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Geopolitics

Bo Xilai Expelled From Chinese Communist Party, Date Set For Hu Jintao Succession

CHINA DAILY, XINHUA (China), BBC (UK)

Worldcrunch

BEIJINGBo Xilai, who had once been destined for a top position in the Chinese Communist Party ranks, has been expelled from the party and faces corruption charges, reports state newspaper China Daily.

The decision was made at a Central Committee meeting on Friday, presided by Chinese President Hu Jintao. Members of the Communist party's Politburo also decided to transfer Bo’s “suspected law violations and relevant clues to judicial organs,” meaning he would face charges relating to alleged corruption, abuse of power, bribe-taking and improper relations with women, reports the BBC.

According to a statement reported by the Xinhua state news agency, Bo, the former Communist Party chief for the southwestern city of Chongqing, “abused his powers of office, committed serious errors and bears a major responsibility."

"Bo Xilai's actions created grave repercussions, and massively damaged the reputation of the party and the state," the statement said.

perfect timing to release the Bo Xilai news when millions are on the road to home for holidays and many of them won't be online until Oct.8

— Li Yuan (@LiYuan6) September 28, 2012

On Friday, the Central Committee also announced that the 18th National Congress of the CPC would convene on Nov. 8 in Beijing, reports Xinhua.

The Bo Xilai scandal, China's biggest in decades, has overshadowed the run-up to the National Congress, which is expected to see Xi Jinping replace Hu Jintao as president.

Before the scandal broke, Bo Xilai had been primed for a position on the nine-member Politburo Standing Committee.

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FOCUS: Israel-Palestine War

After Abbas: Here Are The Three Frontrunners To Be The Next Palestinian Leader

Israel and the West have often asked: Where is the Palestinian Mandela? The divided regimes between Gaza and the West Bank continues to make it difficult to imagine the future Palestinian leader. Still, these three names are worth considering.

Photo of Mahmoud Abbas speaking into microphone

Abbas is 88, and has been the leading Palestinian political figure since 2005

Thaer Ganaim/APA Images via ZUMA
Elias Kassem

Updated Dec. 5, 2023 at 12:05 a.m.

Israel has set two goals for its Gaza war: destroying Hamas and releasing hostages.

But it has no answer to, nor is even asking the question: What comes next?

The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the return of the current Palestinian Authority to govern post-war Gaza. That stance seems opposed to the U.S. Administration’s call to revitalize the Palestinian Authority (PA) to assume power in the coastal enclave.

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But neither Israel nor the U.S. put a detailed plan for a governing body in post-war Gaza, let alone offering a vision for a bonafide Palestinian state that would also encompass the West Bank.

The Palestinian Authority, which administers much of the occupied West Bank, was created in1994 as part of the Oslo Accords peace agreement. It’s now led by President Mahmoud Abbas, who succeeded Yasser Arafat in 2005. Over the past few years, the question of who would succeed Abbas, now 88 years old, has largely dominated internal Palestinian politics.

But that question has gained new urgency — and was fundamentally altered — with the war in Gaza.

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