Former South African president Nelson Mandela has died at the age of 95 Thursday, President Jacob Zuma announced in a televised speech to the nation. "Our beloved Nelson Mandela, the founding President of our democratic nation has departed," Zuma said. The president said that Mandela passed on peacefully in the company of his family around 20:50 p.m. local time (1850 GMT) on Dec. 5, Xinhua reported. Zuma also announced a state funeral for Mandela and ordered all national flags to be lowered to half-mast starting Dec. 6 until after the funeral.
