A two-story house in central China collapsed Friday morning while being lifted off its foundation, crushing seven people to death and injuring 21 others, local officials said.

Two teens in eastern China committed suicide after “failing to complete homework assignments” state-run media said on Friday, in an extreme case highlighting the immense pressure schoolchildren can face.

Chinese home prices picked up in April in their fifth consecutive monthly rise, an independent survey showed on Thursday. The cost of a new home in 100 major cities rose 5.3 percent year-on-year to an average 10,098 yuan (US$1,638) per square meter, said the China Index Academy.

A new law has taken effect prohibiting Chinese from being committed to mental hospitals without their consent in an attempt to prevent “forced detentions,” state-run media said Thursday.

The United States should be just as concerned as other countries about a rise in Japanese nationalism, China's ambassador to Washington said, hinting that the United States should not offer Japan encouragement in its dispute with China over a group of islets.

Chinese officials have been holding secret sauna parties and hiding their alcohol in plastic water bottles as they seek to get around a crackdown on extravagance, state media reported Wednesday.

U.S. auto giant General Motors is withdrawing a global advertisement which refers to China as the land where people say “ching-ching, chop suey” after admitting it contains “offensive content,” a report said Wednesday.

The United States called Tuesday for Chinese authorities to provide immediate and proper medical treatment to the imprisoned nephew of Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng, said to be suffering from appendicitis but denied medical parole.

Chinese online retail giant Alibaba has struck a deal to buy a US$586 million stake in popular Chinese social network site Sina Weibo, raising expectations it will announce a stock market listing.

Security personnel in eastern China are carrying out a nightly harassment campaign against the brother of blind rights activist Chen Guangcheng, the two said on Tuesday, throwing rocks, bottles and dead poultry at his house for 12 nights in a row.