- Decis SITREPS
- Posts
- Decis SITREP: Global Ratings & Weekend news
Decis SITREP: Global Ratings & Weekend news
Opposition advances in Syria, protests in Georgia and Romania, and Trudeau reacts to Trump tariff threats
Andrew Sheves
December 02, 2024 • Time to Enlightenment...8 minutes
Good morning.
There were several major events over the weekend worth keeping track of, but before we get to those, a quick seasonal health warning because this can be the most dangerous time of the year for a lot of organizations.
Wait. Didn't Andy Williams tell us this was The Most Wonderful Time of the Year?
Yes, and for many, it will be. But all the excitement (and stress) of the holidays makes people distracted. Throw in a significant number days off, plus end-of-year deadlines, and the result is people are rushing to get more things done, in less time than normal, while their minds are elsewhere.
So make sure you’re monitoring what’s important and have some contingencies in place for the holidays and maybe streamline things to take account of the distractions there this month.
(On the plus side, February is a close second to September as far as great months to get things done so you can start planning your Q1 project now.)
On to the headlines.
Weekend Stories of Note
A loose coalition of Syrian opposition fighters, centered around Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), made major advances over the weekend, taking control of the second city, Aleppo, before beginning to move south towards Hama and Homs. This was the first major change in the battlefield in Syria since 2020 and the rapid fall of Aleppo is a major defeat for the Syrian regime. However, President Bashar al Assad and his regime still enjoy support from Russia which provides them with air superiority and the potential to repeat the “scorched earth” tactics used before. [SOURCE - Al Jazeera]
👉 Follow Charles Lister on Twitter / X for some of the best English language coverage of Syria.
Map - Al Jazeera
Large-scale protests broke out in Georgia over the weekend as the government suspended the EU ascension process. This is enshrined in the Georgian constitution, so the move is extremely controversial, although there is also some confusion. The Prime Minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, has issued statements that the suspension rumors are false. Meanwhile, the outgoing President, Salome Zourabichvili, who is a strong supporter of Georgia's EU membership, said she will remain in office amid calls that the recent election was fraudulent. [SOURCE - BBC live updates]
Kosovo is blaming Serbia for an explosion on Saturday that badly damaged a canal supplying drinking water and helping with power production. [SOURCE - Bloomberg]
Romanian election officials are recounting last week’s contentious first-round presidential vote. This takes place amidst protests against pro-Russian independent candidate Calin Georgescu, who took the lead in the first round and will face off against pro-European/NATO candidate Elena Lasconi in the final round on December 8. [SOURCE - Radio Free Europe] The FT has a profile of Georgescu here.
Canada is already reacting to Donald Trump’s tarrif threats. Following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s surprise visit to Mar-a-Lago on Friday, the Canadian Public Safety minister said new measures would be announced in the coming ‘days and weeks’. [SOURCE - Bloomberg]
Commodity and Rate Snapshot
🛢️ Crude Futures (WTI) | $68.65 |
🚢 Containers (FBX Index) | $3,661 |
💵 USD:EUR | $1.051 (Price of 1EUR in USD) |
₿ Bitcoin | $94,937 |
As at December 2, 05:30ET - Data is illustrative, not for decision-making.
Financial data via Bloomberg, Freightos and AlphaVantage
Global Stability Ratings
Here are the complete global stability rankings for all countries and territories covered by Decis Intelligence.