After spending the last eight years in a vegetative state, Ariel Sharon's condition has taken a drastic turn for the worse, says a spokesman for the Tel Aviv hospital caring for him. The former Israeli PM has suffered renal failure, reports the BBC, and sources tell Haaretz that if he doesn't show improvement, it's "a matter of days." Sharon, 85, suffered a major stroke in 2006 and has been in a coma ever since, though Haaretz notes that neurological scans in January showed significant brain activity. (More Ariel Sharon stories.)