Ex-president Bush still in hospital

Former US PresidentGeorge H.W. Bush, 90, remained in aHouston hospital on Wednesday as a precaution after experiencing a shortness of breath, a spokesman for the 41st president said.

"No new news to report so far," spokesmanJim McGrathwrote in an email.

On Tuesday evening,Bushwas taken by ambulance to Houston Methodist Hospital after experiencing shortness of breath, McGrath said. He saidBushwas being held for observation.

Bush's latest health scare came two years after he was struck by illness during the 2012 holiday season. He spent seven weeks in aHouston hospitalfor bronchitis and related ailments before his discharge in mid-January of 2013.

On Tuesday evening, the former president "was taken by ambulance to theHouston Methdist Hospital as a precaution after experiencing a shortness of breath", according to his spokesman,Jim McGrath.

The former president, a Republican, grew so ill during his previous hospitalization that he was believed at one point to be near death, and members of his family gathered around him.

He marked his 90th birthday this year by taking a parachute jump inKennebunkport, Maine. His eldest son, former PresidentGeorge W. Bush, this year published a best-selling book about his father, titled 41 - A Portrait of My Father.

PresidentBarack Obamawished his predecessor well in a statement issued byWhite HousespokesmanEric SchultzfromHawaii, where Obama was vacationing with his family.

"The president has been made aware that PresidentBushwas admitted to the hospital," Schultz said. "President Obama and the first lady send their good wishes to the former president and the entireBushfamily during this holiday season."

The elderBushserved as vice-president for eight years duringRonald Reagan's two terms as president before being elected president himself, defeating formerMassachusettsGovernorMichael Dukakis, the Democratic nominee, in 1988.

Bushtook office in 1989 and served one term in the White House, during which he organized the US-led military coalition that defeated Iraqi forces afterSaddam HusseininvadedKuwait.

He lost his 1992 re-election bid to DemocratBill Clinton.

Bushalso served as a congressman, a UN ambassador, US envoy toChinaand CIA director before becoming Reagan's running mate in 1980.