LEANER: The amendment was drafted following the conclusions reached at a meeting and in light of the pan-blue camp's majority in the legislature
By Shih Hsiu-chuan
The Cabinet has completed a draft to streamline its 36 agencies to 26, with 14 ministries, seven commissions and five independent institutions, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Chen Chin-jun (陳景峻) said yesterday.

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WALK THE WALK: The 82-year-old Koo, former DPP chairman Yu Shyi-kun, Chthonic frontman Freddy Lim and others took part in the event to back the DPP candidate
Former senior presidential adviser Koo Kwang-ming (辜寬敏) put on his walking shoes in Kaohsiung City yesterday as he took part in a walk organized by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) camp.

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By Ko Shu-ling
The number of international students in Taiwan has increased significantly in recent years, mostly because of a worldwide increase in Mandarin education and efforts by the Ministry of Education to attract students to Taiwan.

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Tom Lantos, a Hungarian born-Holocaust survivor and veteran Democratic congressman who chaired the US House Foreign Affairs committee, died yesterday, a month after announcing he had cancer.

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TOXIC: Six hotels, hostels or nursing homes were found to fall short of drinking water safety standards out of 2,203 cases investigated, an EPA sanitation official said
By Meggie Lu
With the start of the Year of the Rat, Taiwanese are off to a good start with the country's water and food safety well within regulations and safety limits, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) and Atomic Energy Council (AEC) yesterday said.

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PRICE OF HEALTH: In addition to the very unpopular monitoring system of peer-assessors, doctors also have to accept compensation slashed to low profit margins
By Angelica Oung
While doctors in this country decide the optimal course of treatment for their patients, another set of doctors monitors their decisions for the Bureau of National Health Insurance (BNHI) -- with an eye on the bottom line.

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The New York Philharmonic, the oldest symphony orchestra in the US and one of the oldest in the world, arrived in Taipei yesterday to begin its tour this year of five Asian cities.

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The Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty is calling on the public to join its "Life Watch" project to help save the lives of prisoners mistakenly convicted and sentenced to death by courts.

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The first televised presidential debate has been scheduled for Feb. 24, the Central News Agency (CNA) announced yesterday. The second debate is scheduled for March 9.

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