Using digital technologies does not directly cause stress, but social media can increase awareness of problems facing friends and family, and this stress is "contagious," researchers said today.
	A report by the Pew Research Center and Rutgers University researchers concluded that the stress facing some users of social networks was related to "the cost of caring."
	"There is no evidence in our data that social media users feel more stress than people who use digital technologies less or not at all," said Rutgers researcher Keith Hampton, one of the author of the report.
	Hampton said data did not support the notion that people become stressed from keeping up with social media networks like Facebook and Twitter.
	But he added that "learning about and being reminded of undesirable events in other people's lives makes people feel more stress themselves. This finding about the cost of caring adds to the evidence that stress can be contagious."
	Overall, the researchers found frequent ...

Stress and social media: it's complicated

PTI Automatic

Israel said today that Sweden's foreign minister was not welcome for an official visit in the country, with relations strained over Stockholm's recognition of Palestine.
	The minister, Margot Wallstroem, last week postponed a trip to Israel indefinitely, with Israeli media reports suggesting that Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman did not want to meet her.
	Sweden's decision in October to recognise the state of Palestine -- the first major EU nation to do so -- infuriated Israel, which temporarily recalled its ambassador to Stockholm.
	"Do not wait to travel to Israel until the Swedish foreign minister comes here, because that could take a long time," Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon told public broadcaster Swedish Radio.
	"The Swedish foreign minister would not have been given any official meetings in Israel if she had travelled here. What Sweden did was an utterly unfriendly action," Nahshon added.
	Wallstroem considered making the trip without official ...

Israel says Swedish FM not welcome

The United States will ease travel and trade restrictions with Cuba from tomorrow implementing last month's agreement to begin normalising ties with the Cold War-era foe.
	   "Today's announcement takes us one step closer to replacing out-of-date policies that were not working and puts in place a policy that helps promote political and economic freedom for the Cuban people," Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said today.
	   While a US trade embargo remains in effect, the rule changes will ease restrictions on travel, raise a limit on remittances, allow US banks to establish accounts in Cuban banks, facilitate telecommunications services with the island and allow exports of communications devices and supporting services.
	   "These changes will immediately enable the American people to provide more resources to empower the Cuban population to become less dependent upon the state-driven economy, and help facilitate our growing relationship with the Cuban people," White House press secretary .

US eases travel, trade with Cuba from Friday: Treasury

US Secretary of State John Kerry branded a Boko Haram massacre in northern Nigeria a "crime against humanity" today as satellite images suggested massive destruction in the two towns reported razed by its fighters.
	   "What they have done... Is a crime against humanity, nothing less," Kerry said as first images of what is feared to be the worst atrocity of the six-year Islamist insurgency emerged.
	   Hundreds of people, if not more, are reported to have been killed in attacks on the towns of Baga and Doron Baga on the shores of Lake Chad in Borno state, according to Amnesty International.
	   Boko Haram was "evil" and a serious threat "not just in Nigeria and the region but to all of our values", Kerry said during a visit to Bulgaria. He said he had spoken earlier to his British counterpart Philip Hammond -- who was also in Sofia -- about the possibility of "a special initiative with respect to Nigeria and with respect to Boko Haram".
	   Amnesty and New York-based watchdog Human ...

Kerry accuses Boko Haram of 'crime against humanity'

Eoin Morgan said unwanted Kevin Pietersen was not part of his plans as England's one-day captain on Thursday and was happy with his group of players ahead of next month's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
	Morgan, who took over the England captaincy from Alastair Cook last month, moved to end speculation surrounding the future of the maverick batsman, sacked by England last February.
	Pietersen renewed speculation during a television interview this week with former Australia captain Ricky Ponting during a Big Bash League match when he claimed Morgan wanted to have him back in England's 50-over team.
	While the pair are friends, Morgan put paid to outside hopes Pietersen may have had of returning to England's World Cup squad as an injury replacement.
	England take on Australia in the opening match of the tri-series in Sydney on Friday in a tournament also involving India and Morgan laid his cards out on the table.
	"I think this is a good opportunity to clear things up given that 

Morgan closes door on Pietersen return for World Cup

Pace spearhead James Anderson is a doubt for England's tri-series opener against Australia in Sydney as he recovers from a knee injury, skipper Eoin Morgan said on Thursday.
     Anderson looked fit in his return to the team in their 216-run hammering of a local side in Canberra on Monday, but sat out Wednesday's win over the Prime Minister's XI.
     Morgan said the decision was made to rest their spearhead to give him the best possible chance to play in Friday's tri-series opener.
     "It was more managing his workload coming back from injury," Morgan told reporters. "We decided that he wouldn't be able to play three games in a week and obviously the most important game is tomorrow.
     "So in order for him to be fit for selection, we needed to up his workload in the nets. And if he had have played yesterday he wouldn't have pulled up that well."
     Anderson was put through a full practice session Thursday with Morgan saying "we'll see how he pulls up tomorrow morning".
     He .

Anderson fitness doubt for England tri-series opener

Ali Mabkhout scored the Asian Cup's fastest recorded goal after just 14 seconds today as the UAE reached the quarter-finals alongside three-time winners Iran.
     Mabkhout pounced just moments after the kick-off against Bahrain in the quickest strike recorded in the event's 61-year history, to set his team on the way to a 2-1 win.
     And Iran's esteemed coach Carlos Queiroz was left purring at Sardar Azmoun's "brilliant" winner in the 1-0 victory over Qatar, comparing him to the best strikers he has worked with.
     But beleaguered Jordan boss Ray Wilkins sought solace in his mother's love on a chaotic day off the pitch marked by fresh recriminations over a bungled dope test which robbed the Englishman of a key player.
     High-flying Australia, still missing captain Mile Jedinak through injury, suffered another setback with the news that Aston Villa defender Chris Herd is out of the tournament with an Achilles problem.
     UAE grabbed the headlines, however, with striker ...

Goal in 14 seconds as UAE, Iran progress

Pope Francis today condemned any killing in God's name, but also insisted there were limits to freedom of speech and said other people's religion could not be insulted or mocked.
	The pope made the comments in relation to attacks by Islamists on the offices of French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo last week in which 12 people died.
	"To kill in the name of God is an absurdity," the pope told reporters aboard a plane travelling from Sri Lanka to the Philippines.
	But the 78-year-old pontiff also said "each religion has its dignity" and "there are limits".
	"You cannot provoke, you cannot insult other people's faith, you cannot mock it," the pontiff said.
	"Freedom of speech is a right and a duty that must be displayed without offending."
	The Charlie Hebdo assault on January 7 was followed two days later by an attack on a kosher supermarket in Paris by a gunman claiming to have coordinated his actions with the two brothers who attacked the magazine.
	In all, 17 people died over three ..

Pope says 'cannot insult' other people's religion

French President Francois Hollande said today that Muslims were the "main victims" of fanaticism, as five of the 17 killed in last week's Islamist attacks in Paris were laid to rest.
	   Speaking at the Arab World Institute in Paris, Hollande said: "It is Muslims who are the main victims of fanaticism, fundamentalism and intolerance", adding the whole country was "united in the face of terrorism."
	   The Muslim community in France, Europe's largest, have "the same rights and the same duties as all citizens" and must be protected.
	   The five burials included those of two of Charlie Hebdo's best-known cartoonists, as the satirical magazine continued to fly off the shelves, sparking fury in some parts of the Muslim world for depicting the Prophet Mohammed on its cover.
	   Georges Wolinski, 80, and Bernard "Tignous" Verlhac, 57, were buried at private family funerals after they were gunned down by two Islamist brothers in last week's attack claimed by Al-Qaeda.
	   After the shooting .

Hollande says Muslims 'main victims of fanaticism'

US Secretary of State John Kerry said today he wants to give Paris a "big hug" after last week's Islamist attacks in the French capital, when he travels there later in the day.
	"My visit to France is basically to share a big hug for Paris and express the affection of the American people for France and for our friends there who have been through a terrible time," Kerry said in Bulgaria.
	He said it was a "continuation of our responsibilities as good friends and the longest ally in our history. That's why I'm going."
	Kerry was due to leave Sofia for Paris late Thursday for talks on Friday with French President Francois Hollande.
	It is his first trip there since Islamist extremists last week killed 17 people in attacks on the offices of French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, a Jewish supermarket and a policewoman.
	The White House was forced to admit it had made a mistake in not sending a higher-ranking representative to a mammoth march in Paris attended by dozens of world leaders on .

Kerry wants to give Paris 'big hug' after attacks

Iran has announced plans to combat what it says are "immoral" online dating websites by launching an official site for young people seeking marriage.
	Local media quoted officials as saying the site would launch in the next few days and promote long-term marriages among the under-30s who make up 55 percent of Iran's 77 million people.
	There are strict prohibitions on sexual contact before marriage in the conservative country, but that can be circumvented under the Shiite form of Islam practised in Iran by "sigheh," or temporary marriage, under which a couple can contract matrimony for as little as an hour.
	The government is seeking to discourage the practice and the deputy minister for youth and sport, Mahmoud Gholrazi, said there are as many as 300 websites deemed "illegal and immoral" that often encourage sigheh.
	The ministry, in cooperation with the Islamic propaganda organisation, will launch a new site "where young people can sign up and introduce themselves," Gholrazi was ...

Iran to combat 'immoral' dating with official marriage site

Church of England leaders have launched a stinging critique of Britain under the Conservative-led coalition government, saying the "evil" of inequality was leaving parts of the country "trapped" in decline.
	In a collection of essays edited by Archbishop of York John Sentamu, Church of England leader Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, argued that public spending cuts and the drive for economic growth had made the situation worse.
	Welby said that "entire towns and regions" were "trapped in an apparently inescapable economic downward spiral" made worse by the government's public spending cuts.
	"Our economy appears to be, in one sense, a tale of two cities -- one being a growing and constantly improving London (and the South East generally), and the other being most, but not all, other cities, alike in that they are each trapped in apparently inevitable decline," he wrote.
	The book, entitled "On Rock or Sand?", went to print today and will be released on Tuesday.
	Extracts ...

Anglican leaders slam 'evil' inequality under Cameron

French Islamist gunman Amedy Coulibaly spent three days in Madrid before last week's Paris attacks, with Spanish police now investigating whether he had a support cell there, a newspaper said today.
	He was in Madrid between December 30 and January 2 with another person who has not yet been identified, Barcelona-based daily newspaper La Vanguardia reported.
	Coulibaly shot dead a policewoman in Paris on January 8 before killing four hostages he took at a kosher supermarket in the east of the French capital the following day.
	His partner, Hayat Boumeddiene, is known to have been in the Spanish capital before last week's attacks, but this is the first report that Coulibaly himself had been there for three days.
	Turkish authorities said Boumeddiene crossed into Syria on January 8 from Turkey after arriving in Istanbul on a flight from Madrid.
	Spanish authorities are working with their French counterparts to investigate Coulibaly's activities in Spain to determine if there is a support 

Paris gunman 'spent three days in Madrid'

Pope Francis arrived in the Philippines today for a five-day trip in the Catholic Church's passionate and chaotic Asian heartland that is tipped to attract a world-record papal crowd.
	Church bells tolled across the nation as the charismatic pontiff flew into the capital of Manila after a successful trip to Sri Lanka.
	Francis smiled as he looked out the window of his plane upon touchdown, and hundreds of children brought to greet him chanted on the tarmac: "Welcome Pope Francis".
	Francis has said his two-nation tour is aimed at adding momentum to already impressive growth for the Church in Asia, with its support in the Philippines the benchmark for the rest of the region.
	Eighty per cent of the former Spanish colony's 100 million people practise a famously fervent brand of Catholicism, and the pope is set to enjoy thunderously enthusiastic crowds throughout his stay.
	"Every step he makes, every car ride he takes, every moment he stays with us is precious for us," Archbishop ...

Pope begins trip to passionate Philippines

Sri Lanka ruised to a six-wicket win in the second one-day international against New Zealand today, thanks to a masterful century from Tillakaratne Dilshan and a comedy of errors from the Black Caps.
     Dilshan scored 116 as the visitors comfortably overhauled New Zealand's first innings total of 248 to level the seven-match series 1-1, with Angelo Mathews (39) and Kumar Sangakkara (38) also making valuable contributions.
     Their efforts came after New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum won the toss and put the hosts in a strong position with a big-hitting 117, only for his teammates to squander any chance of victory through a series of basic mistakes.
     The Black Caps lost four wickets to run-outs and a clumsily conceded stumping, effectively handing the match to Sri Lanka.
     "That's cricket, it's not ideal but it's one of those crazy things," bowler Matt Henry said.
     Mathews' men struck early when opener Martin Guptill departed for 10 trying to loft Nuwan Kulasekara ...

Sri Lanka sink bumbling Black Caps

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu today said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had committed crimes against humanity comparable to those behind the Paris attacks that left 17 dead.
	"Netanyahu has committed crimes against humanity the same like those terrorists who carried out the Paris massacre," he told reporters in televised comments.
	His comments risk ratcheting up a new row in the increasingly tense relationship between the two countries after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blasted Netanyahu for "daring" to attend the weekend's anti-terror solidarity march in Paris after the attacks.
	Netanyahu spat back yesterday that Erdogan's "shameful remarks must be repudiated by the international community."
	Davutoglu said Netanyahu's "crimes against humanity" included the deadly 2010 Israeli assault on a Turkish aid vessel and last year's onslaught on Hamas-controlled Gaza.
	In 2010, Israeli commandos stormed the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara, the largest ship in an ..

Turkish PM compares Netanyahu with 'Paris terrorists'

Nearly 100 people are feared missing in the Central African Republic after a boat caught fire and sank on a river in the strife-torn country this week, officials said today.
	The sinking happened on Monday after the boat's motor exploded, starting a fire that quickly engulfed the vessel, with terrified passengers jumping overboard, officials told AFP.
	It had been carrying an estimated 100 people down the Oubangui River from the capital Bangui when the fire broke out near the village of Modale.
	A naval official said at least 80 people were on board the New Jerusalem when it left Bangui, 125 kilometres (77 miles) upstream from where it came to grief. "But others had probably been taken on during the voyage bringing the number of passengers to more than 100."
	Only one body has so far been found, he said, that of a "child who is being taken back to Bangui with his mother, one of the few survivors. It is hard to say how many people have died because there is no rescue team" in the ...

100 feared missing after boat sinks in C Africa

A Japanese journalist on trial for allegedly defaming South Korean President Park Geun-Hye said today that a ban on his leaving the country had been extended by another three months.
	The case has strained relations between Seoul and Tokyo, which condemned the extension as a "grave humanitarian issue" and said it would issue a formal protest.
	 "I was told by my lawyers that the ban on my leaving the country had been renewed for three more months," Tatsuya Kato told AFP.
	The travel ban on the former Seoul bureau chief of Japan's conservative Sankei Shimbun has been in force since August last year.
	Kato is charged with criminal libel punishable by up to seven years' jail.
	The charge stems from an August article he wrote about Park's whereabouts on the day the Sewol passenger ferry sank in April with the loss of around 300 lives.
	At a preliminary court hearing in November, the journalist insisted he had no intention of defaming Park.
	The next hearing is scheduled for Monday.
	Media 

SKorea extends travel ban on Japanese journalist

South Korea today announced a 36-hour lockdown over the weekend on poultry and livestock farms across the country to curb the spread of two highly contagious animal diseases - foot and mouth and bird flu.
	The agriculture ministry said the movement of animals, people and vehicles at thousands of farms would be banned from 6:00 am (local time) on Saturday for disinfection.
	A series of outbreaks of foot-and-mouth in recent months have resulted in the slaughter of around 25,000 pigs, and concern has grown as cases have spread to farms close to the capital Seoul.
	The first cases were detected in July, only two months after South Korea was declared free of the disease at a meeting of the World Organisation for Animal Health in Paris.
	Last week, the agriculture ministry confirmed a case of foot-and-mouth in a cow, the first involving cattle in nearly four years.
	In 2011 a devastating foot-and-mouth outbreak hit the entire Korean peninsula and resulted in the culling of nearly 3.5 ...

S Korea orders lockdown to fight animal disease

The United States has transferred five men from its Guantanamo Bay prison, the Pentagon said, in a renewed push by President Barack Obama toward closing the controversial jail.
	Four of the inmates were sent to Oman, while one was sent to Estonia, according to Pentagon statements yesterday.
	Officials said "a comprehensive review" of the cases was conducted by several US agencies before the men were moved and that all were "unanimously approved for transfer."
	The four men sent to Oman are Al Khadr Abdallah Muhammad Al Yafi, Fadel Hussein Saleh Hentif, Abd Al-Rahman Abdullah Au Shabati and Mohammed Ahmed Salam.
	The final inmate, Akhmed Abdul Qadir, was transferred to Estonia.
	The transfer of the five men leaves 122 inmates at the remote prison, which is located at a US naval base in southeastern Cuba.
	It is the first prisoner transfer of the year, after a total 28 inmates were moved in 2014.
	The prison was set up to hold alleged terror suspects after the September 11, 2001 ...

US sends five Guantanamo prisoners to Oman, Estonia

A magnificent Brendon McCullum century gave New Zealand a flying start in the second one-day international against Sri Lanka before the vistors capitalised on a string of reckless errors to fight back into the match.
     The Blacks Caps, who lead the seven-match series 1-0, appeared set for a mammoth total when McCullum smashed 117 after winning the toss but Sri Lanka piled on the pressure to have them all out for 248 at the end of 50 overs.
     Sharp fielding and consistent bowling from Angelo Mathews' men on a tame Seddon Park wicket forced four run-outs and a stumping as New Zealand lost their composure without skipper McCullum at the crease.
     They threw away wickets chasing suicidal singles, squandering the opportunity to put the match beyond Sri Lanka's reach.
     The visitors struck early when opener Martin Guptill departed for 10 trying to loft Nuwan Kulasekara over mid-off, sending the ball straight to Mathews to continue an indifferent run of form at international ...

AFP

AFP

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