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The Czech Government is planning to introduce a tax reform to raise money for flood damage repairs while insurers upgrade their flood damage estimates.

Japan and Taiwan have joined the multitude of countries that have provided financial aid to the flood-afflicted Czech Republic. Kyoto, Japan, which is Prague's sister city, has provided a financial gift of one million yens for the renewal of Prague.

The Czech Foreign Minister, Cyril Svoboda, has thanked the people of Slovakia for the help they gave the Czech Republic during the recent floods, saying Slovakia was one of the first countries to offer assistance. Mr Svoboda was speaking after talks in Bratislava on Wednesday with senior Slovak politicians, including President Rudolf Schuster and Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda. Czechoslovakia split in two in January 1993.

On Tuesday, for the first time since the devastating floods, Prague's National Gallery allowed journalists to see collections of ancient Czech art in St. Agnes convent in the historical centre of Prague. Although the water in the convent came up to a height of 2 metres, the precious 14th century pictures and sculptures were luckily saved. Alena Skodova was there and has this report:

Cynics would say it was only a matter of time before crimes related to last month's catastrophic floods in the Czech Republic would begin to surface. Now they have: along with earlier reports that people had been trying to sell flood-damaged foodstuffs, there is evidence that some individuals may have gone as far as to set up fraudulent charities pretending to collect money for flood victims. Jan Velinger reports.

President Vaclav Havel and his wife Dagmar have visited several villages affected by the recent floods, to see the damage for themselves and offer support. The presidential couple visited villages in the Strakonice, Klatovy and Prague-West areas, bringing with them cleaning equipment, gloves and tools to help the clean-up operation. Mr Havel said the best thing he and members of his staff could offer flood victims was psychological and moral support.

The Czech Embassy in London says people in Britain have donated almost 160,000 pounds, or more than eight million crowns, to a special fund for Czech flood victims. An embassy spokeswoman said there was great interest among the British public in the floods. The British government has donated around 100,000 pounds and special drying equipment, while Prince Charles has also contributed money from his own foundations.

Police said the death toll from the floods rose to seventeen on Saturday, after a man pumping water from his cellar fell unconscious and drowned. A police spokesman said the man was pumping floodwater from his cottage in the southern town of Trebon when he was overcome with petrol fumes and lost consciousness. Around ten people were swept to their deaths by swollen rivers during the floods, the remainder died from heart attacks or accidents during rescue work.

While the damage done by the recent devastating floods has not yet been calculated, the Czech Republic suffered another bout of torrential rain at the weekend, causing rivers to burst their banks. Some places have been hit by floodwater for third time in three weeks. Vladimir Tax reports.