The European Union on Friday said it had "serious concerns" about democratic standards in Turkey, warning that a crackdown on rights was further undermining Ankara's long-stalled bid to join the bloc.

"Our concerns about democratic standards remain. The latest developments affecting media freedom, the rights of LGBTIQ+ people and local democracy are widening the gap with Turkey's objective of joining the EU," EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos told journalists in the northwestern Turkish city of Edirne.

The United Nations said Friday it was watching "with concern" school protests in France that have resulted in thousands of youngsters being arrested and several seriously injured.

"We are following with concern incidents related to the student protests and high school blockades in France, some of which have turned violent," said Shabia Mantoo, spokesperson for the UN human rights agency, urging people on all sides to ensure they remain peaceful.

Heavy rains lashed much of central Vietnam on Friday and caused flooding in parts of the historic city of Hue, a day after floods and landslides hit the coastal port city of Danang. Troops were mobilized and amphibious armored vehicles readied for rescue operations, state media reported.

More rainfall was forecast through Sunday morning and authorities warned that continued downpours could trigger flash floods and landslides in mountainous areas and flooding in low-lying communities.

Former U.N. human rights chief Navanethem "Navi" Pillay, a judge on the International Court of Justice, won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday in Oslo, Norway.

The South Africa-born Pillay, 85 years old, was recognized for her efforts to promote peace and international law, said Jørgen Watne Frydnes, Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

Russian strikes killed two people and wounded five more across Ukraine, officials said Friday, as Ukraine struggles to counter escalating Russian bombardments that have killed more than 50 people over the past three days.

One man was killed and five people were wounded in Russian strikes on Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region Friday morning, said Mykhailo Semikin, the head of the regional military administration. He said that the attacks hit residential areas and that a child was among the wounded.

The top trade envoys for China and the European Union were wrapping up two days of talks Friday aimed at calming escalating tensions over growing imbalances between the two giant economies.

EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic traveled to Beijing saying it was crucial that the negotiations deliver "tangible outcomes" in rebalancing trade between China and the 27-nation bloc.

An airline pilot was among three Saudi citizens killed in attacks targeting Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport and a Saudia aircraft, the kingdom's civil aviation authority said on Friday. Several people "of different nationalities" were wounded.

The attacks on Thursday were the deadliest in Saudi Arabia since the kingdom and allied forces in neighboring Yemen launched a major military offensive against Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels last weekend.

Heavy rains drenched Chile's capital and the surrounding region Thursday, triggering mudslides that swept cars through streets, flooded homes, forced residents to evacuate and injured at least six people, authorities said.

President José Antonio Kast declared a state of emergency for Las Condes, a wealthy suburb east of Santiago, giving government agencies more power to respond as torrential rains turned key roads into impassable waterways. The district's mayor, Catalina San Martín, said 14.4 centimeters (5.7 inches) of rain had fallen in recent days — about nine times the average October rainfall — leaving the area "totally saturated."

The Kremlin has long maintained a culture of secrecy when it comes to controlling public information, especially involving accidents -- from industrial disasters to health emergencies.

The suspicious death last week of a worker at a research lab in Siberia that has fueled global concerns about suspected pneumonic plague is just the latest example of how leaders in Moscow manage the official narrative that often covers up the truth for years.

President Donald Trump said Thursday that he will not order a resumption of military strikes on Iran before the Nov. 3 midterm elections in the United States.

Trump, while stumping for Republicans this week, has hinted that he was confident that an endgame to the war could come in the days before or after the election, while also hinting that he remained open to resuming full-scale military operations against Iran.