英国新闻听力 美国将古巴移出恐怖主义赞助国名单（在线收听）

President Obama is to remove Cuba from a list of states sponsors of terrorism, a key step towards normalising relations between Washington and Havana. Last week, the Cuban President Raul Catro met Mr. Obama on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas in Panama, and demanded to be removed from the list. Here's Jon Sopel.

“The removal from the states sponsors of terrorism list has long been demanded by the Cubans. And after a series of reports written by various interested U.S. government departments, the President has made his decision. It'll pave the way for the reopening of the U.S. Embassy in Havana and the Cuban Embassy in Washington. As such, this is a major step towards normalising relations between the 2 countries. In his letter to Congress, President Obama says the government of Cuba has not provided any support for international terrorism during the past 6 months. And the letter goes on, the government of Cuba has provided assurances that it will not support active international terrorism in the future.”

Reports from Italy say 400 migrants died when the boat that was carrying them to Italy capsized a day after leaving Libya. Survivors said many of the victims were children. Michele Prosperi from the charity Save the Children in Italy says they're still trying to find out exactly how many children were involved.

“We don't know exactly. We don't have the kind of clearance. According to the testimony, they said that there weren't really, in this case, young kids on the boat, but for sure, young people and possibly many minus like the few that survived and we met on the boat today.”

Save the Children says some seven thousand migrants have made the crossing from Africa to Europe in recent days.

The U.N. Security Council has imposed an arms embargo on Houthis rebels in Yemen and their allies, forces loyal to the country's former President, Ali Abdullah Saleh. The resolution also calls on the rebels to withdraw from territory they've seized and introduces a travel ban and asset freeze on the Houthis leader and Mr. Saleh's son. The rebels have forced the government out of the capital, Sanaa, and are now fighting to broaden their control of the south of the country. The U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Samantha Power, welcomed the measure.

“The imposition of a global asset freeze and travel ban on Ali Abdullah Saleh and Abdulmalik al-Houthi, as well as a targeted arms embargo, shows that this Council will take action against those who continue to undermine efforts toward reconciliation.”

Al-Qaeda in Yemen says its top cleric, Ibrahim al-Rubaish, has been killed in a drone strike. The United States had placed a five-million-dollar bounty on his head. It's not yet commented on the reports of the killing. Al-Rubaish should had been released from Guantanamo in 2006. Al-Qaeda has seized more territory in Yemen, and independent tribal groups have also taken advantage of the fighting to increase their autonomy.

BBC News.

The Prime Minister of Iraq, Haider al-Abadi, has met President Obama on his first official visit to Washington. Mr. al-Abadi was expected to request increased support in the fight against Islamic State militants, both through arms sales and more U.S.-led airstrikes. But the White House says he made no specific requests for military assistance. Mr. Obama has offered Iraq two hundred million dollars in humanitarian aid to help those displaced by IS militants.

Hillary Clinton has begun a deliberately low-key campaign for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. presidency in the mid-west state of Iowa, starting in a small town college. 2 days after announcing her candidacy, she held a meeting with students and teachers in the town of Monticello. Gary O'Donoghue was there.

“4 students and 2 teachers were on handpicked to meet Hillary Clinton for a roundtable discussion. The campaign chose this small town of four thousand people, because they determined to make the tour about everyday Americans. On Wednesday, she will continue this swing through hour by visiting small business people. Hillary Clinton got badly burnt in the Iowa caucuses when she last ran for president. Her aides are determined that doesn't happen again.”

The Turkish President has reacted furiously to Pope Francis's uses of the word of genocide to describe the manslaughter of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915. Recep Tayyip Edogan condemned the Pontiff and warned it not to repeat the mistake. Turkey has maintained that the Armenian death toll, estimated at one and a half million, has been exaggerated.

The American soul singer Percy Sledge, best known for the classic 1966 ballad, When a Man Loves a Woman, has died at the age of 73. Born in Alabama, he worked as a hospital ordely and sang with a local group at weekends. When a Man Loves a Woman was his first record under contract and was a hit around the world.

奥巴马总统将把古巴从恐怖主义赞助国家名单中移除，这是朝着华盛顿和哈瓦那关系正常化的关键一步。上周，古巴总统劳尔·卡斯特罗在巴拿马峰会期间会见了奥巴马，并要求将古巴从名单中移除掉。乔恩·素帕尔报道。

“古巴人一直要求将本国从恐怖主义赞助国家名单中移除掉，在美国政府多个相关部门撰写一系列报告后，总统做出了决定。这将为在哈瓦那重开美国使馆以及在华盛顿重开古巴使馆铺平道路，而且，这将是两国关系朝着正常化的重要一步。奥巴马总统在致国会的信中说，古巴政府过去6个月并未向国际恐怖主义提供任何支持，而且古巴政府还保证未来不会支持任何活跃的国际恐怖主义。”

来自意大利的报道称，一艘移民船在从利比亚出发一天后，在前往意大利的途中翻船，导致400名移民身亡。幸存者称很多遇难者都是儿童，意大利慈善机构救助儿童会的米歇尔·普罗斯佩里称他们仍在调查清楚究竟有多少儿童。

“我们并不知道确切情况，还没有弄清楚，根据有关证词，他们说没有儿童在船上，但可以确定的是，有些年轻人和少数孩子幸存下来，我们今天在船上见到了。”

救助儿童会称最近几天有大约几千名移民乘船从非洲到欧洲。

联合国安理会对也门胡塞叛军及其盟军、以及效忠于前总统萨利赫的武装实行武器禁运，该决议还要求叛军从所占领的区域撤出，并对胡塞领袖和萨利赫的儿子实行旅行禁令并冻结其财产。叛军已将政府从首都萨那赶出，现在进行的战斗是为了扩大对该国南部的控制权。美国驻联合国大使萨曼莎·鲍尔对此举表示欢迎。

“对萨利赫和胡塞实行全球资产冻结和旅行禁令，以及有针对性的武器禁运措施都表明安理会将对那些继续破坏和解努力的人采取行动。”

也门基地组织称其高级神职人员鲁拜希在无人机空袭中被杀，美国曾提出500万美元的悬赏来买他的人头，美国尚未对此人被杀事件发表评论。鲁拜希本该2006年从关塔那摩湾获释。基地组织在也门控制了更多领土，独立的部落组织也趁战斗之势加强其自治权。

BBC新闻。

伊拉克总理阿巴迪首次正式访问华盛顿，他已与奥巴马总统进行会面。一般预测阿巴迪会请求增加对打击IS武装的支持，包括武器出售和更多的美国空袭。但白宫称他没有明确请求获得军事支持，奥巴马给伊拉克提供两亿美元的人道主义支持用于帮助因IS武装而流离失所的人们。

在中西部的爱荷华州一个小镇学院里，希拉里·克林顿为争取民主党的美国总统提名而精心展开了低调的活动。在宣布参选两天后，她与蒙蒂塞洛镇的学生们和教师们进行了会面。格林·奥·多诺休报道。

“4名学生和两名教师被精心挑选出来与希拉里·克林顿进行了圆桌会谈，这次活动之所以选择这个只有4000人的小镇，是因为他们决心让此行与普通民众有关。周三，她将继续这样的活动，将与小商人进行会谈。希拉里·克林顿上次竞选总统时在爱荷华州败得很惨，她的助手们决心不让这个失败重演。”

方济各教皇在描述1915年亚美尼亚人被奥斯曼土耳其人杀害一事时用了“种族灭绝”一词，土耳其总统对此做出激烈回应。雷杰普·塔伊普·埃尔多安谴责了教皇，并警告称不要再犯此类错误。土耳其一直坚称所谓有150万亚美尼亚人被杀是夸张之词。

因1966年的歌曲《当男人爱上女人》而知名的美国灵乐歌手普西·斯乐巨去世，享年73岁。他出生在阿拉巴马州，曾在一所医院工作，周末和当地乐队一起唱歌。《当男人爱上女人》是他的第一张签约唱片中的歌曲，在全球都很流行。