Eurotopics.net

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced the discovery of 320 billion cubic meters of gas in the Black Sea on Friday. The price of the lira, which had risen before the speech, dropped once more shortly afterwards - presumably because the estimated quantity of gas is far lower than the figures previously talked of and will only cover Turkish demand for eight years. But not all commentators share the markets' disappointment.

Dara Calleary, Ireland's Minister of Agriculture, has resigned after just five weeks in office. The move came after it was revealed that he had flouted coronavirus restrictions by attending a dinner with 80 other guests. Also at the party was EU Trade Commissioner Philip Hogan, who intends to remain in office. For Irish commentators the government is ensnared in a web of crisis.

The fate of Belarus after its presidential election remains completely open: the protests continue but President Alexander Lukashenka has given no indication that he is willing to offer the opposition concessions, much less step down. Europe's media speculate on how things could develop in the country.

In 2020, Earth Overshoot Day came later than in the previous year for the first time. On 22 August - more than three weeks later than in 2019 - humanity had consumed the natural resources that the Earth can regenerate in the course of a year. Thanks to Covid-19 humanity's environmental footprint shrank this year. But is this trend sustainable?

Russian opposition politician and independent corruption sleuth Alexei Navalny is in a coma. According to his staff, investigators found a potentially deadly substance in his organism. The common assumption is that he was poisoned. Europe's media speculate about who did it and what the motives were.