Former South African President Nelson Mandela is making "dramatic" progress and "might be going home soon," his elder daughter said on Wednesday.

　　Zindzi Mandela who visited his father on the eve of his 95th birthday said Mandela is responding well to treatment.

　　However, the ailing Noble Prize winner will spend his 95th birthday in the Pretoria Mediclinic Heart Hospital.

　　"I visited him yesterday (Tuesday) and he was watching television with headphones," said Zindzi in an interview with Britain's Sky TV. "He gave us a huge smile and raised his hand... He responds with his eyes and his hands."

　　She added that Madiba was gaining "energy and strength".

　　"I should think he will be going home anytime soon," she said.

　　The latest description by Zindzi, who is one of Madiba's daughters by his second wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, was a sharp contrast to earlier reports which said Mandela was on life support and near death.

　　According to the latest official update released last Thursday, Mandela was still in critical but stable condition.

　　Mandela, South Africa's first black president from 1994 to 1995, turns 95 on July 18, which is also the Nelson Mandela International Day.

　　Mandela has been hospitalized since June 8 for a recurring lung infection. This is his fourth hospitalization since December last year.

　　相关新闻：南非前总统曼德拉的女儿辛德兹?曼德拉17日在接受媒体采访时说，已病重住院1个多月的曼德拉身体“大为好转”，“有可能很快出院”。

　　据英国天空电视台报道，辛德兹在曼德拉95岁生日即将到来之际去医院看望了曼德拉。7月18日是曼德拉95岁生日，也是联合国大会于2009年宣布的纳尔逊?曼德拉国际日。辛德兹说：“我昨天(16日)去看望了他，他正在戴着耳机看电视。他朝着我们笑，向我们招手，他用眼神和手势做出各种反应。”

　　辛德兹说，对曼德拉的治疗产生了“很好的效果”，他正在恢复体能，“我认为他很快就能出院”。

　　此前媒体援引曼德拉家人的话说，随着病情恶化，曼德拉只能靠医疗仪器维持生命，生命不会维持太久。据南非官方提供的信息，自曼德拉因肺部感染与6月8日入院以来，他的病情一直处于“危急但稳定”的状态。曼德拉的病情引起南非和全球民众广泛关注。辛德兹有关曼德拉病情的描述是目前最乐观的。自去年12月以来，曼德拉已是第四次因为肺部感染住院。

　　曼德拉曾因反对种族隔离制度入狱27年，但他出狱后致力推动种族和解。1993年，他和南非种族隔离政权的最后一位总统德克勒克共获诺贝尔和平奖。1994年，曼德拉当选南非第一位黑人总统，5年后卸任。(新华网)