Kazakhstan is set to join the Abraham Accords between Israel and Arab and Muslim majority countries in a symbolic move aimed at boosting the initiative that was a hallmark of President Donald Trump's first administration.

The action, announced Thursday, is largely symbolic as Kazakhstan has had diplomatic relations with Israel since 1992 and is much farther geographically from Israel than the other Abraham Accord nations — Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates.

Senior North Korean and Russian military officials discussed strengthening cooperation in their latest talks this week in Pyongyang, North Korean state media said Friday, as the two countries continue to align over Russia's war in Ukraine.

The report came days after South Korea's spy agency, in a closed-door briefing to lawmakers, said it had detected signs of recruitment and training activities in North Korea, possibly in preparation for additional troop deployments to Russia.

Airports in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago along with hubs across the U.S. are among the 40 that will see flights cut starting Friday due to the government shutdown, according to a list distributed to the airlines and obtained by The Associated Press.

The Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday that it will reduce air traffic by 10% across 40 "high-volume" markets to maintain travel safety as air traffic controllers exhibit signs of strain during the ongoing government shutdown.

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, at war with the regular army for more than two years, announced on Thursday that they had agreed to a proposal for a humanitarian truce put forward by mediators.

"In response to the aspirations and interests of the Sudanese people, the Rapid Support Forces affirms its agreement to enter into the humanitarian truce proposed by the Quad countries," the RSF said in a statement, referring to the United States, Egypt, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Nigeria on Wednesday told foreign diplomats posted to the country that its designation as a violator of religious freedom by the United States was "fundamentally misinformed", while also keeping the door open to security cooperation with Washington.

The Colombian survivor of a US attack on a suspected narco submarine in the Caribbean was released without charge after being treated for his injuries, authorities told AFP on Tuesday.

The death toll from a UPS cargo plane crashing in Louisville has risen to nine with more fatalities feared, Kentucky's governor said Wednesday, as search efforts continued and the airport resumed flights.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Russia would consider resuming nuclear tests if the United States did so, convening a security council meeting after US President Donald Trump's comments on testing.

New Yorkers elected young leftist Zohran Mamdani as their next mayor Tuesday and Democrats won two key state governor races as US voters delivered an early warning to President Donald Trump ahead of 2026's midterms.

Pakistan on Tuesday welcomed jubilant Sikh pilgrims from India, in the first major crossing since deadly clashes in May closed the land border between the nuclear-armed neighbors.