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New Georgian president sworn in; predecessor says he is not legitimate leader
By Gleb Stolyarov and Felix Light
TBILISI (Reuters) -Mikheil Kavelashvili, a hardline critic of the West, was sworn in as president of Georgia on Sunday amid a political crisis after the government froze European Union application talks in a move that sparked major protests.
Outgoing President Salome Zourabichvili, a pro-EU opponent of the ruling party, said in a defiant speech to supporters outside the presidential palace that she was leaving the residence, but that Kavelashvili had no legitimacy as president, which is a mostly ceremonial position.
She said: “I will come out of here and be with you.”
“I am taking legitimacy with me, I am taking the flag with me, I am taking your trust with me,” she added, before walking out of the palace to mingle with her supporters.
Zourabichvili says that Kavelashvili was not duly picked, as the lawmakers who chose him were elected in an October parliamentary election that she says was marked by fraud. Georgia’s opposition parties support her.
The Georgian Dream ruling party and the country’s election commission say that the October election was free and fair. The ruling party says Kavelashvili is the duly elected president.
The presidential standoff is seen as a watershed moment in Georgia, a mountainous country of 3.7 million that had until recently been regarded as among the most democratic and pro-Western of the former Soviet states.
Kavelashvili is a loyalist of Bidzina Ivanishvili, a reclusive billionaire ex-prime minister who is widely seen as Georgia’s de facto leader.
On Friday, the U.S. imposed sanctions on Ivanishvili, saying he was spearheading Georgia’s current anti-Western and pro-Russian turn.
PROTESTERS HOLD UP RED CARDS
Kavelashvili, a former professional soccer player who briefly played as a striker for Manchester City, has repeatedly accused Western intelligence agencies of plotting to drive Georgia into war with neighbouring Russia.
“The Georgian people have always understood that peace is the main prerequisite for survival and development,” he said after being sworn in on Sunday.
Protesters outside parliament held up red cards in a mocking reference to Kavelashvili’s athletic career. Local media reported that six people were briefly detained amid scuffles with the police.
“Right now, this so-called government is telling us that they inaugurated the new president, but there is no new president for us, for Georgian people who are standing here day and night,” protester Mariam Japaridze told Reuters.
“We have only one legitimate president, and this is Salome Zourabichvili,” she said.
Georgian Dream got almost 54% of the vote in October’s election, according to official results.
Local and international election monitors have said the vote was marked by violations that could have affected the results. Western countries have called for an investigation.
Zourabichvili is backed by the country’s four main pro-EU opposition parties, which have boycotted parliament since the election. They say she will remain the legitimate president until fresh elections are held.
The confrontation comes amid a month of protests sparked by Georgian Dream’s suspension of EU accession talks until 2028, abruptly halting a longstanding national goal of joining the bloc that is written into the country’s constitution.
The move touched off widespread anger among Georgians, who polls show are firmly pro-EU, and prompted a police crackdown, with over 400 people, including senior opposition leaders, detained.
Zourabichvili has accused Georgian Dream of deliberately sinking Georgia’s EU hopes and instead moving towards Russia, from which Georgia gained independence in 1991.
Opposition supporters say that under Zourabichvili, who was elected with Georgian Dream’s support in 2018 before breaking with the party in recent years, the presidency was the only institution in the country not ultimately under the control of ruling party founder Ivanishvili.
They say that with the installation of Kavelashvili, Ivanishvili will have total control over Georgia.
By Michael Erman
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Drugmakers plan to raise U.S. prices on at least 250 branded medications including Pfizer (NYSE:) COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid, Bristol Myers (NYSE:) Squibb’s cancer cell therapies and vaccines from France’s Sanofi (NASDAQ:) at the start of 2025, according to data analyzed by healthcare research firm 3 Axis Advisors.
Nearly all of the drug price increases are below 10% – most well below. The median price increase of the drugs being hiked Jan. 1 is 4.5%, which is in line with the median for all price increases last year.
The increases are to list prices, which do not include rebates to pharmacy benefit managers and other discounts.
Larger drug price increases were once far more common in the U.S. but in recent years drugmakers have scaled them back after price hikes drew sharp criticism in the middle of the last decade.
“Drugmakers don’t have much real estate any longer to increase prices over time, which means taking greater liberties on launch prices is really the only option they have in the face of expanded penalties for year-over-year price increases,” 3 Axis President Antonio Ciaccia said.
A Reuters analysis of prices for new drugs found that pharmaceutical companies launched new U.S. drugs in 2023 at prices 35% higher than in 2022.
The over 250 drug hikes represent an increase from Dec. 29 last year when drugmakers unveiled plans to raise prices on more than 140 brands of drugs.
Drug companies are also reducing some prices on Jan. 1. Merck & Co (NYSE:) plans to cut the list price of its heavily discounted diabetes drugs Januvia and Janumet “to align the list price more closely to the net price.”
U.S. PAYS MOST
The U.S. pays more for prescription medicines than any other country, and incoming President Donald Trump has vowed to lower drug costs by focusing on middlemen in the U.S. healthcare system.
More drug price increases are likely to be announced by other drugmakers over the course of January – historically the biggest month for drugmakers to raise prices.
Pfizer raised prices of the most drugs on the latest list – more than 60 drugs. As well as a 3% hike on Paxlovid, the company raised prices on medicines including migraine treatment Nurtec and cancer drugs Adcetris, Ibrance and Xeljanz between 3% and 5%.
“Pfizer has adjusted the average list prices of our medicines and vaccines for 2025 below the overall rate of inflation – approximately 2.4% – across many products in our diverse product portfolio,” Pfizer spokesperson Amy Rose said in an email. She said the increases help support investments in drug development and offset costs.
Bristol Myers raised the price of its expensive cancer cell therapies Abecma and Breyanzi by 6% and 9%, respectively. The personalized blood cancer treatments can already cost close to half a million dollars.
A BMS spokesperson said in an email that the company is “committed to achieving unfettered patient access” to its medicines. She said the price of Breyanzi in particular “is reflective of the potentially transformative, individualized treatment in a one-time infusion.”
Sanofi raised prices on around a dozen of its vaccines between 2.9% and 9%.
The largest brand price increases according to the 3 Axis analysis were from Leadiant Pharmaceuticals, a unit of Italy’s Essetifin. The company raised prices around 15% on its Hodgkin’s disease treatment Matulane and about 20% on Cystaran, eye drops to help patients with symptoms from a rare condition called cystinosis.
Spokespeople from Leadiant and Sanofi did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
New York, New York–(Newsfile Corp. – December 31, 2024) – Kuehn Law, PLLC, a shareholder litigation law firm, is investigating whether certain officers and directors of Gitlab (NASDAQ:) Inc. (NASDAQ: GTLB) breached their fiduciary duties to shareholders.
According to a federal securities lawsuit, Gitlab insiders caused the company to misrepresent or fail to disclose material adverse facts concerning GitLab’s ability to develop AI features that would generate code more efficiently and increase market demand for its DevSecOps platform, and, as a result, positive statements about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.
If you currently own GTLB and purchased prior to June 6, 2023 please contact Justin Kuehn, Esq. here, by email at justin@kuehn.law or call (833) 672-0814. The consultation and case are free with no obligation to you. Kuehn Law pays all case costs and does not charge its investor clients. Shareholders should contact the firm immediately as there may be limited time to enforce your rights.
Why Your Participation Matters:
As a shareholder your voice matters, and by getting involved, you contribute to the integrity and fairness of the financial markets. Your investment. Your voice. Your future.™
For additional information, please visit Shareholder Derivative Litigation – Kuehn Law.
Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/235670
LONDON, Dec. 31, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Travelzoo ® (NASDAQ: TZOO), the club for travel enthusiasts, has won “Best Travel Website for Travel Deals” for the 13th year in a row at the prestigious British Travel Awards. Travelzoo is one of only a small handful of brands with such a long-standing number of consecutive wins.
Over 1.2 million votes were cast in 2024, making the British Travel Awards the biggest consumer voted awards in the UK.
It was the biggest event of the UK travel awards season. The ceremony pulled out all the stops, with comedian and actor Tom Davis, star of The BBC’s King Gary, presenting. James Clarke, Travelzoo’s General Manager, UK, accepted the award on behalf of the team.
About Travelzoo
We, Travelzoo ®, are the club for travel enthusiasts. Our 30 million members receive exclusive offers and one-of-a-kind experiences personally reviewed by our deal experts around the globe. We have our finger on the pulse of outstanding travel, entertainment, and lifestyle experiences. We work in partnership with more than 5,000 top travel suppliers”our long-standing relationships give Travelzoo members access to irresistible deals.
Travelzoo is a registered trademark of Travelzoo. All other names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
Travelzoo
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New York, NY 10022
Media Contacts:
Natalia Cwierz “ Berlin
+49 178 3358 784
ncwierz@travelzoo.com
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gsaglie@travelzoo.com
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