The US Navy says Iran seized a commercial vessel that may have been engaged in smuggling as it sailed in international waters in the Arabian Gulf on Thursday.

By Stephanie Kelly and Muyu Xu (Reuters) -Oil prices struggled on Wednesday after sliding to their lowest levels in over

Ralph Lauren Corp. is on track to meet its medium-term targets despite a revenue forecast for the current

Quarterback Quinn Ewers will start for No. 7 Texas against TCU after missing two games with a sprained shoulder

Pachuca president Jesus Martinez explains that Liga MX teams haven't benefitted from Leagues Cup like MLS sides.

FRANKLIN, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 18, 2023--

LeBron James passes on his 'crown' as he calls Travis Kelce 'King of Northeast Ohio' amid football tight end's rumored romance with Taylor Swift

The Scottish government has proposed decriminalizing possession of all drugs for personal use to tackle one of Europe’s highest overdose death rates. The suggestion was almost instantly blocked by the Conservative U.K. government in London, which said it had “no plans” to soften drug laws. The semi-autonomous Edinburgh government, led by the pro-independence Scottish National Party, said Friday that removing criminal penalties for drug possession would “allow for the provision of safe, evidence-based harm reduction services.” Scotland’s death rate from drug overdoses is three times the rate in the U.K. as a whole and the highest in Western Europe. Last year there were almost 1,100 drug-related deaths in Scotland, which has a population of 5.5 million, according to government figures. “The war on drugs has failed,” Scottish drugs minister Elena Whitham said at a news conference alongside former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and ex-Swiss President Ruth Dreifuss, both advocates of drug law reform. “Our current drug law does not stop people from using drugs, it does not stop people from experiencing the harm associated and, critically, it does not stop people from dying,” Whitham said. The Scottish government said decriminalization would free “individuals from the fear of accessing treatment and support, reducing drug-related harms and, ultimately, improving lives.” It cited the example of Portugal, which ditched criminal penalties for drug possession more than two decades ago and focused on treatment. Whitham said the government also wanted to change the law so it could create supervised drug consumption rooms and would consider introducing the regulated supply of drugs. She said the crisis would worsen without radical change. She said Scotland was “facing down the barrel of a storm in terms of synthetic opioids and new and novel street benzodiazepines that are heading to our shores.” “If we are not prepared for that arriving here, with 21st century drug laws in place, I’m terrified as to what that could look like," she said. But Russell Findlay, justice spokesman for the Scottish Conservative Party, said “essentially legalizing heroin, crack and other class-A drugs” would not solve Scotland’s drug deaths problem. Scotland already allows people caught with illegal drugs to be given a police warning rather than being prosecuted, but decriminalizing drugs would require support from the U.K. government. Max Blain, spokesman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, said that was not going to happen. “There are no plans to alter our tough stance on drugs,” he said. The Scottish government has often taken more liberal positions on social issues than the Conservative administration in London. Last year a law passed by the Scottish parliament that would make it easier for people to officially change gender was blocked by Sunak’s government. The governing SNP uses such disagreements to bolster its argument that Scotland would be better off leaving the United Kingdom and becoming an independent country.

(This July 30 story has been corrected to say that "Barbie" was No. 1 by opening, not total sales, for

California lawmakers have voted to raise taxes on guns and ammunition sales in the state

FC 24 Road to the Knockouts Team 2 release date is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 6 at 1 p.m. ET. At that time, Team 1 will leave packs making way for a new set of promotional items from UEFA competitions.

Oscar-winning British actress Glenda Jackson, who died on Thursday aged 87, played powerful female roles before abandoning stage and screen for a career in politics where she was...