- Too Quiet in the Levant, Nigeria’s 10-days of Rage and What’s Hungary Up To?[
Plus Changes in Bangladesh.
Andrew Sheves Good morning.
A tense weekend in the Levant has given way to an anxious week as everyone waits to see how Iran and Hezbollah respond to recent attacks by Israel. Meanwhile, Hungary’s Victor Orban continues to be Europe’s most troublesome family member, while youths in Nigeria are staging ‘ten days of rage’ to protest economic conditions.
FLASH - Just as we were publishing, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced her resignation and fled the country as protestors stormed the palace after a violent weekend where 90 protesters were killed. Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman has taken temporary control and is meeting with protest leaders and other stakeholders.
[Follow the BBC for live updates](http://Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman).
But first, the stability matrix.
Reminder: a downward arrow signifies the location is more turbulent, whereas an upward arrow means calmer
Is somewhere important to you missing? Hit ‘reply’ and we’ll get them added to the matrix.
There’s still time to sign up for tomorrow’s discussion of how to use AI to generate better insights from data. Mads Pærregaard from Human Risks and I are chatting at 0800ET, sharing what we’ve learned about using AI in our work and how you can do the same.
Events of interest that we’re monitoring.
🌡️ The Levant
As of Monday morning ET, Iran had not responded to Israel’s assassination of Hamas’s political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran last week. Nor had Hezbollah retaliated to the simultaneous assassination of Fuad Shukr in Beirut, which Israel claimed was in response to the Hezbollah strike on the Golan Heights on July 27.
In response to these rising tensions, the US has announced additional deployments to the region, including maritime and air defense assets, to provide additional protection to Israel in the event of retaliation. Meanwhile, the US and other countries are advising their citizens to avoid travel to the region and to consider leaving if possible, while many airlines have canceled flights into Beirut and Tel Aviv.
The delays in retaliation could be read as a positive sign that a careful, deliberate response in the works, similar to the [heavily choreographed, easily defeated Iranian attack in April](https://www.reuters.c
Carpe tomorrow!