Nelson Mandela is "much better" and responding well to treatment for pneumonia, according to South African President Jacob Zuma.

Zuma visited the former anti-apartheid leader in hospital on Thursday.

"Madiba is stable and we are thankful that he is responding well to treatment and that he is much better," Zuma told reporters, referring to Mandela by his clan name.

Mandela, 94, was admitted on March 27 for a recurring lung infection. It is his fourth hospital stay in two years, the BBC has reminded.

No details have been released on how much longer he will remain in hospital.

The former president first contracted tuberculosis in the 1980s while detained on windswept Robben Island.

His lungs are said to have been damaged while working in a prison quarry. This latest spell in hospital is his fourth in just over two years.

Mandela served as South Africa's first black President from 1994 to 1999 and is regarded by many as the father of the nation for leading the struggle against apartheid.

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