The general manager of China's 1.2-million circulation Beijing Times newspaper has been sacked for allegedly blackmailing a scandal-hit luxury furniture company, official media reported Saturday.

China reiterated its opposition on Thursday to a European Union plan to limit airline carbon dioxide emissions and called for talks to resolve the issue a day after its major airlines refused to pay any carbon costs under the new law.

A Beijing court failed to reach a verdict Thursday after the trial of sickly Chinese rights activist Ni Yulan and her husband, who appeared before judges amid a spreading crackdown on dissent.

Beijing authorities said Sunday they had met their target of “blue sky” days for 2011, amid growing public criticism that officials are underplaying the pollution problem in the Chinese capital.

China, the world's top greenhouse gas emitter, said Tuesday it will push at next week's climate talks for an extension of the Kyoto Protocol, which requires rich nations to reduce their emissions.

Artist and dissident Ai Weiwei said Wednesday he would use his battle with China's tax authorities to expose the regime that detained him, as he prepared to challenge charges of massive tax evasion.

An overloaded school minibus crashed head-on with a truck in rural western China on Wednesday, killing at least 18 kindergarten children on their way to class, officials said.

Ai Weiwei has handed US$1.3 million in donations from his supporters to the Chinese authorities to clear the way for an appeal against a huge tax bill, a lawyer for the artist and activist said Tuesday.

The death toll from a blast at a coal mine in China has risen to 34, an official said Sunday, as rescuers continue to search for workers still trapped underground amid fading hopes of finding survivors.

Chinese artist Ai Weiwei said Friday he will challenge a huge tax bill the government has ordered him to pay, and will use money collected from supporters to lodge an appeal.