Couple accused of spying for Cuba ordered held without bail

A former State Department employee and his wife, who are accused of spying for Cuba for nearly 30 years, will remain in jail as they await trial, a judge ruled Wednesday. Walter Kendall Myers, 72, and his wife, Gwendolyn Myers, 71, are charged with conspiracy to act as illegal agents of the Cuban government, wire fraud and providing classified information to Havana, according to court documents.

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Owners of day care that burned quit government jobs

Two of the owners of the day-care center that burned Friday, killing 44 children, have resigned jobs they had with the government, they told reporters Tuesday. Antonio Salido, a functionary for the state of Sonora’s secretary of urban infrastructure, and Alfonso Escalante, a sub-secretary of livestock farming, said they were resigning so that there would be no obstruction in the investigation into the cause of the fire. Salido, speaking for both men, told reporters they had not used their government positions to obtain the day-care concession.

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30 die as indigenous protesters, police clash in Peru

The government of Peru on Friday declared a state of emergency in a remote northern area after a clash between police and indigenous people protesting what they say is the exploitation of their native lands left a number of people dead. Police and indigenous protesters said separately that at least eight police and 22 protesters died. The clash took place at dawn outside the northern province of Bagua in the Department of Amazonas as police attempted to break up a roadblock on the 59th day of protests.

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Germany’s Battle Against Scientology

The interior ministers of Germany’s 16 states have launched an investigation into the activities of the Church of Scientology, hoping to assemble the evidence to support banning the U.S.-based organization from operating in Germany. But skeptics question whether such a move is politically and legally tenable — or wise

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Dam bursts after more rain in northern Brazil

A dam burst in the northeastern village of Cocal left a 12-year-old girl dead and three people missing, fire department officials said Thursday, according to Brazil’s state news agency. The break occurred late Wednesday afternoon and was blamed on heavy rains in the state of Ceara, the state-run Agencia Brasil reported. Concern over the dam’s integrity led officials to order residents to evacuate Cocal for 15 days

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