Italy France border, D6327 road between Menton and Grimaldi, 2007 ©Valerio Vincenzo Simon Kuper Jan 4, 2013

Borderlines: photography special

Right across the globe, countries are changing shape. While in Europe, political and economic agreements have brought borders down, elsewhere religious, political and territorial conflicts are driving walls, barriers and security fences up. Our New Year photography special examines how shifting borders are affecting our world in 2013

Food & drink

Interiors of Hereford Road
What is Ferran Adrià’s favourite restaurant? Where does Heston Blumenthal like to splash out? Discover 50 places where the world’s best chefs dine in an exclusive book extract
Crab and raw artichoke salad ©Andy Sewell
The River Café’s Ruth Rogers shares two dishes inspired by h winter visits to Venice
The barrier between Mexico (on the left) and the US is interrupted by Arizona’s Baboquivari mountains before continuing across the desert floor, 2012 ©Gary Knight Jan 4, 2013

Gary Knight: Homeland security

The US-Mexico border is now one of the most militarised areas in the world, with high-security apparatus etched into the landscape. But though the passage north has grown increasingly dangerous, hundreds of thousands of migrants still attempt it every year

A section of the Israeli-built West Bank Barrier in the Jerusalem neighbourhood of Abu Dis. Occupied Palestinian territories, March 2004 ©Kai Wiedenhöfer Jan 4, 2013

Kai Wiedenhöfer: Conflict zones

The Berlin Wall showed us that peace begins where walls fall – not where they are erected. But many barriers still separate countries and communities around the world

Ernestine Shepherd is a 76 year old bodybuilder ©Hector Emanuel Jan 4, 2013

‘I’m 76 and still bodybuilding’

Ernestine Shepherd entered her first bodybuilding competition at the age of 71, and won

A view of Pendle Hill ©Michael Collins From PURSUITS Jan 4, 2013

A walk with the FT: The Pendle Hill route, near Blackburn, Lancashire

Jack Straw, MP for Blackburn and ‘adopted Lancastrian’, heads out across the moors to discuss nature, religion and Iraq with Julian Flanagan

Valentino Garavani Jan 4, 2013

The Inventory: Valentino

‘Everything has changed; fashion became a profession, a moneymaking career’

Interior of Flat Iron Wines & Spirits shop ©Carolyn Fong From FOOD & DRINK Jan 4, 2013

Five of the best: New York City wine shops

The newest favour organic and ‘natural’ producers but they find good bottles from far and wide

From PURSUITS Jan 4, 2013

Barometer: tech

Virtuous gadgets that can help you make - and keep - your New Year’s resolutions

Vincent van Gogh's 'Bank of the Seine' ©Vincent van Gogh Museum Jan 4, 2013

Lights off for Van Gogh?

Some of the vivid yellow pigments in the painter’s works are unstable in art gallery lighting

Gin ©Richard Allen From FOOD & DRINK Jan 4, 2013

A walk down New Gin Lane

The resurgence in the British gin scene should have plunged Tim Hayward into dipsomaniac’s nirvana - but instead he’s confused