Peres wins Israeli Labour election battle

Israel’s battered opposition Labour Party has chosen an old hand as its new leader, electing elder statesman Shimon Peres, the symbol of peacemaking with the Palestinians, as its chairman for one year.

Many expect Peres to try to lead his party back into Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s government, restoring an unusual partnership that fell apart last November after 18 rocky months, sparking an election in which Sharon handed Labour its worst defeat in Israel’s history.