Paul Walker Crash 'Not Part Of Street Race'

Paul Walker and his friend were not taking part in an illegal street race when their Porsche crashed into a lamp post at high speed killing them both, police said.

While the neighbourhood where the Fast And Furious star was killed is known to attract street racers, police said they had no indication of a second car being involved in the crash.

Accident investigators "have received eyewitness statements that the car involved was travelling alone at a high rate of speed", the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said in a statement.

"No eyewitness has contacted the (department) to say there was a second vehicle."

Officers have acknowledged the crash happened in a "hot spot" for street racers, where the street forms a loop through commercial buildings and has very little traffic, especially on weekends.

Fans and fellow actors have paid tribute at the crash site

At least one witness suggested that Walker and Mr Rodas, who was driving, may have been drag-style racing at the time, according to CNN, although others rejected such accounts.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is still investigating the collision, but has already said speed was a factor.

The statement came after police warned fans not to perform stunts on the stretch of road where Walker, 40, and Mr Rodas, 38, were killed on Saturday.

One person was apparently seen drifting, an illegal technique in which the driver intentionally oversteers, causing the rear wheels to skid and making the car slide sideways.

Vin Diesel addresses the crowd at the memorial site. Pic: KTLA

"We sent deputies to the accident location this morning after we started getting reports of drivers burning rubber and spinning tyres at the site," said Santa Clarita sheriff's office spokesman Richard Cohen.

"So far I haven't had any reports of any drivers being cited or arrested ... but we have deputies there to stop that behaviour if it happens again."

A makeshift shrine has been created at the scene, and on Monday night a private memorial for survivors and the cast and crew of the Fast And Furious movies was held inside a white tent erected at the site.

When it was over, Walker's co-star Vin Diesel emerged to thank fans for paying their respect to the actor.

Paul Walker with his co-stars from Fast & Furious 6

Diesel praised the fans for "turning up to show my brother love".

"It's going to stay with me forever," Diesel told the crowd.

"Thank you for coming and showing that angel up in heaven how much you appreciated him."

The first Fast And The Furious movie was released in 2001. The series, with its focus on fast cars driven by tough guys, is one of Hollywood's most lucrative global franchises.

Walker starred in all but one of the movies and had been on a break from shooting the latest instalment.

Firefighters at the scene of the crash on Saturday

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the film remains on course to be released despite the actor's death.

The report said Walker had shot a majority of his scenes, though the movie's release, originally scheduled for July 2014, might be delayed.

Meanwhile, a video has been released of an interview Walker gave in November as one of his final films hits the screens this month.

The Associated Press talked to him on November 14 about his role in Hours, a drama set in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina devastated the city.

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Thailand: Protesters Enter Govt Headquarters

Violence Blights Thailand's Image

Updated: 8:27am UK, Tuesday 03 December 2013

By Jonathan Samuels, Sky Correspondent, Bangkok

Outside Government House, in the centre of Bangkok, as another round of teargas is fired at protesters, a monk adjusts his gas mask. It is an arresting image, and the irony is lost on no one.

This Buddhist country likes to project an image of peace, a place to enjoy a relaxing holiday, to escape from the world's problems.

And yet for the last few years, it has been rocked by periods of violence as it struggles with a merry-go-round of political turmoil.

So who are the latest demonstrators, and what are their demands?

The protesters are mainly made up of Thailand's "better off" - the elite, the educated, royalists.

For the large part, they have been peaceful demonstrations - a huge group of people, including children and grandparents, all joining what has often been a carnival atmosphere.

They listen to speeches, blow whistles and enjoy the food from the many stalls (Thais rarely pass up a business opportunity like this.)

But now a hardcore group of mainly young men is determined to take a path of more violent protest, attacking government ministries and buildings.

Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has been democratically elected, which makes it hard for many to understand the protesters' desire for a "people's coup".

But they say she is controlled by her brother Thaksin Shinawatra - himself kicked out of office in 2006.

The man who divided opinion in his own country now lives in Dubai, escaping corruption charges. The protesters accuse him of widespread corruption and abuse of power.

He was popular with a different section of Thai society, those from the country, farmers, the working class. For these people, Thaksin's healthcare reforms and access to cheap finance were vote winners.

His sister wanted to bring in an Amnesty Bill which would have effectively paved his way to return to Thailand. That was the spark to this upheaval.

So, the protesters are calling for their own, rather vague, form of government. A "people's council". Vague and undemocratic, say the critics.

"This is quite a bold and blatant demand to replace the government in the streets," says Thitinan Pongsudhirak, professor and director of Chulalongkorn University's Institute of Security and International Studies.

"But Khun Suthep's (anti-government protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban) demands go down very well with the people who hate corruption in Thailand, who think that the electoral system can no longer be trusted and therefore they have to set up their own government and rewrite the rules."

So there is a stalemate, and the threat of weeks of protest just as the peak holiday season approaches.

A season which could be blighted as people think maybe this isn't the oasis of calm and serenity the brochures would lead us to believe.

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Kim Jong-Un's Uncle 'Disappears After Sacking'

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un's uncle and one of the country's most powerful men has been ousted, according to South Korea's spy agency.

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) said it believed Jang Song Thaek has been removed as vice chairman of the North Korea National Defence Commission (NDC).

If true, the move would mark the most significant purge at the top of the North Korean leadership since Kim Jong-Un succeeded his late father Kim Jong-Il in December 2011.

Jang Song Thaek

According to the NIS, Mr Jang was "recently ousted from his position and two of his close confidantes - Ri Yong Ha and Jang Soo Kil - were publicly executed in mid November".

North Korean military personnel were notified of the executions, South Korean politician Jung Cheong Rae said, adding that Mr Jang, 67, had since "disappeared".

The husband of Kim Jong-Il's powerful sister, Kim Kyong Hui, Mr Jang was seen as instrumental in cementing his nephew's hold on power after his father's death.

He has been a frequent companion of Kim Jong-Un on his tours around the country, as he was for Kim Jong-Il. 

Mr Jang was often referred to as the unofficial number two in the hierarchy.

Kim Yong Hyun, a professor at Seoul's Dongguk University, said: "I can only guess that the roles played by Jang have caused some tension in the process of consolidating Kim Jong-Un's power.

"Jang once visited South Korea and witnessed many aspects of capitalist society, including the changes that have been happening in China.

"So he was the figure who was most likely to aggressively push for some reforms and opening of the North's system."

Jang, right, pictured with the Kim Jong-Il in 2009

Analysts suggested Mr Jang may have lost out in a power struggle with Choe Ryong Hae, a close confidante of the North Korean leader who is director of the Korean People's Army's General Political Department.

In May, Mr Kim sent Choe as his personal envoy to Beijing to hand deliver a letter to China's new president, Xi Jinping.

Jang Song Thaek has fallen out of favour before.

In 2004 he was understood to have undergone "re-education" as a steel mill labourer because of suspected corruption, but he made a comeback the following year.

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Ukraine: Protesters Block Government Offices

Protesters in Ukraine have blocked streets leading to government offices in their ongoing bid to topple the administration of President Viktor Yanukovich.

In response to an opposition call for a nationwide strike over Mr Yanukovich's U-turn on Europe, protesters gathered outside the cabinet building in the capital Kiev.

They lined the street with obstacles, including flower pots and rubbish bins, to prevent government workers from getting inside.

"We have to block entire street, the streets behind us also, to be sure that not even one official will get to the Cabinet of Ministers office," said one protester, as he gave directions to a group.

"We were told to go back home and await further instructions. We simply could not get to work. All the doors are blocked," said a government employee who tried to enter the building.

A flare is thrown near the Interior Ministry

Witnesses said a pro-Europe rally in Kiev on Sunday attracted about 350,000 people, the biggest protest in the capital since the "Orange Revolution" of nine years ago.

The protesters have vowed to stage round the clock protests in capital Kiev, demanding the resignation of the government and the president.

They are seeking early elections over Mr Yankovych's failure to sign a deal with the European Union.

Thousands of supporters of the ex-Soviet state's closer alliance with Brussels and opposed to closer links with Russia camped out overnight in the capital's Independence Square.

The energetic crowd had first defied a ban on protests on Sunday by driving lines of helmeted police off the expansive square in scenes reminiscent of the 2004 pro-democracy Orange Revolution.

Protesters try to break through lines of riot police in Kiev

Some of the protesters also steered a yellow bulldozer within striking distance of barricades protecting the nearby office of the president.

Security forces outside the president's office fired dozens of stun grenades and smoke bombs at masked demonstrators who were pelting police with stones and Molotov cocktails.

Kiev police spokeswoman Olga Bilyk said that around 100 officers were injured in Sunday's clashes.

A mayor's office official said nearly 50 demonstrators had also been treated by doctors for various injuries.

The nation of 46 million people, which is struggling economically, was thrown into its deepest crisis in nearly a decade when Mr Yanukovych snubbed EU leaders at a summit on Friday.

A demonstrator waves a flag at riot police protecting presidential offices

EU leaders primarily blame the decision on the stinging economic punishments Russia had threatened should Ukraine move towards closer links with the West.

The move now threatens to backfire on Mr Yanukovych as his political foes try to build momentum amid existing discontent with state corruption and disappearing jobs.

About 50,000 protesters also rallied on Sunday in the western city of Lviv, while another 250 EU supporters ignored a court ban in the president's native region of Donetsk.

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Thailand: Police Fire Rubber Bullets At Protesters

Thai police have fired rubber bullets at protesters trying to get into the compound housing the prime minister's office in Bangkok.

It happened after Yingluck Shinawatra said in a televised address that officers would not use force against the demonstrators.

She said her immediate aim was to restore "peace" to the capital's streets and vowed police would "not use force against the people."

However, shortly afterwards, Thailand's security chief revealed police were "alternating between the use of water cannons, teargas and rubber bullets" to contain the protesters.

A bus that was set on fire during the protests

Paradorn Pattanathabutr added: "Rubber bullets are being used in one area only and that is the bridge near Government House."

Protesters are attempting to remove the government, which they claim is corrupt, and replace it with a 'People's Council'.

Ms Yingluck rejected their demands in her TV address.

"Anything I can do to make people happy, I am willing to do ... but as prime minister what I can do must be under the constitution," she said.

Demonstrators flee from riot police

Ms Yingluck was speaking for the first time since violence broke out on Saturday after weeks of peaceful protest.

On Sunday, protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban gave her two days to stand down.

Speaking after the pair met for talks, he said: "I told Yingluck that if police put down their weapons, we will welcome them as they are also Thai.

"I told Yingluck that this will be our only meeting and we will not meet again until the people win."

Protesters near the police HQ in Bangkok are sprayed with water

The meeting, he said, was arranged by the military, which has appeared reluctant to intervene in the current standoff.

Ms Yingluck said the military has "positioned itself as neutral and it wants to see a peaceful way out".

The protests are the latest twist in a conflict between Bangkok's middle class and royalist elite and the mostly poor, rural supporters of Ms Yingluck and her brother, Thaksin Shinawatra.

The billionaire businessman was prime minister until he was ousted in a military coup in 2006 and now lives in self-imposed exile.

In 2008, he was convicted in absentia of corruption, charges he dismissed as politically motivated.

Thailand has seen 18 actual or attempted coups since 1932.

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New York City Train Crash: Four Victims Named

Victims of a New York City train crash that killed four people and injured 63 have been named, as investigators probe the cause of the derailment.

Commuters were thrown from the train as all seven carriages careered off the rails on a riverside bend at 7.20am on Sunday, stopping feet from the mouth of the Harlem River where it flows into the Hudson.

Accident investigators, who have recovered the train's black box recorder, are believed to be looking at speed and brake failure as possible causes of the crash.

Authorities identified the victims as legal professional Donna Smith, 54, sound and light technician James Lovell, 58, nurse Ahn Kisook, 35, and James Ferrari, 59.

Three of the dead were found outside the train and one was found inside, authorities said.

The New York City medical examiner's office said autopsies are scheduled for Monday.

The train stopped feet from the mouth of the Harlem River

Mr Lovell, a cancer and heart disease survivor, was on his way to Manhattan to work on New York's famous Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, according to friend Janet Barton.

He had worked on NBC TV shows, including Today, for more than 20 years and had three sons, Hudson, Jack and Finn, and a daughter, Brooke.

Don Nash, executive of the Today show, said: "He was not only a skilled technician but also one of the nicest guys you ever met.

"You may have seen him working at many of our outdoor concerts. He always had a smile on his face and was quick to share a friendly greeting."

His son Finn wrote on Instagram: "Words can't express how much my father meant to me. It's safe to say he moulded me into the man I am today.

Bill Rockefeller reportedly said the train's brakes may have failed

"I love you and I miss you. I can't believe you're gone. This feels like an awful nightmare that I can't wake up from. Rest easy dad. I love you."

Rescuers at the scene shattered windows, searched nearby woods and waters and used pneumatic jacks and air bags to peer under wreckage.

Officials were due to bring in cranes during the night to right the overturned cars on the slight chance anyone might still be underneath, National Transportation Safety Board member Earl Weener said.

As the investigation into the cause of the crash begins, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said there did not appear to be any fault with the track.

In a telephone interview with CNN, he said the scene "looked like a toy train set that was mangled by some super-powerful force".

The train crashed on a curve with a 30mph speed limit

Mr Weener said the speed limit on the curve is 30mph (48kmph), compared with 70mph (113kmph) in the area approaching.

One passenger, Frank Tatulli, told WABC-TV that the train appeared to be going "a lot faster" than usual as it approached the sharp curve near the Spuyten Duyvil station.

Local residents awoke to a loud boom, as the force of the crash shook nearby buildings.

Angel Gonzalez was in bed in his high-rise apartment overlooking the rail curve when he heard the roar.

"I thought it was a plane that crashed," he said.

An injured passenger is helped from the scene by rescuers

According to local media, train engineer William Rockefeller Jr told supervisors he had tried to apply the brakes but the train did not slow down as it entered the bend.

As deadly as the derailment was, the number of people killed could have been far greater had it happened on a busy weekday, or had the lead car plunged into the water.

The Poughkeepsie to Grand Central Station train, which had about 150 people on board, was half-full at the time of the crash, rail officials said.

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Sacred Shrines Become 'Ticking Time Bomb'

By Sam Kiley, Middle East Correspondent in Jerusalem

The supreme leader of the Palestinian Muslims and guardian of Islam's most sacred shrine in the Old City of Jerusalem has warned of an uprising and regional war if Jews attempt to take greater control of the al Aqsa Mosque complex.

The warning came amid advancing efforts in the Israeli parliament to try to take administrative control of the sacred Islamic site which Jews also lay claim to as it sits on the remains of their Second Temple.

For now "sovereignty" of the Haram al Sharif, as the complex is traditionally known, lies with Jordan.

But several Knesset members, led by deputy speaker Moshe Feiglin, a member of the Likud Party, are pressing for greater access to Jews for prayer on the site and administrative control of it.

"It is the hard core of our identity ... those places that represent the basis for our existence here altogether. Should we insist on [access to] these places or not?" Mr Feiglin told Sky News.

"Because if we cannot insist on our legitimacy on our basic rights to pray in the most holiest place for the Jews in the land of Israel -  under Israeli sovereignty in the middle of Jerusalem - then we're losing our legitimacy not just in Jerusalem, in Tel Aviv, but everywhere else."

The Dome of the Rock is part of the al Aqsa complex under Muslim control

The Knesset member is a forceful rejectionist of talks with the Palestinians aimed at establishing an independent state on the West Bank and in Gaza.

He believes that Israel is a threat to itself by ceding territory it captured in 1967 and has occupied since then. On the issue of what Jews call the Temple Mount, he is equally unbending.

"I don't need to prove anything, history says it all. Any honest person who learned a bit of history knows the truth - Jerusalem belongs to the Jews and to the Jews only, that's a fact. And by the way the Temple Mount never really interested Muslims before the Israelis came back."

The Mohammed Hussein, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, issued a stark warning against any attempts to replace the Muslim administration of the Haram al Shari/Temple Mount in an exclusive interview with Sky News.

The Grand Mufti says if Israelis push the issue the region will be at war

"If the Israelis come here it will be more than an intifada," he said.

What do you mean more than an intifada?

"The whole region will be engulfed by war," the Grand Mufti insisted.

Such threats are not idle.

In 2000, Ariel Sharon triggered the Second or "al Aqsa" Intifada which led to the deaths of 4,000 people and many more wounded over the next half decade by insisting on his right to visit the shrine.

He did so at a time of heightened tension when 10 years of talks aimed at ending the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza appeared to Palestinians to be going nowhere - and when they were also frustrated at the ineptitude and corruption of their own leadership.

In 2000, 4,000 people died in the Second or 'al Aqsa' Intifada

Today, peace talks are going nowhere. The Palestinians have been letting Jewish settlements chew into their lands on the West Bank. Their leadership remains corrupt and incompetent - and are increasingly being seen as collaborators.

The tinder box that Mr Sharon, then leader of the Israeli opposition, lit in 2000 is just as dry now.

"It's a huge and dangerous issue - taking the place from Muslims where they believe they have the right to pray is very dangerous," Grand Mufti Hussein said.

Jews are banned from praying on the holy site by the Israeli police, although the courts have found that they should be able to exercise this right.

They are also forbidden, when they do visit, from removing so much as a leaf or a grain of soil.

Sky News joined a small group who were escorted by an Israeli policeman, who monitored their progress on a pre-set route around the outer edge of the 35-acre complex.

Religious tensions are high

They prayed by talking to themselves as they walked, or by pretending to be in conversations and instead reciting invocations.

They were led by Rabbi Yitzchak Reuven, assistant director of The Temple Institute which is dedicated to restoring the temple to its third incarnation and is collecting the sacred vessels that one day it hopes will be used there.

A model of the Third Temple has pride of place in the Temple Institute Museum just 100 yards from the Western Wall - all that remains of the Second Temple since its destruction by Rome in 70AD.

Rabbi Reuven said: "It's not a fantasy at all because we have the instructions of what needs to be done, we have the information, we have the technology to achieve all these things.

"In terms of arriving at the moment that's a historical process, we don't expect a metaphysical change in the world, we don't expect a divine intervention that's going to set things right."

His ambition may have a purely theological intent, but it also poses an explosive political reality.

He is sanguine.

"We're hoping by increasing awareness we will be closer to achieving the dream of the Jewish people and one that we have for the entire world because as Isaiah says this shall be a house of prayer for all nations."

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Thai PM Flees Building During Violent Protests

Thailand's Prime Minister has been moved to a secret location after protesters forced their way into a police sports club in Bangkok where she was staying.

The anti-government mob broke into the building where Yingluck Shinawatra had been during the morning, but she was able to leave the premises and go to an undisclosed location, an aide said.

In another area of the city, police have fired tear gas and water cannon at protesters near Government House, where Ms Yingluck's office is located.

It is the first time police have used force against protesters who have occupied government offices for the past week in an attempt to topple the PM.

The violence flared near Bangkok's Rajamangala Stadium which was hosting a rally by thousands of Red Shirts, who support the embattled premier.

A Red Shirt is attacked by anti-government protesters

The Red Shirts - who also back Ms Yingluck's brother, ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra - had gathered en masse to ward off any coup attempt against the government.

Police said a 21-year-old had been shot dead. At least five other people were also wounded by gunshots and five more were injured by knives or rocks, officials at the nearby Dr Panya General Hospital said.

It was not immediately known who fired the shots or whether the victims were supporters or opponents of the government.

Those seeking to topple the government also attacked several people they believed were going to the rally.

Yingluck Shinawatra is accused of being a puppet for her brother

Two people were badly beaten and two buses attacked, their windows smashed.

One protester used an iron rod with a Thai flag wrapped around it to smash the driver's side window of one bus.

The buses and one taxi appeared to have been targeted because they carried people wearing red shirts.

Police claimed soon afterwards they had the situation under control, but attacks continued overnight on individual Red Shirts, and the crowds on both sides grew.

Police called for military backup to protect parliament and Ms Yingluck's office.

Protesters tear down barricades outside Government House

Protesters there tore down stone and razor-wire barriers ahead of a planned move to occupy it.

Demonstrators briefly occupied the headquarters of the army on Friday, urging it to join them in a complex power struggle centred on the enduring political influence of Ms Yingluck's billionaire brother.

The tension heightens a nearly decade-long conflict that broadly pits Thailand's traditional establishment of top generals, royalists and the urban middle class against the mostly rural, northern supporters of Mr Thaksin.

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China: Cameron Leads Major Trade Delegation

By Mark Stone, China Correspondent

The Prime Minister will head to China later today on one of the biggest ever British trade trips to the world's second-largest economy.

David Cameron is leading a delegation of six ministers and more than 100 business people on the three-day visit to Beijing, Shanghai, and Chengdu.

The visit is the first for Mr Cameron in three years, and is being seen as marking the end of a diplomatic spat between the UK and China.

The British Government has failed to secure an invitation for Mr Cameron since his meeting with the Dalai Lama in May 2012. A photograph of them together infuriated the Chinese government.

Mr Cameron's meeting with the Dalai Lama infuriated the Chinese government

Sky Sources understand that there will be a concerted effort on the part of the British delegation to put sensitive disagreements to one side and focus on economic cooperation.

"This visit is forward-looking, and about moving the UK-China relationship up a gear. We have turned a page on the Dalai Lama issue.

"The Prime Minister has said he's got no plans to meet the Dalai Lama," a Number 10 source said.

However, Mr Cameron will be forced to walk a fine line between the obvious need to engage economically with China, while at the same time not being seen to jettison British values on issues like human rights, and China's international responsibilities on issues like Syria.

Asked about human rights, the Number 10 source insisted a balance can be drawn: "We discuss a lot of issues, and nothing is off the table. Human rights is an issue we discuss."

British business is doing well in China despite the political disagreements.

Companies like Jaguar Land Rover now count China as being among their most important markets.

The positive knock-on from China sales for UK supply chains is significant.

Chinese consumers are growing increasingly wealthy. There is a love for luxury British items and the potential in many sectors is huge.

Jaguar Land Rover now counts China as among its most important markets

The inward and outward investment opportunities for the UK are significant as long as the governments cooperate.

"Senior ministerial level dialogues are obviously very helpful to UK business with China. We haven't had any of those really senior level visits for the last 12 to 18 months," Ralph Rogers from the China British Business Council told Sky News.

"I think the UK is ideally positioned to tap some of the growth potential here in China." he said.

"China is now focussing on domestic consumption. For the last 30 its been focussed on manufacturing for export but now the government are really promoting domestic consumption and so for British retailers and consumer products and for British service providers there is huge opportunity here."

But Mr Rogers concedes that dealing with China requires politicians to choose their words carefully.

"I think engagement is important and obviously we need to go about that in the right way and if we criticise over duly, if we are rude or discourteous then that doesn't help to build positive relations," he added.

George Osborne was in China on a smaller trade trip in October. Sky News travelled with his delegation and pressed him on Britain's position over China's human rights record. He refused to be drawn.

Human Rights Watch says Mr Cameron should reject this stance and stand up for British values.

"Given the deplorable state of rights in China, Cameron should pick up where he left off earlier this month in Sri Lanka, when he said he would 'shine a global spotlight' on abuses," the organisation said in a statement.

President Xi Jinping has made no secret of efforts to crack down on dissent

"The UK should have a consistent approach to human rights, which must include a forceful public condemnation of rights violations that can be heard by the people of China as well as the government."

Over the past six months, Sky News has seen evidence of widespread Human Rights abuses in China including an abortion forced upon a couple, houses forcibly demolished before owners could remove their belongings and individuals detained for expressing displeasure with their government.

Since President Xi Jinping took office in March, his government has made no secret of its widespread and concerted effort to crack down on dissent as it focuses on its overriding objective: Communist Party survival.

Activists, journalists, and well-established dissidents have been rounded up and detained in record numbers.

Mr Cameron will have meetings and separate dinners with President Xi and the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.

Among the business executives travelling with the Prime Minister are Ralf Speth, chief executive of Jaguar Land Rover, George Weston, chief executive of Associated British Foods, Jorma Ollila, chairman of Royal Dutch Shell, Xavier Rolet, Chief Executive of the London Stock Exchange and Peter Sands, head of Standard Chartered bank.

As well as human rights issues, Mr Cameron may be forced to comment on China's increasingly assertive foreign policy.

A growing row between Japan and China over a set of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea is the latest example of Beijing's muscle-flexing.

"China is increasing its footprint around the world its using its economic muscle to advance its national interests", said Nicholas Bequelin from Human Rights Watch.

He told Sky News: "There is a naivety about China's goals... We see China as increasingly aggressive in Asia, pushing claims in the East China Sea, trying to mute and censor international media groups' coverage of China. We see China trying to undermine action at the  Security Council at the UN.

"The Syria crisis is a good example. China has been a roadblock to any solution there. As China grows, one of its objectives will be to make the world safe for dictatorships."

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China Scrambles Fighter Jets In Islands Row

China Island Strategy 'Risky'

Updated: 2:13pm UK, Friday 29 November 2013

By Lisa Holland, Foreign Affairs Correspondent

Politically, nothing happens by accident in China.

It was no co-incidence that as China sent its fighter jets into the newly declared 'air defence identification zone', President Xi Jinping was visiting a site connected with the country's war-time struggle against Japan.

Mr Xi was quoted as saying "though life is becoming better, history can't be forgotten and those who made sacrifices for the new China's founding must be remembered".

Every few months the issue of islands in the East China Sea disputed by both China and Japan raises its head.

This is probably the first time since Mr Xi was made China's new leader that the country has flexed its muscles over the islands.

It is Mr Xi sending a message that China will not roll over when it comes to ownership of the islands.

The issue has become a hot topic in various (state-controlled) newspapers. 

The Global Times praised the government for its "calm response in the face of provocations". 

This kind of comment article doesn't appear by chance.

It means the Communist Party wants to send a message to the world and in particular to Japan and Japan's allies in the Pacific region, America.

Ties between China and Japan have become increasingly fraught over recent years. 

The deep-rooted mistrust and regional rivalry goes back to Japan's occupation of part of China and the perceived lack of contrition by Japan over war-time atrocities.

But by raising the stakes over the islands China may have put itself in an awkward position.

It has informed the world that foreign aircraft passing through the new air defence zone - including passenger planes - would have to identify themselves to Chinese authorities. 

Japan's two biggest airlines have defied the identification order. South Korea and the US have also flown through the zone.

China's Defence Ministry has said it would be "incorrect" to suggest China would shoot down aircraft which entered the zone without first identifying themselves. 

But quite how China will respond and police its unilaterally declared zone appears unclear.

China wants to annoy its neighbours and assert its power in the region - particularly with America looking on.

There is a lot at stake - both in an economic sense but crucially also in terms of prestige.

With the islands come seabed resources which need to be explored along with local fisheries stocks.

But it is a risky strategy. Things can easily spiral out of control in the fast-moving air zone - and mistakes happen.  If that is the case China will need to show it is no paper tiger. That could be dangerous.

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