JFK's sister 'critical'

The 88-year-old sister of President John F Kennedy was fighting for her life in hospital today.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver was surrounded by her family at Cape Cod Hospital, Massachusetts, said spokesman Stephen Rivers.

Her husband, children and her grandchildren were said to be at her side.

Shriver is renowned in her own right for founding the Special Olympics.

Shriver's husband, 1972 vice presidential candidate and former Peace Corps director Sargent Shriver, gathered at her side along with their children and grandchildren .

California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is married to Shriver’s daughter Maria, was also there, said Aaron McLear, a spokesman for the governor.

Shriver has been weakened in recent years by a series of strokes. She lives in Hyannis Port, near the family compound where her brother, US senator Edward Kennedy, has been staying as he undergoes treatment for brain cancer.

Senator Kennedy left the compound on Friday in a golf cart with his wife and dog and headed towards the area where the family sailboat is docked.

Shriver is the fifth of the nine Kennedy children. Edward Kennedy and Jean Kennedy Smith are her sole surviving siblings.

In a recent interview posted on eunicekennedyshriver.org, Senator Kennedy said his sister had never backed down from the rest of the competitive clan.

“She always strived to be the best, and she in many respects has made such an extraordinary difference in the lives of so many people around the world,” he said.