Brazilians try again to control prison
SAO PAULO — Authorities mounted another operation Friday in their struggle to regain control of a Brazilian prison two weeks after riots left 26 inmates dead.
Specially trained corrections officers, including some from a federal task force sent in for prison emergencies, took control of two pavilions in the Alcacuz prison complex in the morning, a statement from the state Rio Grande do Norte said.
The forces did not encounter resistance, the statement said. They seized a revolver, drugs, cellphones and knives in the operation, and 120 prisoners are being charged with possession of these items.
After the morning raid, the Brazilian flag was again flying over the prison, where gangs had raised their own flags during recent unrest.
Brazil has seen a spasm of violence in prisons this year that led to more than 120 deaths. Fighting between rival gangs held in overcrowded and understaffed facilities has been blamed for the often gruesome killings.
Authorities expect the current operation to take another 30 days, including rebuilding damaged parts of the prison. They will also need to enter and take control of the three other pavilions in the complex.
Italy, Spain to seek ‘key role’ in EU
MADRID — Leaders of Italy and Spain agreed Friday to seek a bigger role in strengthening an embattled European Union during upcoming summits as France, Germany and other countries prepare for elections that could weaken western Europe’s leadership.
“Italy and Spain can play a key role in the coming months, primarily as protagonists in the European Union revival,” Italian Premier Paolo Gentiloni said at a news conference after talks in Madrid with his Spanish counterpart, Mariano Rajoy.
Gentiloni and Rajoy are scheduled to join the leaders of Portugal, France, Greece, Malta and Cyprus for a one-day summit in Lisbon today. They also plan to attend talks with the 28 leaders of the EU next month in Malta and for a March gathering in Rome to mark 60 years since the establishment of a European economic union.
Czech court drops hijab ban complaint
PRAGUE, Czech Republic — A court in the Czech Republic dismissed a complaint Friday brought by a Somali woman who had accused a nursing school of discriminating against her by telling her she couldn’t wear a hijab.
The school argued that Ayan Jamaal Ahmednuur was not properly enrolled as a student and therefore could not have been a target of bias.
The Prague 10 district court agreed, ruling there was no evidence of discrimination.
Ahmednuur alleged that on her first day at Secondary Health School the school’s principal told her to remove her hijab. Instead, she submitted a form to quit and demanded an apology and 60,000 koruna ($2,372) in compensation.
Unlike some other European countries, the Czech Republic does not prohibit Muslim women from wearing headscarves in certain settings. However, the nursing school does for what it described as safety reasons since its students get some of their training in hospitals.
Syria peace talks pushed back
MOSCOW — Russia’s foreign minister said Friday the next round of Syrian peace talks in Geneva would be postponed until late February, as rebel factions continued to clash with al-Qaida-linked militants in northern Syria.
The UN-mediated talks in Switzerland, previously set for Feb. 8, will instead take place by the end of the month, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in opening a mini-summit in Moscow with state-approved representatives of the Syrian opposition. He did not explain the delay. Rebels fighting to oust President Bashar Assad declined an invitation from Lavrov to meet in Moscow, raising doubts the meeting could offer something beyond another discussion panel on the conflict.
In a move certain to rattle Turkey, representatives of Syria’s leading Kurdish party also attended the Moscow gathering on Friday. Turkey is waging a low-grade war against the Democratic Union Party in Syria, which Ankara views as an extension of the Kurdish insurgency within its own borders.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Kurdish participation in the Geneva process is “necessary.”