Tommy Robinson denies harassing journalists

1 hour ago Share Save Lewis Adams BBC News, Bedfordshire Share Save

PA Media Stephen Yaxley-Lennon waved to supporters in the public gallery during his court appearance

Political activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson, has denied harassing two journalists. The 42-year-old from Luton allegedly told one of the MailOnline reporters "I'm coming to get you", and said to another "I'll be knocking at your door" in August 2024. He appeared at Southwark Crown Court to deny two offences of harassment causing fear of violence. Judge Tony Baumgartner said a five-day trial would be held on 19 October 2026.

Mr Yaxley-Lennon is accused of using his X account to harass journalists Andrew Young and Jacob Dirnhuber, as well as their family members, across three days. Wearing a blue waistcoat and a small bag, he waved to supporters in the public gallery during the brief hearing.

'Questioned on camera'

Mr Yaxley-Lennon is accused of calling Mr Young to say he would visit his house, and said "I'm coming to get you" on 5 August. He is also alleged to have posted three edited pictures of Mr Young's wife, daughter and vehicle on X with the message: "Hey @JDirnhuber get your colleague Andrew Young to call me back, you see he published pictures of my family and gave away their location. "I'm working on a news piece myself about all of you, I won't identify any innocent people or give address as that's not morally right unlike you scum. "You will all be questioned on camera about how you think endangering children is ok. My homework continues."

PA Media A previous hearing was told none of the alleged harassment contained direct threats of violence

Mr Yaxley-Lennon is further accused of harassing Mr Dirnhuber by sending him a message on 5 August, saying "I'll be knocking at your door". On the same day, he is also alleged to have posted direct messages to Mr Dirnhuber, saying "let your bosses know I'm coming to all your houses", "okay got your address" and "we need to talk". Then on 6 August, Mr Yaxley-Lennon is alleged to have posted on X: "Got ya @Jdirnhuber this is Jacob, he likes to locate and endanger families. "Jacob and the rest of the Daily Mail journalists who were involved in endangering my children have today been located. "I look forward to hearing on camera your justification for doxxing my children's location. I got all three of you tagged and bagged in one day." Later that day, at 22:50 BST, he is accused of messaging Mr Dirnhuber to say: "I'll bring my questions to all your doors." Prosecutors told a previous hearing that none of the alleged harassment contained direct threats of violence.

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Six dead, dozens missing after ferry sinks off Bali

19 minutes ago Share Save Koh Ewe, Astudestra Ajengrastri and Hanna Samosir BBC News Reporting from Singapore and Jakarta Share Save

Getty Images Relatives of those missing have been anxiously waiting for updates

At least six people have died and dozens are missing after a ferry sank off Indonesia's tourist island of Bali, rescuers said. The boat was carrying 53 passengers and 12 crew members when it sank at 23:20 local time (15:35 GMT) on Wednesday while on its way to Bali from Banyuwangi on the eastern coast of Java island, the Surabaya office of the National Search and Rescue Agency said. Thirty-one survivors have been rescued, the agency says, as the search continues. However, several reports indicate there may have been more passengers on board than were listed on the official manifest. Authorities are investigating the cause of the sinking.

The BBC has spoken with families of the victims, who said their relatives' names are not among the 65 listed on the official passenger manifest. In Indonesia, discrepancies between actual passenger numbers and official manifests are common, often complicating rescue efforts and the identification of victims. Many of the survivors are residents of the coastal town of Banyuwangi while others come from more inland areas of Java, according to a list released by authorities. Imron, a resident of Banyuwangi, says the ferry capsized quickly after tilting sharply three times. "By the third time, sea water had already entered the passenger cabin," he says. Imron swam through a gap in the ferry and drifted into the open sea, before finding a life jacket. He was later rescued by a fisherman.

Bali Search and Rescue Rescue operations are underway in the Bali strait

Gaza hospital director killed in Israeli strike, relative says

Dr Marwan Sultan was the director of the Indonesian Hospital in north Gaza

Meanwhile, at least five people were killed and others injured, including children, in a strike on the al-Mawasi "safe zone", one of several other attacks reported by news agencies.

The Israeli military said it had struck a "key terrorist" from Hamas in the Gaza City area and that claims "uninvolved civilians" were harmed as a result of the strike were being reviewed.

Dr Marwan Sultan and his loved ones died on Wednesday in their apartment in the southwestern Tal al-Hawa area, according to the Hamas-run civil defence agency.

The director of Gaza's Indonesian Hospital has been killed in an Israeli air strike on his home in Gaza City along with several family members, a relative has confirmed.

Ahmed Al-Sultan, a relative of Dr Sultan's, told BBC Arabic that they heard an explosion during Wednesday's strike and went up to the apartment.

"I found Marwan, his wife, his daughters, and his son-in-law, Mohammed, all martyred," he said.

The Hamas-run health ministry said Dr Sultan had a long career in medicine, and condemned "this heinous crime against our medical cadres".

It added that Dr Sultan's career was one of compassion "during which he was a symbol of dedication, steadfastness and sincerity, during the most difficult circumstances and most trying moments experienced by our people under continuous aggression".

Dr Sultan was the director at the Indonesian Hospital, declared out of service by the health ministry after what the UN later described as "repeated Israeli attacks and sustained structural damage". The Israeli military had said it was fighting "terrorist infrastructure sites" in the area.

There are now no functioning hospitals in the north Gaza governate, according to the UN.

The health ministry accused the Israeli military of targeting medical and humanitarian teams.

In its statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it "regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals" and "operates to mitigate harm to them as much as possible".

The IDF said Hamas "systematically violates international law while using civilian infrastructure for terrorist activity and the civilian population as human shields".

But Dr Sultan's doctor's daughter, Lubna al-Sultan, said "an F-16 missile targeted his room exactly, right where he was, directly on him".

"All the rooms in the house were intact except for his room, which was hit by the missile. My father was martyred in it," she told the Associated Press.

She said he was "not affiliated with a movement or anything, he just fears for the patients [he] treats, throughout the war".

Across Gaza, at least 139 people were killed by Israeli military operations in the 24 hours before midday on Wednesday, the health ministry said.

In the al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis, at least five people were killed and others, including children, wounded in an Israeli strike that hit a tent housing displaced people, news agencies reported.

Family members of those killed said it hit at 00:40 local time (22:40 BST) while they were sleeping.

Tamam Abu Rizq told AFP the strike "shook the place like an earthquake", and she "went outside and found the tent on fire".

The al-Mawasi area was declared a "safe zone" by the Israeli military, as the UN says 80% of Gaza is either an Israeli military zone or under an evacuation order.

"They came here thinking it was a safe area and they were killed... What did they do?" Maha Abu Rizq said.

At the scene, surrounded by destruction and a jumble of personal items, one man held up a pack of nappies and asked: "Is this a weapon?"

Footage recorded by AFP shows men getting out of a car in front of nearby Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis and rushing inside carrying blood-covered children in their arms. Inside the hospital, young children cry as doctors treat their wounds.

$88m pollution-tracking satellite missing in space

38 minutes ago Share Save Esme Stallard Climate and science reporter, BBC News Share Save

Karol Serewis/Getty Images Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas produced from oil and gas production, farming and landfill

An $88m satellite designed to detect releases of the planet-warming gas methane from oil and gas production, has been lost in space in a major setback for climate efforts. The MethaneSat satellite which had backing from Google and billionaire Jeff Bezos, was launched only last year aboard an Elon Musk SpaceX rocket. It was meant to collect data for five years on sources of the powerful greenhouse gas, which is responsible for nearly a third of human-induced warming, to help curtail the worst offenders. The Environment Defense Fund, the NGO which oversees the satellite, said that communication was lost ten days ago and is currently undertaking an investigation to understand what happened.

Methane is the most potent of the greenhouse gases, and although it does not hang around in the atmosphere as long as carbon dioxide, it is 28 times stronger over a 100-year period. Despite an international commitment to reduce methane levels by 30% by 2030, year-on-year it continues to rise with the target unlikely to be met, according to the European Space Agency. The main sources of methane are from oil and gas production, farming and food decomposition in landfill. But many of the current satellites that monitor it are operated privately, reducing reducing transparency of who the worst offenders for methane release are. MethaneSat came after years of development by the NGO Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and once launched made much of its data publicly available, allowing scrutiny by governments and scientists. It was backed by a consortium of tech giants including Google and billionaire Jeff Bezos, which together contributed $88m to the project. The instruments used by the satellite are some of the most sensitive in the world, able to pick up much smaller sources of methane as well as "super-emitters". Improving the sensitivity is important for detecting releases from agriculture which are often much more diffuse than from oil and gas production.

'Likely not recoverable'

Google said when it was launched it hoped its project would "fill gaps between existing tools". The company was using its artificial intelligence tools to process the data and generate a global methane map. But after just a year in orbit, in what was meant to be a five-year programme, communication was lost with MethaneSat. The team at EDF suspect that the satellite has lost power and said in a statement "that it is likely not recoverable." It went on to say that some of the software could be re-used but said it was too early to comment on whether a new satellite would be launched. "To solve the climate challenge requires bold action and risk-taking and this satellite was at the leading edge of science, technology and advocacy," it added. One of the other major publicly-available sources of methane data is hosted by CarbonMapper. One of its sources of data is the TROPOMI instrument aboard the European Space Agency's Sentinel-5P satellite. Although it continues to send back data its seven-year programme was meant to finish in October. It is unclear how much longer it can continue to collect information, further limiting global efforts to track the greenhouse gas.