Mitt Romney vows to restore America's promise

Mitt Romney: "I wish President Obama had succeeded, because I want America to succeed"

Mitt Romney has pledged "to restore the promise of America", as he accepted the 

Republican presidential nomination at the party's convention in Florida.

Mr Romney accused President Barack Obama of failing to deliver on his promises and presented his plan involving energy independence, cutting the budget deficit and creating jobs.

He also spoke of his Mormon faith.

The Obama campaign said Mr Romney had "no tangible ideas" and "would take our country backwards".

Mr Romney will challenge the Democratic president in November's election.

His speech was the climax of the three-day Republican convention, which correspondents saw as an attempt to show the human side of a candidate who is sometimes accused of being opaque and distant.

Family guy

Mr Romney began the most important speech of his political career by accepting the nomination that he was overwhelmingly awarded on Tuesday by thousands of delegates at the gala in Tampa.

It secured him the position that eluded him in his first presidential bid in 2008, when Arizona Senator John McCain became the Republican nominee.

"I wish President Obama had succeeded because I want America to succeed," Mr Romney said, in a speech that was watched by millions across the US.

Instead he told his audience: "You know there's something wrong with the kind of job he's done as president when the best feeling you had was the day you voted for him."

And he pledged to do things differently: "President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans and heal the planet. My promise... is to help you and your family."

The 65-year-old presidential nominee recounted details of his Mormon upbringing, with anecdotes about his family life and his parents' loving marriage.

Mr Romney talked about his own experiences as a father, apparently becoming emotional as he talked about the times when he and his wife Ann would wake up to find "a pile of kids asleep in our room".

Bo Xilai scandal: Gu Kailai jailed over Heywood murder

Gu Kailai and her aide, Zhang Xiaojun, did not contest the charges against them

The wife of disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai has been given a suspended death sentence for the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood.

Gu Kailai did not contest charges at her one-day trial that she poisoned Mr Heywood in November 2011.

Suspended death sentences are usually commuted to life imprisonment in China.

Mr Bo, the former party chief in Chongqing, was once seen as a contender for a national leadership position in a top-level reshuffle later this year.

But he has not been seen in public since the investigation into Gu was announced.

Gu's aide, Zhang Xiaojun, was jailed for nine years for his part in the murder.

'Special respect'

The verdict in China's most high-profile trial for years came early on Monday, inside a court ringed by security personnel.

Chinese state media reported that during the 9 August trial - which was not open to all - Gu admitted she poisoned Neil Heywood in a hotel room in Chongqing, helped by her aide.

She said she had suffered a mental breakdown and that Mr Heywood had threatened her son amid a row over a property deal, state media said.

Images shown on Chinese state television showed Gu responding to the verdict. "This verdict is just. It shows special respect for the law, reality and life," she said.

Speaking after the sentence was announced, court spokesman Tang Yigan said the court believed Mr Heywood had threatened Gu's son but not acted on the threats. It also found Gu had been suffering from "psychological impairment", he said.

In a statement, the British embassy in Beijing said its thoughts were with the family of Mr Heywood.

"We welcome the fact that the Chinese authorities have investigated the death of Neil Heywood, and tried those they identified as responsible," the statement said.

"We consistently made clear to the Chinese authorities that we wanted to see the trials in this case conform to international human rights standards and for the death penalty not to be applied."

A lawyer for the Heywood family said they respected the court's decision.

The sentence of death with a two-year suspension means that if Gu commits no crimes while in prison, her sentence will be commuted after two years to life imprisonment and could be further reduced for good behaviour, Chinese legal expert Professor Donald Clarke writes in his blog.

Chinese internet users reacted immediately to the verdict on Twitter-like microblogging platforms.

With key names connected to the case still apparently censored, most used the phrase "suspended death sentence". Within two hours, there were at least two million posts.

Many users expressed dissatisfaction, saying most murderers in China would be executed. Some attributed it to Gu's background, others suggested she could eventually be freed under medical parole.

Leadership change

At a separate trial on 10 August, four senior police officers from Chongqing admitted charges of covering up evidence linking Gu to the murder. A court official said they had been given terms of between five and 11 years in prison, AFP reported.

Mr Heywood's death was initially recorded as a heart attack.

The case came to light when Bo Xilai's deputy, police chief Wang Lijun, fled to the US consulate in February, reportedly with information connected to the case.

He has not been seen in public since then and state media say he is being investigated.

It is not yet known how the Communist Party plans to deal with Mr Bo, once seen as a powerful and ambitious high-flier.

Many analysts expected him to be promoted to the nine-strong politburo Standing Committee later in the year.

Seven committee members are due to retire, with a new generation of leaders to take their place at a party congress expected later this year.

But Mr Bo has been stripped of his official posts and is being investigated for "discipline violations", state media reports say.

A lengthy Xinhua news agency write-up of Gu's trial, however, made no mention of Mr Bo.