Tributes have been paid from around the world to the late Nelson Mandela, who has died at the age of 95.
US president Barack Obama said his first political experience was campaigning against apartheid as a college student:
British prime minister David Cameron has asked the union flag to be flown at half-staff over Number 10, Downing Street.
The Dalai Lama said "the best tribute we can pay to him is to do whatever we can to contribute to honouring the oneness of humanity and working for peace and reconciliation as he did".
Bono said it was if the South African leader was born to teach the age a lesson in humility, humour and above all else, patience.
Samuel L Jackson tweeted that he had "never known a better person" in his life, while Bill Gates said every time he met Mandela, he left more inspired than ever.
In a rare statement legendary boxer Muhammad Ali said he would remember Mandela as "a man whose heart, soul and spirit could not be contained or restrained by racial and economic injustices, metal bars or the burden of hate and revenge."
In a statement of its own, the African Union said the South African had taught us "forgiveness on a grand scale" and said his passing was a great loss "to our continent and indeed to humanity itself."
FIFA president Sepp Blatter said the reception given to Mandela at the closing ceremony of the last World Cup held in South Africa showed him as "a man of the people, a man of their hearts".
"It was one of the most moving moments I have ever experienced," he said.
