BRAZIL

Army to Help Contain Prison Violence

Brazil's government authorized the armed forces to help beleaguered prison authorities search jails across the nation after battles between rival gangs that killed more than 120 inmates since the start of the year.

Military personnel won't be used to quell riots or confront prisoners in other ways, Defense Minister Raul Jungmann said in a press conference onWednesday, but they will sweep penal facilities for weapons, drugs and mobile phones at the request of state governors.

"We know that it won't solve all the problems in our prisons, but it will help because the use of guns and knives amplify the problems," Mr. Jungmann said.

State government personnel and prison guards will continue to handle any direct contact with prisoners, he said, adding that 1,000 soldiers have been mobilized to deal with any requests and that the number could rise if necessary.

The measure was quickly criticized by some analysts, who said soldiers lack the training for such missions.

--Rogerio Jelmayer

COLOMBIA

Government Pushes for Odebrecht's Exit

Colombia's government is seeking to force Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht to exit public infrastructure projects amid a growing investigation into allegations that the company bribed officials to secure them.

Luis Andrade, head of a national infrastructure agency that authorizes public-private works concessions, requested an arbitration court to void a contract that gave Odebrecht majority control of the Ruta del Sol II road project, the modernization of hundreds of miles of highway.

Odebrecht in a plea deal with U.S. authorities last month admitted to paying $439 million in bribes to officials in countries outside of Brazil, most of them in Latin America. In the settlement, Odebrecht said it paid $11 million to secure projects in Colombia. A spokesman for Odebrecht didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

A former Colombian deputy transport minister and a former senator were arrested in recent days for allegedly taking bribes to help Odebrecht win majority control of the road project

--Kejal Vyas

GERMANY

Spying Probe Focuses On Turkish Mosques

German prosecutors are investigating possible spying activities in the association of Turkish mosques known as Ditib, the federal prosecutor's office said Wednesday.

The investigation is focusing on whether some of Ditib's Imams handed over information to Turkey about followers of the U.S.-based Turkish imam Fethullah Gulen, whom Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses of masterminding last year's failed coup.

Ditib, Germany's largest association of mosques, last week said in a local newspaper interview that some of its Imams in the country had handed over information about Mr. Gulen's followers to the Ankara-based Presidency of Religious Affairs, also referred to as Diyanet, which reports to Turkey's prime minister's office. Some German newspapers had previously reported the spying allegations.

--Ruth Bender

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 19, 2017 02:47 ET (07:47 GMT)

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