Our daily voyage around the world

🇨🇳 The US House accused China's government of directly funding America’s fentanyl crisis. A new House report found the Chinese Communist Party is using tax rebates to subsidize the manufacturing and export of illicit synthetic narcotics like fentanyl, a drug which lawmakers say represents the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-45. US officials also found the CCP has ownership interests in multiple domestic companies tied to drug trafficking, and identified China as the main source of key ingredients used by Mexican drug cartels to synthesize fentanyl.

🇬🇧🚭 UK lawmakers gave preliminary approval for a generational smoking ban. The plan, which was approved by a 383-67 margin in the House of Commons, would ban all UK residents born after 2009 from buying cigarettes. Vaping wouldn’t be banned under the proposed law, though sales of disposable vapes would be heavily restricted. There are still several steps before the smoking ban can be enacted, including a vote in the House of Lords, though analysts say it’s likely to become law later this year.

🇨🇦 Canada returned over 200 islands to their original Indigenous owners. The first-of-its-kind deal in Canada transferred 1.2+ million acres of land off the west coast of British Columbia to the Indigenous Haida Nation. The agreement, which will take effect over a several-year transition period, doesn’t affect private property or local government jurisdiction on the islands.