ALBANY, N.Y. — State legislators have agreed on a tough new bill that would ban smoking in nearly all workplaces throughout New York, including restaurants and bars, but the fate of the bill remained uncertain earlier this week after it ran into stiff opposition from some Republican senators.

The proposed state ban, if approved, would be one of the most restrictive antismoking measures in the country — even more stringent than the new smoking ban that is scheduled to take effect in New York City on Sunday, because it does not include several exemptions that were added to the city's law by the City Council, according to a recent New York Times report.

MELBOURNE, Victoria, Australia – Kangaroos aren’t the only ones getting a jump on things Down Under. The 300-store, 7-Eleven franchisee in Australia is taking what it calls a “proactive” approach to automation, revamping its in-store technology in a project company officials call its biggest capital expense in 26 years.

Despite not having the saturation from mass merchants and grocery stores selling gasoline that retailers in the United States have, Warren Wilmot, CEO of 7-Eleven Pty. Ltd., Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, said, "We're proactive company owners. We don’t want to react or catch up with others. We prefer to stay in the forefront."