President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks in the briefing room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2013, about the death of Nelson Mandela. Obama says the world has lost an influential, courageous and 'profoundly good' man with the death of anti-apartheid icon Mandela. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
December 05, 2013 - 2:11 PM
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama will make a statement from the White House Thursday on the death of former South African President Nelson Mandela
Mandela died earlier Thursday at age 95. He was South Africa's first black president and one of the world's most beloved statesmen.
Obama met with Mandela's family earlier this year when he visited South Africa. But he did not meet with the ailing leader, who was hospitalized throughout the U.S. president's visit.
News from © The Associated Press, 2013