President Vaclav Klaus visits former arch-rival in Vysocina region

Czech President Vaclav Klaus most certainly raised an eyebrow or two on Sunday when he visited his former arch political rival Milos Zeman - in retirement at his cottage in the Czech Republic's Vysocina region. Both men met for about two-and-a-half hours, saying afterwards they had avoided discussing political issues and spoken simply as "regular guys". Mr Klaus had been on the way back from ski championships in Moravia when he stopped at Mr Zeman's home; he also invited Mr Zeman to now visit him at the presidential Lany Chateau. For years Mr Klaus and Mr Zeman represented the most heated of political rivals in Czech high politics. However, they always granted each other a measure of respect. Their last clash came last year during presidential elections, where Mr Zeman crashed out and Mr Klaus eventually persevered.