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World leaders gather for Richard Holbrooke memorial

US and world leaders have honoured Richard Holbrooke, the US diplomat who died last month at 69, praising him as a giant in foreign policy.

Mr Holbrooke, a diplomatic veteran, was President Barack Obama's special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Mourners included Mr Obama, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton.

Mr Holbrooke was credited in part with ending war in the Balkans in the 1990s.

The ceremony took place on Friday afternoon at the Kennedy Center in Washington.

Mr Obama, who had previously hailed Mr Holbrooke as a "true giant of American foreign policy", addressed the memorial service.

"Richard is gone now, but we carry with us his thirst to know, to grasp and heal the world around us," Mr Obama said during a speech at the centre....
Read entire article at BBC News