AFP Video - Lifestyle & Leisure

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How would you pair French wine with braised abalone? A year after Hong Kong scrapped a 40 percent tax on wine, sales are booming, and the territory is positioning itself as the wine capital of Asia. Duration : 01:56

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Carrying around a dash of eloquence and a well-groomed moustache, cheese-maker Bernard Mure Ravaud has won several prices and, over 25 years, his cheese-shop in the French Alps city of Grenoble has proved a hit. Duration: 01:54

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A surf culture is beginning to develop on China's tropical island of Hainan as both middle-class and counter-culture hippie types learn to ride the waves. Surf operators, including foreign veterans of the sport, are popping up to service this new clientele, and this coming weekend, Hainan will host China's only surfing competition -- the Hainan Open. Duration: 02:03.

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Pink swimming costumes and gold cocktail dresses were the order of the day at Miss International Queen 2009 in Thailand. Transsexual contestants from across the globe locked stilettos in the battle to be fairest of them all. Duration: 01:56

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Noisy crowds, long queues, and traffic jams plunged McDonald's restaurants in Iceland into a state of siege Saturday, as the chain served its final burgers on the island. Icelanders flooded the three branches of the US fast-food restaurant in Reykjavik several hours before the outlets shut for the last time, forced to close after the island's economic collapse caused running costs to soar. Duration: 00:53

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The cafe has been a quintessential part of French life for centuries. It's where writers like existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre held court. But times are changing and this tradition is losing ground as discontent brews among its once loyal customers. Duration: 01:55.

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The live fish facing death in the glass tanks in Hong Kong's famous seafood restaurants tell a strange tale of a looming global tragedy. At the heart of their story is the bizarre fact that there are more fine fish swimming in the tiny tanks than there are in the surrounding sea.

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Diners are flocking to a popular restaurant in Italy -- but the eatery is inside a high-security prison and the waiters are criminals. Once a month, about 100 people sample fine cuisine in Volterra jail in Tuscany. Under the watchful eye of professional chefs from outside, the inmates prepare and serve gourmet dishes. Profits from the venture go to charity. Duration: 01:26

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The life story of a woman who adopted 46 children and had 4 of her own, has been made into a movie that will be screened at the United Nations at the end of this year. Flordelis, a 48-year-old woman who herself grew up in the favelas, is a savior to children abandoned in some of Rio’s poorest neighborhoods. Duration: 01:37

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Lebanese chefs have broken their third Guinness world record for food this year. On Sunday, they made the biggest tabbouleh in the world, one day after making the biggest dish of hummus. Images

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London's Savile Row is famous for being the home of fine tailoring. But traditional tailors who continue to make suits by hand are facing competition from rival boutiques offering cut-price garments. Now a group of bespoke tailors are campaigning to get their craft registered as a trademark.

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Every year, several surveys show that Danes are the self-proclaimed happiest people in the world. To outsiders, it's a curiosity, for despite its wealth and prosperity, Denmark also has long, dark winters and one of Europe's highest tax rates. Duration: 02:13.

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Long Island's best, the Blue Point oyster, is claiming its fame from the shores of oyster bay to the tabletops of Manhattan restaurants.

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If the shoe fits, wear it - it¿s an adage to live by for little Chhouk, a baby bull elephant and amputee in Cambodia. It's a country with a high disabled population due to landmines, and it also has an internationally recognised prosthetics school -- whose expertise the lucky pachyderm is benefitting from. Duration: 01:52

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Extreme sports fans are being propelled to new heights in the French Alps with a new kind of skydiving -- using the ultra-light wingsuit. Duration: 01:22.

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In a world of telecom overload -- mobile phones, wifi and PDAs -- France has carved out a safety zone. Perched high on a hill, the southern village of Eurre has been designated a "refuge" for people who say they are allergic to the electromagnetic waves given off by telephone and wireless devices. Duration: 01:41

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Make your own one-of-a-kind wine -- A US company is helping individuals to blend their own vintages in California's Napa Valley, and this year extended the service to France's prestigious Bordeaux region.