In brief: Suicide bombers attack compound

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – Two suicide bombers penetrated a government compound in the country’s south Sunday, killing five people, Afghan officials said. There were no reports of foreign troops or civilians at the site.

In neighboring Helmand province, a bomb planted at a bus station killed one policeman and wounded another person, a provincial official said.

The suicide attack was in the district of Spin Boldak in Kandahar province in one of the nation’s most violent areas.

South Africa sends 400 troops

JOHANNESBURG – The South African presidency announced Sunday that is sending 400 army troops to Central African Republic to help the country’s army as it faces a threat from a coalition of rebel groups.

Sending soldiers to Central African Republic is part of South Africa’s efforts “to bring about peace and stability in the region,” said the announcement by President Jacob Zuma’s office.

The rebels had pledged to halt their advance pending peace talks in Gabon that are due to start Tuesday. However, residents say rebels seized two more towns over the weekend, though they are not en route to the capital.

Mandela said to be recovering well

JOHANNESBURG – South African anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela has recovered from his recent lung infection and a surgical procedure to remove gallstones, according to an announcement Sunday by President Jacob Zuma.

Doctors say that Mandela, 94, has made “steady progress and that clinically, he continues to improve,” according to a statement issued by Zuma’s office. Mandela was hospitalized for nearly three weeks in December before going home on Dec. 26.

Zuma’s statement said Mandela “continues to receive high care” at his home in the Houghton suburb of Johannesburg and that “his daily routine is being gradually re-established.”