There are still some good news in the wild world of 2017.

  • The extremist Basque militant group Eta has begun the process of handing over its remaining weapons. In Bayonne, a city in southern France, a list  weapons and their hidden locations, was passed to the  authorities.
  • The Chairman of the “International Verification Commission” (IVC), Ram Manikkalingam, said he hoped this handover would” help consolidate peace in the Basque region”. The IVC was set up in 2011 to monitor Eta’s progress to disarm.
  • The political goal was to create an independent Basque state in nothern Spain and parts of France.
  • The terror group in Spain  killed more than 800 people and wounded thousands in more than 40 years.
  • Eta declared a ceasefire in 2011, but did not disarm until now.