Qatar’s Sheikh Hamad and his wife (centre) being greeted by Bashar and Asma al-Assad in Syria, 2008 ©Reuters May 17, 2013

Qatar and the Syrian revolution

As the Arab world’s bloodiest conflict grinds on, Qatar has emerged as a driving force, pouring in tens of millions of dollars to arm the rebels. Yet it also stands accused of dividing them – and of positioning itself for even greater influence in the post-Assad era. FT investigation by Roula Khalaf and Abigail Fielding-Smith

Food & drink

Illustration showing how global warming affects wines ©Ingram Pinn
‘Most wine from the Hautes Côtes was pretty thin but this is changing – partly because summers are getting warmer’
– Jancis Robinson
Risotto primavera ©Andy Sewell
‘A riot of colour that encapsulates, as does Botticelli’s painting of the same name, the vibrancy of spring’
– Rowley Leigh
Georgia’s Anri Jokhadze performs in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Azerbaijan ©Corbis May 17, 2013

Eurovision: Unhinged melodies

An in-depth look into the spangly vortex that is the infamous song contest, held this year in Malmö

Cornelia Parker ©Joss McKinley From ARTS May 17, 2013

Cornelia Parker

She has remained apart from the YBA hype yet become one of Britain’s most popular artists. Liz Jobey met her on the eve of a new show in London

Françoise Barré-Sinoussi ©Roberto Frankenberg 6:44pm

The HIV hunter

Thirty years ago, Françoise Barré-Sinoussi found an unidentified virus in a patient with Aids – work which won her a Nobel Prize. She talks to Andrew Jack about the continuing battle with the disease

Track to Ashmore ©Michael Marten From PURSUITS 6:44pm

A walk with the FT: Ashmore Wood & Stubhampton Bottom

Anna Chancellor, star of ‘The Hour’ and immortalised as Duckface in ‘Four Weddings’, guides Jeremy Taylor through the West Country landscapes of her childhood

Illustration showing diners applauding the service of a waiter ©Richard Allen From FOOD & DRINK 6:42pm

Service, please

Remember when waiters did more than, well, wait? Tim Hayward on the joys of having a crêpe flambéd at your table…

Joanne Harris ©David Sandison/Writer Pictures 6:39pm

The Inventory: Joanne Harris

‘I was a very bad accountant – I didn’t care about money, golf or discovering fraud,’ says the award-winning author

Products for kids during summer From PURSUITS 6:44pm

Barometer: Kids

Sunny styles for bright young things – plus antique replica tubs and bathroom accessories

An illustration depicting broken promises ©Laura Carlin 6:45pm

The Shrink & The Sage: How do you cope with a broken promise?

People make promises on behalf of future selves they cannot know will fulfil them. Look at a promise as not so much a binding contract but an act of commitment and trust

Kevin Arpino surrounded by mannequins ©Alma Haser 6:40pm

First Person: ‘I spend my life among mannequins’

Kevin Arpino’s mannequins are modelled on real people: ‘It’s their little bit of immortality’