Shimon Peres elected ninth president

     Vice Premier Shimon Peres put an end to his historic losing streak Wednesday by beating MKs Reuven Rivlin (Likud) and Colette Avital (Labor) to become Israel's ninth president. The Knesset elected Peres in a second round of voting in which Peres was the only candidate. 86 MKs voted in his favor, while 23 voted against him. In his presidential acceptance speech, Peres, wearing a white yarmulke, gave thanks to his fellow candidates Avital and Rivlin, and paid tribute to his family. "I have been in the Knesset for 48 years and not for one moment have I lost faith or hope in Israel,' said Peres. "What Israel has achieved in 60 years, no other country has been able to achieve. I hope I can be representative of our faith not because there are no problems but because we all want to overcome them." "I will dedicate myself wholly to the nation," continued Peres, vowing to continue efforts to bring back the kidnapped IDF soldiers.(22,50)