Mandela's health still critical but improving

South Africa's former president Nelson Mandela remained in a critical but stable condition, the country's presidency said Friday.

Nothing had changed from the last update on Mandela's condition issued Aug 11, Xinhua quoted presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj as saying.

In the last update, Maharaj quoted Mandela's medical team as saying that Mandela's health was improving steadily, but he still remained in a critical condition.

Mandela was rushed to a hospital in Pretoria for a recurring lung infection June 8. Friday was his 77th day in hospital.

Mandela's daughter Zindzi Mandela Aug 9 said that her father could manage to sit up, a sign of great improvement in his condition.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate has been suffering from a recurring lung infection, which is the result of tuberculosis developed when he was imprisoned for 27 years during the apartheid period.