President Obama, who is scheduled to arrive in South Africa on Friday, said he did not need a “photo op” with Nelson Mandela, but did not rule out meeting the the anti-apartheid icon, NBC News reported. "The last thing I want to do is be intrusive at a time when the family is concerned," said Obama. “We’ll see what the situation is when we land,” he added. Mandela's ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela said Friday her ex-husband seemed to be getting better. “I’m not a doctor but I can say that from what he was a few days ago there is great improvement," she said. U.S. officials said Thursday that it would be up to the Mandela family whether the president would be able to pay a visit to the ailing Nobel Peace Prize winner who Obama described as a “personal hero.” Mandela’s daughter Zindzi said she was not aware of any requests for a visit, but deferred to the doctors treating her father. Zindzi Mandela on Tuesday said that her father “opened his eyes and gave me a smile” when she told him Obama was coming.
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