Nelson Mandela has been
admitted to hospital three times
in the past two years.
The former South African
President, Nelson Mandela, is
being kept in hospital despite
"looking much better",
according to the government.
Presidential spokesman Mac
Maharaj said doctors treating
the 94 year old are "in no hurry
to send him home".
Mr Mandela was admitted to
hospital 12 days ago and has
been treated for a lung infection
and gallstones.
Doctors are satisfied with his
progress but say he needs
"extraordinary care" because of
his age.
Mr Mandela led the struggle
against white-minority rule
before being elected the first
black president in 1994.
He contracted tuberculosis while
on the windswept Robben
Island where he served 18 of
the 27 years he was imprisoned
for sabotage.
His lungs are said to have been
damaged when he worked in a
prison quarry.
Mr Mandela remains an
important political symbol in
South Africa, says the BBC's
Karen Allen, in Johannesburg.
More so at the moment, our
correspondent adds, as the
governing African National
Congress has re-selected Jacob
Zuma as party president and
returned Cyril Ramaphosa - the
millionaire businessman - back
into the political spotlight, as his
deputy.
Once a leading trade unionist, Mr
Ramaphosa became the symbol
of black capitalism in South
Africa after the ANC came to
power at the end of apartheid.
When Mr Mandela overlooked
him for the role of his deputy, he
was said to have been so upset
that he refused to attend Mr
Mandela's inauguration as
president.
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