Police in northern Brazil are searching for dozens of inmates who escaped from an overcrowded prison complex during a riot that left 56 dead, officials say.
The area in Manaus, in Amazonas state, has been isolated. Officials say 40 out of 87 fugitives have been recaptured.
Meanwhile, families have gathered outside the local morgue to identify the victims. Some were decapitated.
This violence began on Sunday and ended 17 hours later. It was the deadliest prison riot in Brazil in years.
Officials said the rebellion at the Anisio Jobim Penitentiary Centre, the biggest in Amazonas, was sparked by fighting between rival gangs over the control of prisons and drug routes.
„This was another chapter in the silent and ruthless war of drug trafficking,“ state public security secretary, Sergio Fontes, told journalists.
The clashes, he added, appeared to be between members of Family of the North (FDN), a powerful local gang, and rivals from the First Capital Command (PCC), Brazil’s largest gang, whose base is in Sao Paulo, in the south-east.
FDN is believed to be attacking PCC inmates at the behest of the Rio de Janeiro-based Red Command (CV) drug gang, the country’s second largest.
When the riot began, six headless bodies were thrown over the perimeter fence of the prison. it ended on Monday, when the inmates surrendered their weapons and freed the last of 12 guards they had taken hostage.
Pictures showed bloodied and burned bodies stacked in a concrete prison yard and piled in carts. A post-riot search by police found several firearms and tunnels.
Brazil has the world’s fourth-largest prison population, with some 600,000 inmates. Overcrowding is a serious problem and violent riots are frequent.
Reports said the capacity of the Anisio Jobim Penitentiary Centre was for 454 inmates, but it had 1,224 men.
In 1992, a rebellion at the Carandiru prison in Sao Paulo saw 111 inmates killed, nearly all of them by police as they retook the jail.

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KHOU CBS11 is at the scene of the conflict where a reporter tweeted that four to five armed suspects opened fire on the deputies and are “hunkered down” behind the Valero gas station and convenience store on West Road.
It is not known at this time if any of the deputies have been hit by the gunfire or if they have returned fire on the suspects.
At least one of the suspects may be using a rifle, KTRK ABC13’s Christine Dobbyn tweeted.
The standoff may have developed after an armed home invasion that took place in the area, Montgomery County Police Reporter’s Scott Engle told Breitbart Texas in a phone interview. Engle posted the following on his website:
Russell is reporting at 8:10 Houston local time that deputies have K-9 officers in the area searching for the suspects.
Click2Houston – NBC reported a witness saying it sounded like the 4th of July, so many shots were being fired at police. The witness said several people were firing shots at the deputies.
The NBC affiliate reported that the residents of the home where the alleged robbery took place were transported to a hospital for treatment after being beaten.
The situation at the Valero station is developing and further updates will be forthcoming.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.

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Turkish police have launched raids in Istanbul and arrested 12 people, as the hunt for an attacker who killed 39 people in a nightclub intensifies.
Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said authorities had fingerprints and a basic description, and vowed to „speedily“ identify the suspect.
Some 600 revellers were in the Reina nightclub early on Sunday when the gunman attacked.
So-called Islamic State said it was behind the attack.
Mr Kurtulmus told reporters: „Information about the fingerprints and basic appearance of the terrorist have been found.
„The next step will be to try to identify him as quickly as we can. We hope we will not only find the terrorist but also his connections and those people who gave him support inside and outside the club,“ he said.
Mr Kurtulmus confirmed eight arrests. Later in the evening special forces police backed by a helicopter launched an operation on a house in the Zeytinburnu district following a tip.
The attacker was not found. Four more arrests have been made elsewhere.
Turkish police also released new images said to be of the suspect, but without giving any more information about the time or location.
Turkish media also showed video purported to be of the suspect at an unidentified date and location where he is seen handing over identification documents to an official behind a glass window. The video cannot be independently verified.
Turkish media reports quote police sources as saying he may have been from Uzbekistan or Kyrgyzstan.
Police are investigating whether the suspect belongs to an IS cell blamed for an attack in June on Ataturk airport in Istanbul.
Mr Kurtulmus said the nightclub attack was a „message“ against Turkey’s operations in Syria but that they would not be affected.
Turkey launched a military operation in August aimed at pushing back IS and Kurdish forces, with some of the most intensive recent fighting against IS around the northern town of al-Bab.
IS said in a statement that the attack was carried out by „a heroic soldier“.
It accused Turkey of shedding the blood of Muslims through „its air strikes and mortar attacks“ in Syria.
Although IS has been linked to other attacks in Turkey, it has not claimed responsibility before.
Early on Sunday, the gunman arrived at the club by taxi before rushing through the entrance with a long-barrelled gun he had taken from the boot of the car.
The attacker fired randomly at people in an assault lasting seven minutes, starting with a security guard and a travel agent near the entrance. Both were killed.
The gunman is reported to have changed clothes before fleeing the chaos.
Some two-thirds of those killed were foreign, according to local media, among them citizens from Israel, Russia, France, Tunisia, Lebanon, India, Belgium, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
The victims
The body of one of those who died has yet to be identified.
At least 69 people are being treated in hospital, officials said, with three in a serious condition.
Barman Mehmet Yilan, 36, said the gunman „stormed in and immediately headed for the people to the left, which is always more crowded… he seemed to know where to go.
„He was shooting randomly but aiming for their upper bodies. He didn’t want to just injure them. “
The nightclub, which sits on the banks of the Bosphorus, is one of Istanbul’s most fashionable venues – popular with foreigners and often frequented by singers and sports stars.
Istanbul was already on high alert with some 17,000 police officers on duty in the city, following a string of terror attacks in recent months.
10 December: Twin bomb attack outside a football stadium in Istanbul kills 44 people, Kurdish militant group claims responsibility
20 August: Bomb attack on wedding party in Gaziantep kills at least 30 people, IS suspected
30 July: 35 Kurdish fighters try to storm a military base and are killed by the Turkish army
28 June: A gun and bomb attack on Ataturk airport in Istanbul kills 41 people, in an attack blamed on IS militants
13 March: 37 people are killed by Kurdish militants in a suicide car bombing in Ankara
17 February: 28 people die in an attack on a military convoy in Ankara

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Dylann Roof is competent to represent himself when the jury that found him guilty of killing nine black parishioners at a South Carolina church returns to court to decide his punishment, a judge has ruled.
With the 22-year-old representing himself, the process is sure to be unconventional. But even if Roof is sentenced to death, it is highly unlikely he would be executed soon.
While prosecutors plan to call up to 38 people related to the nine people killed and three who survived the June 2015 slaughter during Bible study at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, Roof said last week he plans on calling no witnesses and presenting no evidence.
Roof was unanimously found guilty last month of 33 federal charges, including hate crimes and obstruction of the practice of religion. A jury took less than three hours to return its verdict, and a judge dismissed the jury for a break over the Christmas holidays.
Typically in what is known as the sentencing phase, defence lawyers call relatives and other witnesses to testify about their client’s unsteady state of mind before and during the crimes. Given that background, the defence hopes, a jury might be more likely to spare the defendant’s life and opt against the death penalty.
But Roof, who is acting as his own lawyer, has said he plans to do no such thing.
In his journal, which was read in court during his trial, Roof said he does not believe in psychology, which he called „a Jewish invention“ that „does nothing but invent diseases and tell people they have problems when they don’t“.
Roof also seems to be determined to try to keep evidence embarrassing to him or his family out. Not only did he take over his own defence, but he asked the judge at a hearing last week if he could file a motion limiting what prosecutors can introduce.
Roof also was adamant that a transcript of a hearing where he was found mentally competent not be released to the public.
„I know this is not a legal argument, but the unsealing of the competency hearing defeats the purpose of me representing myself,“ Roof said at last week’s hearing.
On Thursday, US District Judge Richard Gergel ordered another competency evaluation of Roof „in an abundance of caution“ after his standby counsel filed a sealed motion again questioning Roof’s mental ability to proceed.
On Monday, after the objection of a lawyer representing media outlets including The Associated Press, Mr Gergel ordered the competency hearing to be closed to the public.
Saying he would have to sequester jurors if he opened up the proceedings, the judge promised to release a transcript after Roof is sentenced.
„This is an incredibly sensitive moment in this proceeding,“ he said. „We are putting in the hands of 12 people the life and death of a person. “
After a day-long hearing, Mr Gergel ultimately ruled Roof is competent to stand trial and also to represent himself at sentencing. He also granted Roof’s request for an extra day to prepare for his case.
Court papers show prosecutors are expected to present evidence showing that Roof picked his victims because of their race, killed them to incite more violence, showed no remorse and killed three particularly vulnerable people who were 70 years old or older.
Roof also faces nine murder charges in state court, where prosecutors have also said they will seek the death penalty in a trial likely to begin next year.
Whether he is sentenced to death or not, it is unlikely Roof would be executed soon, in either jurisdiction. The federal government has not executed anyone since 2003, and there are years of appeals between a death sentence being passed and carried out.
South Carolina’s death chamber has not been used since 2011, due at least in part to a lack of availability of the drugs the state uses for lethal injection.
AP

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January 2, 2017
JERUSALEM — Police questioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for three hours under caution at his official residence in Jerusalem on Monday on suspicion of receiving gifts from businessmen in breach of his role as a public servant.
Part of a police statement issued after the questioning ended said that „investigators questioned PM Benjamin Netanyahu under caution on suspicion of receiving benefits. “ No additional details were initially given.
In questioning a suspect under caution, police investigators believe that the person they are interviewing has a case to answer.
The move to question the Israeli leader was authorized by Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, who decided after a preliminary inquiry that there was enough evidence to open a criminal investigation.
Mandelblit issued a long statement which did not detail the matters being investigated but said the information warranted questioning under caution.
It also mentioned other suspicions which had been checked but did not yield evidence to warrant additional criminal enquiries.
„The nature of the investigation precludes us at this stage from giving details of the ongoing investigation but we will consider releasing more information from time to time according to developments,“ Mandelblit’s statement said.
He added that investigation began three months ago but new, detailed information had come to light during the past month which supported questioning the prime minister under caution.
Before the questioning began, Netanyahu told his ruling Likud faction in parliament that those anticipating his downfall should not expect his imminent departure.
„Wait with the celebrations, don’t rush,“ Netanyahu said. „I’ve said it before and I’ll say it once again: there will be nothing because there is nothing. “
Photographers were camped outside the heavily guarded residence, hoping to get pictures of investigators arriving. Black screens were erected inside the gates of the property to block the view.
Haaretz and other newspapers said the probe related to gifts worth „hundreds of thousands of shekels“ ($1=3.85 shekels) given to Netanyahu by Israeli and foreign businessmen.
Channel 2, a commercial network, said the investigation was one of two cases now open against the prime minister, although it said details of the second remained unclear.
Netanyahu, 67, has been in power on and off since 1996. He is currently in his fourth term as prime minister and will become Israel’s longest-serving leader if he stays in office until the end of next year.
He and his wife, Sara, have weathered several scandals over the years, including investigations into the misuse of state funds and an audit of the family’s spending on everything from laundry to ice cream. They have denied any wrongdoing.
Netanyahu is not the first prime minister to be questioned in a criminal case.
Ehud Olmert, who held office from 2006 to 2009, is currently serving 18 months in prison after being convicted of breach of trust and bribery in 2014.
Former prime minister Ariel Sharon was questioned while in office in 2003 and 2004 over allegations of bribery and corruption involving him and his two sons. In 2006, his son Omri was convicted of corruption and served time in prison.
Netanyahu’s police appointment drew a barrage of commentary from the center-left opposition in parliament, with politicians calling for him to go. But Yair Lapid, leader of the centrist Yesh Atid party, said that for the good of the country, he hoped the prime minister would be cleared.
„I wish for him and his family, and the State of Israel, that we uncover that there was no fault in his behavior. If two prime ministers in a row fall from office because of corruption, it will be very hard to rehabilitate the public’s trust in its leadership. “
Israeli commentators pointed out that while Netanyahu may be questioned, that has happened many times in the past and prime ministers have gone on governing, sometimes for years.

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