Pope, Chirac, Klestil, others congratulate Klaus on inauguration

Pope John Paul II, the French President Jacques Chirac, the Austrian President Thomas Klestil, the Chinese President Chiang Ze-min, and other world leaders have congratulated the new Czech President Vaclav Klaus on his inauguration. After his election last Friday Mr Klaus received congratulations over the telephone from US President George W. Bush and the German President Johannes Rau. The Slovak President Rudolf Schuster congratulated Mr Klaus shortly after his election last Friday.