Axios

Secretary of State Tony Blinken announced on Monday that the Sudanese military and Rapid Support Forces have agreed to a 72-hour cease-fire beginning at midnight local time.

The big picture: Previous attempts at a temporary cease-fire have failed. But there are hopes among the international community that if a truce can be implemented and holds, it can be the basis for negotiations for a permanent end to the fighting.

The American Library Association (ALA) on Monday released a list of the most challenged books of 2022.

The big picture: Libraries in every state faced yet another year of unprecedented attempts to ban books, the organization said.

If you haven't already submitted your passport application or renewal for summer travel, you could be out of luck and money.

The big picture: Surging international travel demand has created a backlog of passport applications with increased processing times of up to three months not counting shipping time, the State Department has warned.

India will overtake China as the most populous country this month, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs said on Monday, offering the most definitive timeframe on when the shift will take place.

Why it matters: China has had the world's largest population since at least 1950, when the UN started tracking population data. China ceding that title to India is expected to have geopolitical, economic and social implications in the two countries and worldwide.

Israel in a proposal given to the warring generals in Sudan offered to host the two sides for Israeli-mediated talks aimed at reaching a cease-fire agreement, three Israeli Foreign Ministry officials told Axios.

Driving the news: Israeli officials presented the proposal to Army chief Gen. Abdul Fattah al-Burhan and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) head Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo — known as Hemedti — after several separate calls between Israeli officials and the two generals showed some progress, the Israeli officials said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) praised the idea of a "strong Japan" during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and other officials in Tokyo on Monday, while brushing off questions about his potential 2024 run.

Driving the news: Japan marks the first stop in DeSantis' four-country overseas trip, where the prospective 2024 presidential candidate will have a chance to dust off his foreign policy credentials.

Countries around the world spent a combined $2.24 trillion on their militaries last year, a 3.7% increase on last year's previous record high when adjusted for inflation, according to an annual report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

The big picture: Many of the biggest increases came in Europe as countries responded to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The U.S. continued to top the chart, spending $877 billion on defense last year. That was more than the next 10 countries combined.

More governments have joined the U.S. in evacuating diplomatic staff from Sudan, as fighting between the Sudanese military and a powerful paramilitary group entered a ninth day Monday.

The big picture: Canada, the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Egypt and Turkey were among the governments to announce evacuations from Sudan on Sunday, as officials expressed concern for foreigners still in the country who do not work in the diplomatic service.

Twitter users are pushing back against Elon Musk's new pay-for-verification policy, with many journalists and celebrities opting to cancel their subscriptions out of embarrassment instead of keeping their blue checks.

Why it matters: Internet verification used to be a badge of honor. Now that it's achievable to anyone who is willing to buy it, it's become a signal of desperation.

Watch out, northerners: The armadillos are coming.

What's happening: The scaly critters have slowly but steadily expanded north from Texas for over a hundred years. Now their movement is rapidly accelerating.

The U.S. military has evacuated U.S. Embassy personnel and their families from Sudan, President Biden announced late Saturday, as the fighting in the capital Khartoum and other cities across the country entered its second week.

The big picture: Despite several attempts at a temporary cease-fire over the last few days, fighting between the Sudanese military, led by Gen. Abdul Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), headed by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo — known as Hemedti — has continued largely unabated.