Belarus Executes Two Men Convicted in Metro Bombing

 　　Belarus has executed two men convicted for a fatal 2011 metro¹ bomb attack, despite protests from European human rights groups and calls for a re-trial.

　　Belarussian news media reported Saturday that Vladislav Kovalyov and Dmitry Konovalov, both 25, had been executed.

　　Kovalyov and Konovalov were convicted in November of staging a bomb attack in a central Minsk metro station.  The April 11 blast killed 15 people and wounded more than 100 others.

　　President Alexander Lukashenko had refused to pardon the two, citing the gravity of the crime.

　　Belarus is the only European country that still uses the death penalty.  European leaders and rights groups had urged Minsk not to carry out the death sentences on the two factory workers, and they condemned² the executions.

　　European Union chief diplomat³ Catherine Ashton said Saturday "the two accused were not accorded due process including the right to defend themselves."

　　The executions are likely to further strain relations between the former Soviet⁴ republic and the European Union.

　　Mr. Lukashenko has ruled his country with an iron fist for almost 18 years, keeping it out of the European mainstream⁵.  Minsk's relations with Brussels have reached an all-time low after Mr. Lukashenko's launched a crackdown on political opposition⁶ following mass protests against his re-election in December 2010.

1 metro   

n.地铁；adj.大都市的；(METRO)麦德隆(财富500强公司之一总部所在地德国，主要经营零售)

参考例句：

• Can you reach the park by metro?你可以乘地铁到达那个公园吗？
• The metro flood gate system is a disaster prevention equipment.地铁防淹门系统是一种防灾设备。

2 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

3 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

4 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

5 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

6 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。