Two senior Al Qaeda leaders have been killed.. [ 1074 ]

Al Qaeda confirms death of 2 top leaders

By the CNN Wire Staff

April 25, 2010 6:23 a.m. EDT

Iraq's PM Nouri al-Maliki holds images of man identified as Abu Ayyub al-Masri on April 19.

Baghdad, Iraq (CNN) -- Al Qaeda in Iraq has confirmed in a statement posted online that two of its two most senior leaders have been killed.

The confirmation, posted late Saturday night on Islamist websites, comes a week after U.S. officials announced the deaths of Abu Ayyub al-Masri and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi.

The two men were killed in a joint Iraqi-U.S. operation in a strike on April 18 near Tikrit, U.S. officials said.

"We find it quite difficult that we are announcing the news of the loss of the Islamic nation once again. The loss of two great Jihadi leaders who are known for their heroism on the path of struggle," said the statement signed by Abu Al-Walid Abdel Wahab Al-Mashadani, the minister of the Religious Committees in the Islamic State of Iraq.

The U.S. military has said the deaths dealt a "potentially devastating blow" to the terrorist group.

"The death of these terrorists is potentially the most significant blow to al Qaeda in Iraq since the beginning of the insurgency," the commander of U.S. Forces-Iraq, Gen. Raymond Odierno, said in a news release last week.

In an interview with CNN, Odierno said it would be "very difficult" for the al Qaeda network to replace the two men.

"The death of these terrorists is potentially the most significant blow to al Qaeda in Iraq since the beginning of the insurgency.
--Gen. Raymond Odierno

Al-Masri, a native of Egypt, was military leader of al Qaeda in Iraq.

Al-Baghdadi was leader of the Islamic State of Iraq, an umbrella group that includes al Qaeda in Iraq.

The U.S. military said al-Baghdadi held the title "Prince of the Faithful."

Odierno said al-Masri was the link in Iraq to Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda -- "that was the foreign element of al Qaeda that was established here."

Al-Masri became the head of al Qaeda in Iraq in 2006 after Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. attack.

Al-Masri's assistant and al-Baghdadi's son, who also were involved in terrorist activities, were killed as well, the U.S. military said.

A U.S. soldier was killed during the assault when a U.S. helicopter crashed, the military said in the news release.

An Iraqi intelligence cell pursuing high-level leaders of al Qaeda in Iraq gathered information for the operation, said Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

The two men were hiding in a hole within a house, where their bodies were eventually found by security forces, he said.

The arrests of other senior leaders of al Qaeda in Iraq in the past couple of days led authorities to discover the safe house, al-Maliki said.

Vancouver's annual VanDusen plant sale [ 1073 ]

More than 40,000 plants up for grabs at Vancouver's annual VanDusen sale

The Vancouver Sun., April 25, 2010 1:41 PM

Vancouver's biggest, most bounteous plant sale gets underway at 10 a.m. Sunday, April 25, and runs until 4 p.m. More than 40,000 plants will be up for grabs, and master gardeners are on hand to offer tips. Admission to the garden is free all day.

Photograph by: Ward Perrin, PNG

Hungary's election resaults have confirmed.. [ 1072 ]

Landslide victory for Hungary's conservative opposition

More than 100 seats were at stake in Sunday's vote

BBC ,Sun.,Apr 25,2010

Hungary's conservative opposition party Fidesz has won a two-thirds general election victory, second round results have confirmed.

With 99.22% of votes counted, the party had nearly 68% of the popular vote and 263 of the 386 seats in parliament, the national election committee said.

Almost a third of the seats were left to be decided on Sunday following the first round two weeks ago.

Fidesz promised to create jobs, lower taxes and reduce bureaucracy.

The ruling Socialists were in second place on 15% (59 seats), the far-right Jobbik had 12% (47 seats) and a new Green party called Politics Can be Different had 4.1% (16 seats).

One seat went to an independent.

Fidesz leader Viktor Orban is set to become prime minister. Mr Orban welcomed the result, saying he would rule "with humility".

He told supporters: "We saw a revolution in the polling stations."

The entire leadership of the Socialist party, who had governed for the past eight years, tendered its resignation after the results were revealed.

The second round of the election was fought in 57 constituencies where no single candidate had won more than 50% of the vote in the first round.

A two-thirds majority will give Fidesz the chance to change the constitution, the BBC's Nick Thorpe reports from Budapest.

The Socialists had argued that they had created 100,000 jobs, navigated the ship of state safely through a serious economic crisis and improved law and order.

50 fishermen carried away on an ice floe [ 1071 ]

Rescuers save 50 fishermen from ice floe in Russian Far East

Fishin on an Ice flow in a Lake on Sakhalin Island

(RIA Novosti) 12:57., 25/04/2010

Rescuers saved 50 fishermen as they were carried away on an ice floe in a lake on Sakhalin Island in the Russian Far East, the regional emergencies department said on Sunday.

The rescuers received information on an ice floe drifting from the coast of Lake Busa on Sunday afternoon local time (4:45 GMT). There were about a hundred fishermen on the ice at the moment.

About 40 fishermen were able to come ashore when the ice floe touched land for a moment while the rescuers saved the others using floating crafts, the emergencies department said.

Ice-fishing, which involves drilling a hole in the ice, is extremely popular in Russia. The rescue services are often called out to save fisherman who have got into difficulties.

YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, April 25 (RIA Novosti)

Iran begins to play war games... [ 1070 ]

Iran reportedly tests five new missiles

By the CNN Wire Staff

April 25, 2010 4:08 p.m. EDT

Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard practice attacking a naval vessel during military exercises in the Persian Gulf.

Tehran, Iran (CNN) -- Iran said Sunday it fired five new types of locally-made coast-to-sea and sea-to-sea missiles in the last stage of its "Great Prophet 5" military maneuvers in the Persian Gulf.

The missiles were fired simultaneously and struck a single target at the same time -- a feat the Revolutionary Guard Corps described to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting as "very important."

The military exercises on Sunday also included high-speed boats waging a "war" against a warship.

The maneuvers fell on the 31st anniversary of the elite force and were designed to demonstrate new weapons systems.

Iran begins war games

Video: Iran flexes military muscle

Video: Iran begins war games

RELATED TOPICS

• Iran
• Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps

Brig. Gen. Hossein Salami, deputy chief of the Revolutionary Guard told Iranian media that the exercises were aimed at demonstrating Iran's "strength, will and national resolve to defend independence and territorial integrity."

The U.S. military official noted there have been several Iranian exercises in the past, but this one received attention because the Revolutionary Guard Corps discussed it publicly in advance.

The U.S. Navy currently is operating several warships in the region, and commanders are often reminded not to let any encounters with Iranians inadvertently escalate.

Iran's missile development is being watched closely by the United States, which is pressing for tougher sanctions against the Islamic republic for its controversial nuclear program.