ByThePost

A private university in Thailand has begun accepting rice in payment for tuition fees. The school is doing so as the Asian country struggles under a grain glut that is hurting farm incomes. Students enrolled at Rangsit University in Bangkok can pay all or part of next semester’s costs with rice, said Worachat Churdchomjan, a dean who helped set up the program. The goal is to help farming families, and the university will put a higher-than-market value on the grain since prices for some strains are near a decade low, according to Worachat. The university’s step is part of wider efforts to help the 16 million Thais who depend on rice farming but are struggling to cover costs because of oversupply at home and in export markets. While Thailand’s military rulers have unveiled more than $2 billion of support to ease agrarian hardship, farmers are also resorting to everything from sales via Facebook to using stalls at gas stations.

Too much Facebook browsing at Christmas - and seeing all those "perfect" families and holiday photos - is more likely to make you miserable than festive, research suggests. A University of Copenhagen study suggests excessive use of social media can create feelings of envy. It particularly warns about the negative impact of "lurking" on social media without connecting with anyone. The study suggests taking a break from using social media. The study of more than 1,000 participants, mostly women, says that "regular use of social networking such as Facebook can negatively affect your emotional well-being and satisfaction with life". 'Unrealistic social comparisons' Researchers warn of envy and a "deterioration of mood" from spending too long looking at other people's social media stories, induced by "unrealistic social comparisons". If this suggests a picture of long irritable hours over a screen, depressed by the boasts and po...