Mandela back in hospital, is said to be improving

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - Nelson Mandela was back in the hospital for the third time in four months Thursday, and the 94-year-old former South African president was reported to be responding well to treatment for a chronic lung infection.

South Africa's presidency said that doctors were acting with extreme caution because of the advanced age of the antiapartheid leader.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate was admitted just before midnight to a hospital in Pretoria, the South African capital.

"The doctors advise that former President Nelson Mandela is responding positively to the treatment he is undergoing for a recurring lung infection," the presidency said in a statement.

Mandela, who became South Africa's first black president in 1994, is a revered figure in his homeland.

"I'm so sorry. I'm sad," Obed Mokwana, a Johannesburg resident, said after hearing that Mandela was back in the hospital. "I just try to pray all the time."

In December, Mandela spent three weeks in a hospital in Pretoria, where he was treated for a lung infection and had a procedure to remove gallstones.

Earlier this month, he was hospitalized overnight for what authorities said was a successful scheduled medical test.

Presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj, referring to Mandela by his clan name, "Madiba," said the latest stay was not for previously planned treatment.

"No, this wasn't scheduled. As you will appreciate, the doctors do work with a great sense of caution when they are treating Madiba and take into account his age," he said. "And so when they found that this lung infection had reoccurred, they decided to have him immediately hospitalized so that he can receive the best treatment."

He said there had been a global outpouring of messages expressing concern for Mandela's health.

In Washington, President Obama said he hoped Mandela would pull through, as he has from previous health threats.

"We will be keeping him in our thoughts and prayers," Obama said at the White House during a meeting with leaders of four sub-Saharan nations.