Flawless display of kicking from England legend leads Toulon to maiden Heineken Cup

Learn about life in the Swiss mountains with the new BaseCamp package at Nira Alpina (00 41 081 838 6969; niraalpina.com). Keep all the family amused on a summer break at this designer hotel in St Moritz, in the Engadine Valley, with workshops for children on edible mountain plants, how to milk cows and make cheese, and active pursuits including kite-surfing, climbing and sailing. From Sfr875 (£606)pp for five nights' B&B, picnic two guided hiking tours, plus other trips and treats. Children aged under 12 can stay free of charge in their parents' room. International travel costs extra. Departures are between 15 June and 13 October.

A magnificent meditation on loss and political exile as a great Haitian writer returns home

The story of George Mallory, the dashing mountaineer and Bloomsbury-set member who disappeared attempting the summit of Mount Everest in 1924, would seem to write itself.

Holy media moguls! Has Rupert Murdoch discovered his spiritual side? Will the global maestro of plain dealing, pragmatism and unfettered capitalism reveal a mystical side to his thunderstruck associates?

Verdi or Wagner? Posing the musical question of the year, tenor Jonas Kaufmann answers it by saying that he has vacillated between them, unable to decide whose music he prefers. He finally declares that they are mutually beneficial: "After singing Wagner you have an extra dose of power for the drama in Verdi, and after singing Verdi, it is much easier to sing Wagner, as the composer intended, with Italian legato." It was this latter course that he adopted at the Royal Festival Hall, backed by the Philharmonia Orchestra under Jochen Rieder.

It's not supposed to be competitive, but fans hope for Olympic glory. Matthew Bell reports from the national championships

The Austrian label exil.arte is dedicated to unearthing lost works by forgotten composers deemed “degenerate” by the Nazis – in most cases, simply a synonym for “Jewish”.

The Hedonist: What to see and where to be seen

Saturday

In 1985 I worked for the Strand, New York’s most famous second-hand bookstore.

Give expensive memberships a miss and turn your house into a health club with this range of exercise essentials

The sprawling Tihar Jail in the west of Delhi, home to around 13,000 inmates, was once notorious across the region.

The Independent picture desk selects the best images from St Peter's Square