The Basque country at a glance

October 2nd, 2009 VITORIA - Pirates Friday hijacked a Spanish fishing vessel in the Indian Ocean about 600 km off the Somali coast, Basque regional agriculture and fishing official Pilar Unzalu said. MS Alakrana, which is based in the Basque port of Bermeo, informed another fishing boat of its situation, following which the European Union's Operation Atalanta launched a security operation.

August 13th, 2009 Basque separatist protests banned in SpainMADRID — Spanish and Basque authorities have banned three protests marches called by groups linked to the armed group ETA in the northern cities Bilbao and San Sebastian. National Court Judge Baltasar Garzon has prohibited two protests in support of ETA prisoners planned for Friday and Saturday in San Sebastian saying they constituted defense of terrorism.

August 9th, 2009 Bomb explodes on Spain's Mallorca islandMADRID —A small bomb exploded Sunday in a restaurant on the Spanish island of Mallorca, causing minor damage and no injuries, just over a week after Basque separatist group ETA killed two police officers there, the government said. The attack was staged just hours after ETA published a statement claiming responsibly for four other bombings that killed three people and injured dozens this summer.

August 9th, 2009 Basque separatists claim 4 deadly attacks in SpainMADRID —Basque separatist group ETA has claimed responsibility for four bombing attacks that left three people dead and 60 injured in Spain this summer. An ETA statement says the group planted two bombs that exploded in late July, killing two officers and wounding 60 people.

July 30th, 2009 Correction: Hawaii Health Insurance-GlanceHONOLULU — In a July 26 sidebar glance about Hawaii Health Insurance, The Associated Press reported erroneously the figures of those who reported in 2007 not seeing a doctor because of cost. Hawaii had the lowest percentage in the nation at 6 percent, not 0.06 percent.

July 29th, 2009 A glance at Basque group ETA and its goalsA glance at the armed Basque separatist group ETA and its conflict with Spain. HISTORY — ETA was formed in 1959 during the right-wing dictatorship of Gen.

July 7th, 2009 A glance at Obama's overseas itineraryA glance at President Barack Obama's itinerary for his overseas trip: FRIDAY, JULY 10, IN ITALY — Attends G-8 breakfast with African countries. — Attends G-8 session with African countries.

June 19th, 2009 Car bomb in Spain's Basque country kills policemanMADRID — A powerful bomb exploded Friday near the Basque city of Bilbao, killing a policeman in an attack blamed on the separatist group ETA. In what appeared to be the first ETA killing since December, a bomb attached to the underside of the officer's car detonated as he started the engine in a parking lot in the town of Arrigorriaga, the Basque regional interior ministry said.

June 19th, 2009 One dead in car bomb blast in SpainMADRID — Police in Spain's Basque region say a car bomb blast has killed one person. News reports say the victim was a police officer killed Friday when a bomb attached to the underside of his car detonated as he started the engine.

June 19th, 2009 Spanish police report explosion in Basque countryMADRID — A car bomb exploded Friday near the Basque city of Bilbao, possibly killing one person, police said. The blast occurred in a parking lot in Arrigorriaga, an official with the Basque regional police said.

May 9th, 2009 Spain: Socialist takes oath as Basque presidentGUERNICA, Spain — A Socialist leader who has vowed to fight the armed separatist group ETA took the oath of office Thursday as the Basque region's first non-nationalist president. Patxi Lopez was sworn in as president in an ornate chamber in this Basque town, and later stepped outside for a brief ceremony beside an oak tree that is a powerful symbol of Basque pride.

May 5th, 2009 Spain: Basque leader to fight armed separatistsMADRID — Basque Socialist leader Patxi Lopez was voted in as the Basque region's first non-nationalist president Tuesday and vowed to wage a relentless fight against the armed separatist group ETA. Lopez won 39 votes in the 75-seat regional parliament in the Basque capital of Vitoria against 35 for outgoing president Juan Jose Ibarretxe of the Basque Nationalist Party.

May 1st, 2009 WASHINGTON - Spain remains an important transit and logistical base for terrorist organisations operating in western Europe, the US State Department has said in a report. The Spanish government and the citizens 'were concerned that their country remained a principal target of domestic terrorism and Islamic extremism', the department noted in its annual report on terrorism released Thursday.

March 31st, 2009 MADRID - Eight people were arrested in Spain for planning an attack on the high-speed train being built in the northern region, Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said. According to Rubalcaba, the detainees were members of a group that provided support to the Basque terrorist group (ETA), which has been fighting the government for a separate region.

February 3rd, 2009 LONDON - Physical fitness evokes a sense of psychological well-being, particularly among boys rather than girls, with much lower anxiety and depression levels or the risk of suffering from eating disorders. A doctoral thesis presented at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) has probed the link between adolescent perception of physical qualities and their psychological well-being and unwellness.