Oct 1, 2026, 01:30 AM UTC

Former Slovenian national team captain Aleš Čeh and striker Jan Mlakar have shared insights into their career trajectories ahead of the upcoming derby between NK Maribor and Olimpija Ljubljana.

Čeh reflected on his post-playing path, which included over a decade in coaching alongside Srečko Katanec and seven years working in Asia. Despite his long association with Olimpija, Čeh emphasized his ongoing respect for Maribor.

Meanwhile, 27-year-old Ljubljana native Mlakar has returned to Maribor for a third spell, reaffirming his confidence in club directors Zlatko Zahović and Darko Milanič. Clarifying past transfer speculation, Mlakar stated he was "never close to joining Olimpija" and noted that despite Olimpija's recent struggles, derby matches present unpredictable conditions where teams can quickly turn momentum around.

Sources: Delo, Siol.net

Historical analyses highlight 1989 as a multi-faceted turning point that set the structural foundation for 21st-century geopolitics. While Western collective memory heavily prioritizes the opening of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of iron curtain regimes, simultaneous events in Asia shaped alternative power structures.

In China, the violent dispersal of demonstrators around Tiananmen Square consolidated autocratic control, allowing the state to integrate into global markets without political liberalization. Meanwhile, the exit of Soviet forces from Afghanistan created lasting security voids in Central and South Asia. Far from inaugurating an era dominated exclusively by Western-style liberal democracy, these divergent occurrences laid the groundwork for today's fragmented multipolar international system, demonstrating that 1989 marked the beginning of multiple distinct geopolitical trajectories.

Sources: Die Presse

Tensions continue to rise across the Middle East following a second round of United States airstrikes on Iranian targets within 48 hours, driven by confrontations in the Strait of Hormuz and strikes on American bases. In Tehran, Iranian leadership appointed a hardliner to head the Supreme National Security Council. Concurrently, women in Iran maintain a widespread defiance against compulsory hijab laws four years after Mahsa Amini's death, with reports noting "authorities have lost control" over dress code enforcement in major cities.

Meanwhile, conflict flared in Yemen as Houthi strikes on Moca port killed 18 people over two days, drawing retaliatory shelling by government troops in Marib province. In Afghanistan, the Taliban regime has established relative security, though severe poverty, food shortages, and social bans continue to strain public life.

Sources: Canarias7, El Día, El Mundo, La Provincia, La Vanguardia

Spanish authorities have relocated approximately 1,800 to 2,000 migrants into two newly established temporary facilities in the North African enclave of Ceuta. The initiative aims to provide shelter and basic relief for individuals left stranded on public beaches and streets following late July's border crossing, in which roughly 72,000 people entered from Morocco.

Concurrently, joint security measures by Spanish and Moroccan border personnel successfully deterred a rumored second crossing attempt expected around mid-August. Despite the heightened security preventing new mass entries, tension remains high among local residents, who have expressed frustration over municipal strain and accused political groups of exploiting the ongoing situation.

Sources: Correctiv, Die Zeit, FAZ, ORF, Tagesschau.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez confronted opposition leaders during the parliamentary term's first control session in Congress. Popular Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo accused the administration of trying to "manipulate the census" regarding voting rights tied to nationality legislation for descendants of Spanish citizens, an issue currently undergoing Supreme Court review.

Sánchez defended his government's record, asserting that political alternation would trigger "democratic involution," while acknowledging that intelligence services must become more "sophisticated" to counter "hybrid attacks."

Parliamentary debates also touched on regional financing, educational assessments, and security in Ceuta following a meeting between King Felipe VI and military commanders, which Socialist spokesperson Patxi López characterized as falling "within normality." To counter opposition maneuvers in the Senate, the executive branch scheduled seven ministerial appearances in the lower house.

Sources: Canarias7, El Día, El Mundo, La Provincia, La Vanguardia