Bo Xilai trial set to begin this week

The court trial for Bo Xilai, the former Politburo member detained in April of last year on charges of corruption and abuse of power, will begin Thursday morning, South China Morning Post reported, citing an official Xinhua report. In addition to the abuse of power charges, Bo will also stand trial for alleged bribery and embezzlement in the Intermediate People’s Court in Jinan, the capital of Shandong province. It’s not yet clear whether Bo’s wife Gu Kailai, who received a suspended death sentence for the murder of the Bo family’s British associate Neil Heywood, will testify.