Singer Mama Africa dies, aged 76

Anti-apartheid icon Miriam Makeba has died after suffering a heart attack.

The 76-year-old singer collapsed at a concert in Italy on Sunday night and passed away in a Naples hospital.

Makeba, who was affectionately nicknamed "Mama Africa", was known for songs such as 'Pata Pata' and 'The Click Song'.

South African Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma said in a statement: "One of the greatest songstresses of our time Miriam Makeba has ceased to sing."

Makeba was born in Johannesburg in 1932 and battled against apartheid through her music. She spent more than three decades in exile after South Africa revoked her citizenship in 1960, returning home in the 1990s following Nelson Mandela's release from prison.

Mandela said in tribute to the star that she "richly deserved the title of Mama Afrika".

"Her music inspired a powerful sense of hope in all of us. Even after she returned home she continued to use her name to make a difference by mentoring musicians and supporting struggling young women," he said.