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Happy Birthday Madiba! South Africans celebrate Mandela's 95th

A man walks past a Mandela banner on the City Hall in Matosinhos, Portugal, on July 18.
A man walks past a Mandela banner on the City Hall in Matosinhos, Portugal, on July 18.Paulo Duarte / AP
Thousands of people celebrate the 95th birthday of Nelson Mandela outside the Mediclinic Heart Hospital where he is being treated on July 18 in Pretoria, South Africa.
Thousands of people celebrate the 95th birthday of Nelson Mandela outside the Mediclinic Heart Hospital where he is being treated on July 18 in Pretoria, South Africa.Christopher Furlong / Getty Images
Children from the Vukazenele Higher Primary School in the Mofolo North Neighborhood of Soweto sing for Nelson Mandela's birthday on July 18 in Johannesburg. Children in schools across the country were called upon to sing
Children from the Vukazenele Higher Primary School in the Mofolo North Neighborhood of Soweto sing for Nelson Mandela's birthday on July 18 in Johannesburg. Children in schools across the country were called upon to singJ. Countess / Getty Images

By Ron Allen, Correspondent, NBC News

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – As South Africa marked Nelson Mandela’s 95th birthday with a nationwide “day of service” on Thursday, the government announced that the anti-apartheid icon’s health was improving. 

“Madiba remains in hospital in Pretoria but his doctors have confirmed that his health is steadily improving,” the government said in a statement, referring to Mandela by his clan name. Read full story

Thousands of people celebrate Mandela's 95th birthday outside the Mediclinic Heart Hospital where he is being treated on July 18 in Pretoria, South Africa.
Thousands of people celebrate Mandela's 95th birthday outside the Mediclinic Heart Hospital where he is being treated on July 18 in Pretoria, South Africa.Christopher Furlong / Getty Images
Schoolchildren sing
Schoolchildren singChristopher Furlong / Getty Images
A boy paints a message for former South African President Nelson Mandela on the wall at Kilimani Primary School in Nairobi, Kenya.
A boy paints a message for former South African President Nelson Mandela on the wall at Kilimani Primary School in Nairobi, Kenya.Dai Kurokawa / EPA
A child sings
A child singsStephane De Sakutin / AFP - Getty Images
Schoolchildren pray for Mandela after singing
Schoolchildren pray for Mandela after singingChristopher Furlong / Getty Images
A man walks past a Mandela banner on the City Hall in Matosinhos, Portugal, on July 18.
A man walks past a Mandela banner on the City Hall in Matosinhos, Portugal, on July 18.Paulo Duarte / AP

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