Former Bolivian President Evo Morales accepted an offer of political asylum (Guardian) in Mexico, where he flew last night. Morales resigned on Sunday after three weeks of protests and mounting pressure from the country’s military. He claimed the circumstances amounted to a coup.
 
The army chief called for Morales’s resignation after the Organization of American States said it could not verify Morales’s victory in elections last month that were marred by allegations of irregularities. On Sunday, three officials in line for Bolivia’s presidency also resigned (CNN), and opposition lawmakers hope to assemble (NYT) in the legislature today to choose an interim leader. Morales recorded an audio message to Bolivians before his departure to Mexico, vowing to “return soon with force.”

Pro-democracy protesters vowed to continue (SCMP) weekday traffic disruptions after one of the most violent days of clashes with authorities since protests began. Police shot a protester (SCMP) and a man was set on fire yesterday.
 
Australia: More than six hundred schools were closed today in the country’s most populous state, New South Wales, due to bushfires (SMH) that authorities classified as catastrophic.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani announced the release (TOLO) of three Taliban commanders in exchange for the release of an Australian and a U.S. professor held by the Taliban. Ghani said the measure was aimed at facilitating face-to-face peace talks.
 
India: The Shiv Sena party, a longtime ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), cut ties (Economic Times) with the BJP in Maharashtra, India’s largest state, but failed (Mint) to form a state government with the opposition NCP and Congress parties.

The strike killed a senior commander (NYT) of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, prompting retaliatory rocket fire toward southern and central Israel.
 
Syria: Former British army officer James Le Mesurier, a co-founder of the Syrian emergency rescue force known as the White Helmets, was found dead (FT) in Istanbul on Monday. His death is being investigated.

Gambia was chosen by the fifty-seven-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation (NYT) to sue Myanmar at the International Court of Justice for actions the Southeast Asian country has taken against its Rohingya Muslim minority. The suit alleges Myanmar’s actions amount to genocide.
 
This CFR Backgrounder looks at the Rohingya crisis.
 
Nigeria: Visa is buying a 20 percent stake in the Nigerian firm Interswitch that values the company (Quartz) at over a billion dollars ahead of its planned IPO next year.

Turkey deported (WaPo) an American and a Danish citizen suspected of belonging to the self-proclaimed Islamic State. The country plans to deport suspected militants who are French, German, and Irish in the coming days, an interior ministry spokesperson said.
 
Ukraine: Military forces and Russian-backed separatists completed a mutual troop withdrawal (RFE/RL) from a third frontline of their conflict. Russian and German leaders also reportedly discussed plans to hold a summit with France and Ukraine, aimed at ending the conflict, before the end of the year.
 
In Foreign Affairs, Sophie Pinkham writes that Ukraine needs more than lethal aid from the United States.

The country’s congress will rewrite (WSJ) Chile’s constitution in response to continued antigovernment protests, the interior minister said.
 
CFR.org looks at what’s behind the protests.

The court will hear arguments (Vox) today on the possibility of terminating the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, under which more than six hundred thousand people who were brought to the United States as children have been shielded from deportation.
 
This CFR Backgrounder looks at the U.S. immigration debate.