You might have seen this story online. But all is not as it seems.

From religious extremists wielding knives in train stations to crowded buses being set on fire, attacks in public places in China have led to security fears on the mainland.

A court has dismissed ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai’s appeal against his conviction and life sentence for corruption and abuse of power in one of the country’s most politically-charged trials in decades.

China may boast the world’s largest potential reserves of shale gas but is likely to lose to Australia in the race to be second behind the US in bringing significant production on line.

A Chinese court sentenced ousted senior politician Bo Xilai to life in jail yesterday after finding him guilty of corruption and abuse of power, a term that gives him little chance of staging a political comeback.

A Chinese court has convicted fallen politician Bo Xilai of corruption and sentenced him to life in prison, capping one of the country’s most lurid political scandals in decades.

As show trials go, the drama featuring Bo Xilai, the once-swaggering, media-savvy former Chinese Communist Party (CCP) chief of Chongqing, veered anomalously into improvisation.

Disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai told a court his wife stole government funds without his involvement and revealed how the couple became estranged after he had been unfaithful, offering a glimpse in his politically charged trial of the unraveling of one of China’s elite families.

Greed and betrayal in one of China’s elite families went on display today when prosecutors in the corruption trial of disgraced politician Bo Xilai released testimony from his wife on a businessman’s gifts to the family, including a French villa and plane tickets to three continents.

Ousted politician Bo Xilai recanted a confession of bribery when prosecutors alleged he used his wife and son to help collect more than €2.9m in illicit funds as he stood trial in China’s biggest political scandal in decades.

Deposed politician Bo Xilai will go on trial on charges of corruption and abuse of power within weeks, wrapping up a festering scandal that China’s new leaders want disposed of as they cement their authority.

A scandal involving Chinese city officials having sex with women hired by developers who secretly videotaped the trysts to extort construction deals broadened today with state media announcing 10 more officials fired.

A five-year-old sex tape of an 18-year-old woman allegedly hired by developers to sleep with a city official is causing yet another scandal for China’s ruling Communists in the city formerly led by fallen politician Bo Xilai.

A five-year-old sex tape of an 18-year-old woman allegedly hired by developers to sleep with a city official is causing yet another scandal for China’s ruling Communists in the city formerly led by fallen politician Bo Xilai.

Activists, academics and dissidents are questioning China’s purge of Bo Xilai, demanding the rule of law be followed allowing the disgraced leader to defend himself.

Disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai has been expelled from the ruling Communist Party and will face corruption and other criminal charges.

A top Chinese government forensic scientist has questioned the official cause of death of murdered British businessman Neil Heywood.

China has nearly mopped up a murder scandal that has roiled the country for months, but the last step — dealing with a fallen political star — will be the most delicate of all.

The ex-police chief at the centre of a seamy political scandal will be sentenced on Monday as Chinese leaders move to dispatch with a messy affair that has upset a tricky transition of power.

The ex-police chief at the centre of China's worst political scandal in decades has gone on trial in a closed hearing involving state secrets.

A former police chief linked to a disgraced leader at the centre of China’s biggest political scandal in decades will stand trial on Tuesday on charges that include defection and bribery.

The Chinese appetite for Irish meat continues to grow, with imports of fresh and frozen pork up 116% for the first half of this year versus 2011, according to the latest Bord Bia analysis.

China sentenced the wife of fallen Politburo member Bo Xilai to death yesterday but suspended her execution — setting the stage for a possible final purge of Bo himself in a scandal that has shaken Beijing ahead of a leadership transition.

The wife of a fallen Chinese politician was given a suspended death sentence today after confessing to killing British businessman Neil Heywood in a case that rocked the country’s political leadership.

Chinese leaders may spare a politician’s wife the death penalty for killing British businessman Neil Heywood, fearing it might incite public sympathy, analysts said today.

An armed robber suspected of killing nine people has been shot dead by police in China, authorities said today.

The wife of disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai lured a British businessman to a hotel in Chongqing, where she got him drunk and fed him poison, one of China’s highest-profile murder trials in years heard.

The wife of disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai lured a British businessman to a hotel in the south-western mega-city of Chongqing, where she got him drunk and fed him poison, according to testimony today in one of China’s highest-profile murder trials in years.

The murder trial of the wife of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai will start next Thursday, lawyers have said.

Chinese prosecutors are charging the wife of former Chinese politician Bo Xilai and a family aide with the murder of a British businessman.

Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi is set to take legal action after claims she worked as $1 million-a-night prostitute for ruling members of the Chinese Communist Party

Beijing plans to ban people convicted of food safety crimes from investing in and operating related businesses as China’s government steps up measures against such violations.

The wife of a senior Communist Party official in China is being held over the murder of a British businessman, state media has reported.

Chinese premier Wen Jiabao has warned the ruinous turmoil that engulfed the country in the past could re-emerge unless it tackles political reforms.

A GAS explosion at a coal mine operating without a proper licence has killed 29 miners in central China, state media said yesterday, in the latest in a series of deadly accidents to hit the industry.

TWIN girls with a single body and two heads have been born at a hospital in China.

Twin girls with a single body and two heads have been born at a hospital in China.

Global car makers unveiled ambitious expansion plans for China today, targeting the country's newly-prosperous drivers.

A man drove his car halfway through the wall of a multi-storey car park in China.

Shanghai/Chongqing: China approved property tax trials on some homes in Shanghai and Chongqing, adding to measures announced earlier this week in its campaign to curb real-estate speculation and asset bubbles.

Demonstrations against Japan broke out in at least six Chinese cities over the weekend despite efforts by authorities to rein in the growing protest movement, reports said.

China and Taiwan signed a tariff-slashing trade pact today that boosts economic ties and further eases political tensions six decades after the rivals split amid civil war.

Tens of thousands of opposition supporters chanted anti-communist slogans as they marched in Taiwan's capital today to protest against a planned trade agreement with rival China.