World News Roundup: Thailand nursery attack: children slain while they slept; EU leaders squabble over energy crunch response and more

The prize will be seen by many as a condemnation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is celebrating his 70th birthday on Friday, and Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, making it one of the most politically contentious in decades. U.S. targets Singapore, Marshall Islands firms in new North Korea sanctions The United States on Friday imposed new sanctions following North Korea's latest missile launches this week, targeting a fuel procurement network that Washington said supports Pyongyang's weapons programs and its military.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Thailand nursery attack: children slain while they slept

It was nap time at Uthai Sawan Child Development Centre in northeastern Thailand and 24 children aged 2 to 5 years were bedded down at evenly spaced spots on the wood-paneled floor. All seemed calm until an ex-cop armed with a gun and knife stormed into the daycare centre, with on duty staff unable to stop him. The former police sergeant shot at the door of the room where the children slept and killed 22 of them, mostly with a knife, in a rampage that resulted in one of the worst massacres of children by a single killer in recent history.

EU leaders squabble over energy crunch response

Divisions between European Union leaders over capping gas prices and national rescue packages resurfaced on Friday, with Poland accusing Germany of "selfishness" in its response to a winter energy crunch caused by Russia's war in Ukraine. A majority of EU states has asked Brussels to propose a cap on gas prices, but they disagree on the details. Some capitals seek a broad cap on all gas trades and import contracts, while others prefer a limited cap in the power sector only.

In echo of Cold War, Nobel Peace Prize goes to Ukraine, Russia, Belarus rights campaigners

Jailed Belarusian activist Ales Byalyatski, Russian rights group Memorial and Ukraine's Center for Civil Liberties won the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, highlighting the significance of civil society for peace and democracy. The prize will be seen by many as a condemnation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is celebrating his 70th birthday on Friday, and Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, making it one of the most politically contentious in decades.

U.S. targets Singapore, Marshall Islands firms in new North Korea sanctions

The United States on Friday imposed new sanctions following North Korea's latest missile launches this week, targeting a fuel procurement network that Washington said supports Pyongyang's weapons programs and its military. Friday's action targeted two Singapore-registered companies and a Marshall Islands-registered firm, the U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement, as Washington seeks to hold North Korea accountable for ship-to-ship transfers that circumvent United Nations sanctions on the country.

Mexican tax chief Raquel Buenrostro named as next economy minister

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Friday named the country's tax authority chief Raquel Buenrostro as the next economy minister, a day after former minister Tatiana Clouthier resigned. "She's done a great job (as tax authority chief)," Lopez Obrador said at a regular news conference, touting Buenrostro's experience in the public sector and master's degree in economics.

South Korea, U.S. stage drills with aircraft carrier after North Korean missile launches

South Korea and the United States began joint maritime exercises with a U.S. aircraft carrier on Friday, South Korea's military said, a day after it scrambled fighter jets in reaction to an apparent North Korean bombing drill. The maritime drills will take place in waters off South Korea's east coast on Oct. 7-8, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The drills come after North Korea launched a pair of ballistic missiles into the sea on Thursday, and later flew warplanes near the border with the South.

One killed in Iraq's Erbil after vehicle explodes -statement

One person was killed and four were injured when a vehicle exploded in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil on Friday, the Kurdistan region's counter-terrorism service said. An explosive device attached to the bottom of the car detonated at around 1 p.m., killing the driver and injuring two women and two children who were in the car, it said in a statement.

Day after Thai attack, traumatised relatives cling to slain children's toys

Grief-stricken relatives sobbed and clutched toys at a children's daycare centre on Friday, a day after a former policeman killed 34 people, most of them young children, in a knife and gun rampage there that has horrified Thailand. Government buildings flew flags at half mast to mourn victims - 23 of them children - of the carnage in Uthai Sawan, a town 500 km (310 miles) northeast of Bangkok, the capital of the largely Buddhist country.

Iranian coroner says Mahsa Amini did not die from blows to body

An Iranian coroner's report into the death of Mahsa Amini said she did not die due to blows to the head and limbs but from multiple organ failure caused by cerebral hypoxia, or lack of oxygen to the brain, the official news agency IRNA reported on Friday. The death of 22-year-old Amini while in the custody of Iran's morality police has ignited more than two weeks of nationwide protests. Her father has said she suffered bruises to her legs, and has held the police responsible for her death.

Biden says Putin's nuclear threat brings risk of 'Armageddon'

Russian President Vladimir Putin's threat to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine has brought the world closer to "Armageddon" than at any time since the Cold-War Cuban Missile Crisis, U.S. President Joe Biden said. Putin celebrated his 70th birthday to fawning praise from some officials. But with his seven-month invasion unraveling, public events appeared sparse, a contrast to just a week ago, when he staged a huge concert on Red Square to proclaim the annexation of nearly a fifth of Ukrainian land.

(With inputs from agencies.)