EPA By George Wright BBC News Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has signed an order to tighten gun controls in a bid to halt a surge in firearm ownership. Under Lula’s far-right predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, there was an almost seven-fold rise in registered users. Limits will be placed on stockpiles of guns and…

Getty Images By Gordon Corera Security correspondent, BBC News The rarefied setting of Aspen, Colorado, with its mountain views and manicured lawns, is a world away from the minefields and trenches of Ukraine’s front-line, but for a few days this past week the two places were connected. Every year, the Aspen Security Forum plays host…

Barbie dolls dressed in space suits have been helping scientists solve the problem of lunar dust, writes Grace Tyrrell. Barbie can do it all. In Greta Gerwig’s 2023 film, she appears as a US president, a Nobel Prize winning physicist, a Supreme Court Justice and even a mermaid. The movie reflects the many roles the…

Nhlanhla Moshomo By Mpho Lakaje BBC Africa Daily, Johannesburg A new trend appears to be emerging among young South Africans – polyamory – having romantic relationships with multiple partners at the same time. With her short hair and matching white trousers and top Lethabo Mojalefa cuts a striking figure. She is a bisexual woman who…

Gazelle Sharmahd By Damien McGuinness BBC News, Berlin It was the middle of the night when the phone call came. Gazelle Sharmahd was woken up by her mother, who told her that her father, Jamshid, was calling from his jail cell in Iran. Gazelle hadn’t been allowed to talk to her father, an Iranian-German businessman,…

Samuel Mariño is a rare talent in opera. The 29-year-old is one of only a few male sopranos singing in the world today. He’ll be making his Glyndebourne debut this weekend in Handel’s Semele, as part of the famous English venue’s summer programme. But it’s not just Mariño’s distinctive style which is thrilling the opera…

A selection of powerful news photographs taken around the world this week. Darrian Traynor/Getty Images LOUIZA VRADI/REUTERS GUGLIELMO MANGIAPANE/REUTERS Zhao Jun/China News Service/Getty Images HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images MOHAMMED SAWAF/AFP KIM LUDBROOK/EPA Raj K Raj/Hindustan Times/Getty Images HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP All photos subject to copyright Related Topics Photography

By Georgina Rannard, Erwan Rivault, Jana Tauschinski BBC Climate reporter & Data Team A series of climate records on temperature, ocean heat, and Antarctic sea ice have alarmed some scientists who say their speed and timing is “unprecedented”. Dangerous heatwaves sweeping Europe could break further records, according to the UN. It is hard to immediately…

In Mexico, nopales (prickly pear cacti) are mixed with tomatoes into a bright salad and spooned into tortillas with creamy goat cheese and two types of fresh salsa. Rita Garcia rose to an inky black sky peppered with stars. Quietly, she grabbed a small flashlight on her bedside table, slipped on her shoes, and walked…