Nelson Mandela admitted to hospital

Former South African leader Nelson Mandela, 93, has been admitted to hospital after doctors advised medical attention for a long-standing abdominal complaint. "President Jacob Zuma wishes to advise that former president Nelson Mandela was admitted to hospital today, the 25th February 2012," a statement from the South African presidency said. The statement wished Mandela a speedy recovery and assured him of the love and good wishes of all South Africans. The statement did not say where Mandela was receiving treatment. A spokesman for the South African president told South Africa's eNews channel that Mandela was in good spirits. "I can assure you that the former president is in good spirits and well," said Mac Maharaj, the spokesman. Mandela spent several days at Johannesburg's Milpark hospital just over a year ago with respiratory problems.  Since then he has not appeared in public, and has spent his time between Johannesburg and his ancestral village of Qunu in South Africa's Eastern Cape province. His last major public appearance was in July 2010 at the final of the World Cup in Johannesburg's Soccer City stadium. Mandela became South Africa's first black leader in 1994 after being jailed for 27 years by the apartheid regime for fighting for equal rights for all South Africans. Mandela served a one five-year term and quit in 1999, paving the way for his then deputy Thabo Mbeki to take over.