Former US president Jimmy Carter hospitalized

WASHINGTON - Former US president Jimmy Carter was hospitalised in Cleveland, Ohio, after falling ill on a flight Tuesday morning to the city.

The 85-year-old Carter had developed an “upset stomach” on the flight from Atlanta and was “resting comfortably” at the local Metro Health Hospital, according to a statement from the Carter Centre, a foundation created by the former president.

Carter, who turns 86 Friday, was to remain hospitalized overnight as a precaution. He was “fully alert and participating in all decision-making related to his care”, hospital spokeswoman Susan Christopher said.

Emergency medical services met Carter when he landed Tuesday morning at the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, the airport’s spokeswoman Jacqueline Mayo said.

Carter, president from 1977-81, has recently been on a tour of the US to promote his new book, “White House Diary”. The Carter Centre said he would continue the book tour Wednesday in Washington.