At a glance

Taiwan divorce rate highest in Asia
TAIPEI: TAIWAN's divorce rate reached a record 0.2 percent in 1998, topping all other Asian countries, an AFP report said on Monday. The ministry of interior said 43,603 couples were divorced last year, 4,617 more than the year before, for a rate of 0.2 per cent. The divorce rate measures the number of couples who get divorced against the total number of married couples. The rate in Japan is 0.18 per cent, in Hong Kong 0.16 per cent, and 0.13 per cent in Singapore. Taiwanese couples married for less than five years had the highest national divorce rate with 34.85 per cent. By age, men and women between 30 and 34 had the highest divorce rate at more than 22 per cent. In the past 10 years, the island's divorce rate has risen at an annual average of 6.4 per cent.

China's gift panda dies in US
WASHINGTON: After surviving cancer, debilitating arthritis and the loss of his mate, Hsing-Hsing, the aging giant panda that lived for years as a symbol of USrapprochement with China, lost a battle with kidney disease Sunday. Veterinarians euthanized the 28-year-old animal after several months of deteriorating health. "We could not maintain his quality of life," said Lisa Stevens, associate curator of mammals. "Everything became an effort for him. Yesterday (Sunday), after three bad days, we decided it was time." "It doesn't get any harder than this," she continued. "We feel immense sadness, but we also feel immense emptiness, as empty as the panda house is now."-- AGENCIES

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