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Bureau of Labor Funds Posted Record High Returns for 2023
發布於 2024-02-02 16:08:13
The Bureau of Labor Funds (勞動基金運用局) recorded gains of 719-billion N-T from its investments in 2023.
The bureau manages a series of Labor Pension and Labor Insurance Funds.
According to officials, the return rate (收益率) of 13 percent on the investments last year was a record high for the bureau .
The new Labor Pension Fund recorded annual earnings of 478-billion last year, and beneficiaries (受益者) of that fund will each receive 38-thousand N-T on average.
Private College Tuition Subsidy Rolled Out
發布於 2024-02-02 16:08:13
President Tsai Ing-wen has taken to Facebook to announce that an annual 35,000 N-T subsidy (補助) for private college tuition and miscellaneous costs (雜費) has taken effect.
Tsai says the subsidy is aimed at "bridging the gap (差距) between private and public university tuition fees" and is the key part of her "Education Equality 1 3 Scheme."
That program was part of a series of measures approved by the Cabinet in June of last year.
The first measure is an additional subsidy for economically disadvantaged students (經濟弱勢) at both private and public universities.
While other measures include scrapping (取消) all high school and vocational high school (高職) fees, as well as relaxing eligibility requirements (符合資格的條件) and repayment terms for student loans.
US approves plan to strike Iranian targets in Syria and Iraq
發布於 2024-02-02 16:08:13
In world news....
According to US news media, the US has approved plans for a series of strikes (攻擊) on Iranian targets in Syria and Iraq.
American officials say the strikes will take place over a number of days, and weather conditions will likely dictate (決定) when they are launched (何時展開攻擊).
It comes after a drone attack killed three US soldiers in Jordan, close to the Syrian border, on Sunday.
The US blamed an Iranian-backed militia group (民兵組織) for that attack.
That group, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, is believed to contain multiple militias that have been armed, funded and trained by Iran's Revolutionary Guards force.
It has said it was responsible for Sunday's strike.
Cancer cases to rise
發布於 2024-02-02 16:08:13
Global cancer cases are predicted to rise by more than 75% by 2050, according to new estimates from the World Health Organization.
The W-H-O's International Agency for Research on Cancer says tobacco, alcohol, obesity (體重過重) and air pollution are behind the predicted rise.
Sally Patterson has more.<
Spain's drought getting serious
發布於 2024-02-02 16:08:13
Spain's northeastern region of Catalonia has declared a drought emergency (乾旱緊急狀況) for the area of around 6 million people including the city of Barcelona.
But thousands of people who live in villages and towns in the Catalan countryside have already been in full-blown crisis mode (全面危機) for several months.
Many village residents struggle to find drinking water and municipal governments have to resort to bringing water in by tanker trucks and even cutting off the taps (關閉自來水) to let wells recover (讓水井恢復).
Experts warn that the situation may become chronic (慢性問題) with the entire Mediterranean (地中海) region set to get hotter and drier because of climate change.