Mandela making ‘steady progress’ following treatment

Nelson Mandela remained in hospital for a fourth day yesterday after South African officials said the 94-year-old was making steady progress following treatment for a recurrence of pneumonia.

One of the towering figures of modern history, Mandela was admitted last Wednesday for his third hospitalisation in four months. Doctors drained a build-up of fluid, known as a pleural effusion or “water on the lungs”, that had developed from the lung infection.

“This has resulted in him now being able to breathe without difficulty,” said president Jacob Zuma’s office in a statement on Saturday. A spokesman for Zuma said he did not have another update on the frail anti-apartheid icon’s health, as he awaited a report from the doctors.