Mandela making progress, says parliament speaker

Anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela is making progress while undergoing treatment at a Pretoria hospital for a recurring lung infection, National Assembly Speaker Max Sisulu said Saturday.

Sisulu visited Mandela at the Pretoria Heart hospital Saturday, Xinhua cited the South African Press Association (SAPA) as saying.

"We are pleased with the progress Madiba is making," the speaker said.

"We love him dearly and don't want to let him go," Sisulu said.

Earlier in the day, South African President Jacob Zuma said Mandela "remains critical but stable, nothing has changed so far".

"That's where the situation is. We are hoping it is going to improve. We hope very soon he will be out of hospital," Zuma said in a televised press conference with visiting US President Barack Obama.

Saturday was the 22nd day Mandela has stayed in hospital. He has been suffering from a lung infection as the result of tuberculosis developed when he was serving prison terms under the apartheid.