Shimon Peres was a gifted leader, an eloquent speaker, and a source of ideas. But most important, he was a leader who had a vision and a message, writes Itamar Rabinovich

Shimon Peres, the Israeli politician who won the Nobel Peace Prize during his unprecedented seven-decade career, has died aged 93.

Shimon Peres' condition has deteriorated two weeks after he suffered a major stroke, a person close to the former Israeli president said.

Former Israeli president Shimon Peres has suffered a stroke and has been rushed to hospital.

Israel’s former president has come out against a bill floated by prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu that would define Israel as “the Jewish state”.

Three Israeli suspects over the killing of a Palestinian teenager who was abducted and burned to death last week have confessed, an official said.

Hamas has warned Israel against any retaliation over the deaths of three teenagers in the West Bank, threatening that “the gates of hell will open”.

Pope Francis said he will have his first meeting with a group of sex abuse victims at the Vatican early next month and would show zero tolerance for anyone in the Catholic Church who abused children, including bishops.

The Israeli and Palestinian presidents are to pay a symbolic visit to the Vatican next month to pray for peace.

Watching Des Bishop travelling and breaking China the other week, it struck us just how far a certain sport has travelled as well.

Hundreds of Israelis lined up outside Israel’s parliament building yesterday to pay their last respects to Ariel Sharon, the former prime minister and general who died over the weekend.

Nelson Mandela worked his magic once more yesterday, uniting friends and foes alike in a global outpouring of grief as they mourned the death of the anti-apartheid icon.

Israel’s president urged Israeli and Palestinian leaders to overcome differences and resume peace negotiations, saying the sides could not afford “to lose this opportunity”.

President Barack Obama has arrived in Israel and vowed "eternal" support for his top Middle East ally.

This week, while Barcelona were losing 2-0 in Milan in their Champions League last 16 first leg, and manager Tito Vilanova was continuing his cancer treatment in New York, club president Sandro Rosell visited Israel, on a mission to bring peace to the Middle East.

Palestinians have decided not to team up with Israelis in a football match against Barcelona designed to promote peace.

Israel’s president welcomed apparent concession by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on a core issue in peace talks – Palestinian refugees.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Israeli president Shimon Peres have discussed the need to halt Syrian violence as well as blocking Iran’s potential production of nuclear weapons during talks in Jerusalem.

Russia is sending attack helicopters to Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime, the US claimed tonight.

US President Barack Obama has presented the US Medal of Freedom to more than a dozen political and cultural greats at a ceremony in Washington.

The wail of air raid sirens has sounded across Israel as the country came to a standstill in tribute to six million Jews who perished at the hands of the Nazis in the Holocaust.

In an open letter to Michael D Higgins, author Dervla Murphy , who is writing a book on the Middle East, argues why the president should not visit Israel as a state guest

Israel’s Supreme Court today ordered former president Moshe Katsav to spend seven years in prison after rejecting the disgraced politician’s appeal against a rape conviction and other sex crimes.

IRAN accused Israel and the United States of seeking world support for a military strike on its nuclear facilities, which Russia warned yesterday would be “a very serious mistake”.

THE UN nuclear watchdog is expected this week to issue its most detailed report yet on research in Iran seen as geared to developing atomic bombs, heightening international suspicions of Tehran’s agenda and stoking Middle East tensions.

The UN atomic agency plans to reveal intelligence next week suggesting Iran made computer models of a nuclear warhead and other previously undisclosed details on alleged secret work by Tehran on nuclear arms, diplomats said.

Israel has begun began the process of formally pardoning hundreds of Palestinian prisoners who are to be exchanged for an Israeli soldier held by Gaza militants for five years.

PRIME Minister Tayyip Erdogan has captivated many Arabs with his tough talk against Israel, but voices at home and abroad question his drive to carve out a leadership role for Turkey in an Arab world once under the Ottoman imperial thumb.

Palestinian militants in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip fired rockets and mortars into southern Israel today, despite an unofficial truce meant to defuse days of escalating violence.

Jerusalem approved more than 900 new apartments in a Jewish development in the city’s contested eastern sector today, threatening new friction ahead of a White House visit by the Israeli president.

FORMER Israeli president Moshe Katsav has been sentenced to seven years behind bars after being convicted on two counts of rape and other offences in a scandal that has rocked Israel.

Former Israeli president Moshe Katsav has been convicted of raping a former employee.

British, French and US troops strode across Red Square for the first time today in a Victory Day parade marked both by the usual impressive display of Russia’s military might and by an unusual emphasis on international co-operation.

SYRIA warned yesterday that Israel was paving the way for new military action in the region with its allegation that Damascus is providing Scud missiles to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

ELDERLY Auschwitz survivors gathered in the snow at the site of the former death camp yesterday to mark the 65th anniversary of its liberation.

Elderly Auschwitz survivors gathered in the snow at the site of the former death camp today to mark the 65th anniversary of its liberation.

Israel’s president has called on Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas to rescind his decision to stand down, invoking the memory of Yitzhak Rabin at a public commemoration for the assassinated Israeli premier.

Four judges have spoken out to defend awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to US president Barack Obama.

THE Israeli and Palestinian leaders shook hands at the start of their first face- to-face meeting yesterday, hosted by President Barack Obama, but the small gesture was unlikely to translate into a quick resumption of peace talks.

ISRAEL promised Russia it would not launch an attack on Iran, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said yesterday, describing such an assault as “the worst thing that can be imagined”.

Israel rejected UN calls to open an independent inquiry into its conduct in last winter’s Gaza Strip war and said it would launch a diplomatic offensive to block any attempt to bring its soldiers before an international war crimes tribunal.

ISRAELI President Shimon Peres has been discharged from a Tel Aviv hospital, a day after fainting on stage during a talk.