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Nelson Mandela said to be improving after his fifth night in hospital

Nelson Mandela's condition has improved and he continues to receive treatment for a recurrence of pneumonia, the South African presidency said, as the anti-apartheid icon spent a fifth night in hospital. Doctors "have reported a further improvement in his condition", President Jacob Zuma's office said on Sunday.

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Catholics pray in Regina Mundi church in Soweto, in front of a stained glass window depicting Nelson Mandela. Photo: AFP

Nelson Mandela's condition has improved and he continues to receive treatment for a recurrence of pneumonia, the South African presidency said, as the anti-apartheid icon spent a fifth night in hospital.

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Doctors "have reported a further improvement in his condition", President Jacob Zuma's office said on Sunday.

The frail 94-year-old "had a restful day and continues to receive treatment".

South Africa's first black president, one of the towering figures of modern history, was admitted late on Wednesday for his third spell in hospital in four months.

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Doctors drained a build-up of fluid, known as a pleural effusion or "water on the lungs", that had developed from the lung infection.

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