Angsty teens in New Zealand can breathe wheezy about this news: The country’s plan to ban cigarettes entirely for anyone born after 2008 has been tossed into the ashtray of history, after newly elected Conservative PM Christopher Luxon scrapped the proposal ahead of his swearing-in on Monday.
The measures, which would have reduced the number of businesses permitted to sell tobacco products by 90%, were set to go into effect in 2024 and were meant to save thousands of lives and billions of dollars annually in healthcare expenditures. They were passed last year by the Labour government of PM Jacinda Ardern, whose abrupt resignation in January triggered elections that were won by a conservative coalition six weeks ago.
Luxon and his allies say — not without reason — that banning durries, as cigarettes are known colloquially in New Zealand, would simply foster a vast black market, undermining the health benefits of a ban while delivering none of the tax revenue that the government currently gets from levies on tobacco products.
In this Quick Take, Ian Bremmer examines what may come next in the US-Israel war with Iran as the Trump administration signals significantly larger military operations ahead.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney struck a series of deals during a meeting in New Delhi on Monday, including a 10-year nuclear energy deal under which Canada will provide India with uranium.
A satellite image shows black smoke rising and heavy damage at Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's compound, following strikes by the United States and Israel in Tehran, Iran, on February 28, 2026.
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is dead, the conflict is spreading, and US President Donald Trump still isn’t clear on who he wants to run Iran.
Shipping in the world’s most crucial oil chokepoint has nearly ground to a halt after at least four tankers were targeted in Iran’s retaliation to US and Israeli strikes on Saturday.