Basque

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Basque Group ETA Calls Cease-Fire After 43 Years

Move could end last armed militancy in Europe

(Newser) - The Basque militant group ETA called an end to a 43-year violent campaign for independence today and said it now wants talks with Spain and France—a groundbreaking move that could pave the way for ending Europe's last armed militancy. ETA had already declared a cease-fire last year, but...

Basque Militants Declare Permanent Cease-Fire in Spain

But statement falls short of government hopes

(Newser) - The militant Basque separatist group ETA declared a permanent cease-fire today in what it called a firm step toward ending its bloody, decades-long independence fight—but the Spanish government quickly demanded it disband outright. Masked ETA members announced the cease-fire in a video distributed to Spanish media, and ETA's statement...

Basque Militants ETA Declare Ceasefire

The group intends to use 'a democratic process'

(Newser) - Basque separatist group ETA has announced a ceasefire, the BBC reports . The armed group, considered terrorists by many, has led a campaign for Basque independence that resulted in more than 820 deaths over the past 40 years. After previous statements by the Spanish government that it will not negotiate with...

Dow Who? Pamplona's Bulls Still Charging

(Newser) - Thousands of daredevil tourists have descended on Pamplona, Spain, for the annual running of the bulls that began today. Four were injured on the first day, including one American, though nobody was gored. As Time reports, sprinting ahead of six half-ton angry bulls is pretty dangerous, but many injuries result...

Car Bomb Kills Police Inspector in Spain

(Newser) - A senior Spanish police inspector was killed in the Basque region's city of Bilbao this morning in a car bombing, the BBC reports. The regional government blamed the attack on the Eta Basque separatist group. If that’s confirmed, it will mark the group’s first fatal attack since the...

Basque Separatists Hand Over Power After 30 Years

After 30 years, separatists lose power in Spanish region

(Newser) - Security has been ramped up in the Basque region of Spain today as it prepares for the inauguration of its first non-separatist government in 30 years. Spain's national left- and right-wing parties have come together to form a unity coalition, ending decades of rule by Basque separatists. The terrorist group...

Spain Probes Guggenheim's 'Troubled' Finances

Fraud, mismanagement, profligacy call Bilbao museum into question

(Newser) - A decade ago the Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim Museum put the sleepy Basque city of Bilbao on the international art map. But in recent months the institution has been tarnished by an embezzlement scam, overspending on middling artworks, and a $9.4 million loss in a botched currency deal. Now, reports...

Basque Military Chief Nabbed in France

'Txeroki' had hand in ETA violence the past five years, say investigators

(Newser) - A military leader of the Basque separatist organization ETA linked to police murders and the 2006 Madrid airport bomb attack has been busted in France, reports the Times of London. The man, who goes by the nom de guerre of Txeroki, was arrested  in a small town in the Pyrenees....

Guggenheim Bilbao Honcho Embezzled $800K

Museum sues CFO after years of fraud

(Newser) - The Guggenheim Museum's outpost in Bilbao is suing its director of finance after he admitted embezzling $800,000 from the institution's coffers. In a long mea culpa letter to the museum's director, Robert Cearsolo Barrenetxea confessed that he had used bank transfers and fraudulent checks to line his own pockets...

Basque Leader Busted In Major Crackdown on Separatists

Opposition party calls move an election ploy

(Newser) - A top Basque separatist leader and 17 others have been arrested in the two months since the organization ended a 15-month ceasefire with Spain. Some analysts credit luck and improved intelligence for the arrests, including last week's bust of ETA's crucial head of logistics. But some critics say the crackdown...

Basque Separatists End Ceasefire, Threaten Spain

Country braces for renewed violence

(Newser) - The Basque separatist group ETA has declared an end to its 15-month ceasefire, and Spanish authorities are gearing up for the possibility of bombings at tourist sites this summer. ETA blames the return to violence on PM José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's "fascism"; addressing the nation on TV, Zapatero called...

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