Foreign Desk
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
MIDDLE EAST
SHARON SUFFERS NO DAMAGE FROM STROKE, NETANYAHU WINS PRIMARY
JERUSALEM – Doctors expect Prime Minister 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. As the 77-year-old Mr. Sharon recovered, members of the Likud Party, which he quit last month to form the centrist Kadima Party, picked an ex-premier, Benjamin Netanyahu, to run for prime minister in the March 28 elections.
Polls from all three Israeli TV stations showed Mr. Netanyahu with 47% of the vote – 15 percentage points more than his rival, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom. Mr. Shalom conceded defeat, and party officials did not wait for the official count to declare Mr. Netanyahu the winner.
– Associated Press
PERSIAN GULF
IRAN’S PRESIDENT BANS WESTERN MUSIC ON RADIO AND TELEVISION
TEHRAN, Iran – President Ahmadinejad has banned all Western music from Iran’s state radio and TV stations – an eerie reminder of the 1979 Islamic revolution, when popular music was outlawed as “un-Islamic” under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The official IRAN Persian daily reported yesterday that Mr. Ahmadinejad, as head of the Supreme Cultural Revolutionary Council, ordered the enactment of an October ruling by the council to ban all Western music, including classical music, on state broadcast outlets.
– Associated Press
WESTERN EUROPE
TIME IS RIPE FOR REVIVING CONSTITUTION, SAY E.U. MEMBERS
BRUSSELS, Belgium – Europe’s federalist leaders celebrated the last days of Britain’s E.U. presidency yesterday and announced that the “time is ripe” for reviving their most cherished project: the E.U. constitution. With Britain’s presidency expiring this month, the baton is already being passed to the next holders, Austria.
The Austrian foreign minister, Ursula Plassnik, flew to Brussels yesterday to hail the constitution as holding the answers to key questions about Europe. Austria plans to relaunch the debate on the future of Europe at a June 2006 summit, Mrs. Plassnik said.
– The Daily Telegraph
BELFAST LAUNCHES WEEK OF CIVIL PARTNERSHIPS FOR GAY COUPLES
BELFAST, Northern Ireland – Two lesbians become the first gay couple in the United Kingdom to win legal recognition under a civil partnership yesterday. A social worker from Northern Ireland, Grainne Close, and a playwright from New York, Shannon Sickels, were the first of several hundred gay couples exchanging vows nationwide this week – including Elton John and his longtime partner.
Northern Ireland, which in 1982 was the last region in the United Kingdom to legalize homosexuality, is now the first to grant gay couples the same legal protections as married heterosexuals. Scotland was to follow today, and England and Wales tomorrow.
– Associated Press
EASTERN EUROPE
TWO PASSENGER TRAINS COLLIDE IN POLAND; AT LEAST SEVEN INJURED
WARSAW, Poland – A commuter train that could not stop at a station in the southern Poland mountains, possibly because of brake failure, collided with an oncoming passenger train, injuring at least seven people. The trains, carrying about 50 people, collided at about 3 p.m. in the village of Swinna, a police spokesman, Wieslaw Zon, said.
– Associated Press
SOUTH AMERICA
MORALES VOWS TO KILL ANTI-COCA PROGRAMS
COCHABAMBA, Bolivia – The leftist who claimed victory in Bolivia’s presidential race yesterday repeated his promise to end an American-backed program to eradicate coca plants, saying the crop that provides the raw material for cocaine is part of Bolivian culture. Evo Morales also pledged yesterday to respect private property, apparently seeking to reassure investors despite his plans to assert state ownership over Bolivia’s vast natural gas reserves.
– Associated Press