U.S. Ambassador tours flood-devastated areas

The U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic has began a tour of flood-affected regions to assess the degree of damage from last week's devastating floods. Mr Craig Stapleton visited the town of Plzen on Tuesday, which bears historic ties with the United States having been liberated by U.S. troops in WWII. He will also be travelling to southern and north Bohemia in the next few days. Speaking to journalists, he promised to get help not only from the U.S. government, but also from firms, foundations, unions, and U.S. citizens. Despite the extensive flood damage that the Czech Republic has suffered, Mr Stapleton was confident in Prague's ability to host the NATO summit in November. In light of the summit, he added, U.S. aid will have to be provided fairly quickly. Whilst the immediate focus is to be on disinfectants, medicine and other material, there will also be other forms of aid such as affordable loans from U.S. banks or insurance companies, and an effective way to reconstruct infrastructure and private property.