WORLD BRIEFING / GEORGIA

Georgia’s prime minister resigned, citing health reasons after just three months on the job as President Mikheil Saakashvili’s second-in-command.

Saakashvili later nominated the outgoing premier’s top deputy to become prime minister, his fifth in the five years since his election following Georgia’s so-called Rose Revolution.

Grigol Mgaloblishvili said health problems had made it difficult for him to give the job his full effort as Georgia struggles to recover from its August war with Russia and to keep the economy going. Mgaloblishvili, 35, gave no details about his condition, but the government said Dec. 31 that he had kidney trouble.