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Mandela Back In Hospital With Lung Infection, Zuma Asks World To Pray

AFP; MAIL & GUARDIAN, NEWS24 (South Africa); SOWETAN LIVE(Soweto)

Worldcrunch

JOHANNESBURG - Former South African President Nelson Mandela has been admitted to hospital with a recurrent lung infection. The news was confirmed by current President Jacob Zuma’s office on Thursday morning, according to Cape Town’s News24.

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Mandela in 2008. Photo by South Africa The Good News

The 94-year old anti-apartheid hero was hospitalized late Wednesday night and President Zuma wished Madiba, as he is fondly known in South Africa, a speedy recovery.

"We appeal to the people of South Africa and the world to pray for our beloved Madiba and his family and to keep them in their thoughts. We have full confidence in the medical team and know that they will do everything possible to ensure recovery," President Zuma said.

This is the second time this month that the Nobel peace laureate has spent the night in hospital, says the AFP, and follows a nearly three-week stay in December for the lung infection and surgery to extract gallstones.

South African daily the Mail and Guardian notes that his December stay was the longest hospital stint since he was freed from Robben Island in 1990. Mandela has a history of lung problems after he suffered tuberculosis in 1988 after 25 years spent in prison.

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Mandela's cell on Robben Island. Photo by Paul Mannix

The Sowetan Live reports that Mandela’s last major public appearance was nearly three years ago, at the FIFA World Cup Final in July 2010. Having served as South Africa's president from 1994 to 1999, Mandela now spends his time in his childhood home of Qunu, a rural village in the Eastern Cape province.

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LGBTQ Plus

My Wife, My Boyfriend — And Grandkids: A Careful Coming Out For China's Gay Seniors

A series of interviews in Wuhan with aging gay men — all currently or formerly married to women — reveals a hidden story of how Chinese LGBTQ culture is gradually emerging from the shadows.

Image of two senior men playing chinese Checkers.

A friendly game of Checkers in Dongcheng, Beijing, China.

Wang Er

WUHAN — " What do you think of that guy sitting there, across from us? He's good looking."

" Then you should go and talk to him."

“ Too bad that I am old..."

Grandpa Shen was born in 1933. He says that for the past 40 years, he's been "repackaged," a Chinese expression for having come out as gay. Before his wife died when he was 50, Grandpa Shen says he was was a "standard" straight Chinese man. After serving in the army, he began working in a factory, and dated many women and evenutually got married.

"Becoming gay is nothing special, I found it very natural." Grandpa Shen says he discovered his homosexuality at the Martyrs' Square in Wuhan, a well-known gay men's gathering place.

✉️ You can receive our LGBTQ+ International roundup every week directly in your inbox. Subscribe here.

Wuhan used to have different such ways for LGBTQ+ to meet: newspaper columns, riversides, public toilets, bridges and baths to name but a few. With urbanization, many of these locations have disappeared. The transformation of Martyrs' Square into a park has gradually become a place frequented by middle-aged and older gay people in Wuhan, where they play cards and chat and make friends. There are also "comrades" (Chinese slang for gay) from outside the city who come to visit.

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