Former South African President Nelson Mandela has spent a second night in a hospital, where he is being treated for a recurring lung infection.

The government said that 94-year-old Mandela was taken to a Pretoria hospital after his condition deteriorated at around 1:30am on Saturday.

There was no official update today. His condition on Saturday was described as "serious but stable."

Worshippers at a Sunday church service in the Johannesburg township of Soweto prayed for Mandela's recovery.

The anti-apartheid leader has now been taken to a hospital four times since December, with the last discharge coming on April 6 after doctors diagnosed him with pneumonia and drained fluid from his lung area.

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