Jimmy Carter taken to hospital for surgery to relieve pressure on his brain

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Jimmy Carter has been admitted to hospital for brain surgery following a number of recent falls.

The former US president was due to undergo surgery on Tuesday morning to relieve pressure on his brain caused by bleeding, his spokeswoman said.

Rev Tony Lowden, Mr Carter’s pastor, said the Democratic leader had had ”a rough day” on Monday. “We just need the whole country to be in prayer for him,” he said.

Mr Carter is resting comfortably Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, and his wife Rosalynn is with him, his spokeswoman added.

The 95-year-old former peanut farmer has fallen at least three times in 2019, with one incident necessitating hip replacement surgery.

On 6 October Mr Carter needed 14 stitches after a fall and on 21 October he fractured his pelvis.

He is the oldest living president, surviving longer after leaving the White House than any former president in US history.

After losing his 1980 re-election bid to Ronald Reagan, Mr Carter went on to become an international fixture and a noted humanitarian.

He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his efforts towards finding peaceful solutions to international conflicts, advancing democracy and human rights and promoting economic and social development.

He and his wife, Rosalynn Carter, founded the Carter Center in 1982 to carry on their international and humanitarian work.

Mr Carter also regularly teaches Sunday school in his home town of Plains, Georgia.

Additional reporting by agencies