Holbrooke remains critical in hospital

(2 RICHARD HOLBROOKE REUTERS)

Richard Holbrooke, the widely respected US diplomat who has been pivotal to President Barack Obama's evolving policy on Afghanistan, was in a critical condition yesterday after collapsing on Friday with a tear in his aorta.

Mr Holbrooke, best known for brokering the Dayton Accords that ended the war in Bosnia in 1995, collapsed during a meeting with Hillary Clinton at the State Department. In a statement, President Obama said he and the first lady were praying for his recovery yesterday, calling his special envoy to Afghanistan a "towering figure in American foreign policy".