World figures congratulate Havel for 75th birthday

Ex-president Václav Havel is marking his 75th birthday on Wednesday. A birthday party on Saturday was attended by over 500 guests, among them close friends from his dissident days, people from the arts world, politicians, writers and diplomats. Mr Havel’s office says he has received congratulations from President Klaus but also from countless foreign figures, including Bill and Hillary Clinton, the Emperor of Japan, and rocker Lou Reed. Former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright, who was born in Czechoslovakia and is a close friend of Mr Havel’s, was also a guest of honour at Saturday’s celebration and accompanied him at a public event on Wednesday.