Argentine president hospitalised for sprained ankle

Argentine President Cristina Kirchner was hospitalized after spraining her ankle, local media reported, the latest in a series of physical ailments that have caused her to cancel public events.
The 61-year-old leader had been resting at her home in southern Santa Cruz province, from where she was taken to be treated at a hospital in the capital, according to media reports. Her office did not immediately comment on the matter.
Kirchner had a nearly month-long absence starting October 30 after she was hospitalized for a gastrointestinal inflammation that forced her to miss a G20 meeting in Australia.
That was the third time in less than a year that Kirchner, Argentina's first elected woman president, who is in her last year in office, was sidelined by health issues.
She had to take a break for several days in October due to pharyngitis, an inflammation at the back of the throat.
In July, Kirchner was sidelined for several days by laryngitis, forcing her to cancel a trip to Paraguay.
A little over a year ago, she underwent surgery for an intracranial hematoma, or bleeding in the brain, forcing her to stop working for six weeks.
In early 2012, she underwent surgery to remove her thyroid after being misdiagnosed with cancer.
The center-left Kirchner was first elected in 2007, and again for a second term in 2011. She succeeded her husband Nestor Kirchner who died while in office.