US President Donald Trump rejected a plan by Israel to kill Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, three US officials have told BBC's US partner CBS News.

Trump reportedly told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that assassinating Khamenei was not a good idea, according to one official. The president has not commented publicly on the report.

The conversation is said to have happened since Israel launched its attack on Iran on Friday.

During an interview with Fox News, Netanyahu did not directly confirm or deny a report from Reuters that Trump had vetoed a plan to killed the ayatollah.

"There's so many false reports of conversations that never happened and I'm not going to get into that," the Israeli prime minister said.

"But I can tell you I think we do what we need to do. We will do what we need to do and I think the United States knows what is good for the United States and I'm just not going to get into it."

An Israeli official told CBS News that "in principle," Israel does not "kill political leaders, we are focused on nuclear and military. I don't think anyone making decisions about those programs should be living free and easy."

Israel first launched an attack on Iranian nuclear infrastructure and other targets on Friday.

Iran later confirmed the head of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) intelligence unit, Mohammad Kazemi, had been killed, alongside a deputy and another commander.

The two countries have continued to launch massive strikes at each other since, with attacks entering a third day on Sunday.

In his latest post on Truth Social about the escalating situation in the Middle East, Trump said "Iran and Israel should make a deal", adding that he would get the two to cease hostilities "just like I got India and Pakistan" - referring to the recent confrontation between the countries.

In a separate post on Saturday, the president said the US "had nothing to do with the attack on Iran".

"If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before," he warned.

An MP has pleaded not guilty to two counts of sexual assault that allegedly took place at London's Groucho Club.

Central Suffolk and North Ipswich MP Patrick Spencer is accused of two assaults on two women on the same day in August 2023 - before he was elected.

The 37-year-old, who became a Conservative MP at the 2024 general election, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court.

He is due to appear next at Southwark Crown Court on 14 July for a plea and trial preparation hearing.

Mr Spencer stood in the dock to confirm his name as Michael Patrick Spencer and his date of birth.

District Judge Paul Goldspring told the MP he was on unconditional bail.

The charges were first brought against Mr Spencer in May.

Frank Ferguson, head of the special crime and counter terrorism division at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), previously said: "Following a review of the evidence provided by the Metropolitan Police Service, we have authorised two counts of sexual assault against Patrick Spencer MP.

"The charges follow two alleged incidents involving two separate women at the Groucho Club in central London in August 2023."

Temperatures over 30C for the first time this year

A chemical that scientists worry might have an impact on human reproduction has been found in rivers across the UK.

Researchers from York University analysed samples from 32 rivers in all the UK's 4 nations and found traces of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) at 98% of the test locations.

TFA is what's known as a "forever chemical" which means that it breaks down extremely slowly in nature, and so accumulates over time.

As with other "forever chemicals", also known as PFAS, just how much a threat to human health and at what concentrations is still being researched.

But scientists in Germany say having looked at the impact of TFA on animals they want it to be classed as toxic for reproduction.

TFA forms when synthetic chemicals from other "forever chemicals" such as those found in pesticides and refrigerants are partially broken down.

"This molecule (TFA) is everywhere," Alistair Boxall, professor of Environmental Science at the University of York who carried out the research, told the BBC. "We will all be drinking water containing TFA every day - so we'll be exposed throughout our lifetime. It's that long-term, low level exposure that is the big concern."

This new study was funded by environmental charity Fidras and involved sampling in 5 rivers in Wales, 3 in Northern Ireland 14 in Scotland and 10 in the north of England. The highest concentration was recorded on the River Kelvin in Glasgow.

The River Ness, which flows from Loch Ness to the Moray Firth, was the only river sampled not to show traces of TFA.

Recent studies in the EU have found TFA to be widespread, including in wine and food, human blood and breast milk.

Authorities in Germany have been looking with interest at rising TFA levels in drinking water. In the last two decades its concentrations have gone up fourfold and researchers have been trying to establish what impact - if any - it might have on human health.

Citing scientific studies that showed TFA affecting rabbit and rat foetuses, the German Federal Environment Agency (UBA) has applied to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) for TFA to be classified as toxic for reproduction and harmful to the environment. That could eventually lead to recommendations being made in the EU as to how products containing TFA should be controlled.

"Currently, there are no expected adverse health effects from consuming water or food contaminated with TFA," said Andreas Hensel, president of the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR). "The new classification is an important step in preparing further measures to ensure that this remains the case in the future".

There aren't currently any rules or regulations in place to identify or reduce the concentrations of TFA either in the environment or in drinking water supplies in the UK.

But aware of concerns, the Drinking Water Inspectorate, which monitors and regulates drinking water quality in England and Wales, has just commissioned its own research. It will look at how much TFA is already in drinking water and what risk - if any - it poses.

"The information signposted by the University of York suggests that TFA can be formed from the degradation of PFAS-containing pesticides," Ann Bunting, Principal Inspector of the Drinking Water Inspectorate, told the BBC. "It is important that the fate of pesticides and other chemicals in the environment is understood, in order to protect drinking water sources."

A spokesperson for Water UK, which represents the UK's water companies, told the BBC: "We want to see PFAS, including TFA, banned and the development of a national plan to remove it from the environment which should be paid for by manufacturers."

As protesters marched through central Barcelona on Sunday, they shouted at the tourists who were filming them to "Go Home!".

Bemused couples sitting in street cafés got squirted with water pistols and a luxury clothes store was pasted with stickers declaring the tourists who'd shut themselves inside unwelcome.

Tourism is hugely important to Spain and Barcelona is a top destination for visitors. But the crowds are growing so fast that many locals complain they're being squeezed out of their own cities.

Here and in popular spots across southern Europe, residents are pushing back.

The protesters

"We cannot live in this city. The rents are super high because of BnBs and also the expats who come and live here for the weather," Marina explained, holding her own banner as the crowd gathered.

It declared "Your AirBnB used to be my home".

Other signs called for a ban on the giant cruise ships that dock here, with one announcing that over-tourism is "killing" the city.

"Our goal is not to stop tourism, because it's also good, but to have it at a normal rate," Marina said.

The protesters' route wound towards one of Barcelona's biggest attractions, the towering Sagrada Familia church designed by Catalan architect, Gaudi.

A combination of stunning architecture, sea and sun drew more than 15 million visitors to the city last year, almost ten times the local population. No wonder it's feeling the strain.

"We're not against individual tourists, it's about how we're managing this," Elena, a young marine biologist, said.

"Young people can't afford living here or even normal things like coffee that are all really expensive for our salaries."

The residents

It's not only the young who are struggling.

At 80 years old, Pepi Viu has just been evicted from her home of almost a decade, in a popular neighbourhood. She thinks the owner wanted to earn more rent than the pensioner could pay.

Pepi is now in a hostel, and searching for somewhere more suitable, but prices have soared almost 70% since she last rented.

"I can't find anything – and there's no support. I feel like I have no protection and it's upsetting," she says, frail and leaning on a stick. "There's only tourist flats now, but we residents need somewhere to live!"

In some areas of town, almost all locals like Pepi have already been pushed out.

But in a narrow, paved street of the Gothic quarter, right in the tourist heart of Barcelona, Joan Alvarez is fighting to hold on to the flat his family have rented for 25 years, and at a price he can afford.

His landlord has terminated the contract, but Joan refuses to leave.

Most of the apartments in his building have already been divided into single rooms to bring in more rent.

Joan's little oasis, with tiled floors and a terrace that looks towards the cathedral, is one of the few still intact.

"It's not just about the money, it's the principle," he explains, cats winding through potted plants as he talks. "This is central Barcelona and there's hardly any of us residents left. It shouldn't be like that."

"Housing shouldn't be big business. Yes, this is his property, but it's my house."

The landlords

Under pressure from the protests, the authorities in Barcelona have already taken the radical step of announcing a complete ban on short-term rentals to tourists from 2028.

10,000 landlords will lose their tourist housing licenses.

But Jesus Pereda, who owns two popular tourist flats not far from the Sagrada Familia, thinks that's the wrong response.

"They stopped giving out new licenses 10 years ago, but rents have still gone up. So how are we to blame? We're just an easy enemy," he insists.

Managing the flats is his job, providing an income for himself and his wife. "Now we have anxiety."

Jesus believes it's the 'nomad' workers moving from elsewhere in Europe who are pushing rents up, rather than tourists. "They earn and pay more. You can't stop that."

He argues that tourist flats like his help spread the crowds, and the cash, to other areas of the city. Without tourism he believes Barcelona would have an "existential crisis" - it represents up to 15% of Spain's gross domestic product (GDP) as a whole.

If he loses his tourist license, Jesus won't take on local tenants in any case: a price-cap means long-term rental is barely profitable so he plans to sell both the flats.

Chants and firecrackers

The protest in Barcelona culminated in chants of "You're all guiris!" – local slang for foreigners – and a burst of firecrackers. Red smoke billowed up in front of rows of police officers blocking all routes to the Sagrada Familia.

A little earlier, the crowd had targeted a busy hotel, kicking a flare into the lobby. Tourists inside, including children, were clearly shaken.

There were similar protests elsewhere in Spain and more crowds in Portugal and Italy: not huge, but loud and insistent.

The concerns are the same and there's no consensus on how best to tackle it. But Spain is expecting more tourists this summer than ever.

Additional reporting by Esperanza Escribano and Bruno Boelpaep

Fears of crime and gang violence in the notorious townships on the outskirts of the South African city of Cape Town are forcing some parents to make difficult decisions to send their children on long daily commutes to former white-only schools.

"Thugs would go into the school carrying guns threatening teachers, forcefully taking their laptops in front of the learners," Sibahle Mbasana told the BBC about the school her sons used to attend in Khayelitsha, Cape Town's largest township.

"Imagine your child experiencing this regularly. There's hardly any security at the school and even if there is, they are powerless to do anything."

It is more than three decades since the end of white-minority rule in South Africa, but there are still black students who have to endure the vast inequalities that were the bedrock of the racist system of apartheid.

Mrs Mbasana feels her three children are the inheritors of this legacy - particularly affecting her oldest son Lifalethu who was at a township school between the ages of six and 10.

One of the apartheid era's main laws was the Bantu Education Act of 1953, which aimed to prevent black children from reaching their full potential. This created segregated schools with less funding and fewer resources for those in poor areas, which to this day are overcrowded and often suffer from the fallout of high crime, drug use and violence.

Mrs Mbasana, who grew up in Eastern Cape province and moved to Khayelitsha when she was 18, decided she had no choice but to transfer Lifalethu, who is now 12, and her other son Anele, 11, to a state school some 40km (25 miles) away in Simon's Town, situated on a picturesque bay on the Cape Peninsula which is famously home to South Africa's navy.

The boys have been joined by their seven-year-old sister Buhle at the school, which has better facilities and smaller class sizes.

"I told myself [that] Buhle was not going to that [local] school because I already endured so many things with the two boys when they were at that school," said the 34-year-old clothes designer.

She and her husband would love to move their family away from Khayelitsha completely.

"We don't want to live in the township, but we have to live here because we can't afford to move out," she said.

"Speak to anyone in the township and they'll tell you they would move out at the first opportunity if they could."

There is no doubt that there are township schools, led by visionary principals and hard-working teachers, that have done wonders despite the obstacles of poor infrastructure and large class sizes.

However, safety and security have proved insurmountable for some when, for example, gangs demand protection fees from teachers.

The GroundUp news website has reported that teachers at Zanemfundo Primary School in Philippi East, close to Khayelitsha, were allegedly told to pay 10% of their salaries to the extortionists who seemed to operate with impunity.

"It is not safe at all. We are in extreme danger," one teacher told GroundUp.

"These gangs come to the school gun-wielding. Our lives are at risk. Teachers at the school are asking for transfers because they don't feel safe."

According to the Western Cape Education Department (WCED), a private security company is now to be stationed at the school and the police are patrolling nearby.

But similar incidents have reportedly taken place at five other schools in the surrounding areas of Nyanga, Philippi and Samora Machel.

"My husband Sipho works in the navy in Simon's Town and he travels there so I thought it would be safer and more comfortable for my children to go to that school," said Mrs Mbasana.

But longer commutes, often by bus or minibus taxi, to safer schools come with their own dangers and stresses.

"My children get up at around 4.30am and leave at 5.50am when Sipho is transporting them. When they go by bus, because Sipho may be working elsewhere, they leave by 5.30 and they get home by 4.30 in the afternoon," said Mrs Mbasana.

"They are always tired and want to sleep. They are strong because they do their homework, but they sleep much earlier than other kids would."

Lifalethu made national headlines last year when there was a frantic search for him after he was forced to walk home from Simon's Town to Khayelitsha as the bus he regularly takes refused him entry as he could not find his ticket.

The driver involved was subsequently suspended for contravening company policy, which requires employees to assist schoolchildren in uniform who have lost their tickets.

With darkness falling, it was Mrs Mbasana's worst nightmare when Anele called to say his elder brother had not been allowed aboard.

But a massive social media frenzy followed and by several strokes of good fortune he was found - at one stage the boy had been given a lift by a good Samaritan who dropped him off at a petrol station around 5km from his home.

From there he was accompanied on foot by a security guard who lived in his area before being picked up and taken home to his relieved family by police officers who had joined the search for him.

His case highlighted the plight of thousands of pupils from townships, some of whom do a round trip of up to 80km per day either on public transport or pre-arranged trips with minibus taxis to attend school in the city's suburban areas - which used to accept only white students in the apartheid era.

Wealthier residents of these suburbs often opt for a private education for their offspring, meaning that the state schools there tend to have spaces for those coming from further afield.

Donovan Williams, vice-principal of the state primary school in Cape Town's trendy Observatory district, says about 85% of his school's intake of around 830 students come from the townships - many of whom are exhausted by their long days.

"Some parents work in the area while most spend lots of money on transport for their children to access schools with better infrastructure," he told the BBC.

"Sometimes they fall asleep in class."

According to Amnesty International, South Africa has one of the most unequal school systems in the world - with a child's outcome very much dependent on their place of birth, wealth and colour of their skin.

"Children in the top 200 schools achieve more distinctions in mathematics than children in the next 6,600 schools combined. The playing field must be levelled," its 2020 report said.

State schools are subsidised, but parents still have to pay school fees, which in the Western Cape can range from between $60 (£45) and $4,500 (£3,350) a year.

Of the nearly 1,700 schools across the province, more than 100 are no-fee institutions as designated by the government for learners living in economically depressed areas.

The province's education department explains that it often has to cover a shortfall in funding from the government - and schools in more middle-class areas turn to parents to cover the costs.

Recently 2,407 teaching posts were lost in the province as the government allocated only 64% of the cost of the nationally negotiated wage agreement with teachers, the WCED said.

The reduction in posts has meant that some contract teachers were not reappointed when their contracts ended in December, while some permanent teachers have been asked to move schools.

"We are in an impossible position, and it is not of our making, and the Western Cape is not the only province affected," the WCED added.

The National Professional Teachers' Organisation of South Africa (Naptosa) says the decision has been particularly devastating for schools in impoverished and crime-ridden areas.

"The schools that are feeling the real impact of this is your typical township school. They can't afford to replace those teachers with governing-body appointments, which is the case with the better-resourced schools where parents can afford to pay extra fees," Naptosa executive director Basil Manuel told the BBC.

"They feel the cut, they will have the bigger class sizes, they will have the teachers that are more stressed out.

"The children, especially those who are not too academically inclined, will slip through the cracks."

Experts blame the continuing educational disparities on the debt the African National Congress (ANC) government of Nelson Mandela inherited in 1994 from the apartheid regime.

"The ANC had to confront the fact that it couldn't deliver in the way it said it would," Aslam Fataar, research professor in higher education transformation at Stellenbosch University, told the BBC.

Faced with fiscal austerity "poorer schools were never given a chance to develop a sustainable platform for teaching and learning", he said.

"The political interest in what happens in the township schools has been lost 20 years ago. When it comes to teacher expenditure and pupil-teacher ratios you can see how that sector has been neglected. The numbers of teachers in those schools continues to bear the brunt of cuts."

Prof Fataar is equally bleak about the future: "I can't see, bar a miracle, how we can increase the finances for poor schools."

Parents like the Mbasanas, stuck in the townships and often at the mercy of gangs, have run out of patience.

You may also be interested in:

• Pictures of how Muslim worship helps quell South African ganglands
• 'We are students thanks to South Africa's #FeesMustFall protests'
• South Africa's deadly love affair with guns
• Cape Town anger over slave quarter gentrification
• The white student braving racial politics in South Africa

Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.

Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica

Bat Yam, just south of Tel Aviv, has long been a stronghold of support for Israel's right-wing governing coalition.

In the early hours of Sunday morning, an Iranian missile struck a 10-storey block of flats here, killing at least eight people and trapping dozens more under thick layers of rubble.

Despite the severe damage, locals strongly back Israel's attack on Iran, which began on Friday and has targeted nuclear facilities, missile sites, air defences, an airport and other infrastructure as well as nuclear and military personnel.

"It needed to be done," says Veronica Osipchik, 33, who lives about 200m (321ft) from the strike site. "But we didn't expect it to affect us like this."

Ms Osipchik had the windows and shutters of her apartment completely blown through. Almost every building in the vicinity suffered similar damage.

"We were in shock," she said, sat on a camping chair alongside a suitcase packed with food and toiletries.

The ballistic missiles that caused the damage in Bat Yam are far more powerful than the rockets fired by Hamas and Hezbollah over the past year and half. Those are mostly intercepted by Israel's sophisticated air defence system.

The first of those trapped under rubble were pulled out within hours. As of late Sunday, at least three people remained unaccounted for. "I saw fear in their eyes," said rescue paramedic Ori Lazarovich. "People came out all grey, covered in soot and ash and debris."

Avi, a 68-year old who did not want to give his surname, was born and raised in Bat Yam. "We need to keep hitting [Iran]" he says. "Of course we have to keep going. Otherwise, they'll drop an atomic bomb on us."

"They're weak. We're much stronger," he adds. "Israel is number one in the world."

Emil Mahmudov, 18, agreed: "We should have done this sooner. That's what most Israelis think."

Israel's justification for its attack on Iran is to stop its nuclear programme. For well over a decade, successive governments have sounded alarm about the Iranian regime gaining nuclear weapons - something Iran denies seeking.

Even as Netanyahu has come under fire within Israel for the state of the war in Gaza, his chief political rivals - Benny Gantz, Avigdor Lieberman and Yair Lapid - have all expressed support for attacking Iran.

Professor Yossi Mekelberg, of the Middle East Programme at Chatham House, says there has "always been support to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear military capabilities".

But, he says, "this is much bigger than fighting Hamas in Gaza, even Hezbollah in Lebanon, or a very limited direct confrontation with Iran."

"This is evolving into a full-blown war. And there is fatigue in Israel after 20 months of war."

"If there are more casualties, if people are spending a long time in shelters, and if it becomes, again, another never-ending war," then support, he says, could erode.

By mid-afternoon on Sunday, Israel's far-right national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir - who was recently sanctioned by the UK government for "inciting violence against Palestinians" - arrived in Bat Yam to meet mourners.

Flanked by a cohort of armed security personnel, he shook hands with shop owners along a street where many had their windows blown through by the shock of the blast.

One, who did not want to give his name, was sat on a plastic chair outside his bakery, which he'd run for 29 years. He said he was there to prevent looting.

Does he support opening a new front against Iran? "Of course," he says, waving his hands. "What kind of question is that?"

Netanyahu also visited Bat Yam on Sunday, to chants of "Bibi, King of Israel" - a play on a popular song about the Biblical warrior King David that many Jewish children learn in school.

Hours later, in an evening address, he mourned the dead, telling the nation: "This is a difficult day. I told you, there will be difficult days."

Even with broad support for the conflict, if it continues to escalate - and civilian deaths continue to rise - there will be a question over how many difficult days the Israeli public will tolerate.

Two people who died while skydiving in Devon have been named by police.

Belinda Taylor, 48, from Totnes, and Adam Harrison, 30, from Bournemouth, died in the accident at Dunkeswell Aerodrome at about 13:00 BST on Friday, Devon and Cornwall Police said.

The force said the skydivers died at the scene and their families had been informed.

It said inquiries were ongoing by police, British Skydiving and East Devon District Council Environmental Health and Safety Office.

British Skydiving said on Saturday it had been "notified of a tragic accident in which two jumpers lost their lives".

"Our deepest condolences go to their families, friends and the entire skydiving community," it said.

The Civil Aviation Authority said it was aware of the incident but could not comment any further due to it being an active investigation.

The Dunkeswell Aerodrome is a former RAF site located in the Blackdown Hills area of Devon, close to the county's border with Somerset.

According to the aerodrome's website, the site was originally built to be an American naval base during World War Two.

It is also claimed to be the highest licensed airfield in the UK at 839ft (256m) above sea level.

Along with skydiving, other activities on offer include Spitfire flight tours, wing-walking and flight training for aircraft.

An MP has pleaded not guilty to two counts of sexual assault that allegedly took place at London's Groucho Club.

Central Suffolk and North Ipswich MP Patrick Spencer is accused of two assaults on two women on the same day in August 2023 - before he was elected.

The 37-year-old, who became a Conservative MP at the 2024 general election, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court.

He is due to appear next at Southwark Crown Court on 14 July for a plea and trial preparation hearing.

Mr Spencer stood in the dock to confirm his name as Michael Patrick Spencer and his date of birth.

District Judge Paul Goldspring told the MP he was on unconditional bail.

The charges were first brought against Mr Spencer in May.

Frank Ferguson, head of the special crime and counter terrorism division at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), previously said: "Following a review of the evidence provided by the Metropolitan Police Service, we have authorised two counts of sexual assault against Patrick Spencer MP.

"The charges follow two alleged incidents involving two separate women at the Groucho Club in central London in August 2023."