Eurotopics.net

After 15 years of construction, the People's Salvation Cathedral, the world's biggest Orthodox church, was consecrated in Bucharest on Sunday. An estimated 200 to 315 million euros went into its construction, but the exact figure is not known even though most of the money came from public funds. A good investment?

In much of Europe and North America and in many countries around the world, clocks were set back to standard time on Saturday night. People were able to sleep an hour longer - or reflect on whether moving the time back and forth makes sense. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has announced a push for its abolition in the EU and claims he has the support of a majority of Europeans. The commentaries reflect a more nuanced perspective.

The Netherlands is holding a snap general election on Wednesday after Dick Schoof's four-party right-wing government collapsed in June in a row over asylum law. According to polls, the PVV led by far-right politician Geert Wilders is set to become the strongest party again, but its previous coalition partners are no longer willing to work with it.

Catherine Connolly has won the presidential election in Ireland, securing a clear victory over her rival Heather Humphreys from the ruling centre-right Fine Gael party. Connolly ran as an independent candidate but was supported by left-wing parties such as Sinn Féin, Labour, the Social Democrats, People Before Profit, and the Greens. She has made waves with her harsh criticism of Nato, the EU and Israel.

The US has already carried out several strikes against boats belonging to suspected drug smugglers in international waters in the Caribbean, killing the crew in the process. Now the world's largest aircraft carrier, U.S.S. Gerald Ford, is to be deployed to the region as military reinforcement. US President Donald Trump had accused both Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and Colombian President Gustavo Petro of being involved in drug trafficking.