Riots

Prisoners rebelled after an attempted escape from a Brazilian prison and took guards as hostages, France's press quoted the authorities as saying.

The grazing crisis lasted for several hours. The rebellion broke out yesterday afternoon in a prison about 50km from the center of Rio de Janeiro. Seven guards were taken hostages.

At least nine people were killed and 14 others wounded Jan. 1 in a prison riot in the central Brazilian state of Goias that ended in a blaze -- and the escape of more than 100 inmates, local media reported.