Havel receives award for public speaking...

Former Czech president Vaclav Havel has been presented with Germany's Dolf Sternberger Award for public speaking at a ceremony at Prague's Goethe Institute. The prize is given for achievement in combining public addresses with political aims, and is named after a German philosopher noted for his concept of citizenship. Speaking at Tuesday's award ceremony, Mr Havel said the 'banalisation' of political speech was a sign of the 'banalisation' of thoughts and deeds.