ETA

The Spanish government claims that the leader of the Basque separatist organisation ETA Mikel Irastorza has been arrested in the southwest of France in a joint operation of the French intelligence Services and the Spanish police, reported Reuters.

Irastorza was hiding from authorities in the village of Ascain.

Most countries, especially in the West, had no awareness of a terrorism threat on their territory until al-Qaeda's shocking acts on Sept. 11, 2001. In a sense, 9/11 was the opening act of a wave of global guerilla warfare.

Basque separatist group ETA called on March 27 for peace talks with the Spanish and French governments and the return of ETA prisoners to the northern Basque region.

In a lengthy article printed in Basque newspaper Naiz, ETA's traditional mouthpiece, the group said "we are not where we expected" five years after declaring a "definitive end to armed activity."

US President Barack Obama announced in Congress on Tuesday that he intends to remove Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

This move will be an important step towards restoring diplomatic relations between the two countries, which have been characterised by hostility in the past five decades.

The regional Basque government on Dec. 21 unveiled a plan to facilitate ETA's disarmament process, amid frustration over a lack of response from the Spanish government three years after the separatist group ended its campaign of violence.

Armed Basque separatist group ETA has dismantled its military wing and set up a group to finalise the deactivation of any remaining weapons and explosives, according to an ETA statement in a Basque newspaper on July 20.