http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4582574.stmIsraeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has suffered a "significant" stroke and is unconscious, doctors at Jerusalem's Hadassah hospital say.Officials said the 77-year-old leader was on a respirator and had experienced "massive" cerebral bleeding.
The Israeli leader's powers have been transferred to his deputy Ehud Olmert.
Mr Sharon, 77, felt ill at his ranch in south Israel weeks after having a mild stroke and the night before he was due to undergo a minor heart operation.
He suffered a minor stroke on 18 December which doctors said could have been the result of a blood clot caused by the hole in the heart.
His doctors said he recovered fully then but required minor surgery for the heart problem.
Dr Shlomo Mor-Yosef told reporters at the hospital on Wednesday night that Mr Sharon had "massive bleeding and was being transferred to an operating theatre."
An Israeli TV station reported that Mr Sharon was suffering from paralysis in his lower body and had been taken into the hospital on a stretcher.
Mr Sharon, who has been prime minister since 2001, is severely overweight.
He had been planning to run for a third term in office under his newly-formed centrist party, Kadima, after quitting the ruling Likud party in November.
Polls suggest his new party is in the lead ahead of the election. [/i]
To be honest, he did strike me as a bit of a cardiac arrest waiting to happen; I wonder how this will affect politics in Israel, though.
