hNetanyahu scores win in Likud Party primary

hNetanyahu scores winin Likud Party primary
TEL AVIV, Israel -- Israel's newly elected Likud Party leader and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, speaks after his victory at the party headquarters in Tel Aviv. Netanyahu scored a wide victory in Likud Party primary elections Monday to run against Ariel Sharon as a candidate for prime minister in March elections, pledging to bring his battered party back to power. Meanwhile, doctors expect Sharon to recover fully from a mild stroke and leave the hospital today, but his illness raised questions about his long-term health and ability to lead Israel if he wins a third term next year. Sharon's centrist Kadima Party holds a commanding lead in the polls, but the party is built around Sharon -- Israel's oldest prime minister -- and his health is likely to become a major campaign issue.
Leftist proclaims victory in presidential election
COCHABAMBA, Bolivia -- The leftist who claimed victory in Bolivia's presidential race Monday repeated his promise to end a U.S.-backed program to eradicate coca plants, saying the crop that provides the raw material for cocaine is part of Bolivian culture. Evo Morales -- himself a coca farmer who played an important role in protests that unseated two governments -- also pledged Monday to respect private property, apparently seeking to reassure investors despite his plans to assert state ownership over Bolivia's vast natural gas reserves. Morales was congratulated by Venezuela's self-proclaimed revolutionary leader Hugo Chavez and by the more centrist Socialist president of Chile, Ricardo Lagos.
Britain's first gay coupleties legal knot in Belfast
BELFAST, Northern Ireland -- Two lesbians become the first gay couple in the United Kingdom to win legal recognition under a civil partnership Monday, a ceremony that attracted scorn from evangelical Christian protesters but praise from gay rights activists. Grainne Close, a social worker from Northern Ireland, and Shannon Sickels, a playwright from New York, were the first of several hundred gay couples exchanging vows nationwide this week -- including Elton John and his longtime partner. "We are delighted. Here's to many more," Sickels said after she and Close became the first public celebrants of a legally binding gay partnership at Belfast City Hall.
Author of books on firesgets three years for arson
CHICAGO -- A former firefighter and author of books about historic Chicago blazes was sentenced Monday to three years in prison for setting a fire to a storage building at a church. David Cowan, whose books include "Great Chicago Fires: Historic Blazes That Shaped a City," pleaded guilty Monday to one count of arson, prosecutors said. Cowan, 42, of Chicago, apologized to the judge before the sentencing, defense attorney Thomas Durkin said. Cowan was charged with setting a fire June 9 at a storage building near the historic St. Benedict Church, where he had worked before being fired earlier this year, Durkin said. Durkin said Cowan had been drinking when he set the fire and has since been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and is undergoing treatment.
Lottery jackpot claimed
DALLAS -- A man who lost a winning lottery ticket and recovered it five days later got a $25,000 check from the Texas Lottery on Monday, just in time for some last-minute Christmas shopping. Mike Sargent, a 51-year-old AT & amp;T facilities specialist from Alvarado, signed paperwork and picked up the check Monday morning, one month after he turned it in to a lottery claims center, lottery spokesman Bobby Heith said. Sargent bought the Wheel of Fortune instant game ticket Nov. 15 and lost it moments afterward. He spent days searching fields and ditches -- even sifting through a convenience store's trash bin. A water meter reader found it five days later while working near the store and returned it in exchange for a $2,500 reward.
Associated Press