Hundreds of Hong Kong police officers have moved in to clear pro-democracy protesters out of a tunnel outside the city’s government headquarters.

Britain:

China has hailed its lunar probe mission a success after the country’s first moon rover and the landing vehicle that carried it there took photos of each other on the surface, state media reported.

As Hu Jintao steps down as Communist Party leader, he is the subject of rare and sharp criticism, writes Charles Hutzler

The man destined to be China’s next leader won an extraordinary welcome across Washington in a finely scripted opening to one of the world’s most important relationships.

A gas explosion at a coal mine in central China killed 29 workers.

China’s government vowed today to clamp down on inflation and urgently raise incomes as it pushes to spread the benefits of economic growth at a time when living standards are rising, but so are calls for greater change.

China’s Red Cross made an urgent nationwide appeal for blood donors today after a sudden shortage halted some surgical operations.

CHINA yesterday disputed that it had surpassed the United States last year to become the world’s largest energy user, and defended its efforts in boosting cleaner energy sources.

Grieving miners’ families demanded answers today from mining officials about the underground gas explosion that left at least 104 men dead in northeastern China.

CHINA wants all personal computers sold domestically to come with software that blocks access to online pornography, which it has banned, the main developer of the software has said.

China has announced a €457bn spending package to boost domestic demand while vowing to carry out “moderately easy monetary policies”.

THE most senior Chinese official to visit Taiwan since the end of a civil war 60 years ago said yesterday that historic talks to take place this week are the only way to build trust between the arch rivals.

China is facing new questions about the safety of its food products today amid the growing scandal of contaminated milk formula that has killed three babies and poisoned thousands.

China struggled to keep roads open to provide a lifeline for quake survivors today while the government warned that rebuilding after the disaster would be “arduous”.

China’s Water Ministry says 69 dams are in danger of bursting in Sichuan province in the wake of an earthquake nearly two weeks ago.

A woman who survived by drinking rainwater was rescued alive today after being trapped in the rubble of China’s earthquake for more than 195 hours.

China said it was struggling to find shelter for many of the five million people whose homes were destroyed in last week’s earthquake, while the region remained jittery today over warnings of aftershocks.

Two women were rescued in China today after a week trapped in the rubble of a collapsed building at a coal mine in Sichuan province, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Nearly 140 people have been killed in demonstrations and a crackdown by China’s government since protests against Chinese rule started in Tibet on March 10, the main Tibetan exile group said.

China’s National People’s Congress has re-elected President Hu Jintao to a second five-year term, as widely expected.

London’s FTSE 100 Index made cautious progress today in the wake of two days of heavy losses.

A Shanghai court has put on trial six people accused of making an unlicensed version of the anti-bird flu drug Tamiflu, newspapers and the court announced today.

Jay-Z may be one of the most celebrated hip-hop artists of the past decade, but it seems that the Chinese government has a very different opinion, having banned the New York rapper from performing his debut show in China.

The Chinese government said today it won’t send an envoy to Pope John Paul II’s funeral due to the Vatican’s diplomatic relations with rival Taiwan.

Eleven Chinese construction workers have been killed in northern Afghanistan when “armed terrorists” opened fire at a construction site, China’s government said.

China’s biggest city is replacing hundreds of thousands of iron manhole covers with concrete and plastic ones after a 57% rise in scrap steel prices encouraged thieves to steal about 1,800 of the lids.

Chinese initial public offerings, last year’s most sought-after shares, are losing their lustre.

A woman who posted an article on the internet criticising the way China’s government handles public complaints has been sentenced to 18 months in a labour camp, a human rights group said in Shanghai.

A moderate earthquake hit a sparsely populated area of south-western China’s interior early today, killing at least five people and injuring 29 as residents of rickety houses spilled into the streets, authorities and witnesses said.

Vice President Hu Jintao was appointed as leader of China’s Communist Party today, handing him the country’s most powerful position and making him a certain bet to replace Jiang Zemin as president next year.