French dishes and diplomacy joined forces on Thursday in a worldwide initiative involving 1,300 chefs cooking dinners "a la francaise" to promote France's fabled cuisine. The meals were being served up in 150 countries, in French embassies and consulates, as well as hotels, restaurants and cafes, under the slogan "Gout de France/Good France".

As Israel engages in a tumultuous debate over what to do about African migrants, other conversations, more personal and friendly, are taking place between Israelis and asylum seekers. As part of a social art project called Sihot Mitbah (Kitchen Talks), which takes place every weekend in Tel Aviv, African migrants give cooking workshops to groups of curious Israelis.