Israel's ex-PM Ariel Sharon dies
BBC
Middle East
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has died aged 85 after spending eight years in a coma following a stroke.
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Mr Sharon was a giant of the Israeli military and political scene, but courted controversy throughout his long career.
He was being treated at the Sheba Medical Center outside Tel Aviv. A hospital statement is expected shortly.
On Thursday doctors announced that Mr Sharon's condition had deteriorated.
The 85-year-old, who became PM in 2001, was suffering from a malfunction of several organs including the kidneys, they said.
He had been in a persistent vegetative state since a stroke in 2006.
