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By Peter Sharp, China correspondent

The German tourists who had arrived at Kashgar on the old Silk Road route were excited.

The torch relay was passing through the ancient city and they had travelled nearly 2,000 miles across China to witness the event.

The day before the relay, a note was slipped underneath their hotel door.

"Hello distinguished Guests," it read.

"As the Olympic torch will pass through Kashgar tomorrow from 8.30-12.30 in front of the hotel, due to martial law the hotel doors will be locked.

"We hereby inform all guests that they may not stand outside, they must close their windows and curtains in their rooms, and may not stand near the windows watching - to ensure your personal safety. Thank you for your understanding."

China just doesn't get it.

The lead up to the Games - which start on August 8 - was supposed to be a time of high excitement and celebration.

Instead Beijing's luxury hotels are posting occupancy rates of 40% and struggling to find guests. Why?

China has imposed new visa restrictions in an attempt to tighten up security.

This attempt to weed out "terrorists" and troublemakers has resulted in a major cut in tourist visas.

Businessmen are also facing new curbs in their applications to visit China.

Many find they now need a round-trip airline booking, proof of a hotel confirmation and in some cases a letter of introduction.

Hotels have been told to give detailed information about foreign guests.

Thousands of students studying in China suddenly found their visas would no longer be renewed over the period of the Olympics.

All this in the name of security. China is less interested in playing host to a global Olympic party, just more determined that nobody spoils it.

Six months ago the government announced it had foiled a plot by members of an Islamic movement in western China to attack the Games and kidnap athletes.

The government failed to produce a shred of evidence for the claims but it signalled the start of a massive security operation.

Only this week they announced that 100,000 paramilitary police would be on standby from the middle of July.

Beijing was expecting half a million visitors to the Olympics, bringing in revenue of more than $4b for the city.

But the latest evidence suggests those predictions may be a little wide of the mark.

By Peter Sharp, Sky News China correspondent

They are the most superstitious people on the planet. Perhaps it's the absence of organised religion, but the Chinese are quick to link natural disasters, accidents and violence to a combination of divine intervention and heavenly anger.

Now China's online soothsayers are linking Beijing's Olympic mascots to a string of misfortunes in the run-up to the Games.

Four out of the five "fuwas" - literally friendly toys - are being tied in to the natural and human disasters visited on China during the turbulent build-up.

Jingjing - the Panda - an animal closely associated with Sichuan Province, epicentre of last month's terrible quake.

Huanhuan - the Olympic torch - the round the world torch relay was a PR disaster of awesome proportions.

Yingying - the Antelope - native to Tibet, the location of the March riots and the military crackdown.

Nini - the Kite - the kite city of Weifang is located in Shandong, scene of April's deadly train crash that killed 72 people.

Beibei - the Fish - a Chinese sturgeon found only in the Yangtze River. Is this the location for China's next major disaster, ask cyberspace doom merchants.

"The scariest part of the message is the question it raised," said website editor Chen Wei after seeing the postings.

"You never know what Beibei (the sturgeon) heralds. In other words the worst may be yet to come. I won't say I believe it, but I do feel a little worried about the unknown."

Now there is also concern about the number eight. It's supposed to be a lucky number. So much so that China's Olympic Organisers have chosen August 8, 2008 as the opening date for the Games.

But the online doom and gloomers point out that this year's snowstorm, the worst in a century, struck on 25/01 and if the numbers are added up they total eight. The same applies to the date of the Tibetan riots 14/03 and the earthquake 12/05.

The website reports: "The conclusion: counter to conventional wisdom, eight brings bad luck and untold disaster is in store for August 8, 2008. The very date chosen for the Olympic Opening Ceremony because of its supposed auspiciousness."

Oh-Oh!

Watch this space.

By Yael Lavie, Sky News producer

In a somewhat ironic twist of events, Senator Barack Obama's first speech, a day after the end of his triumphant primary run, was to AIPAC - the pro-Israeli American lobby in its annual meeting in NYC.

One of the few obstacles Senator Obama faced throughout the primaries were the accusations about his lack of commitment to American-Israeli relations.

Not a minor obstacle, as the Jewish-American lobby is not one to ignore during a national presidential race.

But this evening, if anyone ever wondered "Is Obama good for the Jews?" he made sure all and any doubt was put to rest. And did he ever.

The leading Democratic presidential nominee began with his promise to keep the security of Israel on the top of his agenda.

"That effort begins with a clear and strong commitment to the security of Israel: our strongest ally in the region and its only established democracy. That will always be my starting point."

And he did not stop there - some choice quotes included a promise not to negotiate with Hamas or any other terrorist organisation.

"They do not sit at the table," promised the senator, wagging his finger.

He promised a commitment to keep Israel secure and finally he went above and beyond the call of duty, promising that any peace agreement must maintain Jerusalem as the undivided Jewish capital of the state of Israel.

It was like he was channeling George W, Rudy Giuliani, Ariel Sharon and a Hebron settler. 

Someone on his team should really alert him to the fact that back in the late 90s, when the Israelis and Palestinians were very close to signing a deal, even they agreed on dividing Jerusalem - because ultimately if you live in the real Middle East you know that is what peace will require one day.

But this evening in his passionate speech Senator Obama presented his commitment from "the bottom of my heart" - to quote him.

That commitment is one to maintain the current status quo as is. It may not be change we in the Middle East can believe in – it is, if anything, 'change' we are familiar with.

By Geoff Meade, Sky News Defence Correspondent

Sky News defence correspondent Geoff Meade has been given the first access to a British nuclear submarine during the gruelling process of selecting future captains. The course, known in the Navy as "The Perisher" will determine who has his finger on the trigger of the UK's ultimate deterrent.

::Read Geoff's story about the staffing crisis under the sea::

Day One:
The sinister-looking black outline of HMS Trenchant squats menacingly low in the dawn waters of the Gare Loch, near Glasgow, as our launch pulls alongside. For me it's an exciting moment. Never before has a TV crew been allowed on board a nuclear boat to record the military's toughest test of command. Clambering inside the control room, I'm met by a slight smell of ammonia and wet dog. Deodorants, it seems, are banned, as they affect the air purification system.

Day Two:
We share temporary accommodation with the five student captains. That means trying to sleep on narrow temporary bunks squeezed between and beneath cruise missiles and Spearfish torpedoes. Rest is sporadic, punctured by the noise of the boat and regular announcements from the pa system as duty watch changes are "piped" every six hours. With just three bathrooms among 130 men, forget privacy, or modesty. Yet we are lucky with much more space than the ratings. Many have to share with two to a bunk space little bigger than a coffin.

Days Three:
The pressure really builds for the Perishers. Time and again they must try to evade surface ships charging towards the periscope in a series of realistic war games. Each time they have to perform a mind-numbing mental calculation of the course and range of the pursuer. It's the only way of simulating the mental workload of command in wartime. The strain reduces some candidates to their knees as they buckle under the effort.

Day Four:
Offered a view through the eyepieces, I'm amazed how heavy it is to turn the one-tonne apparatus. Also what a fleeting glimpse it gives of vessels overhead. It leaves me in awe of the students' capacity to take in what one experienced Captain described as: "Like popping your head out of a manhole cover in Piccadilly Circus for five seconds and trying to remember where all the traffic is."

Day Five:
We eat our three squares a day with the Petty Officers. Theirs is one of three mess decks fed by two chefs from a galley smaller than most domestic kitchens. In the "Groundhog Day" world of submarines after a while only what is on your plate reminds you of the time of day and day of the week. Though the Navy's best-paid sailors, submariners will tell you that each man's food budget is less than that of an MoD guard dog. Meals have another importance besides morale. Patrol endurance time for a boat which generates its own power, air and water is only governed by how long the rations last.

Day Six:
We are put ashore as the submarine embarks on a top secret stage of the test. I'm most looking forward to having a hot shower without having to queue and taking a long, long walk in the fresh air.

By Yael Lavie, Sky News producer

Just when you think the US primaries are losing their flare for the bizarre and absurd they deal us a fresh one, no pun intended, straight out of the oven.

Hillary embellished landing under Bosnian fire, McCain can not seem to get his Sunnis and Shiites right, but the last gaffe by Barack ‘wonder boy’ Obama, may possibly be the sloppiest thus far. Or should we say, this week.

Speaking to veterans on American memorial day Mr Obama laid down the need for more post traumatic stress disorder treatments for the military, recalling how devastated his uncle was upon returning home post librating Auschwitz during WWII.

Let's start with the obvious which the Republicans were cheerfully quick to point out -  Auschwitz, my dear presumptive candidate, was not liberated by the Americans but by the Red Army.

Now a quick check also revealed that on his American side Mr Obama has no uncles and it is doubtful any of his Kenyan relatives were serving in Soviet uniforms during WWII. Big faux-pas.

Fast forward to the Obama campaign response of correcting the gaffe recalling it was a distant relative rather than uncle and ‘sorry, the death camp was Buchenwald not Auschwitz, oops’.

Now for the sake of full disclosure I must admit – indeed I am Jewish. I am also of German Jewish descent and many of our family members perished in the Holocaust. As such I would like to recommend the following guidelines to the American candidates:

1. Leave the Holocaust alone. Really trust me, don’t touch it. No matter what, you will lose trying to use it as an argument.

2. Holocaust survivors will argue it is of little taste to compare the anguish of a soldier in WWII after witnessing a camp liberated to the anguish of those who survived five years of living in it without being gassed to death.

3. Furthermore try avoiding turning it into a political ping-pong between parties. Not good. Think of other world leaders who use it in diplomatic rhetoric. Hint: they are very short, run their own country and live in the Middle East, three steps left on the map from Iraq.

Finally though, if you are intent on incorporating it in your campaign, remember that to those who lost family members or survived it, the Holocaust is not a laundry list of names.

So by all means, if you are to use it, please get your death camp straight.

By Jon Bugge
Save the Children

25th May 2008

I was walking along the street in Chengdu and felt a slight tremor but though nothing more. It was only when we saw people running out of buildings I realised the aftershock had been so strong. It had registered as 6.4 on the Richter scale. A powerful earthquake by any standards - when do they stop being aftershocks and are registered as another quake it's own right?

I thought of the fear this tremor would have caused to the people already displaced by the May 12 quake. This aftershock had been the strongest since then and had rattled the population of Chengdu - it must have bought fear to those people still living in tents and makeshift camps.

The children in the Mianzhu stadium camp said the aftershocks kept them awake at night. They were happy to be at the child friendly space Save the Children had set up - a chance to forget about the difficult circumstances and to meet with other children. Many of them are only children - without siblings their only interaction with other children is through schools and spaces like this. Save the Children will start establishing temporary schools for children so they can carry on their studies and have a semblance of normality in very abnormal times.

We visited a nearby town of Han Wang. It is only thirty minutes away from the stadium camp - the town has been almost totally destroyed. Huge piles of rubble litter the streets where buildings collapsed. The structures that still stood teetered at precarious angles with gaping cracks and holes visible.

Many thousands had died in this town and still remained entombed in the buildings they once called home. Survivors collected what they could from the rubble. We saw one family whose shop had been destroyed collecting what stock they could from the ruins. Other survivors wandered round still seemingly in shock at the scale of the devastation. Everyone wore masks to protect from disease but also to try to keep out the smell.

The entire town seemed likely to be condemned. The plans for the buildings that remained are undecided. Perhaps it is better to knock everything down and start again in a new location. Rebuilding cities seems an enormous task, the rebuilding of lives an even larger one.

By Sky News cameraman in Burma

Enormous efforts had to be made behind the scenes in Bangkok before just three of our 15 strong team were able to penetrate Burma’s closed border.

Through methods that cannot be disclosed, a producer, a reporter and myself, a cameraman/editor, made it to our base for the coming week, Rangoon.

Difficult though it was to get into Rangoon, it was to prove far more of a challenge to get back out of the city, and into the delta region.

The city is sealed off from the delta by a series of check-points along its connecting roads. To be caught and identified as a journalist would have meant immediate expulsion for us, and imprisonment for anyone thought to be assisting us.

Our first two attempts to enter the region were unsuccessful. But finally, on our third attempt, again by methods that cannot be disclosed for the safety of all concerned, Sky News entered the devastated delta region.

Travel through the delta was tough-going. We spent many hours on broken, unpaved roads, and as many again in long-tail boats, open to the elements. The heat in the delta is suffocating, malaria and dengue fever a real hazard, the monsoon rains almost unimaginably heavy.

We barely ate or slept for two days. We took the minimum of kit with us. A mosquito net, sleeping bag, waterproofs, boots and water.

Using Sky’s latest technology, everything we needed to broadcast live pictures from this inhospitable corner of the world, fitted into a small backpack.

Due to the vastly increased presence of police and military in the area, (we were told more for security than aid efforts), we had to keep moving the whole time. We grasped brief filming opportunities whenever we could. On one occasion, we had to lie low and hide in the back of a boat whilst the military crossed a bridge just meters away.

On another, we came very close to being caught by a passing police boat. At all times we had to remain hidden from view, our fair skin colour so easy to spot among the local people. We passed-by swollen, forgotten bodies amongst the reeds, shattered buildings, villages and lives. We saw and filmed the saddest of scenes that have become all too familiar over the past three weeks.

Each time we went ashore, we witnessed for a brief time, the miserable existence of these unfortunate people. The villagers were only too pleased to welcome us and would offer us all they could give.

It was a truly humbling experience. We filmed quickly; images and interviewees were not difficult to find. At the last village we visited, we took a gamble and set up the equipment necessary to go live. The laptop, satellite dish and camera were an incongruous sight on the muddy banks of the tropical river, among a people, most of whom had rarely, if ever, seen a westerner.

The reporter mentioned how strange it was to be stood at that spot, and listen via her earpiece to the gallery at Sky going about its daily business. It was all quite surreal. And so we were able to report live on the plight of the people in the delta. The loss, the despair, the lack of help.

We filmed enough for the required reports and looked on as privately donated aid was distributed from one of our boats. The villagers were deeply grateful for the little help that was offered.

Eventually our guide decided that it had become too dangerous for us to remain in the delta any longer, and so we set about the return trek to Rangoon. From there we edited and sent our reports and continued providing live links.

Our journey was an intense experience. We witnessed great suffering and hardship among a people that had so little to begin with, and that are now left with virtually nothing at all.

Operating as a television news crew in this environment is certainly not easy, but no matter where an event like this may happen in the world, it’s always important that the full story be told.

Ursula Errington, Bangkok

While foreign aid and people are struggling to get in to Burma to assist in the aftermath of the cyclone, others are relieved to have left the country.

One group of teachers from Canada, America, the UK and South Africa, told Sky News they initially felt it was morally wrong to leave the country and that they offered to stay and help.

That offer was rejected by aid agencies inside Burma. They were warned that to get involved "could get them into trouble" with the government.

British teacher Christine Sandaver was in Rangoon when the cyclone hit.

"It was terrifying" she said, "It was very windy to start with and it just built and built. I thought a branch was going to come through the roof at any moment. I was so terrified, I couldn't bring myself to look out of the window. Windows were blown in and there was glass flying everywhere."

Although the cyclone's approach was forecast on TV weather reports for the region, most Burmese people did not know it was coming.

"The government could have done a lot more to warn people," said South African Riaan O'Brien, who flew out of Burma on Saturday. "There are trucks and trucks of military on the streets so they could have spread the information, but they didn't."

One difficulty is that many rural villages don't speak Burmese, they speak their own local dialect so unless the village chief has information to disseminate, no-one knows about it.

After the 14-hour storm abated locals were on the streets trying to clear up - knowing they must take matters into their own hands. "They were using kitchen knives, utensils, anything sharp to cut through fallen trees," said Christine, "even though they knew the military have the equipment to do it."

American Ashley Ferranti, who'd been teaching English in Mandalay, about 370 miles from Rangoon said: "In the worst-hit areas people are frustrated because they know people want to help, that people are trying to get aid in and that the government hasn't been letting it through."

In other areas the teachers describe a lack of understanding about the scale of the damage and the loss of life.

Csilla Csisza wanted to encourage her students at a private school in Mandalay to raise funds. "Their first reaction was 'Why? the government will take care of it'."

Now able to enjoy a hot shower and a night out in Bangkok this group say they feel sad about what they have left behind in a country they all say they would love to return to one day.

One said:  "It's a relief to be out of Burma. But it's OK for us, we can leave. They can't."

By Alistair Bunkall, Sky News reporter

Election counts – be they general, local or mayoral – are fascinating events to cover as a journalist.

For many, many hours, the count floor is a flurry of furious action and yet there is relatively little for us to report on.

Then when the final results are tallied up and verified - its action stations!

The Mayoral count was unusual in so much that it started at 8.30 on the morning following polling day; normally counts take place over night, almost as soon as the polls shut.

Many people believe the delayed count detracts from the immediacy of an election - others regard the timing as being far more civilised!

Whilst the counting is going on, I spend my time speaking to party activists, trying to get a feel for the mood in the various camps. They can have a tendency for talking a good game, all convinced their guys will win - but this year was different.

Labour party members were pretty deflated and glum after a torrid night around the country. The Tories tails were up and wagging hard.

At Alexandra Palace we got the first declarations around 9pm, the last ones came in just before midnight (who says this electronic counting system is quicker?!).

For the hacks it’s a long and at times frustrating day, but for those with a vested interest it must be even more so.

It’s a great reminder to us, just how much passion and dedication there is in local politics.