Official sentenced

HU HUAIBANG, former chairman of the China Development Bank (CDB), was sentenced to life in prison Thursday on charges of bribery by the Intermediate People’s Court of Chengde in North China’s Hebei Province.

Hu, also former secretary of the CDB committee of the Communist Party of China, was also deprived of political rights for life and all of his property has been confiscated, according to the court ruling.

The court also ordered Hu to turn over all his illicit gains and interest earned to the national treasury.

Hu accepted the court’s decision and said he will not appeal the verdict.

Syrian capital hit

THE Syrian air defenses responded to an Israeli missile attack on an area south of the capital Damascus on Wednesday night, state news agency SANA reported.

The sounds of Syrian anti-air weapons were heard in Damascus, the report said.

A military source was cited by SANA as saying that the Israeli attack was carried out from over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and targeted some military sites south of Damascus.