Sudan

• The U.S.- and Saudi-brokered 72-hour ceasefire in Sudan is mostly holding, despite some violations, and many civilians and foreigners are using the opportunity to flee.
• That said, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) broke the ceasefire to seize Khartoum's National Public Health Lab, which holds samples of biological hazards like polio, measles, and cholera isolates. The WHO is worried about a potential "germ bomb."
• Sudan's ex-dictator, Omar al Bashir - who's been accused of genocide against his own people and is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) - may have escaped prison during an attack.
• The army says the RSF attacked the prison holding al Bashir as part of a plan to restore him to power - even though the RSF worked with the army to overthrow him in 2019.
• There are also reports that the army moved al Bashir to a military-run hospital before the prison attack and still holds him there. It's hard to tell what's true.
• The UN's envoy to Sudan told the UNSC that both the RSF and the army think they'll win, and neither is ready to "seriously negotiate."

Afghanistan

• The Taliban apparently killed the Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) leader behind the Aug. 2021 suicide bombing of Kabul's airport that killed 13 U.S. troops and up to 170 civilians.
• Details of the operation are murky: the White House - which shared the news with family members of the slain U.S. troops - didn't disclose the late IS-K leader's name, and it's not even clear whether the Taliban specifically targeted him.

• Sergey Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, gave some early hints that the Kremlin is entertaining the idea of a prisoner swap for two U.S. citizens it's (wrongfully) holding - WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich and ex-Marine Paul Whelan.
• It's not clear who would be released on the other side of the swap.
• However, Lavrov seemed annoyed by media interest in the possibility of a swap: he warned that publicity "will only complicate the process."
• Separately, South Africa's Pres. Ramaphosa said he was considering withdrawing from the ICC - apparently to avoid the obligation it would have as an ICC member to arrest Pres. Putin when he attends an upcoming BRICS summit in South Africa (ICC members must carry out the court's arrest warrants if the subject of a warrant enters their country). The presidency later backtracked and said South Africa won't leave the ICC.

• China is finally dropping its requirement for travelers to show a negative PCR test to enter the country this Saturday (although the wording of the announcement left open the possibility that travelers would still have to show a negative antigen test).

• Turkish police detained 110 people it says belong to the Kurdistan Workers' Party, a Kurdish armed group. Pres. Erdogan is likely trying to crack down on challenges to his prospects for elections on May 14.