Ex-President Bill Clinton recovering in hospital from infection

Former US President Bill Clinton remained in a California hospital on Friday, where he was recovering from a non-coronavirus infection three days after he was admitted.

The 75-year-old, who left office in 2001, entered the University of California Irvine Medical Center on Tuesday evening for the infection, according to his spokesman, Angel Urena. Clinton is "on the mend," Urena said.

"He's up and about, joking and charming the hospital staff," Urena told Reuters on Thursday.

Clinton went to the hospital after suffering from fatigue and has received both IV antibiotics and fluids, his doctors said.

He has dealt with heart problems in the past, including a 2004 quadruple bypass surgery and a 2010 procedure to open a blocked artery.

The Democrat served two terms in the White House from 1993 to 2001, overseeing strong economic growth while engaging in bruising political battles with his Republican opposition.

The Republican-controlled US House of Representatives impeached him in 1998 over his sexual relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, but Clinton was acquitted by the Senate. He was only the second US president to be impeached; Donald Trump would later become the third when he was impeached twice during his term.

The former Arkansas governor was known as a exceptionally talented politician, combining a folksy charm with a deep knowledge of policy issues. He defeated an incumbent president, Republican George HW Bush, in 1992 and then beat longtime Republican Senator Bob Dole in 1996.

Since leaving office, Clinton has become a cheerleader for his wife, Hillary Clinton, who was elected to the US Senate from New York in 2000.

She unsuccessfully sought the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination and then won the party's nod in 2016, when she eventually lost to Trump despite winning the national popular vote.

Reuters