Comatose Sharon stable in intensive care

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.

Sharon, 78, has been in a coma since suffering a major stroke in January.

He is in stable condition, said Anat Dolev, spokeswoman for the Chaim Sheba Medical Centre near Tel Aviv.

Sharon has undergone several extensive brain operations to stop cerebral haemorrhaging, in addition to more minor procedures.

Sharon lapsed into a coma just months after he ended Israel's 38-year occupation of the Gaza Strip and bolted his hard-line Likud Party to form the centrist Kadima faction.

After the stroke, Sharon's successor, Ehud Olmert, led Kadima to victory in a March 28 vote and became prime minister.