Gunmen stormed Afghanistan’s largest school (AP), Kabul University, on Monday, killing at least nineteen people and wounding more than twenty, according to Afghan authorities.

The three attackers were killed after an hours-long standoff with security forces, officials said. The attack reportedly happened while Afghan and Iranian officials were inaugurating a book exhibition (TOLO) at the university. President Ashraf Ghani condemned the “terrorist attack,” which the Taliban denied responsibility for. Last month, twenty-four people were killed and dozens more wounded in an attack on an education center (WaPo) in Kabul. The self-proclaimed Islamic State claimed responsibility for that attack.

Typhoon Goni, known locally as Rolly, battered the Philippines (WaPo) yesterday, killing at least sixteen people. It was the world’s strongest storm this year. Tens of thousands of people in dozens of cities and towns were forced to flee their homes, though Manila was largely spared.

Hong Kong: Hong Kong police arrested eight pro-democracy politicians (NYT) who were allegedly involved in a heated session of Hong Kong’s legislature in May. The Hong Kong government and Beijing have been cracking down on dissent in the city after last year’s massive protests.

This CFR Backgrounder examines democracy in Hong Kong.

The Kyrgyz Supreme Court’s Constitutional Chamber said it will hear an appeal filed by the opposition party and two citizens challenging the delay of the country’s parliamentary elections (RFE/RL). The opposition had scheduled fresh elections for December 20 after the results of Kyrgyzstan’s October parliamentary elections were annulled. But acting President Sadyr Japarov signed amendments delaying the vote until 2021.

A majority of voters endorsed changes to Algeria’s constitution (AFP) in a referendum yesterday, but less than one in four people voted—the country’s lowest turnout ever for a major poll. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune had pushed for the reforms, but the Hirak protest movement dismissed them as a “facade” and called for a boycott of the vote.

Saudi Arabia: For the first time since March, foreigners were allowed to participate in umrah (Al Jazeera), an Islamic pilgrimage to the city of Mecca. Coronavirus precautions are in place. Last year, the pilgrimage drew nineteen million visitors.

Opposition leaders in the Ivory Coast called for a “civilian transition” (AFP) from President Alassane Ouattara’s government after boycotting the country’s presidential election on Saturday. Early results show Ouattara leading in his controversial bid for a third term.

Niger: U.S. special forces rescued an American citizen (WaPo) who had been kidnapped in southern Niger and taken to northern Nigeria.

Rescue efforts are underway after an earthquake (CNN) in the Aegean Sea killed more than eighty people. Most were in Turkey, though two in Greece island of Samos were also killed. The earthquake collapsed buildings in the badly hit Turkish city of Izmir.

United Kingdom: The country is the latest in Europe to impose coronavirus lockdown measures (WSJ) in response to a resurgence of cases. Bars, restaurants, and nonessential stores will be forced to close beginning on Thursday, and people will only be allowed to leave their homes for essential purposes.

Hundreds of former members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel group marched in Bogota (Reuters) demanding an end to the killings of former combatants. More than two hundred former FARC members have been killed since the signing of a 2016 peace agreement.

Brazil: Hundreds of people marched in Sao Paulo against the state governor’s support for mandatory COVID-19 vaccination (MercoPress) and the testing of a potential vaccine created by the Chinese company Sinovac. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has said that vaccination will be voluntary and has rejected purchasing the vaccine from China.

President Donald J. Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden zeroed in on the battleground state of Pennsylvania (NYT) ahead of tomorrow's presidential election. Biden is spending most of his campaign’s final hours in the state, while Trump has been on a campaign blitz that also included stops in Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, and North Carolina. More than ninety-three million ballots have already been cast ahead of Tuesday’s vote.

CFR tracks the candidates’ positions on foreign policy.