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Aug 31, Jose Antonio Ardanza, 14-year president of the Basque country, dissolved the regional parliament and set elections for Oct 25. He urged ETA extremists to lay down their arms.
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fecha de mi cumpleaños
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Jul 11, Moroccan soldiers planted a national flag on Perejil Island (parsley in Spanish), 200 yards off the coast near Ceuta. Spain had claimed control since the 17th century. Moroccans called the 0.58-square mile rocky outcrop Leila (night in Arabic). Spanish troops swiftly dislodged the Moroccans without a shot being fired. Under a diplomatic resolution, both sides agreed to leave it as a no man's land.
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Mar 11, In Madrid, Spain, a series of 10 bombs hidden in backpacks exploded in quick succession at 3 stations, blowing apart four commuter trains. 191 people were killed and over 1,450 wounded. Spanish leaders were quick to accuse Basque terrorists but a shadowy group claimed responsibility in the name of al-Qaeda. On October 31, 2007, 3 lead defendants were convicted of murder. Four other top suspects were acquitted of murder but convicted of lesser charges. In all 21 of the 28 defendants were
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May 17, The captain of the Greenpeace boat, "The Rainbow Warrior," was sentenced to six months in prison for disobedience during a protest against the war in Iraq in 2003. The case stemmed from the detention of five men on March 14, 2003, for staging a protest aboard the boat captained by Daniel Rizzotti, an Argentine citizen, near the U.S.-Spanish Rota naval base in southern Spain.
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Mar 1, In Spain Basque voters chose a new government. Socialists scored big electoral gains at the expense of nationalists who have held power there for nearly 30 years. The nationalist coalition with 37 seats fell one seat short of the needed majority.
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Feb 28, A violent late winter storm named Xynthia battered France, Spain, Portugal and Germany with fierce rain and hurricane-strength winds. The storm smashed sea walls and killed at least 62 people across western Europe.
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Feb 19, In Spain hundreds of thousands of protesters marched in 57 cities in a show of anger over new labor reforms that make it easier for companies to fire workers and pull out of collective bargaining agreements.
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Jul 13, In Spain the penultimate bull run of the San Fermin festival left at least 23 people injured. Two of the injuries were gorings.
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May 28, In Morocco more than 1,000 would-be immigrants tried to forced their way over razor-wire barriers into Spain's North African enclave of Melilla, with about half succeeding. Around 2,000 have breached the 12-km. barriers so far this year, up from just over 1,000 for the whole of 2013.
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