Sharon facing ‘moment of truth’

ISRAELI Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was reported to be in a “very worrying” condition as he spent his ninth day in a medically induced coma since suffering a massive brain haemorrhage.

Mr Sharon has been in intensive care since his collapse and after three bouts of surgery to stem bleeding in the brain, Israelis are increasingly resigned to the likelihood that he will never return to government.

The Hadassah hospital in Jerusalem said Mr Sharon remains in a “serious and stable” condition, but that he is yet to emerge fully from a deep coma.