#black-market

#black-market

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Smokers will be forced to pay even more for their habit after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt raised tobacco duty in his Spring Budget.The price of a 20-pack is set to soar past the 14 mark, stretching the budgets of more than 6 million UK smokers a little further.

The overprescribing of opioid painkillers in the UK is putting lives at risk, it has been warned.Pharmacists have raised concerns about the powerful drugs ending up on the black market as patients are being given more than they need.And a former addict has revealed how he manipulated NHS systems to obtain doses so high they could have killed him.

The sale of flavored e-cigarettes has been banned in unincorporated Cook County by unanimous vote of the County Board Thursday.The ordinance affects 42 retailers and is expected to only put a minor dent - less than $10,000 - in the taxes collected on nicotine products, according to the county's finance department.

Russia has been capturing some of the US and NATO-provided weapons and equipment left on the battlefield in Ukraine and sending them to Iran, where the US believes Tehran will try to reverse-engineer the systems, four sources familiar with the matter told CNN.Over the last year, US, NATO and other Western officials have seen several instances of Russian forces seizing smaller, shoulder-fired weapons equipment including Javelin anti-tank and Stinger anti-aircraft systems that Ukrainian forces have at times been forced to leave behind on the battlefield, the sources told CNN.

The three tortoise babies Dill, Gherkin, and Jalapeno are the first offspring of their 90-year-old father, Mr. Pickles.Jackelin Reyna/Houston Zoo Nobody ever said turtles worked quickly.Though it took him nearly a century, the 90-year-old radiated tortoise known as Mr. Pickles is finally a dad.The Houston Zoo announced on Thursday that he and his partner, 53-year-old Mrs. Pickles, recently welcomed three tortoise hatchlings: Dill, Gherkin and Jalapeno.

The Mercury provides news and fun every single day-but your help is essential.If you believe Portland benefits from smart, local journalism and arts coverage, please consider making a small monthly contribution, because without you, there is no us.Thanks for your support!Good morning, Portland!I hope you had a restful weekend and are ready to jump into this NEWS.

Sign up for CNN's Wonder Theory science newsletter.Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more.A snowy owl that looks like it should be flying about the wintry wizarding world of Harry Potter has been spotted among the palm trees of beachy Southern California.

Dozens of counter-protesters attempted to disrupt an anti-trans rally outside the Tennessee capitol building on October 21 with signs, sirens and shouting.Blake Farmer/WPLN News People used to call Adams a tomboy.His mom never liked that, though he's always been adventurous.At a park in Nashville, he tears into the woods looking for frogs by a stagnant pond and stumbles upon two young deer lying in the tall grass.

A 15-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of an armed robbery in Boyle Heights during which two French bulldogs were stolen, Los Angeles police said Tuesday.The robbery occurred around 12:30 a.m.Nov. 12 as two people were walking their dogs along the 6th Street Bridge.They were approached by a male suspect who pointed a pistol at the victims, took the two dogs and fled in a vehicle, police said.

Valve control wheels connected to crude oil pipework in an oilfield near Dyurtyuli, in the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia, on Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020.The flaring coronavirus outbreak will be a key issue for OPEC+ when it meets at the end of the month to decide on whether to delay a planned easing of cuts early next year.

Germany's health minister unveiled a plan Wednesday to decriminalize the possession of up to 30 grams (about 1 ounce) of cannabis and to allow the sale of the substance to adults for recreational purposes in a controlled market.Berlin will check with the European Union's executive commission whether the plan approved by the German government is in line with EU laws and would proceed with legislation only if it gets the green light, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said.