Brazil’s Lula recovering from brain bleed as VP temporarily assumes duties

Brazil’s Vice President Geraldo Alckmin will take on some leadership duties after the country’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had emergency brain surgery.

Lula, 79, was taken to hospital Monday after complaining of a severe headache, which was caused by a brain bleed following a fall in October that caused him to miss a meeting of the BRICS group, which also includes Russia, India, China, South America, and other nations, which took place in Russia.

Lula is due to return to Brasilía next week, his doctors said, while Alckmin will welcome Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico Tuesday in his stead.