The Vatican has given its approval to the return of a young
crocodile
to Cuba ahead of the Pope's visit to the Caribbean island later this month. The endangered
reptile
, which has been sent to a zoo in Havana, has become known as the "Pope's crocodile" since he was presented with it in January. The Catholic Church has had difficult relations with the Cuban government, and analysts say the gesture ahead of the Pope's trip to Cuba will not go unnoticed.
BBC News
第二页:中英双语听力稿
An American soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians earlier this week has been flown out of Afghanistan. The victims, nine of them children, were shot in their homes early on Sunday. Paul Adams reports.
本周早些时候被指控杀死16名阿富汗平民的美国士兵现已离开阿富汗,遇难者是周日凌晨在自己家里被开枪打死的,其中包括9名儿童。Paul Adams报道。
The removal of the soldier responsible for the shootings is likely to cause anger in Afghanistan when members of parliament have demanded that he be put on trial there. But this was never going to happen - the United States has always insisted that charges of wrongdoing by its soldiers be dealt with within the American military legal system. Nothing was ever going to change that. The soldier has yet to be charged and thus remains anonymous. US officials say he handed himself in. If, as seems possible, he requires psychological evaluation, it could be some time before he's identified, let alone charged. The US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has said that if found guilty, the soldier could face the death penalty.