By Nelson Bocanegra BOGOTA The board of Colombia's central bank will meet on Friday, where it is expected

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Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott expressed concern in announcing star receiver Stefon Diggs is not present for the start of the team’s mandatory minicamp

Scientists have found that visiting friends and family at least once a month can help you live longer. According to a recent study published by the University of Glasgow in BioMed Central Medicine, researchers discovered that there was a correlation between how often a person was visited by their family and friends with their life expectancy. Those who were never visited by their family reportedly had a higher risk of dying. Amid the ongoing loneliness epidemic, social isolation has previously been linked by researchers to a shorter life expectancy. This latest study sought to understand the effect that different types of social interaction have on our quality of life, with visits from friends and family, participating in a weekly group activity, and not living alone reportedly making the biggest difference among a group of 458,146 participants in the United Kingdom. Participants were between the ages of 37 and 73, with the average age being 56 years old, and data was collected between 2006 and 2010. Researchers asked the participants questions about the five different forms of social interaction: how often they were able to confide in someone close to them, how often they felt lonely, how often friends and family visited, how often they participated in a weekly group activity, and whether or not they lived alone. “We also tried to take into account lots of other factors that could explain the findings — like how old people were, their gender, their socioeconomic status, whether they were a smoker and more,” Dr Hamish Foster, a clinical research fellow at the University of Glasgow and the lead study author, explained to Insider. “And even after removing those factors from the equation it still showed that these social connections were important for risk of death.” Depending on when the participants were recruited, researchers would revisit the questions with the participants an estimated 12.6 years later to follow up. They reportedly found that, within those years, 33,135 or 7.2 per cent of participants died, with 5112 or 1.1 per cent passing from cardiovascular-related deaths. Strikingly, the study also found that “regardless of weekly group activity or functional components,” those who never had friends or family visit while also living alone were 77 per cent more likely to have a higher risk of death. However, Dr Foster cautions that the study is unable to take into account both the complexity and the quality of human social interactions. “Humans are really complicated and so are our connections and our measures in this study are pretty crude compared with what humans are capable of, but this study is still very detailed and is starting to drill down into how different types of connection are important,” Foster said to the outlet. He added that the study cannot prove that less socialisation causes death, but it does prove that loneliness and isolation can lead to not only poorer mental health but also poorer physical health. “We need to see more society-level interventions and support that make social connections easier, more likely, and of higher quality,” Foster added. “For example, community centers, parks, places, and activities that make it easy for people to meet and connect for high-quality relationships.” Dr Foster and his team of researchers aren’t the first to connect the dots between longer life spans and active social lives, with Netflix recently shining the spotlight on the famed blue zones - places with notably high populations of centenarians - in the docuseries, Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue. Within blue zones like Ikaria, Greece, or Okinawa, Japan, social interaction is prioritised within the community rather than being left on the backburner in favour of economic or individualistic pursuits. As the digital age and the pandemic have brought on an increase in social isolation, Dr Foster stressed that it’s important for young people to nurture their social lives and participate in their communities. Read More Blake Shelton opens up about parenting style with Gwen Stefani To shave or not to shave: How women can participate in No-Shave November Game of Thrones actor announces ‘unbearable loss’ of baby after stillbirth

Bruno Fernandes says he is relishing the prospect of playing in a hostile atmosphere at Galatasaray this week as Manchester United seek to keep their...

By Bansari Mayur Kamdar European shares rose on Wednesday ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy decision, with

For the first time in a long time, Alabama doesn't have a clear No. 1 at quarterback and it's going to cost them dearly if they don't figure it out soon.

Getting tickets to Taylor Swift's Era Tour was a struggle for a lot of fans, but one Swiftie was a real "mastermind" by devising a solution to ensure he didn't miss out. Davis Perrigo, an accountant (and a big TS fan) from Nashville was so determined to see the popstar live that he applied to become a security guard at Swift's Nashville concert. Although Perrigo was unable to use his phone to film while doing the job and had to face the crowd as part of the role, it didn't stop him for belting out the lyrics to Swift's biggest hits, which one concertgoer managed to video. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter In the TikTok, posted by Ryan Bailey (@sobaditsgoodwithryanb), that was sent in by one of his listeners called Leah, Perrigo can be seen facing the crowd but simultaneously (and passionately) singing his heart to 'I Knew You Were Trouble.' "Loved this video one of my listeners Leah sent where a security guard gives Taylor a run for her money at one of her Nashville shows!" the caption read. The video has since gone viral with 6.9m views, 1.2m likes, along with thousands of comments who loved Perrigo's enthusiasm. @sobaditsgoodwithryanb Loved this video one of my listeners Leah sent where a security guard gives Taylor a run for her money at one of her Nashville shows! #taylorswift #taylornation #swiftie #swifttok One person wrote: "He was in front of section E night one. He knew all the songs." "Davis is me. I am Davis," another person said. A third added: "He was just so excited to be there and I’m happy for him." "Give this man a raise she's right there and he didn't look back once," a fourth person commented. Someone else replied: "Ryan Reynolds just wanted a unique experience of the show," noting that he looked like the Deadpool actor. “I’ve been to all sorts of sporting events, this was the loudest I’ve ever heard it,” Perrigo told News Channel 5, describing the crowd as “ unbelievably loud." He noted how at one point he was- “reprimanded” by Swift’s security, where he was instructed to “take it down a notch.” “My wife, she jokes that I sing Taylor Swift songs with such passion for someone who’s never been broken up with,” Perrigo said. All in all, he says it was "a blessing that I didn’t get tickets," after working one of the coolest jobs. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Northern Ireland’s hopes of qualifying for Euro 2024 are all but over after they slumped to a fourth consecutive defeat, losing 4-2 to Slovenia in Ljubljana. Although Isaac Price’s first international goal quickly cancelled out Andraz Sporar’s third-minute strike, Petar Stojanovic’s strike deflected off Jonny Evans to put the hosts back in front in a frantic start to the match, and Benjamin Sesko added a third before the break. Evans got Northern Ireland back into it with a deflected strike in the 53rd minute, but only briefly as Sporar got his second moments later. Defeat leaves Northern Ireland three places and seven points off second in Group H going into Sunday’s trip to Kazakhstan, with the dream of heading to Germany next summer effectively dead. After three straight 1-0 losses Michael O’Neill could again claim his side had not been hugely outplayed, with Conor McMenamin particularly impressing as they created more chances than Slovenia. But Northern Ireland’s defensive solidity deserted them and they simply do not have the firepower to match the likes of RB Leipzig’s Sesko. The 20-year-old was involved as Slovenia breached the Northern Ireland defence inside three minutes. Shea Charles missed an interception and Sesko easily flicked the ball into the path of Sporar, who had time to beat the exposed Bailey Peacock-Farrell. It was a dreadful start, but somehow Northern Ireland roused themselves to equalise with their first goal since the opening qualifier against San Marino in March. McMenamin and Matty Kennedy – earning his first cap since March 2021 – came into the side as O’Neill stuck to his word to choose players in form at club level, with all but Evans having been regulars in the opening weeks of the season, and both were involved in the equaliser. McMenamin’s cross from the right was aimed at Kennedy and when his shot was blocked by Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak, it fell for Price to fire in. But soon after Slovenia were back in front. Stojanovic left Ciaron Brown in a heap as he cut in from the right, with the Sampdoria man’s cross taking a deflection off the luckless Evans to beat Peacock-Farrell as Northern Ireland appealed in vain for a foul. It was the last involvement for Brown, who became the 17th Northern Ireland player to suffer an injury in this campaign, hobbling off to be replaced by Craig Cathcart – playing his first competitive football since June a day after signing for Belgian club Kortrijk. McMenamin’s cross narrowly evaded Paddy McNair but it was Slovenia who thought they had a third 10 minutes before half-time when Sesko finished from close range, with the loud celebrations cut short once the stadium DJ belatedly noticed the flag was up for offside and play had resumed. But Sesko would have his goal before the break. After Kennedy missed a chance to clear, Sesko wriggled away from Evans with his back to goal before hitting a powerful low left-footed strike on the turn to find the corner of the net. O’Neill sent on Josh Magennis and Conor Washington for Kennedy and Dion Charles at the break but it was Slovenia who threatened again, with Sporar seeing a powerful effort cannon back off the crossbar from close range. Hope was rekindled in the 53rd minute when a deflected strike from Evans beat the scrambling Oblak. But that hope lasted barely three minutes before Sporar raced through the centre of the pitch, rounding Peacock-Farrell and rolling the ball into an empty net, and Northern Ireland could not capitalise on late chances for Magennis, McMenamin, and substitute Paul Smyth. Northern Ireland’s injury curse struck again 15 minutes from time as the substitute Cathcart hobbled off, as if to underline the problem that has dogged Northern Ireland since before this doomed campaign began. Read More Talking points ahead of Northern Ireland’s Euro 2024 qualifier in Slovenia Erik ten Hag says Rasmus Hojlund could make Manchester United debut at Arsenal Tchouameni and Thuram on target as France dent Republic of Ireland hopes Tchouameni and Thuram on target as France dent Republic of Ireland hopes Steve Clarke did not seek Elliot Anderson assurance over Scotland allegiance Wales share predictable stalemate with South Korea in Cardiff friendly

Hae Ran Ryu completed a wire-to-wire run to her first LPGA Tour title, a three-shot victory at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship

Several major media organizations including BBC, CNN and The New York Times faced criticism for refusing to refer to Hamas as a terrorist organization