LONDON - A GROUP calling itself the Optimists Society launched a series of fun measures on Monday designed to cheer up Britons on what is regarded as the most depressing day of the year.

LONDON - BRITISH actress Kate Winslet acknowledged she would have to compose a speech for the Bafta Awards next month, after her emotional acceptance at the Golden Globes.

IT IS midday. I am in a small riverside village in the remote mountains of north-western Vietnam.