mr. mandela's health, this is what they're saying, mr. mandela in satisfactory condition in hospital, comfortable, he went through planned procedure, we can only assume the hernia surgery that our sources told us about to investigate the causes of this abdominal complaint the president tonight saying mr. mandela is fine and conscious and doctors are satisfied with his condition, which they say is consistent with his age. they are stressing, deborah, mr. mandela is not in any danger and that is exactly what the party the african national congress has been saying the whole day. let's take a listen, deborah. >> it's not an emergency, it was pre-planned, it finally happened today. >> is it life-threatening? >> it's not. he's fine. he's okay. and that is what we have been communicating to south africans, no need to panic. >> reporter: the ruling party, the african national congress and the presidency telling south africans and the world not to panic, and that mr. mandela is expected to be released from hospital, discharged from hospital either

mr. mandela's doctors. the last time he was admitted was in january when we were told he was going in for a routine checking c checkup, only to find out that he had a serious respiratory infection. so people want more assurance from the presidency in the form of details of what's going on. >> and he is 93. he has been in declining health. but, clearly, if he -- when he passes away, it's going to be a tragic end of something for south africa because of who he is, because of what he's accomplished. >> definitely. his house is of international importance. that's why people want more information. they want to rest assure with del details of what's going on with mr. mandela, knowing that he is definitely okay. and, of course, the government in south africa treats mr. mandela's health as a closely guarded secret. they think it is a private matter and they will only give information that they feel is necessary to give to the public, deborah. >> thank you so much. we'll check in with you a little later on. >>> we h

mr. mandela is fine and fully conscious and that doctors are satisfied with his condition which they say is consistent with his age. they're stressing today that mr. mandela is not in any danger and that's exactly what his party, the african national congress, has been saying the whole day. >> it was not an emergency. it was pre-planned. and finally happened today. >> is it self threatening? >> it's not. he is fine. he's okay. and that's what we've been communicate to go south africans that there's no need to panic. >> the ruling party, the african national congress and the presidency telling south africans and the world not on panic. mr. mandela is expected to be discharged from hospital either tomorrow or monday. >> thno word on where he's recovering from surgery. the family is wanting to keep that private. >>> next, the race for the gop nomination heats up. just ahead of tuesday's critical vote. yeah, i'm married. does it matter? you'd do that for me? really? yeah, i'd like that. who are you talking to? uh, it's jake from state farm. sounds like a really good deal. jake from state far

mr. mandela was not properly streamlined. we were told he went in for a routine check up to find out he did have a serious infection. he had been watched by doctors ever since then. this time, it seems the presidency is streamlining information. family members are not allowed to say anything to the media. only senior members of the mandela family have been told exactly what is going on, what the former president. we are hearing rumors he had an operation last night. nobody is confirming that and the presidency is taking charge. they want to release the information when they see fit. >> thank you so much. we'll check in with you later on during this hour. thanks so much. >>> now to some incredible video from inside syria showing the growing humanitarian crisis and battle for freedom. it's something you will only see here on cnn. the images were recorded by a french journalist with antigovernment fighters. >> reporter: a warfare like this is relentless and terrifying. the fighters appear fearless and take crazy risks. they stil

mr. mandela, they want to see pictures of them just to reassure themselves he's okay. earlier i spoke to the ruling party about whether south africans are really emotionally prepared for what is the inevitable. this is what the spokesperson had to say. >> people do accept that he's -- he's come a long way. you can look at his age. he's still going strong. that is why these constant monitoring of his health because people at his age need all the attention. but i think south africans while they understand, they wish him to live longer. they would appreciate if he can stretch his life longer. >> do we know how long he'll be in the hospital? >> reporter: the presidency is saying that they're expecting he will be discharged from hospital either sunday or monday, not giving any further information about that. >> thank you very much for that report. appreciate it. >>> gas prices are top of mind for americans right now. prices crept up 12 cents in a week. and they continue to rise. president obama talked about the problem and the solution in his weekly address. >> you know the

mr. mandela's condition, not actually saying where he was admitted.e suspect it was at this hospital behind me. number one military here in the capital city pretoria. the presidency releasing a statement saying that mr. mandela underwent a diagnostic procedure that didn't indicate anything seriously wrong with him. of course, all this vague language is really raising more questions than answers. but south africans will be pleased to their former president is home and will be recuperating surrounded by family. cnn, pretoria. >>> the brazen killings of u.s. servicemens in afghanistan last week dominated the discussions on the sunday talk shows today. among those offering up their opinions, the two top contenders of the gop presidential campaign and top obama administration folks. let's listen. >> we have a situation here where the u.s. is working with a government, but we don't trust the security inside the ministries of that very same government. we won't put u.s. personnel in there because we don't think it is safe. how do you reach agreements under t

mr. mandela is in satisfactory condition after having hernia surgery. 93 years old and he has had a few health issues recently, but he has kept largely out of the public spotlight for the last couple of years. >>> and to politics now. well, we're only two days from the next republican primaries in michigan and arizona, and just a week away from super tuesday. joining me is patricia murphy, founder of citizen jane politics and a contributor for the daily beast. and patricia, you know, mitt rom my has made a few misstatements. >> yeah. >> things he probably wants to take back. there was the $10,000 bet he made with rick perry. $10,000 being kind of a lot of money. >> too rich for some of our blood. >> a little bit. there was also this one. just take a listen. >> i love this country. i actually love this state. it just feels good being back in michigan. you know, the trees are the right height. [ applause ] >> the streets are just right. i like the fact that most of the cars i see are detroit-made automobiles. i drove a mustang and a chevy pick-up truck. a

mr. mandela out of the hospital? >> no.f he just went into the hospital this morning and if he has in fact had surgery, my guess would be that, like anyone else, no matter how old they are, but especially if they're 93, they might have to stay in a while for observation. but that's just my best guess. >> charlene hunter gault. thank you so much. we're going to ask you to stand by. we'll talk to you later. appreciate your time. thanks again. covering nelson mandela for more than three decades. of course, nelson mandela, the father of south africa's democracy and one of the legitimate global superstars. we will, of course, continue to watch his condition and update you as it warrants. >>> right now, what to expect the major cutbacks at the post office. we'll talk about that. this is "weekends with alex witt." erything - everything. but why energy? we've got over 100 years worth. is it safe to get it? but what, so we should go broke with imports? look, i'm just saying. well, energy creates jobs. [announcer:] at conocophillips,

many african-americans in the film industry. >> nelson mandela's spokesperson released this statement on whitney houston's death. miss houston sang for mruse dinner in his honor in october 1994. she dedicated to him her rendition of the song "greatest love of all." may she rest in peace. a month after that, she visited nelson mandela in johannesburg. they had a real relationship. >> yeah, obviously, they did. and he remembered that and never forgot it. he's always that eveninged those who stood up for him to be free, and whitney was one of those people. and we don't talk about it as much. i, too, agree with the governor and the half-staff for the flag. and we all really appreciate all those great accomplishments, including her voice. >>> mark thompson, thank you very much for joining us tonight. we leave you tonight with whitney houston, singing for nelson mandela at the clinton white house. ♪ ♪