South African President Jacob Zuma (L) and Defense Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa Nqakula look on as a band plays before well-wishers gathered to wish former President Nelson Mandela happy birthday outside the hospital where he is being treated in Pretoria, July 18, 2013. Anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela is "steadily improving", South Africa's government said on Thursday as the former president celebrated his 95th birthday in hospital amid tributes from around the country and the world.[Photo/Agencies]