Pope Francis shows further improvement, no longer has kidney issue, Vatican says

BUCHAREST: Romanian prosecutors were questioning Wednesday far-right politician Calin Georgescu, who topped the first round of last year’s presidential elections but later saw the results annulled in a shock move that has shaken the country.
The country’s constitutional court in December annulled the elections following allegations of Russian interference and claims of “massive” social media promotion of Georgescu, who shot to prominence virtually overnight.
Georgescu has denied any wrongdoing and called the annulment a “formalized coup d’etat.”
Television footage showed Georgescu entering the general prosecutor’s office flanked by police.
A judicial source told AFP he would be questioned, but declined to comment further.
Earlier Wednesday, authorities searched dozens of premises around the country, according to a statement by the prosecutor’s office.
Prosecutors said the raids were part of a probe into alleged offenses including “establishing an organization with a fascist, racist or xenophobic character” and “false statements regarding the sources of financing of the electoral campaign,” they said.
The statement did not mention Georgescu by name.
“I, on behalf of my voters, but also of those who, although they have other political options, want a democratic and free Romania — am fighting this security system that wants us in slavery,” Georgescu posted on Facebook.
His team said Georgescu was stopped by police in traffic and told to come in for questioning.
Outside the prosecutor’s office, supporters of Georgescu gathered, some with flags and chanting “traitors” and “liberty.”
The decision by the EU and NATO member to annul the vote — rare in the European Union — plunged the eastern European country into crisis, with tens of thousands protesting it.
A new first round of presidential elections will take place on May 4, with a second on May 18 if no first-round candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote.

SARAJEVO: A court in Bosnia on Wednesday sentenced Milorad Dodik, the pro-Russia Bosnian Serb president, to one year in prison and banned him from engaging in politics for six years over his separatist actions.
The landmark ruling by the court in Sarajevo came after a yearlong trial against Dodik on charges that he disobeyed the top international envoy overseeing peace in the Balkan country.
The leader and his lawyers weren’t at the court during the sentencing. Dodik has said that he would disobey any conviction and threatened “radical measures” in response, including eventual secession of the Serb-run entity in Bosnia called Republika Srpska from the rest of the country.
Dodik has repeatedly called for the separation of the Serb-run half of Bosnia to join it with neighboring Serbia, which prompted the United States and the United Kingdom to impose sanctions against him and his close allies. Dodik is also accused of corruption and pro-Russia policies.
Dodik’s separatist threats stoked fears in Bosnia, where a 1992-95 war left 100,000 people killed and displaced millions. The US-sponsored Dayton Accords ended the war nearly three decades ago and created two regions, Republika Srpska and the Bosniak-Croat Federation.
The two regions were given wide autonomy, but kept some joint institutions, including the army, top judiciary and tax administration. Bosnia also has a rotating three-member presidency made up of Bosniak, Serb and Croat members.
Dodik was in the Bosnian Serb administrative capital Banja Luka, where thousands gathered Wednesday in his support.
“They say I am guilty, but now people here will say why I am not guilty,” Dodik told the crowd shortly after the verdict was announced. “There is no reason to worry. I have learned to deal with tougher situations. It is important that you are here.”
In neighboring Serbia, pro-government media reported that populist President Aleksandar Vucic called an urgent session of the national security council there.
Dodik is unlikely to be sent to prison, because he enjoys the full support of Vucic, who can provide shelter to him in Belgrade. Dodik is also expected to appeal the conviction.
Dodik has repeatedly clashed with top international envoy Christian Schmidt and declared his decisions illegal in Republika Srpska. The Dayton peace agreement envisages that the high representative can impose decisions and change laws in the country.
The war in Bosnia erupted when the country’s Serbs rebelled against the country’s independence from the former Yugoslavia and moved to form a mini-state of their own with the aim of uniting it with neighboring Serbia.