Vaclav Havel and Madeleine Albright receive award

Former Czech president Vaclav Havel has been awarded the Prize for Understanding between Nationalities and Peoples of Europe. The prize was awarded over the weekend in Pasov, Germnay by the media consortium Verlagsgruppe Passau. Also receiving the same award was Madeleine Albright, the former U.S. Secretary of State, who is of Czech origin. The prize is given to persons who have contributed significantly to the development of democracy, the protection of human rights, and encouraged understanding between different nationalities. The Verlagsgruppe Passau group first awarded the prize in 2005 to the former Israeli prime minister, Simon Peres.