China court upholds life sentence for ousted Bo Xilai

BEIJING (Reuters) – A court in eastern China on Friday upheld a life sentence for ousted former senior politician Bo Xilai on charges of bribery, corruption and abuse of power, rejecting his appeal, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Bo, once a rising star in China’s leadership circles who had cultivated a following through his populist, quasi-Maoist policies, was jailed for life in September after a dramatic fall from grace that shook the ruling Communist Party.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard)