WASHINGTON, Oct 6 (Reuters) - The U.S. Commerce Department on Friday added 42 Chinese companies to a government export control list over their support for Moscow's military and defense industrial base - support that includes the supply of U.S.-origin integrated circuits.

Another seven entities from Finland, Germany, India, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom were also added to the trade export control list.

TEHRAN, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- A top Iranian military commander vowed that those who carried out and supported the deadly drone attack on a military academy in Syria's central province of Homs would be avenged "heavily," Iran's official news agency IRNA reported on Saturday.

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Six Colombians arrested as the alleged assassins of a candidate in Ecuador’s August presidential election were slain Friday inside a prison in Guayaquil, officials announced, without providing details on what happened.

The prison authority said only that six prisoners killed inside Litoral Penitentiary were the men “charged with the murder of former presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio.” It identified them as Jhon Gregore R., Andrés Manuel M., Adey Fernando G., Camilo Andrés R., Sules Osmini C. and José Neyder L.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Saturday decried the “appalling assault” by Hamas militants and his administration pledged to ensure Israel has “what it needs to defend itself” after the surprise attack that drew worldwide condemnation and anger from Israel’s allies.

06 October 2023; MEMO: Morocco, on Friday, began disbursing a monthly stipend of 2,500 dirhams, or $250, to families hit by last month’s deadly earthquake, villagers told Anadolu.

The government had promised compensation for quake victims on 6-16 October, and families who do not receive the amount can submit a petition to relevant regional committees, Anadolu Agency reports.

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Two teenagers were indicted Friday and charged as adults with several felonies, including murder and auto theft, after allegedly recording the moment they targeted and fatally struck a bicyclist in a Las Vegas hit-and-run.

Police have said they tied the teens, who were 17 and 16 at the time, to at least three hit-and-run incidents the morning of Aug. 14. The indictment expands on the charges the teens were already facing.

06 October 2023; MEMO: Iran’s Foreign Ministry, on Friday, condemned the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to jailed rights activist, Narges Mohammadi, as a biased move aimed at politicising the prize, Reuters reports.

“The action of the Nobel Peace Committee is political move in line with the interventionist and anti-Iranian policies of some European governments,” Ministry spokesperson, Nasser Kanaani, said.

CAÑON CITY, Colo. (AP) — The awful smell seeped from a neglected building in a small Colorado town for days, followed by a report that made police take a closer look at the “green” funeral operator’s storage facility. Inside, they made a gruesome discovery: At least 115 decaying bodies.

Investigators were tight-lipped Friday about exactly what they found inside the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose, Colorado, but their plans to bring in teams that usually deal with airline crashes, coroners from nearby jurisdictions and the FBI pointed to a grim mess.

06 October 2023; MEMO: The Pope is said to be “furious” over the wave of anti-Christian hate crimes carried out by Israeli settlers, the spokesman of the Council of Heads of Catholic Churches in Jerusalem, Wadie Abu Nasser, has said.

BEIRUT, Oct 7 (NNN-NNA) – Three prisoners were killed and 16 others injured yesterday, in a fire inside a prison in Zahle, located in the Bekaa valley in eastern Lebanon.

The fire was set by several prisoners, as they were trying to escape from the prison due to dire living conditions there, amid the current financial crisis, said the report.

06 October 2023; MEMO: A recent investigative report by the European Investigative Collaborations, involving 15 European news outlets, has alleged that Athens was the centre of the Israeli Intellexa spyware company, Anadolu Agency reports.

Greek Reporters United, providing new evidence, revealed that the central figure in the scandal was French businessman, Stefan Salies, the head of Nexa, which collaborated closely with Intellexa to sell surveillance software, including the Predator, to illiberal regimes.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Amazon launched the first test satellites for its planned internet service on Friday as a rival to SpaceX’s broadband network.

United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket blasted off with the pair of test satellites, kicking off a program that aims to improve global internet coverage with an eventual 3,236 satellites around Earth.

Amazon plans to begin offering service by the end of next year.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has a huge head start over Amazon and its founder Jeff Bezos, who has his own rocket company, Blue Origin.