A gas explosion tore through a state-run coal mine in northern China on Saturday, killing 42 people and leaving 66 others trapped underground as rescuers worked hastily to save them.

Plastic bags, the scourge of the environment, are flying high in Beijing, thanks to a retired engineer who is turning the waste into colorful kites.

A guard at an unofficial jail in the Chinese capital has pleaded guilty to raping a young detainee, an activist said Thursday, in a case that has put the spotlight on the “black jails” where a growing number of people seeking justice from the government end up.

Chinese meteorologists covered Beijing in snow Sunday after seeding clouds to bring winter weather to the capital in an effort to combat a lingering drought, state media reported.

Ten people suffocated during a botched robbery at a coal mine in northern China, the country's work safety watchdog said Friday.

The chief architect for the landmark new headquarters for China's powerful state broadcaster said the part of the complex that burned in a massive fire earlier this year can be repaired and does not need to be torn down.

The head of a prison in northern China has been dismissed after four inmates killed a guard and escaped, leading to a manhunt with thousands of police, state media reported Saturday.

Chinese police have arrested 42 alleged members of a trafficking ring that sold dozens of infants stolen or bought from their rural parents, state media reported Friday.

The leaders of two of the world's major news organizations said Friday that it is time for search engines and others who use news content for free to pay up.

Authorities have confirmed an explosion at a restaurant in Beijing last week was caused by a gas leak.