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Wine: Cultural exchange
We have learned much from French winemakers - now it's time to give back.

France: Foodie finds
Celia Canning takes us off the tourist track and shares the insider's guide to Paris' gourmand secrets.

Venice: A treasure at every turn
Venice in summer may be a tourist haven but it's still a magical place to visit, writes Diana Plater.

Christian Dior: Carry on couture
Life after Galliano begins - but Dior still knows how to put on a show.

All the world's a stage for Akala
Rapper Kingslee Daley, aka Akala, is a man on a mission; to get at-risk kids exploring words, from Shakespeare to Jay-Z. Scott Kara reports

Ruling the roost with a simple French dish
Our intrepid foodie finds a perfect rendition of peasant cuisine, coq qu vin, in a tiny village in southern France.

Nice work if you can get it in France
Three Kiwi Francophiles share what it's like to get past France's tourist veneer.

Vive la difference (+recipe)
It takes a whole day to make but a French cassoulet is worth the effort, writes Grant Allen.

Rowing: Kiwi pair a class above British rivals
The number is 14 and rising, but Eric Murray insists he's not keeping count.

An experiment in being blonde
White blonde is having something of a fashionable resurgence. Harriet Walker dyed her hair to see what the fuss was about.

Russian ferry sinking: Survivors and their families
Over 100 people are missing after a passenger boat sank in the Volga River. Emotional reunions were plentiful as the shaken survivors returned to dry land.

Hot list: Kiwi model named in top 10
A 17-year-old model from Matamata is touted to give Kate Moss a run for her money.

'I am interested in bad behaviour'
Booker Prize winner Alan Hollinghurst is not noted for his prolific output, so a new novel is always a great event. And his latest could be his best yet.