Taylor

Oktoberfest 2014

One million steins of beer were consumed over the weekend, organizers say, as tourists and locals kicked off the 181st Oktoberfest.

The Bavarian beer festival, held on Munich's Theresienwiese, lasts 16 days and will welcome more than six million visitors from around the world.

This year, the average price of a mug of beer at any of the tents this year comes to €10.67 ($13.70 U.S.). Gathered here are some of the scenes from the opening weekend of Oktoberfest 2014.

Read more: Opening Weekend of Oktoberfest 2014 - In Focus - The Atlantic

Syria: The 7 Countries America Has Bombed Since 9/11 - by Adam Pasick

The U.S. began airstrikes in Syria on Monday, fulfilling President Barack Obama’s vow to “degrade and destroy” the extremist group that calls itself the Islamic State. The Pentagon said it deployed bombers, fighters, and cruise missiles against ISIS forces within Syria, and a U.S. defense official told ABC News that “several Arab nations” are also involved in the operation.

The military operations within Syria bring the total number of countries targeted by U.S. airstrikes since September 11, 2001—either by conventional planes and missiles, or by armed drones—to seven.

In addition to Syria they include: the long-running U.S. military campaigns in Iraq (which has now been bombed by four consecutive U.S. presidential administrations, dating back to 1991) and Afghanistan; drone attacks on Islamist militant groups in Somalia, Yemen, and Pakistan; and NATO-led operations against ousted Libyan dictator Muammar al-Qaddafi.

Read more: The 7 Countries America Has Bombed Since 9/11 - The Atlantic

The Netherlands: Google Goes Dutch With $770M Data Centre

has announced plans to build a new data centre in Europe, this time in Eemshaven, a seaport in the Netherlands.

The internet giant says it has put aside €600 million ($772 million) to build the new data centre, and will be its fourth location in Europe after Finland, Belgium and Ireland. Google currently has more than 10 data centres across the Americas, Europe and Asia. Indeed, its first two Asian data centres opened just last year, in Taiwan and Singapore.

Google says the new facility will create more than 1,000 jobs, with a view towards starting “initial opertions” in the first half of 2016 before becoming fully operational by the latter part of 2017.

Google actually already uses a rented data centre in Eemshaven, which it says will continue to operate after the launch of its new incarnation.

Read more: Google Goes Dutch With $770M Data Centre

EU Economy: Visco Says ECB May Not Need to Add Stimulus Amid Euro - by Jana Randow Decline

The European Central Bank may not need to add stimulus measures after steps in the past three months pushed down the euro, said Governing Council member Ignazio Visco.

“Inflation expectations have to be back where they were,” Visco said Sept. 20 in an interview in Cairns, Australia, where he attended a meeting of Group of 20 finance chiefs. “This doesn’t mean that there will be a next step. We have been bold enough to reduce interest rates to a level that was unexpected to the market.”

The single currency has dropped about 6 percent since early June, when the ECB introduced a negative interest rate on excess reserves and presented a four-year lending program to fuel credit. Policy makers reduced borrowing costs further earlier this month and committed to buying asset-backed securities and covered bonds to boost the ECB’s balance sheet by as much as 1 trillion euros ($1.3 trillion).

Read more: Visco Says ECB May Not Need to Add Stimulus Amid Euro Decline - Bloomberg