Mandela's condition remains 'serious but stable'

A boy walks past a mural painted outside the house former South African President Nelson Mandela once lived in, in Johannesburg's Alexandra township June 9, 2013. REUTERS/Mujahid Safodien

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Former South African president and anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela remained in hospital for a third day on Monday with a lung infection and his condition was "serious but stable", unchanged from the weekend, the government said.

In a two-sentence statement, President Jacob Zuma repeated his call for the country to pray for the ailing 94-year-old, who became the first black leader of Africa's biggest economy after historic all-race elections in 1994.