Israeli media is reporting that former prime minister Ariel Sharon, who has been in a coma since a debilitating stroke eight years ago, has died at 85.

The Israeli hospital treating Ariel Sharon says the former prime minister’s medical condition remains critical.

The condition of critically ill former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon is deteriorating further, doctors say.

Ariel Sharon is in critical condition and his life is in danger, the director of the hospital where the former Israeli prime minister is being treated has said.

The condition of comatose former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon has taken a turn for the worse, according to media reports.

Former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon has undergone surgery to insert a new feeding tube.

THERE’S something in the air in Derry. The great city of St Columcille is the first UK City of Culture, a cultural extravaganza that began in January and will extend all year.

Israel’s defence minister Ehud Barak announced he was quitting politics, a surprise decision that deepens uncertainty over how Israel will confront Iran’s nuclear programme.

Wars of the future are likely to be fought over water as climate change, the needs of growing populations, and the greed of politicians collide, writes Dan Buckley

FORMER Israeli premier Ariel Sharon was taken yesterday from the hospital bed where he has been lying in a coma for nearly five years, for a trial period at home, a hospital official said.

Israel’s former prime minister Ariel Sharon, who has been in a coma for more than four years after suffering a series of strokes, was moved to his home today.

US evangelical broadcaster Pat Robertson said Haiti was "cursed" because of what he called a "pact with the devil" in its history.

PALESTINIAN President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday dismissed calls by the new right-leaning Israeli government to recognise Israel as a Jewish state, an issue emerging as a main obstacle to peacemaking.

Israel’s new leader Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to seek “full peace” with the Arab and Muslim world, but refused to utter the words everyone was waiting to hear: “Palestinian state.”

Israel’s attorney general tonight said that he is considering indicting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in connection with allegations he unlawfully took cash-stuffed envelopes from a Jewish-American businessman.

Israeli prime minister-designate Tzipi Livni today abandoned her efforts to form a new coalition government and said she would recommend early parliamentary elections.

Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni declared victory today in the Kadima Party leadership race by a narrow margin of 431 votes.

Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert’s office announced today he will undergo a “routine” test as part of his treatment for prostate cancer.

The elder son of former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon began a seven-month prison sentence today for illegal fundraising during one of his father’s campaigns.

ISRAELI Prime Minister Ehud Olmert yesterday announced he has prostate cancer and would soon have surgery, but said the disease is not life-threatening.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert revealed today he is fighting prostate cancer, but the disease is not threatening his life.

Israel must control all of Jerusalem forever, said former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, taking a stand against a key compromise that could seal an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.

Former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has easily defeated a radical Jewish settler in the race to lead the hardline Likud Party.

THE internal fighting between Palestinian factions in Gaza is the latest stumbling block to attempts to secure a peace that has been elusive since the formation of the state of Israel.

Members of the Israeli Labour Party were choosing a new leader today, picking between two retired soldiers – one an ex-premier who fizzled fast and the other a newcomer to politics.

Oil and gas firm BG Group said today it remained in talks over a potential deal to supply Palestinian gas to Israel.

The supreme leader of Iran has called on Islamic nations to retaliate against Israel over excavations being carried out near a hotly disputed holy site in Jerusalem.

Under heavy police guard, Israeli workers began a dig today at a centuries-old walkway that leads to a holy site in Jerusalem disputed by Muslims and Jews, a spokesman said.

Israel and Syria have reached understandings on a future peace deal between the two countries following a series of secret talks between its representatives, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported today.

Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak announced his much-anticipated return to politics, saying he will run for the leadership of the Labour Party, a first step towards trying for Israel’s highest office again.

Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas held a long-overdue summit today, reviving hope that peace talks can resume after years of fighting, hostility and distrust.

Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert said in the NBC interview today that he had no objection to the US negotiating with Iran on the nuclear issue to achieve a peaceful compromise.

Ariel Sharon was taken out of intensive care this morning, the Haim Sheba Medical Centre announced in Jerusalem.

Former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon is in stable condition today, a day after being rushed into intensive care with an infection that attacked his heart, hospital officials said.

FORMER Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was yesterday taken to an intensive care unit after his overall condition and heart function deteriorated, a hospital spokesman said.

Former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon has been taken to the intensive care unit of the medical centre where he is being treated after his overall condition and heart function deteriorated, the Ynet website reported today.

Ariel Sharon’s pneumonia has improved and he has been taken out of intensive care, but is still in serious condition, a hospital spokesman said in Israel today.

The hospital treating Israeli former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said today he was in a stable condition, two days after being put on antibiotics for double pneumonia.

Ariel Sharon’s condition has greatly deteriorated, according to the hospital where the ailing former Israeli prime minister is being treated.

On a table facing his desk, Ehud Olmert keeps photographs of three Israeli soldiers whose capture by Islamic militants in Gaza and Lebanon sparked the latest Middle East crisis.

Former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon was rushed to the intensive care unit of a Tel Aviv hospital today to undergo a form of dialysis, a hospital spokeswoman said.

The condition of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who has been in a coma since suffering a stroke in January, has deteriorated, though there was no immediate danger to his life, according to hospital officials and former aides.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who has been in a coma since a stroke last January, has suffered a deterioration in his medical condition, hospital officials said tonight.

Two Egyptian security officers were killed today in an exchange of fire with Israeli troops after crossing the border into Israel.