A Chinese lawyer has been jailed for seven years in the third in a series of subversion trials demonstrating the ruling Communist Party's determination to silence independent human rights activists and government critics.

China has rejected a call from a United Nations rights watchdog to halt torture of detainees, saying the group’s recommendations were based on unverified information and that it should “improve its work style.”

Four senior officials have been fired and seven others disciplined over the Shanghai New Year’s Eve stampede that killed 36 people.