Warsaw - Although Poles now feel richer, more free and better dressed, they also feel more stress than under communism, said a poll Tuesday in the daily Gazeta Wyborcza.

Some 91 per cent said they feel more stress now than they did during Poland's communist regime from 1945 to 1989, said the survey of 500 people. Nearly 70 per cent said they are now working harder and have less time for friends and family.

Strasbourg, France  - An application for recognition from the European Parliament of the euro-sceptic Libertas movement appeared stillborn Tuesday after one of its key backers said he had never joined the party.

Founded by Irish millionaire Declan Ganley, Libertas played a key role in successfully rallying opposition to the European Union's reforming Lisbon Treaty at a referendum held in Ireland last year.

Turnhout, Belgium - Belgian cyclist Tom Boonen will not face further sanctions over cocaine use, a court in Turnhout ruled on Tuesday.

The judges accepted a request by Boonen's lawyer to dismiss the charges against the 28-year-old Quick-Step cyclist.

Boonen, who is idolized like a pop star in Belgium, tested positive for cocaine during an out-of-competition test in May last year.

The judges said that he had been penalized enough by testing positive. His image suffered as a result and he had to pay a fine issued by his team.

Berlin - The global car industry crisis has tightened its grip on Germany's key automakers with sales tumbling by 14 per cent in January, figures released Tuesday showed.

Published by Germany's Assocation of International Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (VDIK) and the country's carmakers' association (VDA) said car orders in Germany alone dropped by 13 per cent in January compared to the same month in 2008.

German car exports plunged 39 per cent to 222,700 vehicles, the VDA.

Berlin - German Chancellor Angela Merkel offered Tuesday to help Kazakhstan diversify its economy and ensure it does not suffer too much from the fallout of the global economic crisis.

"Close economic relations need to be expanded," the chancellor told a news conference after talks in Berlin with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Nazarbayev said his energy-rich country was interested in deepening its relations with Germany and was in need of new technology and know-how from Europe.

Geneva  - The United Nations issued an appeal Tuesday for Afghanistan, asking donors to give 603 million dollars for aid as the humanitarian situation in the country continued to deteriorate.

Mounting insecurity along with natural disasters, specifically drought, have set the country back from gains made earlier this decade, the UN said.

"Poverty indicators, maternal mortality and infant mortality rates, are all very poor," said John Holmes, the under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs.