SUBSIDIES: The Legislative speaker said the legislature's failure on Friday to pass the government's budget bill would not affect the distribution of funds to farmers
By Flora Wang
Following the pushing, shoving and shoe-throwing on the legislative floor on Friday, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) yesterday said a cross-party negotiation session could be held on Jan. 29 to determine whether an extra legislative session might be held to review the central government's budget.

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PLAYING IT SAFE: Quarantine officials were ready to slaughter 273,000 birds on and around a chicken farm south of the capital after the killer virus was discovered
South Korean quarantine officials were preparing to kill hundreds of thousands of poultry after a fresh outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, the agriculture ministry and health officials said yesterday.

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Thailand's ruling junta will revert to using walkie-talkies after expressing concern that economic rival Singapore might be tapping its mobile phones, a newspaper reported yesterday.

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The US accused the UN development agency of funneling millions of dollars in hard currency to North Korea with little assurance that leader Kim Jong-il used the money to help his people instead of diverting it to other activities including nuclear weapons, according to US officials and letters obtained on Friday.

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FACE-LIFTS: One day they're wrinkled old men, next day they're not. More and more politicians are hoping for a change in fortunes by going under the knife or needle
By Mo Yan-chih
Anyone familiar with independent Taipei City Councilor Lin Ruey-tu (林瑞圖) might be surprised to notice that his wrinkles recently disappeared and his skin has become smooth.

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