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Spanish Court Opens Crimes against Humanity Probe against ETA

A Spanish judge has opened a crimes against humanity probe against the Basque separatist group ETA in what a judicial source called the first such case of its kind.

The probe came in response to a complaint filed by several victims' associations and will target killings and kidnappings that ETA is accused of carrying out after 2004, according to court documents.

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Spain Detains Suspected Female IS Group Recruiter

Spanish police arrested Tuesday a woman on the Canary Islands suspected of recruiting girls and teenagers for the Islamic State group, the interior ministry said.

The woman, who was arrested on Arrecife on the island of Lanzarote, "maintained direct contact with Daesh operatives in Syria," it said in a statement, using an acronym for the IS group.

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'High Risk of Terror Attack' in Spain, Says Minister

Spain is facing its highest level of terror threat since 2004 because of the danger posed by jihadists, said the country's Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz on Sunday.

"We are at the maximum alert level since the attacks of March 11, 2004 in Madrid," said Fernandez Diaz in an interview published Sunday, referring to the attacks that left 191 dead and nearly 2,000 injured.

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Poll: Support for Catalan Independence Slips

Support for independence in Spain's wealthy northeastern region of Catalonia has slipped, according to a Catalan government opinion poll published Friday.

The Opinion Studies Center poll found that 50 percent of eligible voters would vote against Catalonia becoming independent from Spain while 42.9 percent are in favor.

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France, Spain Push for U.N. Action to End Syria Barrel Bombings

France and Spain pledged Friday to launch a new effort at the U.N. Security Council for action to stop barrel bomb attacks in Syria, which rights groups describe as a leading killer in the war.

The council adopted a resolution in February 2014 demanding an end to the bombings that the West says are carried out by the Damascus regime using helicopters to drop barrels rigged with explosives on civilian districts.

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Spain Raises Terror Alert Level to High after Worldwide Attacks

Spain raised its terror alert level from medium to high on Friday after deadly attacks in France, Tunisia and Kuwait, its Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz said.

"Considering the proximity of our country to the places where some of these attacks took place, it has been proposed to raise the anti-terrorist alert" from three out of five, or 'medium', to four or 'high', he told a news conference. 

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Europe Condemns Attacks in France, Tunisia, Kuwait

European leaders condemned Friday's "heinous" suspected Islamist attack on a gas factory in France and massacres in Tunisia and Kuwait, vowing to maintain a united front against "barbarism".

One person was decapitated near Lyon in southeastern France while in Tunisia gunmen killed at least 27 people at a beach resort and in Kuwait a suicide bombing at a mosque claimed by Islamic State jihadists killed 13.

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Spain Prosecutors Want Rwanda Spy Chief Handed Over

Prosecutors in Spain Tuesday called for the head of Rwanda's intelligence service Karenzi Karake to be handed over to Spanish authorities after his arrest in London, a judicial source said.

British police detained the 54-year-old at Heathrow airport on Saturday on a Spanish arrest warrant issued in an investigation of alleged crimes during the Rwanda conflict in the 1990s.

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Spain's Socialists Name Party Leader as Candidate in PM Race

Spain's opposition Socialists on Sunday named party chief Pedro Sanchez as their candidate to run for prime minister in a year-end general election in which upstart parties are expected to make inroads.

Sanchez, a telegenic 43-year-old parliamentarian, vowed in his acceptance speech to make the fight against joblessness and corruption the centerpiece of his government if he is elected.

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Basques Form Human Chains Demanding Independence Vote

Thousands of people formed human chains in cities across Spain's wealthy northern Basque Country on Sunday to call for the right to hold a regional referendum on independence.

Demonstrators held long multi-colored cloths as they marched through the Basque capital Vitoria, commercial hub Bilbao and the seaside resort of San Sebastian, as well through Pamplona in the neighboring Navarra region, which has a huge Basque-speaking population.

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