Latest news with #Zamani
Rudaw Net
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
IRGC denies Kurdish prisoner release despite jail approval: Watchdog
Also in Iran Iran says to respond 'without hesitation' if attacked Iran arrests two over port blast, including senior government employee Hawraman marks centuries-old Komsay ceremony Nuclear talks must secure Iran's interests or be abandoned, says Khamenei aide A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) denied the conditional release of a Kurdish political prisoner despite the request being approved by the Yazd Central Prison after he served almost 17 years behind bars, a human rights watchdog reported on Sunday. 'Khaled Zamani - a Kurdish political prisoner, father of three daughters and one son, and a native of Khoy - remains deprived of both prison leave and conditional release, despite having served 6,151 days behind bars,' the Oslo-based Hengaw Human Rights Organization said. Zamani, on a 30-year prison sentence, has faced the 'ongoing denial of furlough by the IRGC's Intelligence Organization,' Hengaw added, with the latest refusal coming despite his conditional release having been approved by the Yazd Central Prison and the city's prosecutor. The denial by the IRGC comes despite 'the approval of Zamani's request by the Classification Council of Yazd Central Prison and the city's prosecutor.' He was arrested on July 1, 2008, by Iranian intelligence forces over charges of alleged membership in the Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK). PJAK was established in 2003 and is considered the Iranian wing of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), but claims its links are only ideological. After its establishment in the Qandil Mountains - an area on the Kurdistan Region's border with Iran where the PKK is also headquartered - PJAK expanded its operations into the Kurdish areas of western Iran, recruiting hundreds of young men and fighting bloody battles with the IRGC. Zamani was sentenced by the Urmia Revolutionary Court to amputation of his left hand and right foot on charges of moharebeh, or enmity against God. Following an appeal, he was sentenced to 30 years in Yazd Central Prison, according to Hengaw. He has been denied furlough since then. Hengaw also reported that he has been subjected to severe physical and psychological torture during his imprisonment. Kurds and other ethnic minorities in Iran face systemic discrimination and disproportionately high rates of death sentences and executions, often on charges related to political activities such as baghi (armed rebellion) or moharebeh (enmity against God). Amnesty International's annual report, published in March, highlighted a sharp rise in executions in Iran in 2024, placing the country among the top three executioners globally. Iran, alongside Iraq and Saudi Arabia, accounted for 91 percent of all known executions worldwide. The report also censured Iranian authorities over their continued weaponization of the death penalty against dissidents, including those who participated in the Jin Jiyan Azadi (Women Life Freedom) protests and especially the minorities. In mid-September 2022, 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa (Zhina) Amini died in police custody after being arrested for allegedly violating Iran's compulsory hijab law. Her death sparked nationwide protests in Iran, the longest protest movement the country had seen in four decades.
Scoop
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Re Wellington Civic Trust V. Wellington City Council Judicial Review
High Court, Wellington 28 and 29 April 2025. Today was the first day of a two-day Judicial review hearing in the High Court in Wellington. The Wellington Civic Trust is asking the Court to quash Wellington City Council's decision to demolish the City to Sea bridge. Wellington City Council's process of decisionmaking is under the microscope with a statement by the Trust's lawyer, Tim Smith, that officers exercised too much power as if councillors 'subdelegated' decisionmaking to them. The Council process of consultation is also under the microscope. The Civic Trust says that the Council has not meet the requirements of the Local Government Act Section 77(1), failing to provide all practicable options to the Council and to the public, and failing to ensure meaningful consultation. Barrister Tim Smith presenting the case on behalf of the Civic Trust told the Court that far too much power and 'improper delegation' was vested in Council officers, adding that the respective roles and responsibilities of councillors and officers had to be clearer. One of the key reasons that insufficient options were given, was outlined in an email by Dr Zamani the Council officer managing the project. In it he said that he would only put forward an option if there was first an indication of 75% support by the Council. Tim Smith also said the officers 'funnelled' information and process towards demolition, and gave the Council information that was 'too little too late.' He presented the important distinction between the standards for a bridge for cars and a footbridge which the City to Sea Bridge is. The distinction between an occupied building with a roof and a bridge as a pedestrian throughfare, was also raised, emphasising that the bridge is not an occupied building and therefore different and lower standards apply. Diane Qiu lawyer, also making submissions on behalf of the Trust emphasised the need for a high degree of compliance relating to the consultation process because of the high significance of the decision of the Council to demolish the City to Sea Bridge. She said that the Council was in breach of its consultation obligations, particularly but not only because the Council gave the public in effect only one option, i.e. demolish the bridge and replace it with a pedestrian crossing, or demolish the bridge, replace it with a pedestrian crossing, and build a new one (which the Council had not funded). The Council had prior to the consultation, eliminated a 'do nothing' option and a strengthening option. She was particularly critical of the lack of any information given in the consultation document relating to the cost of $90-$120 million to strengthen without any substantiation. Finally, she emphasised the fact that the Council in its consultation had given the public a 'fait accompli' – as if the decision to demolish the bridge had in effect already been made, prior to consultation. I would be pleased to discuss after the end of the hearing tomorrow, and would prefer the following day Wednesday so that I can prepare.I not be able to return calls immediately after Friday because of my other commitments. 0274488669 Wellington Civic Trust established 1981.
Business Journals
22-04-2025
- Business
- Business Journals
Inspirato partners with Sixt to boost luxury travel offerings
A Denver-based hospitality company has partnered with a German chauffeuring and rental car service as it attempts to increase its membership offerings and make itself more of a luxury brand. On Thursday, Inspirato, a members-only luxury travel vacation club that rents a network of residential properties to its subscribers, struck a partnership with Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based Sixt USA, a subsidiary of Sixt SE, based outside Munich. Sixt offers luxury rental cars and chauffeuring services in over 100 countries. Through the partnership, Inspirato members will now become Sixt platinum members — the company's second-highest status, which qualifies customers for member discounts, free upgrades, shorter wait times and priority access to some bookings. Inspirato, which went public in 2022, has recently downsized with layoffs and changed leadership. It is rebranding itself as more luxurious while also trying to cut costs, CEO Payam Zamani said in a February conference call. The partnership with Sixt is a way to 'deliver a new standard of luxury' to its customers, the company said. 'Inspirato is committed to elevating every part of our members' journeys,' Zamani said in a press release. 'By partnering with SIXT, we're extending that commitment to the road — offering our members a seamless blend of luxury, convenience, and best-in-class service from the moment their trip begins.' Next year, Sixt and Inspirato also plan to debut a co-branded chauffeuring service at the 2026 Masters Tournament, a major golf competition in Augusta, Georgia. The Masters partnership will add luxury, branded transportation to and from the event for members and employees, the company said. Inspirato will also offer U.S.-based Sixt platinum members 'a curated introduction to Inspirato's luxury vacation portfolio,' it said. Additional opportunities under consideration include increased brand presence at select Sixt airport locations and the future potential for premium vehicle delivery, the companies said. 'Providing high-touch, premium service has always been at the heart of what we do — and now, we are joining forces to elevate the entire travel experience,' said Tom Kennedy, president of Sixt North America, in the press release. Sixt, which has locations next to Denver Union Station, in Cherry Creek and at the Denver International Airport, was also recently added as a passholder benefit for skiers and snowboarders who purchase Alterra Mountain Co.'s Ikon Pass.
Forbes
12-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Why These Investment Firms Bet $400 Million On A Chinese Ozempic Rival
Serial Salesman: Kailera CEO Ron Renaud has built and sold three biotechs, the last for $8.7 billion. 'Companies get bought, they don't get sold,' he says. But the obesity market's frenzy could make Kailera a prime acquisition target. In the summer of 2023, Dr. Amir Zamani, a 42-year-old Johns Hopkins–trained physician who is a partner on Bain Capital's life sciences team in Boston, was obsessed with obesity drugs. Ozempic, the blockbuster injectable for type 2 diabetes from Novo Nordisk, was taking America by storm, on pace to generate some $14 billion in revenue that year for the Danish pharmaceutical giant. Eli Lilly was nearing FDA approval for its similar weight loss drug, Zepbound. Zamani eagerly wanted to find a competitor. He'd been reading the early research for two years and spent months digging through reams of data from dozens of companies. Then he struck gold in an unexpected place: the portfolio of Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals, one of China's biggest pharmaceutical companies. Showcased in the early clinical data before him was a potential next-generation injectable weight loss therapy that, like Ozempic and Zepbound, targeted the blood sugar and appetite regulating hormone GLP-1. 'It was like, 'Wait a second, they're ahead of everybody else who's not Novo or Lilly,' ' he says. Results from Phase II clinical trials in China ultimately showed 59% of participants lost 20% or more of their body weight on an eight-milligram dose of the drug in 36 weeks, and side effects were mild. If those results hold, the drug could be especially useful for severely obese patients who need to lose more weight than they can on currently available medications. Better yet, it was available to license. 'We said, 'Gosh, this looks like it's really a best-in-class therapy,' ' Zamani recalls, noting that the portfolio also included three other drugs, two of them more easily administered pills. 'Then we got very serious.' It used to be that Chinese drug development was largely about creating 'me too' drugs for the local market. But over the past 10 years, with Beijing focused on building a native biotech industry, U.S.-trained Chinese scientists returned home and started innovating instead of mimicking. A January report by Stifel analyst Tim Opler noted that nearly one-third of molecules sourced by major pharmaceutical companies through licensing deals are coming from China. American outfits have spent $8.1 billion on upfront payments for Chinese drugs between 2020 and 2024, compared to $536 million in the preceding five years, according to biopharma deals database DealForma. While U.S. regulations have cracked down on investment in Chinese companies, there are minimal restrictions on U.S. companies buying or licensing pharmaceutical assets created there. 'When new biology hits or new sets of targets become proven, then suddenly everyone who wants one of those just goes shopping in China,' says Jory Bell, a general partner at VC firm Playground Global. From HIV to GLP-1: John Milligan, Gilead's former CEO and Kailera's chairman, has been amazed by studies showing obesity drugs' benefits beyond weight loss. 'It shows how important metabolic health is to longevity,' he says. Zamani wasted no time with the obesity drug, quickly partnering with Cambridge, Massachusetts–based VC shop Atlas Venture and New York's RTW Investments. The three firms invested $400 million to spin up Kailera Therapeutics in October, launching with a license for the four Hengrui therapies and a plan to shepherd them to market. Having a ready-made portfolio of four drugs should allow Kailera to move fast in a space that has become extremely competitive since Ozempic became a household name. Global sales of the category ballooned 50% last year, to $36 billion, and could more than triple again, to $131 billion, by 2028, according to Durham, North Carolina–based research firm Iqvia Institute for Human Data Science. To run Kailera, the investors hired an all-star: Ron Renaud, a 56-year-old former biotech stock analyst with a nearly unequaled track record of building biotech startups and then selling them for big profits. Over the past decade, Renaud has run and sold three companies—Idenix (focused on hepatitis C), Translate Bio (an mRNA therapeutics company) and Cerevel (centered on neurological diseases)—for a total of $16 billion. 'We have probably the most advanced, diverse, late-stage pipeline that is focused exclusively on weight management, outside of Big Pharma,' he says. By going to China, Kailera skipped years of research and lab work. Renaud now plans to move aggressively with Phase III clinical trials in the U.S. for that first drug in hopes of bringing it to market by 2030 if not sooner. That might sound a long way off, but in the scheme of drug development and approval, it's lightning-fast, thanks to Hengrui's early work. If all goes well, Kailera's first drug should launch ahead of competitors that are now doing early- and mid-stage clinical trials. And the fact that Kailera's licensing deal with Hengrui includes two drugs that can be taken orally is a potentially huge advantage in a market currently dominated by injectable drugs. Pills are such a big deal that Lilly had stockpiled some $550 million worth of its oral GLP-1 weight loss drug orforglipron at year end despite not having FDA approval. Pills, after all, are not only less intimidating for patients but also cost far less to produce and distribute. Some 40% of American adults are obese. That means there is currently a pool of more than 100 million people who could qualify medically for one of Kailera's therapeutics. And that, Renaud says, is before you account for a rising obesity rate, the global market beyond the States or the potential for these drugs to treat related conditions, including cardiovascular disease and even some cancers. 'That is an incredible market opportunity,' he says. 'That's not going to be addressed by a single drug, or two, or three.' Patrick welsh for forbes By John Buckingham Zimmer Biomet, which specializes in orthopedic implants for hips, knees, feet, ankles, shoulders and other surgical implants, has been facing investor concerns about the potential impact of GLP-1 drugs (such as Ozempic), which have the potential to make a dent in global obesity rates. The thought is that lower body mass indexes could result in fewer joint-related surgeries. ZBH CEO Ivan Tornos claims the opposite is true. Lower rates of obesity will actually be a boost for Zimmer considering that damaged cartilage, osteoarthritis and other joint issues are typically irreversible, and thinner people will want to be more mobile. ZBH should be trading for more than its current forward P/E ratio of 14, given healthy bottom-line growth expected for the foreseeable future and a historic average P/E in the mid-20s. John Buckingham is a portfolio manager and editor of The PrudentSpeculator 'I don't know how you make decisions about medicines unless you understand things at the low level, and Ron was that person—he always understood his business down to the low level,' says John Milligan, the former CEO of Gilead Sciences, who is now Kailera's chairman. (The two first met in the early 2000s when Milligan was Gilead's CFO and Renaud was a biotech analyst who refused to put a 'buy' on the then-high-flying stock.) For Kailera, the next step is getting its first drug ready to go through FDA approval while building out research and manufacturing in the U.S. Large-scale clinical trials like those required for weight loss drugs cost a fortune, and Kailera will need to raise funds, almost certainly hundreds of millions, to cover the expense. While Renaud won't talk about what the company might be worth, PitchBook says it was valued at $595 million at its initial funding. Early-stage publicly traded obesity biotechs Metsera and Viking Therapeutics sport market caps in the $3 billion range. In October, Renaud hired Scott Wasserman, who served as Amgen's first cardiologist and built its cardiovascular and metabolic portfolios, as its chief medical officer. Then, in January, he brought on one of the country's top obesity drug marketers as his chief commercial officer: Jamie Coleman. Her prior gig? Repping Zepbound for Lilly. Chairman Milligan figures the obesity field is far larger than those of HIV and hepatitis C when he was leading Gilead, which had a recent market cap of $133 billion. 'We can build a substantial company if we can raise enough capital and fend off acquisitions, which is hard to do in this industry,' he says. If it can't, Kailera may go the way of Renaud's previous efforts and wind up being sold to one of the major pharmaceutical firms, adding a fourth notch to his belt and potentially billions of dollars more in upside.
