EDUCATION: The Control Yuan said the education ministry failed to match sharp increases in the number of students and schools with appropriate funding
By Jewel Huang
Although it's been 10 years since educational reform was implemented, a correction order issued by the Control Yuan yesterday found that the quality of Taiwan's higher education had reverted to the level of 15 years ago.

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TEEN HEALTH: Roughly one-seventh of babies born to teens are premature, according to a new study, while researchers said the actual figure may be even higher
By Wang Hsiao-wen
One in seven babies born to a teen mother is premature, a medical report revealed yesterday. Some of those born premature may suffer brain damage. Others will not walk without a leg brace. And some might never lift a spoon to their mouths. For mothers under the age of 19, doctors and social workers said, giving birth too early is often a given.

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The battle between Democratic Progressive Party legislator Shen Fu-hsiung (沈富雄) and popular TV talk show host Wang Ben-hu (汪笨湖) continued yesterday, with Shen saying that many political TV talk shows promote ethnic disharmony.

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MARITAL BLUES: Problems usually begin after the initial excitement of being married fades, and this is when some may opt for divorce
Over one million Taiwanese are suffering from the marital blues, according to a survey carried out by the Taiwan Happy Marriage Association (台灣美滿婚姻促進會).

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DIPLOMACY: The EU and US representatives have swapped posts, but there is still some doubt about the circumstances surrounding the appointment of Chen
By Melody Chen
Former representative to the US Chen Chien-jen (程建人) said yesterday he had accepted his new posting as representative to the EU because he believed he could continue to make a contribution to the country.

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PLAN 'B': As human-rights groups lodge protests, Taiwan's government is lining up other media outlets such as CNN and 'Time' magazine to help promote the nation
By Ko Shu-ling and Lin Chieh-yu
With no response yet from the Athens Olympic Organizing Com-mittee to the nation's protest against the removal of its advertisements, Taiwan is scheduled to launch a new promotional campaign via alternate channels today, the first day of the Games.

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By Caroline Hong
The newly-formed No War Home-land Alliance said yesterday that it is seeking to hold a referendum on the NT$618 billion (US$18.07 billion) arms procurement budget pending approval in the Legislative Yuan.

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By Debby Wu
Taichung City's proposed Guggen-heim Museum branch became the focus of the legislature's extra session yesterday as legislators and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) expressed concern over the fate of the project, but Premier Yu Shyi-kun said the pan-blue camp had obstructed the entire process in the first place.

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By Jimmy Chuang
Taiwan Solidarity Union Legis-lator Hsu Den-koun (許登宮) has been sentenced to a 50-day prison term or a NT$15,000 fine for defaming People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜).

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By Jimmy Chuang
A Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator yesterday questioned the value of bodyguard services provided to lawmakers.

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DEVELOPMENT PLAN: The government should insist local authorities spend 4 percent of their social welfare budgets on youth development, group urges
By Caroline Hong
Taiwan's young people are a marginalized group, the Taiwan Youth Rights and Welfare Advocacy Association said on International Youth Day yesterday, calling on the government to focus on the development of the nation's youth, rather than on restricting them.

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Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) said yesterday that she has raised US$20,000 in relief funds to help victims of a large fire in Paraguay earlier this month.

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LEADING THE WAY: It took nine years before seeing-eye dogs were allowed on buses and other forms of public transportation, book says
By Evelyn Shih
A new book entitled Taiwan's First Seeing-Eye Dog: I was Proud to Walk By Your Side by Ke Ming-chi (柯明期) tells the tale of her dog Aggie, the first seeing-eye dog in Taiwan and her turbulent journey toward greater urban mobility.

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The nation could withstand an attack from China for two weeks, a local newspaper said yesterday, in comments seen aimed at assuaging fears raised by a computer simulation indicating that Taipei could be captured in six days.

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■ Education
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