Battle close in Israeli election

(New York Times):  Israel’s centrist Kadima Party led by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and the more conservative Likud Party led by Benjamin Netanyahu were locked in a tight battle for leadership on Wednesday that left unclear the shape of the next Israeli government. The close race all but guaranteed that the political jockeying to assemble a governing coalition would be intense and lengthy. And it left open the question of whether Ms. Livni or the more hawkish Mr. Netanyahu would form the next government. Go to article