Argentine president recovering smoothly after operation

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez was recovering smoothly, two days after undergoing surgery to drain a brain hematoma, presidential spokesman Alfredo Scoccimarro said Thursday. Scoccimarro added that Fernandez has sent greetings in the form of "a kiss to all Argentineans," and was starting a solid diet, having lunched on pumpkin puree and broth. Her spokesman's update was celebrated by supporters of the president who have been gathered outside the gates of the Fundacion Favaloro Hospital in Bueno Aires, where the president underwent surgery Tuesday. The hospital said her "vital signs all fall within the normal parameters." Fernandez, who supposedly developed the hematoma after sustaining a blow to the head during a fall in August, continues to be under the strict medical supervision of a team of doctors from the hospital's Neuroscience Institute and Multivalent Unit.