Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu has urged new US President Barack Obama to signal a real change of heart on Middle East policy by apologizing for the Iraq war.

Helen Suzman, for many years a lone white liberal crusader against apartheid in South Africa's parliament, and who died on New Year's Day aged 91, has been praised by religious leaders at her burial.

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu has accused South Africa of losing the moral high ground of its anti-apartheid years by failing to stand up to Zimbabwe's dictatorial president Robert Mugabe.

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu has commended Christian communicators for support that helped liberate his country from minority white rule, and has appealed for their continued assistance in the post-apartheid era.