Rolf Harris Spending His First Night In Prison

Rolf Harris is spending his first night in prison after being jailed for five years and nine months for sexually abusing girls and young women.

One of his four victims was just seven or eight years old when she was attacked by the disgraced entertainer.

The judge at Southwark Crown Court Mr Justice Sweeney said Harris had abused the trust placed in him because of his celebrity status - and had shown no remorse.

The 84-year-old's sentence has been referred to the attorney general after a member of the public said it was unduly lenient.

He will now decide whether to pass the sentence on to the Court of Appeal for review.

Harris arrives at the court for his sentencing

Harris, convicted on Monday of 12 counts of indecent assault between 1968 and 1986, was flanked by guards in the dock as the punishment was handed down.

His other three victims, including the best friend of Harris' daughter Bindi, were teenagers aged between 14 and 19.

Mr Justice Sweeney told the shamed performer: "You have shown no remorse for your crimes at all.

"Your reputation lies in ruins, you have been stripped of your honours, but you have no one to blame but yourself.

"You took advantage of the trust placed in you because of your celebrity status to commit the offences."

During the seven-week trial, prosecutor Sasha Wass described Harris as a ''sinister pervert''.

Harris with his daughter and wife during the trial

She claimed he had a ''dark side'' and was a ''Jekyll and Hyde character''.

The main complainant was Bindi's best friend, to whom seven of the 12 counts related.

The woman, now aged 49, said she had been "traumatised" by the years of abuse she suffered.

She said: "The attacks that happened have made me feel dirty, grubby and disgusting. The whole sordid saga has traumatised me."

Another victim, Australian Tonya Lee - who waived her right to anonymity - said her assault by Harris in a London pub during a visit to England was a "turning point" in her life that she has never recovered from.

She said: "I have never felt safe since, I live in a constant state of anxiety."

A third victim, indecently assaulted by him as she went to get his autograph at a Portsmouth community centre when she was seven or eight, said Harris' assault took away her childhood.

She said the attack left her angry and confused, adding: "I became an angry child, unable to express myself and unable to trust men."

A fourth victim, who was assaulted when she was a teenager as Harris took part in a celebrity game show in Cambridge in the 1970s, said he took advantage of her, making her feel ashamed.

Harris earlier left his riverside home on a boat

She said: "He treated me like a toy that he had played with for his own pleasure."

Harris had arrived at court accompanied by Bindi, and made his way inside the building without commenting to reporters.

In the dock, he had a small, multi-coloured suitcase on a chair behind him.

His wife, Alwen, was not in court as she was apparently unwell.

Harris' lawyer Sonia Woodley told the court that despite his convictions he had led an " upright life" for the last 20 years, and had done "much good".

Harris had earlier left his riverside home in Bray, Berkshire by boat as he made his way to London to hear his fate.

Since his conviction Harris has been stripped of his Bafta fellowship, lost an honorary degree from the University of East London and also faces losing his CBE.

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Fifa VP's Son In World Cup Ticket Scandal

The son of Fifa vice president Julio Grondona has become embroiled in a scandal implicating officials from the football governing body in the illegal re-sale of World Cup tickets.

Tickets reported to be in Humberto Grondona's name were among hundreds seized by Brazilian police as part of the ongoing investigation into ticket touting.

A picture of one ticket bearing his name has been widely circulated on social media. 

In an interview with Argentinian television station TYC, Grondona Jnr admitted giving tickets to a friend, but denied re-selling them at an inflated price. 

Humberto Grondona denies selling the tickets for more than their face value

He said: "You think with how much I care about my family name I would do such a stupid thing?"

He added that he was unsure what his friend had then done with the tickets.

Re-selling tickets for more than their face value is illegal in Brazil. 

Ahead of the tournament's kick off, all Fifa employees and World Cup delegates were warned against selling tickets, all of which have an electronic chip which makes them traceable back to their original purchaser.

Fifa spokeswoman Delia Fischer would not comment on the investigation, but said anyone found breaching the governing body's regulations would be sanctioned.

Julio Grondona is the second most powerful man in world football

Sky News Sports Correspondent Paul Kelso says that with tickets for matches so hard to come by, the news that the son of a top Fifa executive has allowed tickets to end up on the black market has caused a real stir.

He said the scandal is "acutely embarrassing" for Julio Grondona, who is also president of the Argentina Football Federation, where his son is an official.

The revelation comes days after police in Rio de Janeiro arrested 11 people suspected of running a multimillion pound ticket touting operation.

Police said the source of the tickets is believed to have stayed at the Copacabana Palace Hotel, used by top Fifa officials.

Some of the tickets are thought to have been sold for up to eight times their face value.

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World Cup: Flyover Collapses In Host City

An unfinished motorway flyover has collapsed in the Brazilian World Cup host city of Belo Horizonte, leaving at least two dead and many injured.

The bridge, which was supposed to be built in time for the tournament, collapsed onto a bus and other vehicles beneath.

Alexandra Pereira, a teacher who was in an apartment building just 20 yards from the overpass, said it sounded like an "earthquake or bomb".

The driver of the bus was killed in the collapse

"I looked out my window and panicked," she said.

"I couldn't see anything but a huge cloud of dust."

The accident happened in the north of the city, where teams have been based throughout their World Cup campaigns.

One person said it was like an "earthquake or bomb"

Belo Horizonte's nearby Mineirao Stadium has hosted four World Cup matches and is due to host a semi-final next Tuesday.

Fire services sent more than a dozen engines and a helicopter to the scene to aid those trapped in the wreckage.

A fire department spokesman told the AFP news agency that scaffolding was being taken down at the time of the collapse and the flyover was in the final stages of construction.

The car that was crushed in the collapse

Live TV images showed what appeared to be a school bus and other vehicles trapped under the rubble.

The female driver of the bus was killed, with 13 people rescued from the vehicle.

Two trucks belonging to the construction company and one car were crushed along with the bus.

It is not known at this stage why the flyover collapsed

City firefighters said on their official Twitter account that at least one person was dead but other sources said the death toll was two, with at least 22 injured.

Officials say they do not expect the casualty toll to rise too sharply, although they have not yet reached a small car that was flattened.

It is not known if anyone inside the car escaped or remained inside.

Two construction trucks were also crushed

It is not yet known why the flyover collapsed. Cowan, the construction company responsible for building it, said investigators are on site.

Groups of people gathered near the scene of the accident, with some of them shouting.

Bank worker Leandro Brito said: "Because of the World Cup they sped everything up to finish faster.

The collapsed bridge was part of Brazil's World Cup infrastructure

"That's why this tragedy has happened. They are not making things properly. Everyone is very angry."

Ms Pereira said that, along with her neighbours, she complained to the mayor that they feared for their safety from the construction and asked authorities for compensation so they could move.

Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte

She said the request was rejected and the mayor's office assured them the project was safe.

Fire department spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Edgar Estevo da Silva said officials had inspected the apartment buildings and did not find any sign they were at risk because of the overpass collapse.

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CCTV 'Shows Palestinian Teen Being Abducted'

By Tom Rayner, Middle East Reporter in Jerusalem

CCTV footage which purports to show the moment a Palestinian teenager was kidnapped before being killed has been obtained by Sky News.

The video allegedly shows men bundling Mohammed Abu Khadair into a car in East Jerusalem, shortly before his burned body was found in a forest.

The footage emerged as tensions heightened in the region with Israel's military sending troop reinforcements to its border with the Gaza Strip.

Blurry figures can be seen apparently bundling someone into a car

In another development, the official Twitter feed of the Israel Defence Forces was hacked, stating that rockets had hit a major nuclear facility, causing a leak.

The tweet, which was quickly removed read: "#WARNING: Possible nuclear leak in the region after 2 rockets hit Dimona nuclear facility."

The IDF later confirmed the tweet was a hoax vowing to "combat terror on all fronts including the cyber dimension".

The top tweet claims a nuclear facility was hit in the Negev desert The tweet was quickly removed and a correction issued

The Khadair family say their 17-year-old was on his way to the local mosque to attend the morning prayer when he was taken.

His body was found around 5am by police in a forest in West Jerusalem.

Although the CCTV footage cannot be verified, the family says it has been taken by Israeli police and is being examined as part of the investigation into the murder.

Israeli police have been keen to stress that they are yet to establish a clear motive for the murder.

The boy's father Hussein Abu Khadair has called for a full police inquiry

They say they cannot yet rule out a criminal, rather than nationalistic revenge motive.

The incident took place hours after large crowds of Israelis demonstrated in Jerusalem.

They called for tougher action to be taken by the government in response to the kidnap and murder of three Israeli teenagers, whose bodies were discovered on Monday afternoon.

Crowds chanting "death to Arabs" gathered in the centre of the city and many Arab residents were protected from would-be lynch mobs by police.

Palestinians stand next to a crater they say was caused by Israeli rockets

Israeli police confirmed they arrested 47 Israelis for unruly behaviour on the night before Mohammed was killed.

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US Increases Security At Overseas Airports

The United States is implementing "enhanced security measures" at overseas airports with direct flights to the country, officials have announced.

US officials told Reuters the move comes amid fresh fears that al Qaeda operatives in Syria and Yemen are developing bombs that could be smuggled onto US-bound flights from European airports.

In a statement, Homeland Security chief Jeh Johnson said: "DHS continually assesses the global threat environment and reevaluates the measures we take to promote aviation security.

"As part of this ongoing process, I have directed TSA (Transportation Security Administration) to implement enhanced security measures in the coming days at certain overseas airports with direct flights to the United States."

Mr Johnson did not specify which airports would be subject to the added security measures.

He said the US is "sharing recent and relevant information with our foreign allies and are consulting the aviation industry".

The measures come amid fears over jihadist operatives in Syria and Iraq

Britain's Department of Transport said in a statement following the US announcement that it had "taken the decision to step up some of our aviation security measures".

The statement said: "The majority of passengers should not experience significant disruption. There will be no change to the threat level, which remains at substantial.

"The safety and security of the public is our paramount concern. The UK has some of the most robust aviation security measures and we will continue to take all the steps necessary to ensure that public safety is maintained."

The enhancements are likely to include added scrutiny of US-bound passengers' electronics and footwear, and installation of additional bomb-detection machines, US law enforcement and security officials told Reuters.

A US counter-terrorism official told the AP news agency that American intelligence indicated certain terrorist groups are working on a bomb that could make it through airport security undetected.

ABC News has reported that the explosives these operatives are attempting to build include non-metallic bombs.

US national security sources say bomb-makers from the Nusra Front, al Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, and Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) are believed to be working together to develop the devices.

AQAP was behind the failed "underwear bomber" plot on Christmas Day 2009.

Sky News US correspondent Dominic Waghorn said American officials were also closely monitoring the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) over concerns that its success in Iraq might help it recruit jihadists from Europe, who would have easier access to flights bound for US cities.

The thousands of foreign jihadists flocking to join ISIS, among them an estimated four hundred from Britain, is a serious concern, he said.

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Cot Death Warning Over Sharing Bed With Babies

By Thomas Moore, Health And Science Correspondent

Parents have been warned not to fall sleep with their baby on a bed or a sofa until the child is at least one year old.

New draft recommendations from health watchdog National Institute For Clinical Excellence (Nice) say parents can easily suffocate their babies while they are asleep.

And the risk is higher if they have drunk alcohol, taken drugs or smoked.

Babies are also more likely to die suddenly in their sleep if they were born small or premature.

Professor Mark Baker, Nice's clinical practice director, said: "Falling asleep with a baby, whether that's in a bed or on a sofa or chair, is risky.

"We recognise that some parents may choose to share a bed with their baby because it could make breastfeeding easier, or for cultural reasons.

"Or they may be forced to co-sleep because they may not have the space or money for a cot.

"This is why it's so important for parents to understand what the risks are."

Just under 250 babies a year die from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in England and Wales.

Doctors still do not understand what causes babies to die. But Nice says the risk factors are becoming clearer.

Existing advice warns parents not to "co-sleep" with their babies until they are six to eight weeks old.

Nice says new research shows the risk period extends up to one year.

SIDS charity The Lullaby Trust said it regularly has contact with families that have lost a baby older than eight weeks.

Francine Bates, chief executive, said: "If every parent followed these guidelines we believe we could go a long way in achieving our ambition of halving the rate of SIDS in this country by 2020."

But Belinda Phipps, chief executive of the National Childbirth Trust, warned exhausted parents are likely to ignore the advice.

"We know that around half of UK mothers bed-share with their baby at some point in their first few months," she said.

"Nice guidance needs to reflect this reality. We are concerned that these guidelines will lead to parents hiding the fact that they are bed-sharing, or doing so through desperation or exhaustion without safety strategies in place."

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Ebola Outbreak: State Of Emergency 'Needed'

By Thomas Moore, Health and Science Correspondent

The doctor who first identified the deadly Ebola virus has warned the outbreak in West Africa is now so bad that a "state of emergency" should be declared.

Professor Peter Piot told Sky News that the disease, which kills up to 90% of patients, now affects such a wide area that it will be "difficult" to bring under control - and it will spread further without "very, very strict vigilance."

Prof Piot, now Director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, helped to bring to an end to the first known outbreak of Ebola in Zaire in 1976.

There have since been more than 20 outbreaks in Central and West Africa. But the current epidemic affecting Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone was "unprecedented" he said.

Professor Peter Piot: 'A local problem is now a regional crisis'

The virus causes a high fever, organ failure and severe bleeding. Contact with any bodily fluid can transmit the virus. There is no treatment.

Prof Piot said: "We have waited too long. In cases like Ebola it is better to be accused of overacting than underestimating the situation.

"It is far more difficult to contain an epidemic that involves quarantine of people, isolation of patients and tracing their contacts when it has reached big urban populations.

More than 400 people have been killed across three countries

"This has turned from a local problem to a regional crisis.

"Even countries that are not yet affected by Ebola may become affected. Mobility of people including patients and sometimes cadavers is high across borders and I think it's time for declaring a state of emergency."

Professor Piot said the World Health Organisation must engage with community leaders to explain to local populations the importance of isolating victims in hospital to prevent further transmission of the virus.

He said burial practices in which the infected body is washed by unprotected relatives must also cease.

"In theory Ebola is very easy to stop with gloves, soap, isolating patients, and not reusing needles and syringes," he said.

Professor Piopt suggests using anti-viral drugs to treat Ebola

"But in practice it is about people and their beliefs.

"If you think that someone dies of witchcraft or that western medicine is at the origin, that is something that must be overcome."

Professor Piot also urged medical authorities to try using anti-viral drugs to treat patients. Tests on infected monkeys have suggested the drugs work to some extent against Ebola.

"This is the time to try them," he said.

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Africa Battles To Stop Deadly Spread Of Ebola

By Alex Crawford, Special Correspondent, In Liberia

The worst Ebola outbreak ever is spreading and will almost certainly extend across West Africa unless there is cross-country co-operation and urgent international assistance.

The porous borders between Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone has meant the disease is not being contained and now risks spreading even further.

Health workers at the epicentre, where the borders of the three countries meet, have made an urgent appeal through Sky News for immediate international help to try to control the virus.

Philip Azumah, the Foya district health officer, said: "Or the virus will spread and kill more people. We need help now."

The latest outbreak has spread to three countries

It is difficult to determine exactly how many people have already died from the disease given the cross-border contamination and lack of accounting.

But it is already clear there are many more deaths than any previous outbreak.

Aid organisation Doctors Without Borders has already said it is the largest outbreak on record, with the highest number of deaths.

Across the three countries, more than 400 have been killed in this latest outbreak, with no sign of the disease being halted.

And for the first time the disease has spread to highly populated areas including capital cities such as Guinea's capital, Conakry.

At one of the high-risk infection centres set up in Foya in Liberia, the medics insisted we, like them, took extreme precautions.

This included wearing two layers of protective head-to-toe clothing featuring one waterproof all-in-one outfit, face and head masks, double gloves, thick plastic aprons, sturdy goggles and rubber boots.

Among the victims was a nurse who contracted Ebola after caring for a person who later died from the virus.

Elizabeth Smith was too weak to raise her head

Nurse Elizabeth Smith was laying on a bed next to another nurse who had contracted Ebola from the same patient they had both treated.

But Ms Smith was significantly weaker than her co-worker. She did not raise her head as we entered and her bed was soaked in blood.

Neither woman had realised they were treating a patient with Ebola, so had taken none of the precautions their colleagues were now taking.

Two of them sprayed Elizabeth with disinfectant, down her legs, her feet, her hands and arms as they stood arms-length away in their head-to-toe protective clothing and visors. Gingerly they took her arms and helped her to her feet, before escorting her down the tent corridor to the high-risk area.

The nurse contracted Ebola treating another victim

Here, every patient is a confirmed Ebola case and the odds are that 90% of them will die.

The frightening deadliness of Ebola, plus the ignorance around it and the lack of a cure, has thrown the medical staff in this area into a panic.

Francis Forndia, administrator for Foya-Borma Hospital, where medical staff have died after treating victims, told us his workers simply fled after nurses began dying.

"It is hard to get them to return, but we have managed to persuade some to come back by explaining to them how needed they are," he said.

Mr Azumah is co-ordinating the health battle against Ebola in this area. He tells me the first recent outbreak in Liberia was in March, when an infected woman travelled to Foya from Guinea.

She died two days after being admitted to the sole and tiny hospital in Foya. By the time of her death, she had infected eleven people in hospital alone.

Officials say cultural traditions have helped spread the virus

Two of them were nurses who went on to die. The remaining nine somehow managed to survive.

Then Liberia went a solid three weeks without an incident and believed they were clear - until the end of May.

This time, a woman from Sierra Leone, probably out of fear, gave misleading information about where she had come from.

She told investigators she was local, which was true, but did not mention she had in fact spent some time in an infected area of Sierra Leone.

This time the consequences were much more widespread. She had infected a stream of people, six of whom died.

They are still trying to trace all those she may have been in contact with.

There have since been other outbreaks in Voinjamma and the Liberian capital, Monrovia, while Guinea and Sierra Leone continue to register deaths too.

Mr Azumah said: "In our culture, it is the habit to wash the dead body, look after it for a week in the home, kiss and touch it, even eat meals with the dead body - and we believe this has led to the virus spreading."

"Also people are keeping the illnesses and deaths secret if they suspect Ebola."

By alerting the authorities to possible Ebola, people risk being ostracised by their communities.

There is even a fear among these poverty stricken communities that the visiting health workers are spreading the virus.

But what seems significant is that, in Liberia at least, one of the poorest countries in the world, they are largely coping with this virulent disease on their own - with very little outside help evident.

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Rolf Harris Guilty Of String Of Sex Attacks

By Nick Pisa, Sky News Reporter

Veteran entertainer Rolf Harris has been found guilty of a string of indecent assaults against underage girls.

A police mugshot of Harris

Harris, whose showbusiness career spans more than 60 years, remained stony-faced as the jury returned guilty verdicts on all 12 counts after a seven-week trial at Southwark Crown Court.

His daughter Bindi held hands with a fellow supporter, and his wife Alwen and niece Jenny watched from the public gallery as Harris learned his fate.

The 84-year-old will be sentenced on Friday.

Mr Justice Sweeney warned Harris it was "inevitable" a custodial sentence would be possible.

It is the highest profile conviction achieved by officers from Scotland Yard's Operation Yewtree team - the unit set up to investigate historical sex abuse claims in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal.

During the trial, four females described their ordeal at the hands of the Australian-born cartoonist - with the youngest being just seven or eight years old.

He was accused of indecent assaults dating between 1968 and 1986, but several other women gave bad character evidence against him at the trial, reliving how they had been molested by him as late as 1991.

Prosecution sources confirmed to Sky News that dozens of other women have also come forward during the trial, claiming they too were assaulted by him and police are considering whether to bring further charges.

Harris at court with daughter Bindi (left), wife Alwen and niece Jenny

Two Australian women have also exclusively told Sky News they were groped by Harris in circumstances which echo some of the evidence heard during the trial.

The main complainant against Harris - who performed in the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012 - was the best friend of the singer's daughter Bindi.

The woman, who is now 49, told how she was first molested by Harris after she stepped out of a shower during a holiday in Hawaii in 1978 with Bindi and the rest of her family.

He then groped her again on the beach before carrying out further attacks on her in the bedroom of his family home in Australia - as Bindi slept nearby - and the assaults continued back in Britain.

Prosecutor Sasha Wass described Harris as a ''sinister pervert'' who used his fame to get close to young women and girls, adding that he had a ''dark side'' and was a ''Jekyll and Hyde character''.

Key to the case was a letter written by Harris to the father of the main victim in 1997 after she had told her parents of the abuse she had suffered as a teenager.

Harris's career in showbusiness spanned six decades

In it, Harris wrote how he was in a ''state of abject self-loathing'', adding he was ''sickened'' by the ''misery I have caused".

The prosecution said it amounted to a confession of his indecent assaults on her which went on until she was 29 years old - only ending when she moved to Norfolk.

The other allegations involved attacks on a girl in Portsmouth in 1968-1969, a woman in Cambridge some time between 1975 and 1979 and an Australian woman called Tonya Lee who was molested in a London pub in 1986.

In an interview broadcast last year Ms Lee said: ''I don't know how he lives his life day to day, and I don't know how he sleeps at night.''

The Metropolitan Police said afterwards Harris "habitually denied any wrongdoing" and "thought his celebrity status placed him above the law".

The Crown Prosecution Service added: "The victims in this case have suffered in silence for many years and have only recently found the courage to come forward. Each victim, unbeknown to the others, described a similar pattern of behaviour - that of a man acting without fear of the consequences."

Bafta confirmed Harris will be stripped of the Bafta Fellowship he received in 2012. The children's entertainer may also lose his CBE following his conviction.

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'Hamas Will Pay': Bodies Of Three Teens Found

The bodies of three Israeli teenagers who went missing in the occupied West Bank earlier this month have been found.

The discovery was made near the village of Halhul, close to where 16-year-olds Naftali Frenkel and Gilad Shaar and 19-year-old Eyal Yifrach disappeared on June 12.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking before a meeting of his security cabinet, said: "Hamas is responsible. Hamas will pay."

He added the teenagers "were kidnapped and murdered in cold blood by wild beasts".

Any Israeli action to punish Hamas for the alleged murders would open "the gates of hell," a spokesman said.

"If the occupiers carry out an escalation or a war, they will open the gates of hell on themselves." 

A military build-up was reported in Hebron after the discovery

Israel has accused the Palestinian group of abducting the youths as they were hitch-hiking home near Hebron late at night.

But Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip, has denied it was involved in their disappearance.

There has reportedly been a large build-up of troops in Halhul, where security forces and Palestinians are said to have clashed.

A spokesman for the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) said they were "incidents of stone throwing, nothing more".

The teenagers' bodies were found buried under rocks in a field a few miles north of Hebron.

The trio had apparently been shot soon after they were taken, according to security officials.

The bodies were found near Halhul, north of Hebron

Binyamin Proper, who was among a group of volunteers that found the bodies, told Channel 2 TV a member of the search party "saw something suspicious on the ground, plants that looked out of place, moved them and moved some rocks and then found the bodies".

"We realised it was them and we called the army," he said.

US President Barack Obama condemned the deaths as a "senseless act of terror against innocent youth" and British Prime Minister David Cameron said it was an "appalling and inexcusable act of terror".

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called it a "heinous act by enemies of peace".

Dozens of Palestinians have been detained in the search for Mr Frenkel from Nof Ayalon, who had dual Israeli-American citizenship, Mr Shaar from Telman and Mr Yifrach from Elad.

Among those held were a number of Hamas members of the Palestinian parliament and several prisoners recently released by Israel.

Sky's Tom Rayner, reporting from Jerusalem, said Israeli authorities "do not believe they (the youths) have been held for any period of time as hostages. They believe they were killed very quickly".

The teenagers were all students at a Yeshiva, or religious school, in Gush Etzion, a Jewish settlement bloc just south of the Palestinian city of Bethlehem.

Mr Netanyahu had said the alleged abductions were the result of this month's power-sharing deal between the Palestinian factions of Hamas and Fatah.

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A&E 'Burdened By Millions Of GP Patients'

Hospital A&E Patient Numbers On The Rise

Updated: 1:08pm UK, Friday 10 January 2014

By Thomas Moore, Health And Science Correspondent

Hospital emergency departments saw 2,674 more admissions than they did in the same week last year.

The surge in admissions is thought to be one of the factors that has led to A&E departments nationwide missing their target for seeing patients within four hours.

In the last week, accident and emergency departments have seen 94.3% of patients within fours hours. The target is 95%.

Dame Barbara Hakin, chief operating officer of NHS England, said that although the weekly target had been missed, the quarterly target had been achieved.

She said: "The first few weeks of the calendar year are generally the toughest for the NHS, but this week's figures, the first week in quarter four, are over a percentage point better than the same week last year. This is hugely encouraging."

At Good Hope Hospital in the West Midlands, A&E staff have been dealing with a surge of patients since the New Year.

A new rapid assessment team of senior doctors and nurses checks fresh arrivals within 30 minutes of them coming in, redirecting those who could be seen by a GP or a minor injuries unit.

But a delay in discharging patients from the wards is causing a bottleneck.

By early afternoon, 13 patients are waiting in cubicles to be admitted. Until they are found a bed, patients are having to wait on trolleys for their A&E treatment to start.

A&E matron Anna Howell said the backlog adds to pressure on staff.

"It means we are doing two jobs rather than one," she said.

"There is the A&E workload and then there is the workload of patients who are stable and safe and need to be admitted for specialist treatment. They need different nursing."

Alice Mills, who turns 100 later this month, is one of those needing a bed.

She has breathing problems and doctors suspect she has an infection.

Her daughter Lesley Partridge said that although staff were busy, they were still caring.

"She was scared about coming into hospital," she said.

"But everybody has reassured her, joked with her and calmed her. It's exactly what she needed."

The problem with bed-blocking at Good Hope is common around the NHS.

Figures released earlier this week by NHS England showed that almost 2,700 beds are occupied by patients who are better. That is up on this time last year.

Abimbola Otesile, an A&E doctor at Good Hope, said the work rarely stops.

"As soon as you finish one patient you see the next one almost immediately, so you get very tired by the end of the day," he said.

Katherine Henderson, a lead A&E clinician at St Thomas's Hospital, London, said: "We have transformed our ability to get patients out of the EDU by early on flagging a patient's bed - we are going to need a bed on this unit.

"(We are) working very hard with the medical teams for patients coming into the hospital, but also working hard with the community teams, so we have a hospital-at-home system so we can actually got a rapid response community service to see any elderly patients who just needs a little bit more."

:: All this week Sky News has been providing live coverage examining the crisis in the NHS. Watch 'A Matter Of Life And Death' on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

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ISIS Insurgents Declare New Islamic State

The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria group (ISIS) has declared the establishment of an Islamic state in the areas it controls and demanded allegiance from Muslim groups worldwide.

The Sunni militant group proclaimed its leader, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, as "caliph" - the head of the state, and said the "caliphate" stretched from Aleppo in Syria to Diyala in Iraq.

ISIS spokesman Abu Muhammad al Adnani said in a statement, on the first day of Ramadan: "He is the imam and khalifah (Caliph) for the Muslims everywhere.

ISIS spokesman Abu Muhammad al Adnani announced the 'caliphate'

"His [al Baghdadi's] authority has expanded over wide areas in Iraq and Sham [Levant]. The land now under his leadership spreads from Aleppo to Diyala."

He added: "The legality of all emirates, groups, states and organisations becomes null by the expansion of the caliph's authority and the arrival of its troops to their areas.

"Listen to your caliph and obey him. Support your state, which grows every day."

Fighters from the group overran the Iraqi city of Mosul last month in a lightning action and have advanced towards Baghdad. 

ISIS has demanded allegiance from Muslim groups worldwide

In Syria, ISIS fighters have captured territory in the north and east, along the frontier with Iraq.

In Iraq, the group overran the Iraqi city of Mosul last month in swift action and have advanced towards Baghdad.

ISIS' declaration comes as the Iraqi government is battling to wrest back some of the territory it has lost to the jihadist group in recent weeks.

On Sunday, Iraqi helicopter gunships struck suspected insurgent positions for a second consecutive day in the northern city of Tikrit, the birthplace of Saddam Hussein around 80 miles north of Baghdad.

Iraqi troops have been involved in a fierce counteroffensive in Tikrit

The Iraqi military launched a multi-pronged attack spearheaded by ground troops backed by tanks and helicopters.

The insurgents appeared to have repelled the military's initial push for Tikrit, and remained in control of the city on Sunday, but clashes were reportedly taking place in the northern neighbourhood of Qadissiyah.

Iraqi army spokesman Qassim al Moussawi told reporters that government troops were in full control of the university and had raised the Iraqi flag over the campus.

"The battle has several stages. The security forces have cleared most of the areas of the first stage and we have achieved results," he said.

"It is a matter of time before we declare the total clearing of Tikrit."

Iraqi volunteers joining the fight against ISIS

Jawad al Bolani, a security official in the provincial operation command, said the US was sharing intelligence with Iraq and has played an "essential" role in the Tikrit offensive.

"The Americans are with us and they are an important part in the success we are achieving in and around Tikrit," he said.

Washington has sent 180 of 300 American troops President Barack Obama has promised to help Iraqi forces.

The US is also flying manned and unmanned aircraft on reconnaissance missions over Iraq.

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Policy Chief Questions Miliband's Leadership

Ed Miliband's leadership could be in trouble ahead of the next general election, according to a senior figure in the Labour party.

The head of Labour's policy review has admitted the party's recent statements on welfare are "cynical" and designed for "focus groups".

The critical comments by Jon Cruddas were made at a meeting of a left-wing think tank. A recording of the comments has been obtained by Sky News.

In the recordings, Mr Cruddas says: "My job is to look at Labour's policy agenda ... and I can assure you that these interesting ideas and remedies are not going to emerge through Labour's policy review right - irrespective of whether we want them to or not.

"And we have to learn how, why they aren't. And this example, this week is a really interesting one where we set up independent reviews to rethink social policy, economic policy, democracy, local government - they come up with ideas and they're just parked, parked.

"And instead ... cynical nuggets of policy to chime with our focus groups and our press strategies and our desire for a topline in terms of the 24-hour media cycle dominate."

Mr Cruddas warned that the "clock is ticking" for Labour and raised fears about interesting ideas being "parked".

Mr Miliband's leadership has been called into question

The comments come as Labour prepares to set out its vision for rebuilding Britain through major reforms of the state and big business in a series of events over the next week.

Responding to the comments, a Labour spokesperson said: "Ed Miliband and Jon Cruddas helped the IPPR [Institute for Public Policy Research] unveil its independent Condition of Britain report because they back the key principles behind it: strengthening institutions, rewarding hard work and handing power back to the people.

"We support some of its key recommendations to ensure young people sign up for training not sign on for benefits or raising JSA [Jobseeker's Allowance] for people who have paid in all their life.

"These go alongside the most radical plans for generations; from getting 200,000 homes built a year, raising the minimum wage, reforming the energy market, to devolving economic power to our great cities once again, these plans will help build a Britain that once again works for working people."

Sky's Political Correspondent Sophy Ridge said: "This story is significant because of who is giving the comments.

"Jon Cruddas is the head of Labour's policy review. That's a senior position - it means he's effectively in charge of the way Labour formulates its proposals ahead of the next election.

"What he is specifically saying is that he is concerned the way Labour is making policies is not really working for the party."

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Radical Islamic Preacher Seeks Asylum In UK

The family of Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammad is applying for his asylum in the UK after claiming he had been tortured in Lebanon.

They say the radical preacher has suffered systematic torture while in custody at a maximum security prison.

The family says he should be allowed back into Britain on "humanitarian grounds" as his health has deteriorated and he's no longer able to walk.

The cleric caused outrage in the wake of the 2005 London bombings after saying he would not inform police if he knew Muslims were planning attacks.

Muhammad left the UK in 2005 and was barred from returning

He left the UK in 2005 and was told he would not be allowed to return.

But the cleric's son Mohammad Bakri told Sky News: "I'm here on the humanitarian basis. At the end of the day, many people find what he says distasteful, and he quotes things from the Islamic perspective.

"But I think unless you know the character, himself, like my father - I grew up with him - so therefore I understand the tactics that he uses to attract the media in order to pass the message of Islam.

"You may find that distasteful, but at the end of the day he has not committed any crimes in the UK."

Sky's Mark White said the family's claims have not been independently verified.

"The families of Omar Bakri Mohammad say that he has been transferred to a maximum security prison ... in Lebanon," he said.

"They also say that he has been systematically tortured during his time in that maximum security prison.

"We have no independent verification of this, but the family insists that he is in very poor health.

"They claim that he is actually close to death and they're seeking an urgent appeal now to the UK authorities to have him returned to the UK under asylum."

Mohammad holds Syrian and Lebanese citizenship and lived in Britain for 20 years, where he headed the now-disbanded radical Islamist group al Muhajiroun.

The preacher speaks in London alongside Abu Hamza in 1999

He was among 54 people sentenced in Lebanon in November 2010 in trials of militants who fought deadly clashes with the Lebanese army in 2007.

He was convicted of belonging to an armed group that aimed to carry out terrorist acts and plots to kill Lebanese soldiers.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "An individual must be physically present in the UK in order to make a claim for asylum.

"Omar Bakri Mohammad was permanently excluded from the UK in 2005 on the grounds that his presence is not conducive to the public good.

"As Omar Bakri Mohammad is excluded from the UK, he will be unable to make a claim for asylum."

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