China's ex security chief jailed for life

Former Chinese security chief Zhou Yongkang, the highest ranking ex-official to be investigated for corruption in decades, was sentenced to life in prison at a secret trial, state-media said yesterday. Zhou admitted to charges of "bribery, abuse of power and leaking state secrets," at a secret trial in the northern city of Tianjin, the official Xinhua news agency said in a surprise announcement. Zhou, 72, is a former member of the ruling Communist party's all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee, and wielded vast power as head of the police and courts until his retirement in 2012.