MAN’S BEST FRIEND--People walk their dogs outside the home of former president Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg, Dec. 27. (AP Photo/Denis Farrell)

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa's president says a dog should not be man's best friend.

President Jacob Zuma made critical remarks about pet care that touch on sensitive race relations in South Africa, which was dominated by Whites until apartheid was dismantled almost two decades ago, The Star newspaper reported Dec. 27.

The newspaper cited Zuma as saying in a speech Dec. 26 that the idea of having a pet is part of "White culture" and that people should focus on family welfare.

The president's office sought to clarify his remarks, saying he was encouraging "the previously oppressed African majority" to uphold its own culture. It also suggested the way in which the comments were reported, rather than the comments themselves, was divisive.

The president's remarks triggered a flurry of retorts from animal lovers on Twitter and other social media.

"Will I become 'more African' if I kick my dog, President Zuma," one person commented tartly.

Another lamented: "He keeps on dividing this country."

And another humorist wrote: "Well, that pretty much rules out that photo opportunity with Zuma, the Obamas, & their pet dog, Bo, in the White House."

The backdrop to the dog debate is the legacy of Western colonialism in Africa, as well as the bitter struggle against apartheid in South Africa that culminated in the first democratic elections in 1994. Poverty and economic imbalances remain a source of deep strain in the nation of 50 million.

During his speech to an appreciative crowd in KwaZulu-Natal, Zuma's home province, the president said people who love dogs more than people have a "lack of humanity" and that some people are trying in vain to "emulate Whiteness," The Star reported.

"Even if you apply any kind of lotion and straighten your hair, you will never be White," he reportedly said.

In a statement, the South African presidency said Zuma was trying to "decolonize the African mind post-liberation" and enable people to take pride in their heritage and not feel pressure to adopt customs of minority cultures. Animals can be cared for, was the message, but not at the expense of people.

It said he gave examples of people loving animals more than other human beings — letting a dog sit in the cab of a truck while a worker has to sit in the back in the rain, or rushing an animal to the veterinarian while ignoring sick relatives or workers.

Zuma has often said he seeks to protect South Africa's diversity and unify its disparate groups, but he has occasionally stirred controversy. In 2006, as deputy president, he said same-sex marriages, which are today protected under South African law, were "a disgrace to the nation and to God."

LAGOS, Nigeria (CNN)—Some 80 years after its first launch, the iconic board game of Monopoly has finally released its first African city edition.

A Lagos-themed version of the popular real estate game was unveiled earlier this week, making Nigeria's bustling economic capital the first city in the continent to have a dedicated Monopoly edition.

ROLLING THE DICE—Babatunde Raji Fashola, Lagos state governor, center, rolls a dice during the presentation of a Lagos-themed Monopoly board game in Lagos, Nigeria, Dec. 11. Nigeria’s largest city of Lagos is no boardwalk, but now Monopoly is taking an inspiration from the sprawling chaos. (AP Photo / Sunday Alamba )

BACK AT HOME--This May 16, 2011 photo supplied by the South African Government Communications and Information Services, GCIS, shows former South African President Nelson Mandela and his wife Graca Machel after they cast an early ballot in upcoming local elections at his home in Johannesburg, South Africa. (AP Photo/Elmond Jiyane-GCIS, File)

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Former South African President Nelson Mandela was released Wednesday from the hospital after being treated for a lung infection and having gallstones removed, a government spokesman said.

The 94-year-old anti-apartheid icon will continue to receive medical care at home.

Mandela had been in the hospital since Dec. 8. In recent days, officials have said he was improving and in good spirits, but doctors have taken extraordinary care with his health because of his age.

Mandela was released Wednesday evening and will receive "home-based high care" at his residence in the Johannesburg neighborhood of Houghton until he fully recovers, said presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj.

"We thank the public and the media for the good wishes and for according Madiba and the family the necessary privacy," said Maharaj in a statement, using Mandela's clan name, a term of affection. The statement requested that Mandela's privacy continue to be respected "in order to allow for the best possible conditions for full recovery."

David Phetoe, a resident of the Johannesburg township of Soweto, reacted with joy when he heard that Mandela was no longer in a hospital.

"It's not always the case, when people offer great expectations, that those expectations are fulfilled," he said. "In this case, we say in the same tone, in the Christmas mood and in the Christmas season, let him stick around for a while!"

Mandela is revered around the world as a symbol of sacrifice and reconciliation, his legacy forged in the fight against apartheid, the system of white minority rule that imprisoned him for 27 years.

The Nobel laureate served one five-year term as president after South Africa's first democratic elections in 1994. Although the country today struggles with poverty and inequality, Mandela is widely credited with helping to avert race-driven chaos as South Africa emerged from apartheid.

South African President Jacob Zuma was among those who joined Mandela's wife, Graca Machel, and other family members in wishing a Merry Christmas to Mandela at his hospital bedside in Pretoria, the South African capital.

"I think he is an icon of hope and we are very excited" that Mandela is out of the hospital, said Sipho Sibiko, a Soweto resident. "I personally know that he is one of the people that inspired me. He inspires a lot of people and we are excited that he has been released. We wish him many more joyous years and good health."

(Thomas Phakane contributed to this report.)

by Ben McConville and Jill Lawless

Associated Press Writers

DUNBLANE, Scotland (AP) — If there's anywhere that understands the pain of Newtown, it's Dunblane, the town whose grief became a catalyst for changes to Britain's gun laws.

ANTI-GUN CAMPAIGN--A woman passes a poster reading: 'Weapons Monopoly for Criminals? No' in Zurich, Switzerland. In September 2001, a man named Friedrich Leibacher went on a rampage in the regional parliament in the wealthy northern Swiss city of Zug, killing 14 people and himself, apparently over a grudge against a local official. (AP Photo/Keystone/Walter Bieri, File)

In March 1996, a 43-year-old man named Thomas Hamilton walked into a primary school in this central Scotland town of 8,000 people and shot to death 16 kindergarten-age children and their teacher with four legally held handguns. In the weeks that followed, people in the town formed the Snowdrop campaign — named for the first flower of spring — to press for a ban on handguns. Within weeks, it had collected 750,000 signatures. By the next year, the ban had become law.