Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at Western embassy evacuations in Sudan, new British sanctions against Iran, and a deadly cult in Kenya.

Western governments pulled their diplomatic personnel out of Sudan this weekend after numerous attempts at temporary cease-fires between the Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces failed. Nearly 100 U.S. special forces, including members of SEAL Team 6 and the U.S. Army’s 3rd Special Forces Group, evacuated dozens of U.S. Embassy personnel and their dependents on Sunday. The embassy staffers and their families were transported to Djibouti via three MH-47 Chinook helicopters in an operation that took less than an hour. “Suspending operations at one of our embassies is always a difficult decision, but the safety of our personnel is my first responsibility,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. There are no longer any U.S. government personnel in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, according to the State Department.

The U.S. Embassy evacuation came a day after the State Department announced a temporary suspension of consular operations in the country amid a new travel advisory. At least 16,000 Americans—mostly dual citizens and aid workers—remain in Sudan, but further evacuations at this time are unlikely, according to U.S. defense officials. With the security situation in Sudan precarious and the civilian airport in Khartoum closed, a broader evacuation attempt could be too dangerous.

Britain, Canada, and the Netherlands also evacuated their embassies this weekend, while Germany became one of the first countries to launch an evacuation mission for all of its nationals in Sudan, with 101 German citizens flown to Jordan on Sunday. But these operations have not been without hiccups. One French official was injured when the French diplomatic convoy attempted to leave Khartoum. Meanwhile, hundreds of United Nations and other international staffers successfully made the difficult overland journey from Khartoum to Port Sudan, a city located on the Red Sea—a route some American citizens are also trying despite the State Department advising against it.

As many as 20,000 Sudanese have fled into neighboring Chad to escape the fighting despite N’Djamena closing its border nine days ago, but millions more remain trapped in Khartoum and other cities. Violence first broke out on April 15, and more than 400 people have died thus far. Numerous foreign governments have called on the warring parties to cease hostilities, with U.S. President Joe Biden calling the conflict “unconscionable.” But Western governments’ flight is leaving many Sudanese in the lurch. “To the western negotiators: you put us in this mess & now you’re swooping in to take your kinfolk (the ones that matter) & leaving us behind to these two murdering psychopaths,” tweeted Khartoum resident Dallia Mohamed Abdelmoniem. “God have mercy on us cause no one else gives a damn and no one else will be merciful.”

• What Happens When a Turkish President Loses an Election? No One Knows. by Reuben Silverman

• In Sudan, U.S. Policies Paved the Way for War by Justin Lynch

• China’s Reincarnation Monopoly Has a Mongolia Problem by James A. Millward

Monday, April 24, to Thursday, April 27: Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei visits Taiwan.

Tuesday, April 25: Colombia hosts an international conference on Venezuela’s political situation.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov chairs a U.N. Security Council meeting on the Middle East.

Tuesday, April 25, to Wednesday, April 26: Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva visits Spain.

Wednesday, April 26: Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan appears in court on allegations of sedition.

Thursday, April 27: Blinken hosts meetings with U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak meets with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Friday, April 28: The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea issues a judgement on a maritime boundary dispute between Mauritius and Maldives.

Sunday, April 30: Paraguay holds general elections.

Uzbekistan holds a constitutional referendum.

Britain’s IRGC sanctions. The U.K. government issued tougher sanctions on Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Monday, targeting four top IRGC commanders as well as the organization “in its entirety.” British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly also announced a travel ban on the four individuals from entering the United Kingdom. The stricter sanctions campaign was made in conjunction with the United States and the European Union in response to Tehran’s crackdown on government dissidents and human rights activists.

Widespread protests erupted in Iran in September 2022 following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in custody of the so-called morality police for allegedly improperly wearing a hijab. Four months later, at least 522 people had been killed in the unrest—including 70 minors, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency. And some 20,000 people have been arrested, many of whom are part of Iran’s youngest generation. “[T]hey’re shaking up the aging, sclerotic clerical establishment to a degree not seen since the country’s 1979 revolution,” Iranian American Holly Dagres argued in Foreign Policy.

A deadly cult. Kenyan President William Ruto denounced the starvation deaths of 47 people on Monday as actions akin to terrorism after pastor Paul Makenzi of the Good News International Church ordered his congregants to fast to death to meet Jesus. Makenzi was arrested on April 14, and authorities have uncovered dozens of bodies in a mass grave on his property. At least 112 people have been reported missing in the town where the pastor’s main church is located, and an investigation is still ongoing.

Weapons trafficking. Israeli officials arrested a Jordanian parliamentarian on Saturday for allegedly trying to smuggle guns and gold from Jordan into the occupied West Bank, according to the Jordanian Foreign Ministry. The parliamentarian, 35-year-old Imad al-Adwan, is reportedly a member of the Palestine Committee in Jordan’s legislative body. Israel has maintained full diplomatic relations with Jordan since the two countries signed a peace agreement in 1994, but tensions between the neighboring nations have intensified over the past few years. This spiked when a 2020 annexation deal caused then-Jordanian Prime Minister Omar Razzaz to warn of relations being at their “lowest level.”

It’s either the cutest thing you’ve ever heard, or it causes the most ear-splitting headache. Dozens of babies wearing ceremonial sumo aprons in Japan participated in a centuries-old competition across the country on Saturday. For the event, staff donned oni demon masks and tried to scare pairs of toddlers. Whichever “crying sumo” started weeping first won. The ritual is believed to bring good health to the brawling bawlers.