Sharon's breathing tube replaced

Doctors have said Mr Sharon faces months of recovery

Doctors treating the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, have replaced his breathing tube.

They said Mr Sharon's condition continues to be critical but stable following the major stroke he suffered two weeks ago.

Mr Sharon underwent a tracheotomy operation on Sunday to allow him to breathe without a respirator.

He remains in a coma and has shown only minor responses to stimuli. His deputy Ehud Olmert has been named interim PM.

A spokesman for the Hadassah hospital in Jerusalem, where Mr Sharon is being treated, said the procedure to replace the breathing tube was carried out overnight because of a technical issue.

ARIEL SHARON'S HEALTH Sharon suffers minor stroke on 18 December 2005 Doctors discover small hole in heart, schedule operation for 5 January Sharon rushed to hospital one day before scheduled surgery with major stroke Undergoes two operations overnight on 4/5 January, followed by third on 6 January What is a stroke?

On Monday doctors said that Mr Sharon was seen moving his eyelids, but said this could not be interpreted as opening his eyes.

Scans have revealed activity on both sides of Mr Sharon's brain, but the extent of any brain damage or incapacity cannot be known until he wakes from his coma.

Mr Sharon's newly-created centrist party, Kadima, is preparing to fight elections on 28 March under the leadership of Mr Olmert.