Brazilian President Lula undergoes surgery for brain haemorrhage

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva underwent emergency surgery for a brain haemorrhage at the Syrian-Lebanese Hospital in Sao Paulo caused by a recent fall.

"The operation went without complications" on Monday (Dec 9) night, and Lula was "doing well, under monitoring" in an intensive care unit, the hospital released a statement saying.

Lula's brain haemorrhage was linked to a fall he suffered on October 19 at the presidential residence in Brasilia. He had hit his head in the bathroom and received several stitches for the injury.

He was admitted to the hospital's branch in Brasilia on Monday "to undergo an imaging exam after experiencing a headache", said the hospital.

Intracranial haemorrhage was reportedly detected during the examination.

He was then "transferred to the Sao Paulo unit of the Syrian-Lebanese hospital, where he underwent a craniotomy to drain the hematoma."

Lula was advised by the doctors to cancel his trip to Russia for the BRICS summit after the fall he had in the bathroom, so he joined the meeting online via video conferencing.

He also skipped the United Nations COP29 climate summit in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.

Lula had described his October 19 accident as "serious" during a phone call with a Workers' Party official, which was later shared on social media.

"I am fine, I had an accident, but it was my fault. It was serious but it did not affect any sensitive area," the Brazilian president said in the call.

"I'm taking care of myself... The doctors said I had to wait at least three or four days to find out how much damage the blow had done," Lula said.

(With inputs from agencies)