#1 The front left hot plate with the ring that only heats. What do you use this for?
The cooking zone with an external ring on the front-left- hand-side of cooking plate is names "Dual-circuit cooking plate" and allows to cook dimension pans (120 - 180 mm).
#2 Is it touch control or raised knobs? Hard to tell by picture
Yes i agree with you that the image supplied by Beko is not the best however this model is a dial control, Beko have taken the image looking straight down therefore does not show the dials on this model. Rest asure there are 4 dial controls to adjust the temperature.