FORMER CHINESE POLITICIAN BO XILAI LOSES APPEAL

A Chinese court has rejected the appeal of former politician Bo Xilai and upheld his life sentence for bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power.The former Chongqing Communist Party leader was convicted of the charges in September.He was removed from office in 2012 amid a scandal which saw his wife convicted of a British businessman's murder.The high court in Shandong, the province where Bo's trial was held, accepted his appeal earlier this month. The hearing appeared to have been brief, with the verdict coming about an hour after a convoy believed to be carrying Bo was seen arriving at the court.Bo only receives one chance to appeal and his sentence is now final. He could submit a complaint to the Supreme People's Court in Beijing, but the vast majority of such complaints are rejected and do not result in another trial. Correspondents said few expected Bo's conviction to be overturned. The courts are controlled by the ruling Communist Party, from which Bo was expelled from last year.