Oct 28, 2026, 07:00 AM UTC

Former Slovenian national team captain Aleš Čeh and forward Jan Mlakar have reflected on their football careers and domestic club dynamics in separate interviews.

Čeh, who served as captain during Slovenia's golden generation under Srečko Katanec, detailed his post-playing transition into coaching. Following his retirement, he spent over a decade assisting Katanec, including seven years coaching in Asia. Čeh highlighted his enduring ties to Olimpija Ljubljana and Austrian side Grazer AK, while reiterating his respect for Maribor.

Meanwhile, 27-year-old Ljubljana native Mlakar addressed his third spell with Maribor. Mlakar expressed full trust in club management under Zlatko Zahovič and Darko Milanič. He noted that despite ongoing internal turmoil at Olimpija, derby matches remain unpredictable and offer struggling teams a clean slate to rebuild momentum.

Sources: Delo, Siol.net

Russian forces launched overnight drone strikes on Kyiv, injuring a resident, following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's address to the United Nations General Assembly. Russia's defense ministry confirmed a campaign targeting Ukraine's energy grid, while Ukrainian counter-strikes on Russian oil refineries have disrupted fuel supplies, forcing Moscow to import fuel.

Meanwhile, German authorities identified two suspects linked to Moscow regarding explosive drone incidents near Leipzig. Addressing security threats within member states, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated the bloc "will not tolerate attacks on EU soil" and remains prepared to react.

Sources: Corriere della Sera, La Repubblica.

Historical analyses continue to emphasize 1989 as the foundational turning point for twenty-first-century global politics. Beyond the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent end of communist rule across Eastern Europe, critical developments in Asia reshaped international power dynamics. In China, the suppression of pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square reinforced single-party governance alongside state-directed economic reforms. Concurrently, the final exit of Soviet troops from Afghanistan marked a dramatic reduction in Moscow's geopolitical reach, leaving lasting power voids across the region. Historians argue that these intersecting crises collectively dismantled Cold War bipolarity and laid the groundwork for today's multipolar international structure.

Sources: Die Presse

Ukrainian drone strikes targeting a major oil refinery near Moscow have disrupted over half of the facility's refining capacity, according to officials in Kyiv. The operational setback comes as diplomatic friction between Russia and Norway intensifies following Nordic NATO maneuvers and the seizure of a Russian vessel. Russian officials declared Norway a security concern, with President Vladimir Putin accusing Oslo of "statsterrorisme."

In response to increasing Russian risk-taking, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre called on the public to remain prepared without succumbing to fear. European analysts contend that long-term regional stability will require a definitive Russian defeat in Ukraine, despite Moscow's ability to sustain prolonged combat operations.

Sources: Aftenposten, Berlingske, Dagens Næringsliv, TV 2 Nyheter, VG

In Geneva, 128 United Nations member states agreed on a shared definition for autonomous weapon systems, marking an initial regulatory step. Concurrently, the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross warned that machine-controlled targeting of humans risks crossing a moral threshold.

Despite international calls for restraint, Western military forces are advancing AI integration. Concept documents revealed that Germany's Ministry of Defence may allow semi-autonomous systems to act independently under specific conditions, while maintaining that "the decision on the use of military force remains with humans." Additionally, Germany rejected software from US firm Palantir, opting to develop an in-house data analysis platform instead.

Meanwhile, Ukraine and NATO have jointly created two AI applications to anticipate enemy drone trajectories and coordinate artillery operations.

Sources: Correctiv, Der Spiegel, Der Standard, Die Zeit, Hartpunkt