Special report: Israeli PM Ariel Sharon in critical condition

    JERUSALEM, April 11 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli cabinet unanimously declared comatose Prime Minister Ariel Sharon "permanently unable to exercise his duties" in a special session on Tuesday. The cabinet also approved the appointment of Ehud Olmert as interim Prime Minister.
    (Profile: Israeli PM Ariel Sharon)

Israeli acting Premier Ehud Olmert sits beside the chair of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on April 11, 2006. [Xinhua/AFP]

    The cabinet's decision will take effect on Friday when the 100-day legal deadline for the "temporarily incapacitated" state of Sharon expires, marking the end to Sharon's premiership. Sharon, 78, has been in a coma for three months since he suffered a massive stroke on Jan. 4.

    Sharon's deputy Olmert took over as acting prime minister immediately after he was declared temporarily incapacitated. Under Israeli law, Sharon can only serve in that capacity for up to 100 days before an official replacement for Sharon is named. The declaration of Sharon's permanent incapacitation was moved up to Tuesday because the week-long Passover holiday begins on Wednesday.

    Olmert was tasked with forming the next coalition after his centrist Kadima party came first with 29 out of the 120 parliament seats in the March 28 general elections.

    Jerusalem's Hadassah Hospital where Sharon has been hospitalized reported on Monday that Sharon had just received a CT scan to determine the outcome of a surgery on his skull last week.

    The scan revealed no change in his condition, which the hospital defines as "serious but stable," meaning that his life is not in immediate danger. Enditem