Italy's former center-left leader hit by serious brain problem

Italy's former center-left party head Pier Luigi Bersani on Sunday was rushed to hospital due to a brain problem, local reports said. According to ANSA news agency, Bersani was hit by a "serious brain problem" and immediately transported to a hospital in Piacenza, a city in northern Italy, accompanied by his wife and brother. Bersani reportedly was hit by a malaise and bouts of vomiting, and the brain problem was found after a first examination. He was then transferred to a department of neurosurgery in the nearby hospital of Parma. Hospital sources quoted by La 7 television said he was hit by a "transient ischemic attack." Bersani, 62, was a former minister of Industry, Commerce, Transport and Economic Development. He began his career with Italy's Communist party and was Secretary of the Democratic Party (PD), Italy's leading center-left party which shares power in the current government with the center-right, from 2009 to 2013.