Russia

Going into the Algiers OPEC meeting in late September, the prevailing sentiment among the analyst community was that there is no way any deal will get done: after all there was no secret that the recent animosity between Iran and Saudi Arabia had recent reached unprecedented levels, with both side directly involved across from each other in the Syrian proxy war.

However, the deal did happened, surprising virtually everyone, and based on a new Reuters report, it was thanks to one man.

Update: According to Russia's space agency
Roscosmos, most pieces of the falling spaceship burned up in the
atmosphere above Siberia. It was not immediately clear where the rest of
the pieces went.

• PROGRESS CARGO SPACESHIP LOST, MOST PIECES BURNED UP IN EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE OVER SIBERIA - ROSCOSMOS

*  *  *

As we detailed earlier, an uncrewed Russian spacecraft meant to resupply the International Space Station appears to have suffered a malfunction shortly after launch today.

During a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Turkish President said that Turkey’s military operation in northern Syria was not to target the country or its leader but aimed only at terrorist groups. The Kremlin had asked President Erdogan to clarify his goals in Syria after he claimed that Turkish troops were there to end the rule of Syrian President Bashar Assad earlier this week.

In his annual address to the nation, Russian President Vladimir Putin struck an unusually conciliatory tone on Thursday, saying Moscow wanted to get on with the incoming U.S. administration and was looking to make friends not enemies: "We are ready to cooperate with the new U.S. administration. We have a shared responsibility to ensure international security."

"We don't want confrontation with anyone. We don't need it. We are not seeking and have never sought enemies. We need friends," Putin told Russia's political elite gathered in the Kremlin's grand hall.