1.   But Basque regional political leaders lamented the loss of life and urged that dialogue be reopened.

2.   A Basque leader left prison a free man Friday after the Supreme Court threw out charges against him.

3.   A man thought to be a Basque separatist leader was arrested early Monday by Spanish police after being expelled from neighboring France.

4.   Basque separatist leader Arnaldo Otegi learned to detest Spanish rule in primary school.

5.   Basque separatist leader Arnaldo Otegi says he learned to detest Spanish rule in primary school.

6.   But Basque nationalist leaders blamed the government.

7.   Despite their hopes, Basque leaders will not have an easy time persuading the government in Paris to give them self-rule.

8.   The cease-fire has been greeted with optimism in the northern region, particularly from Basque nationalist leaders.

9.   The February decision to host the Kurdish parliament-in-exile was made by a five-member panel of Basque parliamentary leaders.

10.   His administration has been tarnished by a series of scandals in recent months, notably allegations that it backed hit-squad murder attempts against Basque separatist leaders.