Mandela responding to treatment: Graca Machel

The anti-apartheid icon was admitted to a Pretoria hospital on June 8 for a recurring lung infection.

Members of the Toronto Children's Chorus choral group from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, who are on a tour taking part in the Ihlombe South African Choral Festival, hug each other as they observe some of the get-well messages and flowers, after singing outside the Mediclinic Heart Hospital where former South African President Nelson Mandela is being treated in Pretoria, South Africa, on Saturday.

Graca Machel, wife of ailing former South African President Nelson Mandela has said that she is less anxious now because the 94-year-old anti-apartheid leader is responding to treatment. Mr. Mandela, who was admitted to Mediclinic Heart Hospital in Pretoria on June 8 for a recurring lung infection, is said to be in critical but stable condition.

People in South Africa and around the world have expressed concern for Mr. Mandela, sending messages of support for a man seen as a global symbol of reconciliation. The Nobel peace prize winner turns 95 on July 18, when commemorations will be held in his honour.

Mr. Mandela spent 27 years in prison during white rule in the country and was released in 1990. He led the shift from apartheid to democracy and became President after an all-race election in 1994.